Shimotsuma Monogatari

Momoko is a 17-year old girl who dresses all the time in Lolita-type clothing, which is basically very frilly clothing that makes her look even younger then she is. She lives with her grandmother and, at least at the film's start, doesn't really have any friends or any interests other then shopping for more lolita outfits.

Momoko's father and mother have divorced. Her father is pretty much a loser, but she chose to live with him anyhow.

Ichigo is also a high school girl but she's pretty much the opposite of Momoko. Ichigo rides her moped and hangs out with a girl's biker gang. She behaves in a very unfeminine manner, but for some reason seems to strike up a friendship with Momoko that grows throughout the film.

Ichigo wants to buy a bunch of Momoko's father's fake name-brand clothing. Later, Momoko does her a major favor and, later, has to come to Ichigo's defense when the girl biker gang turns against her. Meanwhile Momoko is looking for some special talent that she might have and ends up finding it. There's a lot of humor in the story, too, although there is a somewhat bloody fight near the end.

This is a very wild, charming, wacky and excellent movie.

Kamikaze Girls, the manga

This manga contains the story Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatara movie), plus other stories.

Kamikaze Girls

The Kamikaze Girls story differs from the movie in a number of ways. First, the store owner of the lolita clothing store is younger than in the movie and is drawn as being quite handsome. Secondly, the pachinko-parlor guy who defends Momoko and Ichigo does not have a long, pointed growth of hair; hes younger and has normal hair.

Theres also some more material on how Momoko feels about her lolita clothing. Ichigo wears a lolita dress for a photo shoot and the gang ends up wanting to punish her for that, since the photos appeared in a magazine (and on billboards, etc.), not for her missing a meeting.

When Momoko goes to help Ichigo when the gang is beating up on her she steals a bike. Theres no grandmother and no old, special bike. Theres also no accident with a truck on the way to the fight. Momoko joins the fight, but theres no story about her being the daughter of a long-lost bike-gang leader.

Ichigos Case

This is the first of the other stories in the manga. The gang leader and the pachinko guy are getting married and sent Ichigo an invitation. Ichigo, meanwhile, meets a male ballet dancer who just happens to be the pachino guys brother. Ichigo dresses up in a lolita outfit to give emotional support to the ballet guy as he tries out in an audition. It looks like Ichigo and the ballet guy have become a couple.

The pinky-ring Princess

A cute story about a young girl who falls in love with an older guy.

The middle-finger Princess

A continuation of the previous story. Also cute.

The Novel

This is the novel that is based on the movie Kamikaze Girls. I prefer the movie since the story is so visual-oriented and that almost demands a movie. Since I've seen the movie, then, when the author talks about a particular piece of clothing, I can picture it mentally since I've seen the movie, but going the other way around might not work out so well.

There's also some differences in the ending of the story vs. the ending of the movie; nothing incredibly major, but still some little distances. Also, no scene of Momoko riding a motobike and hitting a truck (thank goodness.)

Anyhow, it's a fairly enjoyable novel, but I prefer the movie.

Postcards and promotional booklet from the movie

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