is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

comedy drama film directed by

Akiyoshi Sugiura is a Japanese film director. He was the movie-maker of two films featured in the Akihabara Trilogy. Filmography * ''Pretty Maid Café'' * ''Cat Girl Kiki is a Japanese fantasy comedy drama film directed by Akiyoshi Sugiura and released in 20 ...

and released in 2006 by VAP. It is part of the Akihabara Trilogy of films revolving around the Akihabara cosplay and

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorat ...

subcultures. It was distributed in the United States by Asia Pulp Cinema.

Plot

Yoshirou Takagi, a recluse young adult (

hikikomori , also known as acute social withdrawal, is total withdrawal from society and seeking extreme degrees of social isolation and confinement. ''Hikikomori'' refers to both the phenomenon in general and the recluses themselves. ''Hikikomori'' ha ...

), adopts a stray cat, Kiki, which magically turns into a

catgirl A is a female kemonomimi character with feline traits, such as , a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. Catgirls are found in various fiction genres and in particular Japanese anime and manga. Catboy is a term ...

, i.e. a human girl with feline characteristics, who attempts to help him deal with his solitude. Catgirls are common themes in otaku media. As Yoshirou teaches Kiki how to behave more like a human, he also makes her wear a maid cosplay and a

Japanese school uniform The Japanese school uniform is modeled in appearance similar to that of the European-style naval uniforms. It was first used in Japan in the late 19th century, replacing the traditional kimono. Today, school uniforms are common in many of the J ...

, which are other references to the Akihabara cosplay culture.

Credited cast

Yui Kano is a Japanese voice actress from Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. She currently works for Aoni Production. She also starred in the live-action film Cat Girl Kiki. Anime cast in *'' Ayakashi ~ Japanese Classic Horror'' as Wominaheshi (Tenshu Monogatari) * ...

as Kiki * Teruaki Uotani as Yoshirou Takagi *

Minami Aoyama is a Japanese former ''pink film'' actress and AV idol. She appeared in award-winning ''pink films'', and was herself given a Best Actress award for her work in this genre in 2006. Life and career Minami Aoyama was born in Tokyo on May 28, 1982 ...

as Yuka Sanada *

Katsuya Kobayashi is a Japanese actor from Shimonoseki. Even though he and fellow Kamen Rider Kabuto: God Speed Love-exclusive Rider actor Mitsuki Koga/Kamen Rider Ketaros were only Kamen Riders within the movie, they did make a guest appearance during the fin ...

as Shingo Noda * Youko Teramura *

Ao Shimizu AO, aO, Ao, or ao may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Adults Only, an entertainment rating * AO Music (AOmusic), a world-music fusion group consisting of Jay Oliver, Miriam Stockley and others * Ao: The Last Hunter, a 2010 prehistoric ...

Wakako Kurahashi Wakako (わかこ, ワカコ) is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings *わかこ (in hiragana) *ワカコ (in katakana) *和佳子 "Japanese/peace, excellent, child" *和歌子 "traditional Japanese poetry, child" *若子 "young child ...

Hideyuki Inoue Hideyuki (written: , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer * Hideyuki Akaza (赤座英之), Japanese urologist *, Japanese engineer and physicist *, Japanese karateka *, J ...

External links

Official website
(archived) *

References

2006 films 2000s Japanese-language films Films set in Tokyo Cosplay Akihabara 2000s Japanese films Kemonomimi Otaku in fiction Japanese fantasy comedy-drama films 2000s fantasy comedy-drama films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub