Interest
Midori/Shōjo Tsubaki Café Isn't for the Faint of Heart
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
If the idea of an eyeball panacotta and a sundae topped with maggots doesn't have you screaming in terror, the stomach-churning Shojo Tsubaki cafe might be up your alley. The café "holy" in the Daikanyamachō area of Shibuya is getting a menu makeover from May 24-31 to mark the debut of the live-action "erotic grotesque" film based on Suehiro Maruo's Shojo Tsubaki horror manga.
A store inside the cafe will sell related goods while art by Maruo is on display throughout the venue. The real eye-catcher is the menu though, with items like "Midori-chan Cake," "Kanabun's Centerpiece Panna Cotta," "Muchisute's Maggot Float," and character-themed drinks.
Fashion model Risa Nakamura is making her film acting debut as the protagonist Midori in the film. Other cast members include Shunsuke Kazama, Misaki Morino, rock band SuG frontman Takeru, Daichi Saeki, Motoki Fukami, and Akihiro Nakatani.
The original manga's "erotic grotesque" story centers on a girl named Midori, who becomes an orphan after her mother dies due to sickness, and is then sold to a traveling freak show, where the members proceed to physically and sexually torment her. The manga's title refers to a recurring stock girl character in Shōwa-era kamishibai performances.
Maruo published the manga in 1984, and publisher Blast Books released it in the United States in 1993 with the title Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show. It was adapted into an anime film in 1992 by director Hiroshi Harada, with music by Revolutionary Girl Utena composer J. A. Seazer. The anime film's content was illegal at the time and it no longer exists in its complete, original format.
