Tokyo schoolgirl Hiromi and her friends engage in a practice known as enjo kosai, or "compensated dating", where older men pay young girls for dates. Hiromi plunges deeper into this world to raise money for an expensive ring.
Direction
Anno's handheld DV chaos—every frame buzzes with uneasy kinetic energy.
Cinematography
Shot on tiny digital cameras, looks like found footage from a fever dream.
Acting
Non-professional cast delivers devastating naturalism; can't look away.
Director
Hideaki Anno
Asumi Miwa
Hiromi Yoshii
Kirari
Chisa Noda
Yukie Nakama
Chieko Takamori
Mitsuru Hirata
Kakegawa
Mitsuru Fukikoshi
Yoshimura
Moro Morooka
Yazaki
Toru Tezuka
Uehara
Ikkei Watanabe
Kobayashi
Tadanobu Asano
Captain XX
Naomi Kawase
Woman speaking to Hiromi (voice)
Akira Ishida
Yoshio
Kotono Mitsuishi
Radio Host (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara
Answering Machine (voice)
Taiju Okayasu
Odagiri
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Anno shot this guerrilla-style across Tokyo in 1997, often without permits, using then-new digital video technology that let him squeeze cameras into cramped love hotel rooms.
Released during Japan's 'compensated dating' moral panic; Anno refused to condemn the girls, pissing off conservative critics who wanted a cautionary tale.
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