Tonde Saitama

This riotously irreverent manga adaptation imagines the petty rivalries between Tokyo and neighboring Chiba and Saitama (think Manhattan versus bridge and tunnel) as a seething political struggle. 'Saitamese' are downtrodden and even need a visa to enter the big city. Cue a ‘boys love’ plot thread between the feminine-looking Momoi, son of the Tokyo governor (spunky Nikaido Fumi in her cosplay best) and a handsome male transfer student (Gackt) secretly from the other side of the tracks. Before long they are fighting side by side in the resistance as the prejudice-driven feud comes to a frothy head. (New York Asian Film Festival)