Kamikaze Girls

Kamikaze Girls
Cover of the English paperback version of the Kamikaze Girls novel
下妻物語
(Shimotsuma Monogatari)
GenreComedy, drama[1]
Light novel
Written byNovala Takemoto
Published byShogakukan
English publisherViz Media
PublishedSeptember 2002 (2002-09)[2]
Live-action film
Directed byTetsuya Nakashima
Written byTetsuya Nakashima
Music byYoko Kanno
Licensed by
Released
  • May 13, 2004 (2004-05-13) (Cannes)
  • May 29, 2004 (2004-05-29) (Japan)
Runtime102 minutes
Manga
Written by
Published byShogakukan
English publisherViz Media
ImprintFlower Comics
MagazineBetsucomi
DemographicShōjo
Published2004
Volumes1

Kamikaze Girls, originally released in Japan as Shimotsuma Monogatari: Yankī-chan to Rorīta-chan (下妻物語　ヤンキーちゃんとロリータちゃん, "Shimotsuma Story: Delinquent Girl and Lolita Girl"),[4][5] is a 2002 Japanese light novel written by Novala Takemoto. The story centers on the friendship between two students named Momoko Ryugasaki and Ichigo "Ichiko" Shirayuri. These two are from completely different backgrounds: one is a Lolita-fashioned girl and the other, her antithesis, is a yankī (juvenile delinquent). Viz Media licensed the novel for an English-language release in North America in 2006.[6][7]

A live-action film adaptation of the novel directed by Tetsuya Nakashima premiered in Japan in May 2004. It starred Kyoko Fukada as Momoko and Anna Tsuchiya as Ichigo.[8][9] It was filmed in the town of Shimotsuma in Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan. Viz Media screened the film in select theaters in the United States in late 2005 under the title Kamikaze Girls.[10] They released it on DVD with hardcoded English subtitles in January 2006.[11] The DVD extras include the original Japanese movie trailers, an interview with the lead actors, and a music video featuring Anna Tsuchiya. Third Window Films released Kamikaze Girls on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom in February 2010. The Blu-ray contains optional English subtitles, the same extras as the DVD, and the short film Birth of Unicorn Ryuji.[12]

A manga series based on the novel was illustrated by Yukio Kanesada and serialized in Shogakukan's Betsucomi magazine in 2004. The chapters were later collected into a single tankōbon (bound volume) published under Shogakukan's Flower Comics imprint. Viz Media licensed the manga for an English-language release in North America in 2006.

  1. ^ "The Official Website for Kamikaze Girls". Viz Media. Archived from the original on July 29, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
  2. ^ 下妻物語―ヤンキーちゃんとロリータちゃん: 嶽本 野ばら: 本. ASIN 4093861129.
  3. ^ Antonio Pineda, Rafael (October 16, 2023). "Discotek Licenses Lovely Complex With New English Dub, Nanoha, Belladonna of Sadness, Chie the Brat, Rainbow, IGPX, More". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "Shimotsuma Story". novala2.quilala.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  5. ^ "Novala". novala2.quilala.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
  6. ^ Macdonald, Christopher (June 4, 2005). "Viz to Publish Novels". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "Kamikaze Girls Novel". Viz Media. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "'Kamikaze' pilots into teen emotions". Los Angeles Times. September 16, 2005. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  9. ^ 下妻物語. Kotobank (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  10. ^ "VIZ Media to Release Kamikaze Girls Theatrically" (Press release). Anime News Network. August 5, 2005. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  11. ^ "VIZ Media to Debut Live Action Film Kamikaze Girls" (Press release). Anime News Network. June 7, 2005. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference twf was invoked but never defined (see the help page).