Kamikaze Girls

What I didn’t note in the film review - as I’m not sure whether it is the fault of the film or the DVD release - is that certain brand names and swearing are audibly and visibly ‘bleeped’ out of the film, presumably for copyright and certification reasons respectively. Either way, this self-censorship only serves to remove one from the viewing experience. Otherwise the transfer and sound quality of the film are fine, complete with 2.0 and 5.1 sound options.

A 40-minute making of opens disc two of this special edition. Instead of feeling like press kit material, this is actually made up from decent behind the scenes footage documenting the production, while the talking heads interviews with cast and crew maintain a light-hearted, irreverent tone and making it more informative and entertaining than most making of documentaries.

The short film The Birth Of Unicorn Ryuji is the origin story of the Kamikaze Girls supporting character Ryuji (Sadao Abe) and his horned hairdo. Though slightly ramshackle, this is at least pretty amusing as Ryuji is tortured by his peers for his love of a girl and it additionally adds depth to a previously underdeveloped character.

The interviews with the director and his lead actors are brief but occasionally informative, while the five minutes of workprint features a few deleted scenes mixed with behind the scenes and bloopers footage - hardly essential stuff but a nice addition all the same. A catchy pop video featuring actress Anna Tsuchiya, is also included, as are trailers for Kamikaze Girls and loads of other Third Window releases. All in all, this is fairly decent DVD for an obscure Japanese title.