Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks (2025): Drifting towards adulthood
2025 • Yugo Sakamoto • 1.85:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks, directed by Yugo Sakamoto and adapted from the manga by Masakazu Ishiguro, follows two college dorm roommates whose contrasting personalities gradually shape a close but unstable bond. One drifts through life without direction, while the other is determined to pursue a career in music despite facing financial hardship. As they approach adulthood and their paths diverge, their relationship is tested by ambition, uncertainty, and emotional dependency.
Blending slice-of-life storytelling with comedy and understated drama, Sakamoto stays true to the style of his early Baby Assassins films, but replaces the action with more thoughtful explorations of the romantic and existential challenges that two young women could face in the contemporary world. The film is set in a vivid world of shared dorm rooms, small music venues, restaurants, and urban rituals, captured through conversation, silence, and repetition.
Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks is a restrained coming-of-age comedy-drama film about drifting identities and transitional friendships, showing the highs and lows of artistic aspiration against the backdrop of youthful aimlessness.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: The daily life of two college dorm roommates. Ruka, the older of the two, is constantly penniless despite the growing success of her band, while Irisu works part-time at a second-hand bookstore.
- Actors: Shiori Kubo, Yuna Taira, Keito Tsuna, Kouhei Higuchi.
- Director: Yugo Sakamoto
- Year: 2025
- Cinematographer: Masaki Watanabe
- Origin: Japanese Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Genre: Comedy & Satire
