Once notorious as Tokyo¡¯s sketchiest red-light district ¡ª and a frequent setting for yakuza movies ¡ª Kabukicho has now become a somewhat gentrified lure for hordes of foreign tourists.
But as Ren Akiba¡¯s youth drama ¡°Tokyo Strayers¡± demonstrates with hyperkinetic energy and stylish realism, its streets are still wild and dangerous for the runaway kids who drift into Toyoko, the plaza next to the Toho cinema complex where the giant statue of Godzilla dwells.
Akiba¡¯s original script, which is based on his own street-level research, centers on two girls who bond over the course of one eventful night. One is Asuka (Rio Teramoto), an 18-year-old who has fled from a father she hates. The other is Hiyori (Akana Ikeda), who has written a popular web novel, ¡°Tokyo Strayer,¡± about her life in Kabukicho.
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