Jigoku Hanazono (地獄の花園) is absolute trash, hilarious and unforgivable, and probably puzzling to anyone who isn’t deeply interested in girl-gang lore. It’s a movie tailored almost perfectly to my tastes. It will be released on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan in a few weeks, available through this transparent affiliate link.

Tanaka Naoko is a totally typical Office Lady in a large corporation that employs a large female workforce. The workforce has split into factions very like the “Ladies” gangs. Naoko, and her typical, non-faction colleagues, end up dodging the inter-departmental battles that break out between the various factions. Until one fateful day all three factions at her corporation encounter Hirose Ran, who transfers in and takes them all over. For a time, peace reigns.  But when other corporations hear of Ran’s power, they begin to encroach upon their territory, and Naoko is kidnapped to lure Ran into a battle.

And then the movie gets weird.

If you take a look at the official cast page, you’ll note the thing I like best about this movie…and the thing I liked least.

The thing that immediately become obvious, is the heavily embroidered gang outerwear, reminiscent of tokkou-fuku of Japanese motorcycle and scooter gangs, only in bright colors worn over office uniforms. The factions mimic gangs in patois and behavior as well, which is always sort of ridiculous in media, but especially so as it’s played for laughs here.

You’ll also note that one of the corporations has a gang in black and that all the women in that gang are played by men. This is something I have encountered in a few other gang or gang-esque movies, like the live-action Cutey Honey movie…the most powerful women are played by men and are thus meant to be grotesquely ugly and horrible.  I do not approve. First of all, women are completely capable of being grotesque and ridiculous on our own, thanks  In this case, it is again a woman who is the most powerful, so that’s cool. And the men are seasoned actors with years of yakuza dude roles under their belts, so that worked as well. Overall, it was no more than another eye-roll in a movie basically built out of eyerolls. All of the actors chewed up their roles with gusto, which helped the movie hustle along to it’s utterly ridiculous end.

A palpable friendship builds up between Naoko and Ran and it becomes the lynchpin of the climax, so I really cannot tell you what happens. You’ll *have* to experience it for yourselves. I will tell you that any and all Yuri is punted off the roof in the final, bewildering scene that is so gobsmackingly ridiculous that it is almost funny, but still really annoying. Naoko agrees, is all I’m saying.

There is an English-subtitled trailer from FujiTV, which I hope means this will make the rounds of western Asian film festivals next year. I’d love to do a watch party with you all.

Ratings:

Cinematography – 9 Perfect and awful
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 0 Not really, but tropey gang fights is a kind of service
Yuri – So close, but no

Overall – 8

Really hoping for an EN release, but the JP Blu-ray is in my cart, baby.

Thai BL is having a boom moment and it’s worth noting that Thai Yuri is starting to develop in that same market. One of the most recent BL/GL series in Thailand is called 7 Project. You can find all of it on YouTube, and if you turn on Closed Captions, an English caption option is available. Today I’m looking at Episode 3 of this 4-episode series, “Remember.”

“Remember” stars Samantha Melanie Coates as Proud and Pannin Charnmanoon as Jaidee. Proud learns her boyfriend Tac has cheated on her. While she’s recovering from this shock, she becomes friends with Jaidee. a girl in one of her classes. As Tac flails at being honest, Jaidee and Proud become closer. When Tac forces a confrontation, Proud learns things that can destroy their friendship.

Before I get into the plot too much, I want to hearken back to the Afterschool Specials of my youth. These were always “very special episodes” and dealt with stuff that Boomer parents just would not actually talk about (despite the fact that they had been the sex and drugs generation /eyreoll/.) The defining characteristics of these specials were bare-bones writing, acting and staging in order to express teen drama, starring popular teen actors of the time. Watching “Remember,” I felt very much as if I was watching something equivalent to those Specials. The narrative beats were set up from pretty far away. I actually expected a final complication that never did appear, but the others all sort of slam down all at once towards the end and then it wraps up in a relatively satisfactory manner.

The Afterschool Specials are relevant here once more as the reason we all really watched them were the actors (and when when the substitutes couldn’t teach the class and showed them, instead.) The reason to watch “Remember” is, likewise, the actresses. They do fine work with this Ikea furniture plot design. Coates is a very sympathetic Proud, and Jaidee is very likeable, even as things begin to fall apart. Tui Tui Puttachat Pongsuchat’s portrayal of Proud’s mom was outstanding. Best character, best lines, best acting.

Ultimately the end of the segment is ambiguous, but leaves room for hope and that’s a damn sight better than no hope. One can end the story imagining that Proud and Jaidee might well have a chance to become something together.

Ratings:

Cinematography – 7
Characters – 8
Story – 7
Service – 2
Yuri – 8

Overall – 7

I’m pretty happy to welcome Thai Yuri on to our screens. Check out the WabiSabi channel for more of their videos and let them know you enjoyed 7 Project!.

Today’s review is thanks to gentleman and scholar Thomas Baudinette, who is my new pipeline on Thai Yuri! ^_^