Nemurbaka: Hypnic Jerks

Directed by Sakamoto Yugo
Starring Kubo Shiori, Taira Yuna, Tsuna Keito, Higuchi Kohei

A tender story about ambition, sisterhood, and finding your own path.

In a women’s dormitory at university, junior Irisu Yumi  and senior Kujirai Ruka (TAIRA Yuna) share a room. Yumi has no particular passion in life and drifts through her days working part-time at a used book shop, fending off unwanted attention from co-workers and customers. Meanwhile, Ruka, always short on money but fiercely passionate, chases her dream as the guitarist and vocalist of a struggling indie band, Peat Moth. They are opposites, yet close.

One day, Yumi attends one of Ruka’s gigs at a small basement club and is stunned to see her friend transformed into a magnetic star, commanding the crowd. Soon after, a major record label reaches out to Ruka, and their once sisterly relationship begins to drifts apart.

As Ruka rises to stardom, propelled by the fast-paced music industry, Yumi grapples with envy and regret, realising that she has been simply sleeping while her roommate has been working hard to fulfil her dream. Now living separately, Yumi can only see Ruka from a distance, but what she does not know is what Ruka truly feels about her own newfound status…

Adapted from the manga by Ishiguro Masakazu, who also wrote the theme song lyrics and created new music for the film, and directed by Sakamoto Yugo, Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks is a tender and stirring portrait of youth, ambition, as well as the bonds of sisterhood.

© Masakazu Ishiguro, Tokuma Shoten/Nemurubaka Film Production Committee

Co-presented by the Japan Foundation.