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cinderella-ish · 3 days

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For the Fruits Basket asks: 2, 3, 19, and 18/20 for Momiji!

Oh, yay! I'm so glad you asked! (ask game here)

2. This might be the hardest question of all, because all the characters are so richly developed and I genuinely like (almost) all of them! I have a certain soft spot for Yuki and Momiji, of course, as the characters I relate to the most, and a similar soft spot for Ayame and Arisa, because I relate to them in a way as well, though to a lesser degree.

I've been writing a lot of Kyo, Saki, and (weirdly) Hiroshi, so I feel really attached to them right now. I mean, Kyo is a character whose happiness genuinely healed me. Saki's unapologetic weirdness is just the best (and uhhh my friend group in high school had a few people who shared several traits with Saki, so I was bound to like her). And Hiroshi and Yusuke are literally the best part of every scene they're in. (Especially Hiroshi in Cinderella-ish. Seriously, his narration is top tier!)

And Machi and Kakeru have a special place in my heart, too, partly because of their roles in Yuki's development, but also because of the ways I relate to each of them. And, of course, Tohru. I mean, there's so much to say about her, but her deep, deep empathy and the richness of her arc and development are just gorgeous.

I do keep coming back to Yuki and Momiji, though. They're central to two of the scenes that I found most surprisingly powerful; Yuki when he tells Kakeru "that isn't what I want!" and Momiji in his speech to Akito, when he says "a happiness might exist for me!" Outside of the major plot points of the series (which are nearly all centered around Tohru and Kyo), these two moments are, I think, some of the most satisfying developments for any of the characters, period.

(Oops, that turned into an essay 😅)

3. If we're sticking to named characters, I think Katsuya is the only choice. I know Takaya couldn't develop every single character in the series, but Katsuya is one whose development would have enriched not only him, but Kyoko, Tohru, and Grandpa Honda as well.

I think that the Katsuya-Kyoko relationship can be read as problematic and even predatory exactly as written. It reads as romanticized because it's told from Kyoko's point of view. But Katsuya himself remains kind of an enigma, and it's just really hard to like him when we don't even know what made him think pursuing a middle schooler was okay.

19. Oh gosh. You're going to get a few long answers, I fear. 😅

I have several favorite fanworks! Off the top of my head:

Ripples, by @proseprincess

So, canon divergent AUs are probably my favorite type of fic, and I especially love fics where one canon event changes, and everything that follows changes due to something like a butterfly effect. In this two-part series, Tohru never met Kureno in the park, which changes everything that came after in a big way. I love that this tackles some massive changes to canon, yet they all feel grounded in the world and characters we all know. The second installment is incomplete, but still very worth the read IMO, not only because part 1 ends with a massive cliffhanger, but because it's just so inventive and unlike anything else I've read. Maybe my very favorite fanwork.

I'll be Standing There By You, by Eboni_A

This is a beautiful, devastating AU told from Yuki's point of view where he finds out in the final weeks of her life that Tohru has terminal cancer. We see Yuki drop everything to come and support Kyo and be with Tohru in her final weeks, we see Tohru die, and we see Kyo and Yuki (and everyone else) try to keep going afterward. It's heartbreaking yet hopeful, and the author made relatively recent comments about a potential sequel! Fingers crossed!

Inertia, by miss_coverly @lesbian-kyoru

This is another canon divergent AU where Kyo and Tohru become friends with benefits before the curse breaks. It's honestly shocking how beautiful this work is. The prose is gorgeous, the angst is dialed all the way up, the sexual tension is dialed even higher, the characterization is crystal clear, it's honestly a masterclass in POV, the sex is sexy, and I could go on and on. I never thought a blowjob scene would make me cry, yet it did.

The Pursuit of Repeating History, by RiddleAfar @mistergrass

So, when I first started reading fanfiction, I stuck strictly with canon-compliant works. Then, I dipped my toes into canon divergence AUs like those above, but I heavily resisted reading anything with alternative pairings.

Then, I got curious about that one really popular Yuki/Kyo soulmates AU fic, and gave it a read. By the end of the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. And when I was finished reading, I knew I had to check out everything else by that author, which is how I ended up reading The Pursuit of Repeating History.

This story honestly showed me the power of fanfiction. The author legit crafted lore for the Fruits Basket universe. And the "lore" chapters (I think they're referred to as "intermissions") are each beautifully-told stories in their own right. But the author also grappled with how the curse might work, and I think they did an incredible job. I'm actually rereading this beast right now!

We'll Work it Out Together, by inheritanceofgeek @mrsmarymorstan

Okay, I'm a sucker for anything with lots of Hiroshi and Yusuke, and this story is probably the most Hiroshi-and-Yusuke-focused story on Ao3. (Probably worth mentioning the author's sideblog, @2d-iendfrays which is an absolute treasure!) In it, Kyo figures out he's asexual, then figures out he's demisexual, all with the help of his two wholesome buds.

Like almost all the authors on this list, inheritanceofgeek has some other really fantastic works that are worth checking out, from sexual humor to Yuki/Machi smut to a touching piece about new parenthood.

How Can I Thank You, by SharkFairy77

Another brilliant Yuki/Kyo piece, in which Yuki hosts Kakeru and Komaki for dinner (at the apartment he shares with Kyo), and at the last minute, Kakeru asks if Machi can come. (Machi is Yuki's ex in this universe)

The piece starts with dinner prep, and then dinner, and the character writing is just incredibly spot on. I loved the arc of the story through the dinner, and the way Kyo and Machi come to an understanding.

But then, we get into some A+ YukiKyo smut.

I'll Be Here, by Blanche2023 @biancanekoyokai

(Full disclosure - I beta read this work!)

This is a very sweet and sad piece about Kyo's first few days in Kazuma's care after his mother's death. Blanche's characterization is outstanding, and she handles tricky things (like writing a young Akito who's also performing head-of-the-family duties) in a really clever way.

I don't think there's enough pre-canon fic out there, nor enough gen fic, and this piece is just beautiful.

Escaping the future, by Modzy78

I really love the way Modzy78 thinks about the Fruits Basket universe, and her take on the canon-divergence of "what if Tohru never confessed to Kyo" is inventive, suspenseful, fluffy, and just such a fun read! I also really love her other canon divergent AU Cursing the Cursed. And Modzy78 is honestly a superhero for the fandom.

The Talk, by Geoduck @drgeoduck

Honestly, Geoduck has a ton of works you should read, but I'll mention this one because it's probably the funniest thing I've ever read. And then it somehow gets even funnier!

The Ones Who Walk Away From Sohma House, also by Geoduck

If you're a fan of Ursula K. Leguin (my very favorite author!), then you are probably familiar with her famous short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, and this short fic is an absolute must-read.

no one is lost, by emphasis

Momiji bumps into Ritsu in a gay bar. Not a pairing I ever imagined, but an excellent fic that puts Momiji in the position of "elder queer" to Ritsu. (Honestly, I wish there were more Momiji-as-elder-queer fics!)

Some other favorites:

The Night We Met, by pettyimperfections

Hold On, by Danyu

Heart Strain, by Kitty0430

I think about you all the time, by lucybeee @riceballcatfb (incomplete)

Making Nice, by Itsalreadyhalloweenright @riza-rin-rose (incomplete)

What's a White Lie Between Friends (& My Family)? by AnxietyAvocado

My Hands on You is Just a Fantasy, by unscheduledmakeouts

This Air is Blessed, by KyoDoodles

Please, Let Her Live, by @goldfishoflove

And that isn't even touching the dozens of phenomenal Yukeru fics! Just a small selection of Yukeru favorites:

fit back in, by @luftballons99

woebegone, by a-bigail @yunsoh

The Other Side of Paradise, by reconquer @yukisohmasmokesweed

If I Ever Feel Better, also by reconquer

if i do anything i regret tonight, no i didn't, by sacrificialParsnip (another fic where Momiji is an elder queer!)

i wanna be dyed with your colors, by halfhope

Like Fireworks in the Night Sky, by Princely_Hairdos (incomplete, currently being updated!)

President Perfect, by draebelle

tongue tied, by b_o_i (note: heed the warnings!)

And if you're familiar with OnigiriCat4Ever's canon continuation series, Always and Forever, some of my favorite works from that series include My Brother, Truth and Consequences, You Don't Understand, I Want to Understand, and all of their smut (collected in a separate series called Tohru and Kyo's Amorous Adventures, plus one explicit Hajime/Mutsuki fic).

And, of course, I'm really proud of my longfic, Bloom Within Us, and wrote it because it's the sort of thing I'd want to read. It's currently in progress, and I took a break from writing due to a family emergency, but I'm back at it and hope to start regular posting within a month.

uhhhh so I think I'll have to make my Momiji headcanons another post (hopefully tomorrow) because this got long! 😅 Thank you again for asking!

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skippersthecat · 4 months

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Because we all hate fandom wiki, here are the birthdays of every Saiki K. character that had one listed:

January 1: Mineo Nobuaki (Alphonse Calcifer Raiden)

January 4: Kumi Kouji

January 7: Azuma Muto

January 7: Kanda Pinsuke

January 8: Tadatsugu Takayuki

January 25: Satou Hiroshi

February 20: Masuda Shuuji

February 28: Makino Arisu

March 4: Teruhashi Makoto

March 7: Yokota Jaga

March 21: Saiko's Father

March 24: Saiki Kumi

March 25: Saiki Kumagoro

March 28: Morikawa Minoru

April 5: Nakamaru Kousaku

April 6: Mishima Nobuaki

April 9: Hanako (the tiger)

April 10: Shinoda Takeru

April 10: Makishima Seiya

April 13: Imu Rifuta

April 12: Takahashi

April 12: Koriki No. 2

April 15: Mera Chisato

April 24: Mikami Aiko

May 4: Tanaka Ichirou

May 9: Nendou Riki

May 9: Pushi (the cat)

May 13: Saiki Kuniharu

May 13: Busujima Susumu

May 13: Clairvoyance Mikiko

May 14: Saiki Kurumi

May 19: Kongou Tsuyoshi

June 3: Yuuta Iridatsu

June 11: Yumehara Chiyo

June 14: Kouki Sawakita

June 16: Saiki Kuusuke

June 18: Hairo Kineshi

June 19: Zolbe

June 27: Chouno Uryoko

June 29: Tanihara Kenji

July 12: Café Mami's Manager

July 12: Manabe Baiku

July 20: Akanishi Shinichi

July 23: Niwayama Kyuuji

July 29: Nakanishi Shinya

August 1: Kihachi Bunta

August 6: Teruhashi Kokomi

August 16: Saiki Kusuo

August 18: Haruno Akio

August 24: Murata Shuuji

August 28: Suzumiya Hii

August 29: Nishi Soujirou

September 2: Kuboyasu Aren

September 5: Akechi Touma

September 5: Takeuchi Riki

September 7: Aiura Mikoto

September 8: Saiko Metori

September 10: Toritsuka Reita

September 19: Oohori Kouichi

September 21: Matsuzaki

September 23: Soul Shout

September 26: Ikemi Kazuya (Michael)

October 3: Kaidou Shun

October 14: Mrs. Kaidou

October 14: Ooshima Yuuji

October 22: Kuramochi Shinsuke

October 31: Nendou Midori

November 10: Hotei Tomotaka

November 20: Takizawa Kazushi

November 29: Anpu

December 3: Itano Yoriko

December 13: Shima Kyouka

December 15: Honekawa Kinsuke

December 16: Matsuda Ippei

December 24: Onimatsu Gokuya

December 27: Sugiyama Haruo

#most of these are one off or side characters #but i felt like i should include them #i took all these off the wiki so im hoping they are right #and why are there birthdays for all the kokomins but none for the baseball club #thats a crime #saiki k #tdlosk #the disastrous life of saiki k.#saiki k birthdays #screw fandom wiki

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leomacgivena · 2 years

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そういえば、入水自殺の入水はにゅうすいと読んでもいいと辞書に書いてあったりするけど、実際はじゅすいが正しいと思われているからにゅうすいは間違いと思われる感じだよね。こういうの、例えば刺客とか文言とかでもある気がする。

Hiroshi ManabeさんはTwitterを使っています

#思考法 #26646

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ie-dilf-tournament · 1 year

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Round 1 is over! - Results

Asurei rune VS Tsunami Jousuke Winner: Tsunami Jousuke

Minaho sakyou VS Shinjou takuma Winner: Shinjou takuma

Kidou yuuto VS Endou Hiroshi Winner: Kidou yuuto

Manabe jinsuke VS Gojou Masaru Winner: Gojou Masaru

Raimon souichirou VS Kazemaru ichirouta Winner: Kazemaru ichirouta

Handa Shinichi VS Hibiki seigou Winner: Hibiki seigou

Sakuma jirou VS Nozaki seiichi Winner: Sakuma jirou

Onigawara gengorou VS Fudou akio Winner: Fudou akio

Valentin girikanan VS Ishido shuuji Winner: Ishido shuuji

Kabeyama heigorou VS Kudou michiya Winner: Kudou michiya

Hiroto kiyama(Tatsuya) VS Kira seijirou Winner: Hiroto kiyama

Midorikawa ryuuji VS Endou mamoru Winner: Endou mamoru

Gouenji Katsuya VS Endou Daisuke Winner: Gouenji Katsuya

Gouenji shuuya VS Fubuki Shirou Winner: Gouenji shuuya

Aphrodi (Afuro terumi) VS Kidou's adopted dad. Winner: Aphrodi

Kageyama reiji VS Someoka ryuugo. Winner: Someoka ryuugo

That's it for round 1 see you in the next round!

Right now I don't have an exact date for the next round but I'll edit this post if I do

Edit: Ok so I actually just finished making the polls in one sitting so next round will be next Monday, March 6th

#Inazuma eleven Dilf Tournament #Round 1 #inazuma eleven #ina11 #inazuma 11

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jaygerland · 1 year

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Liked on YouTube: Akira Ito ‎(伊藤詳) - Marine Flowers (Science Fantasy) (1986) FULL ALBUM - Green & Water ‎– R28X-1003 (Japan, 1986) https://ift.tt/ou1IJgL 00:00 A1. 序章華やぎ / Prologue, Into The Beauty 12:55 A2. 水色の聖地 / W・A・T・E・R 18:06 A3. 気の舞い / Dancing Spirits 21:04 A4. 精美 / Essence Of Beauty 25:54 B1. 神がみの遊び / Where Spirits Play 26:57 B2. 祈り / Prayer 38:53 B3. 生生流転 / Life Goes On 42:31 B4. 終章青き久遠 / Epilogue, Out Of Endless Blue Producer, Composed By, Arranged By, Synthesizer, Electric Bass, A. Piano, Percussion, Engineer, Mixed By – Akira Ito Oboe – Heitaro Manabe Percussion – Izaba Saxophone – Koichiro Kami E. Violin – Takashi Toyoda Vocals – Mineko Soundtrack to the Laser Disc of the same name. There is a time in any good musician’s life when they absolutely nail down whatever they had to place. Akira Ito, one time keyboardist for influential Japanese psych rock outfit The Far East Band, could have stayed with that group rehashing “out there” musical troupes – variations on psychedelia with The FABs or Kitaro-like, Jean-Michel Jarre-aping electro-prog as in his early, solo career – or he could, you know, grow the hell up, and accept that music evolves, and so must he. There’s only so much Ummagumma aping one can do in a lifetime. That’s what makes Marine Flower his first release under his own Green & Water record label truly interesting. It shows his shift to a particular electronic aesthetic that his country was cultivating at the time. Marine Flower (Science Fantasy) was far more minimal and exploratory than anything he’d ever done before. It appeared that Akira was taking influence from German elektronic kosmische music of Cluster, Manuel Göttsching, and Neu and trying to chisel it down through a Japanese aesthetic – essentially using the more holistic, environmentally conscious, spacial aware ideas of other Japanese electronic New Age artists like Hiroshi Yoshimura etc. as a sifter/filter to temper the influence of that kind of music. It was/is a beautiful set of electronic mood music with meditative overtones of nostalgia, comfort, and sweetness for good reason. Album highlight “Essence of Beauty” puts all these feelings of aware reflection into full view. Essentially written as part of a musical series called “Music For Inochi”/Music for Life on his label, each album in this series attempted to carry along intently a specific mood. Water-based music, forest-based music, macro-life music like Yumiko Morioka’s Resonance – simple ideas that took all those far out, less inviting, explorations into far more personal and focused pieces. Although Marine Flower (Science Fantasy) was meant for the New Age market, it ventures far outside the genre. Drum machines, saxophones, electric violin, and all sorts of assorted mallet percussion find ways to make their presence felt in what really is supposed to be a set of percolating “floating” synthesizer music. Not entirely perfect – but what is? – it does have so much to offer as another important piece in this whole structure of Japanese electronic music we’re uncovering (with our Western ears) piecemeal.

#IFTTT #YouTube

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docrotten · 7 months

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GODZILLA VS. MEGALON (1973) – Episode 199 – Decades Of Horror 1970s

“Megalon! Megalon! Wake up, Megalon! Come on, rise up now, to the Earth’s surface! Destroy the Earth! Destroy our enemies! Rise up! Go on! MEGALON!” That’s quite the cheering section you have there, Megalon. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Bill Mulligan, Jeff Mohr, and guest hosts Dirk Rogers and Bryan Clark – as they go quadruple kaiju in Toho’s Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973).

Decades of Horror 1970s Episode 199 – Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Decades of Horror 1970s is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of the podcast and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

An inventor creates a humanoid robot (Jet Jaguar) that is seized by the undersea nation of Seatopia & used as a guide for Megalon and Gigan to destroy the above-ground dwellers as vengeance for the nuclear tests that have devastated their society. In an attempt to stop them, a now independently thinking Jet Jaguar brings Godzilla into the fight.

Director: Jun Fukuda

Writing Credits: Jun Fukuda (screenplay; Shin’ichi Sekizawa (treatment)

Music by: Riichirô Manabe

Cinematography by: Yuzuru Aizawa

Editing by: Michiko Ikeda

Production Design by: Yoshifumi Honda

Special Effects by: Teruyoshi Nakano (director of special effects)

Selected Cast:

Katsuhiko Sasaki as Inventor Goro Ibuki

Hiroyuki Kawase as Rokuro ‘Roku-chan’ Ibuki

Yutaka Hayashi as Hiroshi Jinkawa

Robert Dunham as Emperor Antonio of Seatopia / Motorcycle assailant

Kôtarô Tomita as Lead Seatopian Agent

Ulf Ôtsuki as Seatopian Agent

Gentaro Nakajima as Truck Driver (credited as Gen Nakajima)

Sakyo Mikami as Truck Driver’s Assistant

Fumiyo Ikeda as Man from Unit 1

Kanta Mori as Japan Special Defense Forces Chief

Shinji Takagi as Gojira

Hideto Odachi as Megaro

Tsugutoshi Komada as Jetto Jagâ

Kenpachirô Satsuma as Gaigan (credited as Kengo Nakayama)

With Doc and Chad occupied elsewhere, Jeff and Bill welcome guest hosts Bryan Clark and Dirk Rogers to examine a last-minute replacement feature for episode 199. Trust us, you will not be disappointed as the Grue-Crew champions another Toho, 1970s, Kaiju entry, Godzilla vs. Megalon, for some silly yet still awesome man-in-suit action. Joining Godzilla and Megalon on screen are fellow giant monsters, Gigan and Jet Jaguar. Jeff finds himself surrounded by kaiju super-fans Bill, Bryan, and Dirk. This episode should not be missed! Enjoy!

At the time of this writing, Godzilla vs. Meagalon is available to stream from Tubi, Freevee, Pluto TV, MAX, the Criterion Channel, and multiple PPV sources. The film is also available on physical media as a Blu-ray in Godzilla, the Showa-Era Films, 1954–1975 (The Criterion Collection).

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1970s is part of the Decades of Horror two-week rotation with The Classic Era and the 1980s. In two weeks, the next episode will be the podcast’s landmark bicentennial (that’s 200th, folks)! In honor of that occasion, the 70s Grue-Crew will also be celebrating the 50th anniversary of what many call the greatest horror movie of all time: The Exorcist (1973). Join us to discuss the film in which one character says, “There seems to be an alien pubic hair in my gin.”

We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at [email protected].

Check out this episode!

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bufonrebp · 11 months

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Hiroshi Manabe

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reijisaito · 1 year

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50秒

昨年参加した「50秒」が恵比寿映像祭にて再上映されます。東京都写真美術館1階ホールでの上映となります。会期中は毎日上映されますが、日によって上映時間が変わりますのでご注意ください。

『50秒』

参加アーティスト :青木真莉子、青木陵子、青崎伸孝、秋吉風人、麻生晋佑、荒川医、荒木悠、池崎拓也、イッタ・ヨダ、伊藤存、江口悟、岡田理、片岡純也＋岩竹理恵、金村修、KAYA (デボ・アイラース＋ケルスティン・ブレチュ)、窪田隆之、COBRA、小松浩子、佐藤純也、アーロン・ジェント、庄司朝美、髙橋耕平、たちばなひろし、田中和人、玉山拓郎、ナヴィッド・ヌール、花代＋斎藤玲児、甫木元空、細倉真弓、増本泰斗、サトミ・マツザキ、間部百合、南川史門、森田浩彰

詳細：https://www.yebizo.com/jp/program/2454

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ The “50 seconds” exhibition of video works by a total of 34 artists, which the Kyoto-based artist-run space “soda” around director TANAKA Kazuhito presented in November 2022, is once again repeated at the Yebisu International Festival for Art & Alternative Visions 2023. 127 years after the Lumière brothers unveiled their 50-second-long landmark film Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory in 1895, selected contemporary artists show works that are each just as long. The program at large explores new possibilities of the moving image as an art form. Event produced by: TANAKA Kazuhito (Director, soda) Artists: AOKI Mariko, AOKI Ayako, AOZAKI Nobutaka, AKIYOSHI Futo, ASO Shinsuke, ARAKAWA Ei, ARAKI Yu, IKEZAKI Takuya, Ittah Yoda, ITO Zon, EGUCHI Satoru, OKADA Shizuka, KATAOKA Junya + IWATAKE Rie, KANEMURA Osamu, KAYA (Debo EILERS and Kerstin BRÄTSCH), KUBOTA Takayuki, COBRA, KOMATSU Hiroko, Aron GENT, SHOJI Asami, TAKAHASHI Kohei, TACHIBANA Hiroshi, TANAKA Kazuhito, TAMAYAMA Takuro, Navid NUUR, Hanayo + SAITO Reiji, HOKIMOTO Sora, HOSOKURA Mayumi, MASUMOTO Yasuto, Satomi MATSUZAKI, MANABE Yuri, MINAMIKAWA Shimon, MORITA

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xinu1941-1966 · 1 year

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illustration：真鍋博　hiroshi MANABE 天候改造オペレーション創元推理文庫 1972 Ben Bova　The Weathermakers 1967

#真鍋博　#hiroshi MANABE　#真鍋博　#hiroshi MANABE　#illustration #創元推理文庫　#SF　#science fiction　#Ben Bova

#The Weathermakers

#真鍋博 #hiroshi MANABE #illustration #bookdesign #Ben Bova #創元推理文庫 #SF #science fiction #The Weathermakers

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byneddiedingo · 1 year

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Yusuke Kawazu and Miyuki Kuwano in Cruel Story of Youth (Nagisa Oshima, 1960) Cast: Miyuki Kuwano, Yusuke Kawazu, Yoshiko Kuga, Fumio Watanabe, Hiroshi Nihon'yanagi. Screenplay: Nagisa Oshima. Cinematography: Takashi Kawamata. Music: Riichiro Manabe. In addition to the shamelessly exploitative title Naked Youth, Cruel Story of Youth has also been released as A Story of the Cruelties of Youth. So is it the story that's cruel or the youth in it? Those who know Japanese can probably tell me which is closer to the original title, Seishun Zankoku Monogotari, but I suspect the ambiguity is intentional. It's a cruel story about cruel young people, with the usual implication that society -- postwar, consumerist, America-influenced Japan -- is to blame for the cruelties inflicted upon and by them. With its hot pops of color and unsparing widescreen closeups, the film puts us uncomfortably close to its young protagonists, Makoto (Miyuki Kuwano) and Kiyoshi (Yusuke Kawazu ). Makoto is just barely out of adolescence -- Kuwano was 18 when the film was made -- but carelessly determined to grow up fast. She hangs out in bars and cadges rides with middle-aged salarymen until the night when one of them decides to take her to a hotel instead of her home. When she refuses, he tries to rape her. But a young passerby intervenes and beats the man, threatening to take him to the police until the man hands over a walletful of money. The next day, Makoto and her rescuer, Kiyoshi, meet up to spend the money together. He's just a bit older -- Kawazu was 25, three years younger than the film's director, Nagisa Oshima -- and over the course of their day together on a river he slaps her around, pushes her into the water and taunts her when she can't swim, and seduces her with his mockery of her inquisitiveness about sex. When he doesn't call her again, she seeks him out and they become lovers. They also become criminals: She goes back to her game of hooking rides with salarymen and he follows them, choosing a moment when the men start to get handsy with Makoto -- sometimes she provokes them to do so -- to beat and rob them. Naturally, things don't get better from here on out, especially after Makoto gets pregnant. We can object to the film's sentimental attempt to redeem Kiyoshi, who starts out as an abusive young thug but is transformed by love, and there's some awkward coincidence plotting, like an abortionist who turns out to be Makoto's sister's old boyfriend. But Oshima's portrait of a lost generation has some of the power of the American films that inspired it, Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) and Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1950), as well as the French New Wave films about the anomie of the young by Claude Chabrol and Jean-Luc Godard. It was only Oshima's second feature, but it signaled the start of a major career.

#Cruel Story of Youth #Nagisa Oshima #Yusuke Kawazu #Miyuki Kuwano

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