I'm putting together a lecture on Japanese youth dramas of the last ten years or so to set up a unit on Shunji Iwai's highy idiosyncratic take on the form. I have my own faves in the Japanese youth pic, but I'd really like to hear about the ones of which Mobians are particularly fond.

Many thanks!

My favorite? What else? YO YO GIRL COP! :lol:


http://www.amazon.com/review/product/B000O...howViewpoints=1

Shiota's Gaichu
Yamashita's Linda Linda Linda
Jun Ichikawa's Osaka monogatari, Tokyo kyodai, Ashita no watashi no tsukurikata, Tokyo Marigold (if 20 somethings are still "youth")

Yeah, no contest, LINDA LINDA LINDA. One of the few movies I've seen in years that made me cry from sheer joy.

I don't watch many of these, so other choices coming to my mind are kind of on the fringe of what you're asking for. Um, BATTLE ROYALE, anyone?

And would some of the youth-oriented J-horror flicks of the past decade or so count? Something from the TOMIE series might be interesting - there certainly seems to be plenty going on under the surface there about adolescent anxieties, or maybe adult anxieties about adolescents. I've only actually seen the first, which keeps veering wildly from mediocrity to occasional brilliance. I did sleep with a bedside lamp on that night, which counts for a lot in my book.

NOBODY KNOWS
ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU
FUDOH THE NEXT GENERATION
MOONLIGHT WHISPERS
BLUE SPRING
SPIRAL
SUICIDE CLUB
ANDROMEDIA
YOUNG THUGS NOSTALGIA
YOUNG THUGS INNOCENT BLOOD
RINGU
BATTLE ROYALE

In all seriousness, I would also add animated series like "His and Her Circumstances" (aka "Kare Kano," 1998) and "Boogiepop Phantom" (2000), which probe issues of concern to Japanese youth. "His and Her" offers a somewhat idealized take, but it's filled with moments of blessed honesty. "Boogiepop" is much more downbeat and quite critical of Japanese society's treatment of children and youth and some devastating personal stories emerge out of psychological/paranoid horror thriller trappings.

Also, check out the Miyazaki-produced (but not directed) animated drama, WHISPER OF THE HEART (1995).

I don't know that it really counts as a 'youth drama', but SWING GIRLS was a lot of fun. PING PONG would be worth a look. KAMIKAZI GIRLS. NANA.

Less probable, but worth a mention: UZUMAKI, one or more of the EKO EKO AZARAK movies.

It made my list as SPIRAL.

as far as anime is concerned I'd add Satoshi Kon's PERFECT BLUE and his series PARANOIA AGENT.

There's also GIVE IT ALL and GO.

Would KIKUJIRO fill the bill?

Add me to the list of those who liked:
ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU-CHOU
BATTLE ROYALE
GO!
HANA AND ALICE
KAMIKAZE GIRS
LINDA LINDA LINDA
NANA
PING PONG
SWING GIRLS

And ones that haven't been mentioned:
2LDK
AIKI
AZUMI
BOUNCE KO GALS
CUTIE HONEY
WATERBOYS

Hello,

One of my favourite youth movies is the controversial "Madness in Bloom' (Kyouki no Sakura, 2002.) Likened to a Japanese "A Clockwork Orange" except with extreme right-wing overtones, the film is actually more thoughtful and introspective than detractors give it credit for being.

Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmM64Y5uGoI

Review:
http://www.sarudama.com/japanese_movies/kyoukinosakura.shtml

And the "Justice" segment from "Jam Films" makes me recall high school boredom along with a few other things (BTW, the audio is in English so one doesn't need subs.)

Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fntpMXTsBY

I've provided links because both films aren't that well known in English despite being quite good.

If we are adding animated stuff...

Hosoda's Girl Who Leapt through Time

(lots of older Ghibli stuff -- but not much that is apt from 1997 on)..

Azumangah Daioh
Haibane Renmei