Four ladies struggle to find happiness in the mega-metropolis known as Tokyo :

Satoko : Works as a receptionist at “Heavan’s Gate,” an escort service. At home she often prays to God to let her find a boy that will love her.

Akiyo : Works at “Heavan’s Gate” as a prostitute. She saves her money in order to buy a condo situated on the 5th floor or higher. Once she gets old & senile, she plans to jump out of her apartment to her death.

Chihiro : Works in a low level office position. When her roommate, Toku, asks if there is a God, she replies “God would be something like a boyfriend. Buys me whatever I want and makes possible all my wishes.”

Toku : Works obsessively as an animator, suffers from bulimia.

Although Strawberry Shortcakes is based off of a manga and features some popular young Japanese actresses, don’t expect a bubbly feel good comedy like Love Com or Honey & Clover. This would be largely due to the fact that the original manga, “Sweet Cream and Red Strawberries,” isn’t your typical manga with colorful kids and pop art galore.

“Sweet Cream and Red Strawberries” was written by Kiriko Nananan. While the Japanese manga market has a lot of “shojo” (written for girls) comics, there are not a lot written for adult females. Kiriko Nananan is part of a smaller group of “josei manga” artists who writes for the burgeoning market of adult females that grew up on teenage mangas. Her previous work, “Blue” was turned into the 2003 movie with the same title. Kiriko Nananan’s style could be characterized by realistic written comics depicting the lives of everyday women living in big cities like Tokyo. ….Oh she also appears in “Strawberry Shortcakes” as Toku, the bulimic artist.

“Strawberry Shortcakes” was directed by Hitoshi Yazaki, who seems to make a movie once every decade or so. Prior to this movie, his most renown work would have been 1991’s Sangatsu no raion (March Comes in Like a Lion), an influential indie film focused around the love affair between a brother and sister.

With those facts known, all signs point to a compelling flick and “Strawberry Shortcakes” doesn’t disappoint. Strawberry Shortcakes would definitely be a woman’s flick, centered around the lives of four ladies living in Tokyo. Two of whom, Satoko and Akiyo, work in an escort service. Satoko, played by Chizuru Ikewaki, works as the receptionist. Chizuru Ikewaki certainly has made an impression with her wonderful performances in “Josee The Tiger and The Fish” and “Funky Forest,” and now with “Strawberry Shortcakes” she’s firmly placed herself up there with Yu Aoi and Juri Ueno as one of the best young actresses in Japan. She also provided for the majority of laughs in the film, with her quirky behavior that was utterly charming. Interesting to note that she actually looks younger in this film then in Josee the Tiger and the Fish which was made four years earlier.

Her co-worker “Akiyo” was a strange lady, that worked as a prostitute. Her apartment consisted of a glass fish tank and a coffin. Yes, she slept in a coffin! She worked hard, often taking customers the other girls did not want. This was because she wanted to save enough money to buy a condo that was located on the 5th floor or higher. Once she got home, she would quickly change into glasses, t-shirt & jeans and plan for her next dinner date with her old college friend Kikuchi (played by Masanobu Ando – the police officer in Green Mind and Metal Bats and the psychotic gun toting killer in Battle Royale). The other two ladies, Chihiro and Toku, were roommates who lived near Satoko and Akiyo but never actually crossed paths with Satoko or Akiyo.

The manner in which “Strawberry Shortcakes” unfolded was a mixture of comedic scenes, somber scenes of isolation, and a handful of mildly explicit sexual scenes. The yearning that the four main leads held inside, was perhaps indicative of people living in such a large metropolis as Tokyo. The story is told in small segments divided between Satoko & Akiyo and Chihiro & Toku. The two pairs come close to crossing paths at certain times but never actually meet in the film. Furthermore, Chihiro and Toku are roommates that are unfamiliar with each other, even though they live in a small one bedroom apartment. Tokyo Tower is often looming in the movie’s backdrop, giving a sense that all these characters are roaming near each other in the periphery. While all four of the main characters battle familiar problems (loneliness, jealousy, unrequited love), you can’t help to be impressed with the small details (their apartments!) and unique style of the movie. Strawberry Shortcakes is one of the better films I have seen this year, check this one out.