Crazy Fruit Explained

is a 1981 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Kichitaro Negishi. Both this film and the earlier (1956) version by Nikkatsu, Crazed Fruit, were based on a novel of the same name by Shintaro Ishihara.^[1]

Plot

A working class young man, Tetsuo, who distrusts all rich people, falls in love with a girl, Chika, from an affluent family. He has a difficult time, but love survives despite the problems.^[2]

Cast

• Yūji Honma as Tetsuo
• Yuki Ninagawa as Chika
• Eiko Nagashima as Harue
• Eiji Okada as Tono, Chika's step father
• Nobutaka Masutomi as Osawa, Harue's husband
• Kinuko Obata as Tetsuo's mother

Critical appraisal

The Weissers call the plot "a sadly contrived story" and award it two and a half stars out of four, but laud Yūji Honma's "intense performance" which made the film a major hit for the Nikkatsu studio.^[2]

Availability

Crazy Fruit was released as a DVD by Uplink (アップリンク) on May 23, 2003.^[3]

Awards and nominations

3rd Yokohama Film Festival^[4]

• Won: Best Director - Kichitaro Negishi

Notes and References

1. Book: Sharp, Jasper. Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. 2008. FAB Press. Guildford. 128. 978-1-903254-54-7.
2. Book: Weisser, Thomas. Yuko Mihara Weisser. Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. limited. 1998. Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. Miami. 1-889288-52-7. 93.
3. Web site: http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~p-g/dvd/romanporno/romanporno.htm. ja:アップリンクよりＤＶＤリリース. 2011-10-27. Japanese. P.G. Web Site. https://archive.today/20120805230255/http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~p-g/dvd/romanporno/romanporno.htm. 2012-08-05. dead.
4. Web site: http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/03-1981/03_1981_shou.html. ja:第３回ヨコハマ映画祭 １９８１年日本映画個人賞. 2010-01-10. Japanese. Yokohama Film Festival. 2016-09-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20160913213339/http://homepage3.nifty.com/yokohama-eigasai/03-1981/03_1981_shou.html. dead.