Chika Gentou Gekiga: Shoujo Tsubaki

Chika Gentou Gekiga: Shoujo Tsubaki, often referred to by its English title Midori, is a 1992 underground animated film directed by Hiroshi Harada. It was based on the 1984 gekiga manga by Suehiro Maruo, known for his transgressive and unsettling aesthetic. The film was produced by the studio Imagica and stands as a hallmark of Japanese counter-culture cinema, specifically capturing the 'ero-guro' (erotic grotesque) movement that gained momentum in the late twentieth century.

The film's visual style was painstakingly rendered by Harada, who reportedly hand-painted every frame over the course of five years to achieve a surreal, carnival-like atmosphere. His intent was to translate the stark, visceral quality of Maruo’s panels into motion, focusing on the dark exploitation of its protagonist. Upon its release, the film was extremely controversial and faced heavy censorship and distribution hurdles, eventually becoming a cult classic that is studied for its unique artistic commitment and its place in the history of independent Japanese animation.