The film is based on the life of the manga comic-strip artist Abe Shinichi and above all his legendary album Miyoko Asagaya kibun (also the Japanese title of the film). Miyoko was the girlfriend, wife and, not lastly, the muse of the manga artist. Asagaya is the district of Tokyo where they lived back then. The district had a certain artistic reputation because a lot of writers lived there. The title represents the feeling of living in Asagaya with Miyoko. The manga story was very autobiographical and hence a logical basis for this unusual biopic.
The life story starts in the 1970s. The young artist has no success at all and clings obsessively to his girlfriend and model. As model, Miyoko can only be described as an object of lust. The film is very licentious in the way she poses naked. So licentious that the film can be found on Web sites for pink pictures (typical Japanese narrative soft porn).
Apart from an inventive and exuberant production design (in which manga delusions and reality are mixed), the power of the film can be traced back to the actors who play Abe Shinichi (Mizuhashi Kenji) and Miyoko (Machida Marie). Demanding roles, because the artist occasionally is intoxicated by delusions and alcohol and his muse has to reveal all. Right at the end of the film, during the titles, the real Abe appears briefly on the screen.





Director
Tsubota Yoshifumi
Premiere
International premiere
Country of production
Japan
Year
2009
Festival Edition
IFFR 2010
Length
86'
Medium
35mm
Original title
Miyoko Asagaya kibun
Language
Japanese
Producer
Okada Hiroshi
Production Company
Wides Shuppan Co., Ltd.
Sales
Gold View Co. Ltd.
Screenplay
Tsubota Yoshifumi, Shinsaku Fukuda
Cinematography
Yamazaki Daisuke
Editor
Tsubota Yoshifumi
Production Design
Tanaka Koji, Ozaki Masaki
Sound Design
Saiki Takuma
Music
Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Sparta Locals, Tenniscoats
Cast
Mizuhashi Kenji, Machida Marie
Director
Tsubota Yoshifumi
Premiere
International premiere
Country of production
Japan
Year
2009
Festival Edition
IFFR 2010
Length
86'
Medium
35mm
Original title
Miyoko Asagaya kibun
Language
Japanese
Producer
Okada Hiroshi
Production Company
Wides Shuppan Co., Ltd.
Sales
Gold View Co. Ltd.
Screenplay
Tsubota Yoshifumi, Shinsaku Fukuda
Cinematography
Yamazaki Daisuke
Editor
Tsubota Yoshifumi
Production Design
Tanaka Koji, Ozaki Masaki
Sound Design
Saiki Takuma
Music
Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Sparta Locals, Tenniscoats
Cast
Mizuhashi Kenji, Machida Marie