Starring: Ai Otsuka, Rio Matsumoto, Yoko Maki, Mao Kobayashi
Director: Kozo Nagayama
Scheduled release: Now showing

Tokyo Friends follows four girls who go to the Japanese capital to follow their dreams. Ryoko (Yoko Maki) longs for a fairytale wedding, but soon realises it may be out of reach for her struggling restaurateur fiancé. Rei (J-Pop star Ai Otsuka) and her rock band are on the verge of signing a potentially lucrative record deal, but she is still pining for ex-guitarist Ryuji (Eita), who left her and the rest of the group when he realised Rei was the better songwriter. Hirono (Rio Matsumoto) spends most of her days waiting at home for her errant actor boyfriend to return, while Maki (Mao Kobayashi) seemingly ‘made it’ when she was whisked off to the USA by a charismatic art dealer.

After Maki spots Ryuji in New York, Rei jets off to America in search of the closure she needs to continue her life, even if she is unsure exactly what that closure is. Little by little all four girls begin to question their choices, realizing they have each compromised their own dreams of success and independence to follow the men in their lives.

Fortunately for Tokyo Friends, it does not take itself too seriously. By no means as anarchic as, say, Kamikaze Girls, the film shows glimpses of something more subversive than many of its contemporaries. There is a knowing sense of humour at work, allowing it to poke fun at many of the traditional staples of the genre, from teen suicide (Hirono fails to kill herself after realizing she doesn’t have the stomach to slit her wrists or the money to buy sleeping pills) to the absurd plot contrivances – like convenient amnesia – used by many teen romances.

The end product owes a sizeable debt, both in style and tone, to the hugely successful NANA – another tale of aspiring young females braving the big city in search of musical stardom. Ai Otsuka’s character takes centre stage, but the film does overcome its commercial trappings to become something more than simply a marketing exercise for the young popette. The other girls force the film to broaden its focus and allow it to become a genuine ensemble piece, again taking it away from the conventions of the genre. The film is slightly overlong and actually gains little from its lengthy sojourn in the Big Apple but, as with its female protagonists, it is the moments when Tokyo Friends refuses to conform to strict formula that prove to be the film’s greatest strengths.

James Marsh