Shōjo Tsubaki

The original manga (as well as its OVA) follows the misadventures behind the colorful curtains and extravagant performances, there lies the dark side of the life of the local funfair freak show, hidden away from the smiles and praises of the audience. Set in early 20th century Japan in a circus that involves freaks such as Hohichi the Human Pretzel and another called The Human Worm, one member who is a little girl has highlighted the misdeeds that occur during these events of the circus camps in her dark and twisted tale:

• Hanamura Midori the Camellia Girl: An innocent 12-year-old girl who enjoyed her life as a student to the fullest. However, everything changed after her father left and her mother died. Midori is forced to become a school dropout and sell flowers in the city. The orphaned Midori then meets a stranger who leads her towards the circus. What awaits her will change her life, and her, forever.
• Midori’s Father & Mother: Midori's father mysteriously ran away and left his family alone, and Midori’s mother was bedridden due to an illness. Her death is of horrific nature as she's eaten up by rats and mice.
• Mr. Arashi: The boss of the Amazing Freak Show, and the seedy stranger who led Midori into his horrific circus. While he appears to be a benevolent and consistent manager, he is actually a greedy and manipulative conman. He’ll do anything to get rich, even going so far as taking Midori hostage for his show. He has no qualms of sleeping with little boys, his usual fetish is oculolinctus.
• Tokkuriji Muchisute the Mummy Man: The first circus freak– the disfigured young pervert with missing arms and a face covered in bandages like a mummy; he is one of Japan’s victims to suffer from leprosy (though he is a burn victim in the other adaptations). Although he has no arms, he is able to use his feet just as if they were hands, performing archery in the circus. He is the stalker who has assaulted Midori several times.
• Akaza the Giant: The second circus freak– the sword-swallowing one-eyed strongman with a shaved head and tattoos. He is a laid-back "tough guy" who enjoys eating, money, and having sex with Benitsu. He goes along with the sadism and fetishes of the other circus members.
• Benitsu the Snake Woman: The third circus freak– a middle-aged, voluptuous, long-haired, snake-charming woman. She is sadistic and promiscuous. She once tried to solicit sex from Mr. Arashi, but was rejected due to his homosexuality and pedophilia.
• Kanabun the Boy-Girl: The fourth circus freak– the fire-swallowing psychopath, characterized by overt cruelty and bloodlust. This sole adolescent of the circus is one of the members who caused Midori's attempt to escape from the camp. Though Kanabun is dresses as a dollish girl, Midori discovers that Kanabun is intersex, and Kanabun is considered a boy by the other circus members, as well as a sex slave to Mr. Arashi.
• Masamitsu the Bottled Wonder: The fifth circus freak– the charismatic, middle-aged, chubby, dwarf magician. He is a master illusionist, using special magic techniques from the West, and can fit into a small bottle. He also manages the circus. Much like Mr. Arashi, Masamitsu is bent on pedophilia, he chooses Midori as his helper and acts as her “guardian”.

Cover of the 2006 Ciné Malta DVD of the film

Midori (地下幻燈劇画 少女椿, Chika Gentō Gekiga: Shōjo Tsubaki, roughly "Underground Projected Dramatic Pictures: Maiden Camellia") is a 1992 Japanese independent ero guro adult horror film by Hiroshi Harada, based on Suehiro Maruo's comic version of the kamishibai standard. The film, which Harada scripted and directed under the pseudonym of Hisaaki Etsu (絵津久秋, Etsu Hisaaki)[1] and whom he presents as a lost filmmaker he worked on it under,[2] consists primarily of paintings and cels of drawings by Harada held, panned or zoomed over with music, sound effects and voice acting and occasional touches of traditional animation.

In 1994, a censored version of the film was produced for future screenings at the request of Eirin, the Japanese film censor board. This version optically censored nudity, sexual assault, and violence towards animals, while removing discriminatory language from the audio track in the form of audio muting. The 2006 Ciné Malta DVD release of the film contains the original 1992 version, albeit with two short sections intended for audiences at live screenings omitted.

For many years, a videotape transfer of the film was all that was known to exist of the film, aside from censored post-1994 film prints screened at various international film festivals. In 2013, the original 16 mm negative of the film was rediscovered in an IMAGICA warehouse. A new print and digital master were made from this negative, and began to be screened in digital format in Japan numerous times. Harada’s production company plans to release a restored Blu-ray of the new master of the film in 2020.

A live action film adaptation of the manga directed by TORICO and starring Risa Nakamura was released in Japan in May 2016.[3] Other cast members include Shunsuke Kazama, Misaki Morino, Takeru and Daichi Saeki.[4]

• GeGeGe no Kitarō – another manga and anime franchise with its origins in kamishibai
• Belladonna – an earlier erotic Japanese film using still paintings and animation

• Official live action film website (in Japanese)
• Fan-run Web site with information and news on Harada's films (in Japanese)
• AniPages Daily article on the film
• Midnight Eye article on the film
• Page on the DVD release at Ciné Malta's Web site
• Midori (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Midori at IMDb
• Chika Gentō Gekiga: Shōjo Tsubaki at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Shōjo Tsubaki at IMDb