In Kisargi, five fans gather in a rented Tokyo room to celebrate the year anniversary of Miki Kisaragi’s death. Who is Miki Kisaragi you ask? None other than one of the hottest gravure idols in Japan, who mysteriously committed suicide one year ago. The five fans that have gathered to honor her death are: Mr. Guru, Oda Yuuki, Snake, Yasuo and Strawberry Girl. None of the attendees have met face to face before, but they have all communicated with each other through the Miki Kisaragi website, run by Mr. Guru.

Now that Miki’s most devoted fans have gathered together, they begin to indulge in sweets, beers, and of course their obsession with Miki Kisaragi. They all share their own personal Miki Kisaragi collections and tell their favorite Kisaragi stories. Once the members start to tell their stories, an unattended chain reaction occurs. It seems some of the attendees holds closer ties to Kisaragi than what was first revealed and revelation after revelation soon tilts the perception of Miki Kisaragi’s death from suicide to murder! Was it murder?

For readers that wouldn’t know a gravure idol from a gravatar, gravure idols are a distinct Japanese version of the familiar pin-up girls. The models usually wear skimpy costumes and appear in glossy magazines that lines the magazine racks of convenient stores all over Japan. Generally, the models refrain from nudity, but do partake in fetishes like maids, anime and martial arts characters.

With that backdrop, “Kisaragi” than plays off the fictional character’s suicide and the geeky obsessiveness of her fans for an absolutely unpredictable, but tons of fun, mystery film of the Japanese sort. Spot-on performances were given by all, but Keiseke Kode and Teruyuki Kagawa stood out slightly more than others. Keiseke Kode more so because he usually never stands out in any films and Teruyuki Kagawa because of the pure wackiness of his character. There’s a lot of things to like about “Kisaragi,” from its low-budget indie feel, to the quirky Japanese setting, to the core murder mystery set within the scipt. If you watch this on DVD, call your friends over, pop open a few beers and get ready for a blast.