I'm guessing Kamikaze girls isn't the literal translation of the title (considering kamikaze must be a japanese word)? Anyone know what shimotsuma monogatari means ?
I'm studying a beginners course in japanese, so I can spell it with hiragana, but I'd like to know what it means. I'm afraid to ask my teacher in case it's something embarrasing.
Shimotsuma is the name of the town the girls live in. The title translates to "Story of Shimotsuma". Where Viz got "Kamikaze Girls" is anyone's guess; presumably it was changed because it's a more marketable title and sounds Japanese. Who knows.
I realized Viz's title makes slightly more sense than I initially thought. That is, Momoko becomes a sort of kamikaze girl (yanki/gang girl) when she stands up for Ichigo, with Ichigo then writing her into her epic story. Hence, they are both "kamikaze girls" in a sense. Sort of.
...It's still a relatively dumb name change, though.
It is kinda dumb, but Shimotsuma Story sounds boring, when I saw it and read the title Kamikaze Girls, it made me want to see it. That, and the fact that Kyoko Fukada is in it of course.
My take is that it's called Kamikaze Girls because both of them are risking their own lives in a way; Ichiko being involved in a gang challenge and Momo as she stands up for her.
Isn't the coat that Ichigo is wearing and want to get embroidered for the parade called a Kamikaze coat? It plays a slightly large role in the movie so that might have something to do with it.