Following a number of animation shorts, Shiika Okada came up with a live action feature in 2023, which explores the place of women in Japanese society, by focusing on the life of a girl from her high school days until her early 30s.
Kisspeptin Chronicles is screening at Five Flavours
In that fashion, the story begins at Shigusa’s cram school, where she asks a classmate to be her boyfriend, and he agrees, but only if they keep the whole thing secret. At the same time, one of her professors is essentially flirting with her, although the kind-hearted Shigusa does not seem to realize what is happening exactly. In her university days as an art student, she is dating an aspiring director/performance artist, Shota, who soon proves to be quite self-centered if not spiteful. It is then that the protagonist, now called Yagu by her friends, decides to use her experiences in order to create art.
Later on in her life, while working in an office, she has to face the constant advances of her married boss, while also meeting a rather appealing man, slightly older than her, Eiji. Her experience gives her food for more art, while the last arc. some years later, closes her story.
Shiika Okada’s presentation is unusual, particularly for the inclusion of animation and performance arts in the film, as much as the way the story unfolds, with the various chapters in Chigusa’s life occasionally being presented in very amusing flashbacks. This approach works particularly well in presenting Okada’s comments, with the repetition being quite effective in that regard.
As such, despite the different timelines in her life, Shigusa always has to face usually powerful men who want to take advantage of her, and men she wants to be with but turn out to be weak in various levels, in a comment that is feministic, but also quite realistic on occasion. The fact that she takes it all as if it were normal, at least regarding the first category, adds to the overall comment about patriarchy here, although Okada’s approach is by no means polemic, despite the fact that a comment about how ‘beauty is a curse’ is still here.
At the same time, that the protagonist uses her life experiences to make art could be perceived as a solution to the aforementioned issues, in an aspect (which also includes a bit of spite) that gives the most entertaining moments in the whole movie. Lastly, the finale suggests that things can change on occasion, although the whole thing remains kind of open.
The cinematography follows the usual paths of Japanese indie, with a focus on realism, without particular exaltations, perhaps with the exception of a split frame in the second arc, the various art works and the performance, which do show a certain visual flair. The editing also works well, with the placement of the flashbacks being ideal, although some lagging, particularly in the office arc and the ending, do exist.
Kirara Inori as Shigusa is excellent in a film that is based almost utterly upon her, with the way she retains her sense of measure at all moments being quite impressive. Amon Hirai as Shota is equally good, particularly in the way he portrays his transformation.
“Kisspeptin Chronicles” is a very pleasant film to watch, particularly due to the narrative approach and Inori’s presence, while it manages to communicate its comments quite eloquently, in an overall rather competent work.
