"Every line you draw, leads to something... and often you don't even know to where." "You go on a journey, without knowing how it will end." "In comics, everything is possible... and every comic has a hero." "Heroes only do what they believe is right." "Most comics begin in far away places, sometimes even other galaxies." "This story began at my graduation party." "Hi, my name is Yamamoto." "I'm Angela." "I really like the music you play, is this your job?" "Yeah, I play nearly every night." "And what do you do during the day?" "I buy records, listen to them...and you?" "Me?" "I'm going to start working in my uncle's office from Monday." "Actually..." "I wanted to travel." "So, where are you from?" "I live with my family in Japan." "Have you ever been to Tokyo?" "No, I haven't been to Tokyo yet." "But, I've got a few good friends over there." "This one looks like you." "You are right." "It is me." "Did you draw that?" "Uhuh." "It's beautiful." "I wish I could go there one day." "I had not even started to look for adventure, when the adventure found me." "I know a swedish woman." "She's been working in Tokyo." "She works in the Mizo Shobai, as a kind of hostess." "Like a geisha?" "No...foreign women cannot become geishas." "Her name is Monika." "I don't know her that well but uhm.." "I think she likes the job." "The night is the best time to leave everything behind." "Real heroes just leave, they don't ask for permission." "Here's her address." "Is that the street?" "And she really doesn't mind?" "If you find the beginning, you have already reached the half... and at this point, your destiny has been decided." "Of course, I didn't realise that the beginning... would be so linked to the end." "Ahh." "Do you know if..." "is Monika already back?" "She'll be here." "Uh!" "Come on!" "Concentrate!" "You'll have to try harder than that!" "No!" "Ok ok..." "Wait, wait." "Come on!" "Oh!" "Oy!" "What did you do?" "Unbelievable!" "You take care!" "Broken!" "Such a mess!" "You need to pay!" "Leave our apartment!" "I don't believe it, for fucks sake," "What have you done?" "I don't know." "You've only been here for five minutes..." "No, don't you see this!" "Charging the bathroom, I mean what are you doing?" "I'm sorry." "Don't worry." "Don't worry." "What's going on?" "Sorry." "Sorry..." "Sorry." "It must have been the worst time to meet Monika, but I liked her from the very first moment." "It's not easy to know friends from enemies that's what I was about to learn." "So you're Angela, yeah?" "Yeah." "I'm Monika." "Welcome." "Thanks." "And don't worry about the wall, at least you had your clothes on." "I could escort her to a hotel, if you like." "What?" "Come on." "Most people seem to have a goal in life, but what happens to those who don't?" "They drift...with no clear destination... and then they get lost and disappear." "Take a good look, that's what they all look like." "The men here work very hard and long hours, so after work, they want to be admired, flirt a little." "The best thing you can do is just tell them something about your life." "You'll see it's easy, the Japanese like their women to be direct so... give them your opinion, don't be shy to argue with them." "They don't get a chance to argue at home... that's why they come to the club." "Yes, lets meet at nine o clock, at the usual place." "And you bow in order to give the other person more stature or height by making yourself smaller so..." "Go on...try." "Bow." "The deeper the better." "It can't be that difficult." "Don't you believe it." "I'm joking." "How old are you?" "I'm 18." "At the moment there are too many." "Try another place." "Maybe you come back in two months and we have something for you." "But I sat in a plane for thirteen hours..." "Don't you get it, we're too many." "Take a look around..." "what do you see?" "But one girl more or less?" "Try another club." "What are you, French?" "They always think they have the right to do everything." "A hero never gives up... after all, a mission is waiting, somewhere." "Hello..." "Do you speak english?" "What?" "There is somebody." "I would like to talk to the manager." "Can't you read?" "Japanese only!" "Excuse me, where can I make a phone call?" "Hmm?" "I don't know." "When I draw, I never know what comes first, the idea or the drawing." "In the same way, there are things one cannot find, one has to be lead to them." "But maybe I could work as a waitress?" "We only have servants here." "And what about the kitchen?" "I didn't take enough money with me," "I don't know what I will do." "I think she wants you to feel sorry for her." "Go on cry!" "Shut up!" "Go and find yourself another club." "Go somewhere where they like baby faces, ha!" "Hey, have you gone mad!" "Stop it!" "You're not going to mess up the atmosphere here." "Hey you, come here girl!" "That was a very bad start." "I think you had better go home now but um maybe you can try another day." "Okay?" "It's about time that bitch got a beating." "Hey, brush your hair." "Then go over to Table 3." "But don't cause trouble." "Tonight is her first night." "She's still got a jet lag, it's such a long flight from Europe, isn't it, the flight?" "Yes, it's very long." "Where are you from?" "I am from Belgium... but the last years, I went to school in Germany." "In Europe, everybody has got a dog." "You see dogs everywhere." "Yeah?" "We also had a dog in our house." "A nice laborador." "But he was killed by a car." "That's good, dogs always smell." "Dogs are not good in the house." "That's not true, they don't smell if you wash them sometimes." "They are dirty animals!" "They are not!" "They are only natural." "You would be dirty too, if you didn't wash." "Angela, you can't compare men with dogs." "So you are a student?" "No, I don't want to study." "I want to draw." "Draw?" "What means draw?" "What does that mean?" "Ahh, it means drawing." "Very good!" "Look at this!" "Very look like." "Oh." "Do you have a boyfriend?" "No." "She doesn't either... because her tits hang down to the ground." "See, there, can I stick a pen underneath them or a book?" "Come on, just tell us!" "No, not just one book, I can fit a whole bookshelf under them." "Do you believe it?" "Yes." "What can I do for you?" "She hasn't had a man yet." "Oh." "I beg your pardon, Ingrid." "Never had a boyfriend, you?" "Ha?" "She may be a virgin." "You're expecting too much." "Well, you don't know unless you ask." "She does look innocent." "Go ahead, ask her!" "Look at her face." "Heart-rendering..." "I don't ever want to miss... a second with a lovely girl like you." "So, has someone fucked you yet or not?" "He's into virgins, he can give it to you straight away!" "It doesn't work." "Ah, you have to put more coins in." "Yeah, like this and then dial again..." "Ok." "Alright, see you later." "This is the number of Yamamoto." "I am not here right now." "Please leave a message." "Thanks for calling." "I'm not here right now." "Please leave your name and number... and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." "Thanks." "A girl has vanished." "Another hostess." "Is this reason why you sent me to Tokyo?" "Is this what I was meant to find?" "No, I don't know that girl." "Who is it?" "Her name is Larissa." "I was just wondering, if she worked..." "She never worked in this club." "Why do you show this around?" "You should not do this." "Anyway, you are not allowed to have your drinks here at the bar." "I mean, I don't really know him," "I just met him at a party in Sweden and ah... where he was working as a DJ." "And he sent you to Tokyo?" "No, he didn't send me... we were just talking, you know... and then he told about this hostessing job and..." "I had nothing better to do at that time so..." "I really thought he was gay, but he's not." "He's definitely not." "See you in a sec." "She's such a talented little liar." "She's told her father that she's working here... as an English teacher." "My mother doesn't even know that I'm here." "Wow!" "The men really seem to like you." "I only made 20 thousand yen." "That little?" "I make that in 10 minutes." "20 thousand?" "Made you curious, has it?" "If you come a bit closer, I'll show you how it's done." "You won't tell the others will you?" "The Japanese call this Mugandi, the look into infinity." "Don't ask me why they call it "looking into infinity", when they're staring at a woman's pussy...but hey." "At least I don't let them climb all over me..." "like those Babushka sluts do." "Completely fucking up the business." "One of those Russian girls lived here, didn't she?" "Yeah." "Larissa." "I thought she was the one that dissapeared?" "Possibly." "Lets just say, she hasn't shown up for a while." "See that handbag?" "She left it behind." "...at the Miss Norway competition, that's where I was discovered." "And then I worked as a model in The States..." "But then my father found out." "You know he's very obsessive about me but I escaped and came here." "Do you have any change?" "Uhuh." "In December, I go to New York, to Acting School." "You want to be an actress?" "Yeah." "I met this photographer, who's going to produce his own movie." "He talked to me on the street and after the audition, he immediately offered me the lead." "Well, he first made some photo's of me." "But that looks like Gwyneth Paltrow." "No, it's me." "And after the audition, Jeff said..." "I have much more emotional depth than Gwyneth." "Ok, so straighten up your back, now take long deep breaths... keep your head a bit higher." "Oh Rachel, please stick to your own make-up!" "The bacteria's contagious, I don't want to get pimples..." "A few pimples might make your face more interesting, won't help your tits though." "Don't take it personally... but sometimes I think you have a very bad energy." "Angela, sing for table number 3." "You should work on your chi!" "Fucking do!" "With this energy, it doesn't surprise me... that you're in big trouble." "Ah!" "You suprise me." "Thank you for enlightening me, but I'm fine." "Really, I'm not so sure." "No?" "Come on, she's just using your powder." "You can buy a new one." "Go for it." "You can make a lot of points." "Shoes... or make-ups, you know for your lovely lips?" "For your eyes...any..." "I want to invite to our table." "We would appreciate very much if you'd come and join us." "Is it true, you're just 16?" "No, I'm 15." "Oh." "Aha!" "Hey look, I found a pair that might fit you." "Try them on!" "Okay." "I think they look really cool, probably suit you as well." "Okay." "It's hard." "Here we are..." "Ok just try to walk a bit." "Hey, they look beautiful on you... you know they make your legs look much longer." "Are they not too tight?" "No..." "I think they fit!" "You can have them." "Are they yours?" "No, not really." "They belong to a girl, that used to live here." "Jesus, it's getting hard to breath in here." "So, you know what?" "I think we need to keep our eyes open for a flat for you." "Uhuh." "You know Polly lives here as well... and five is just too much for comfort." "I'll get it." "But there'll be no trouble finding you a new flat." "And also could you give me thirty thousand... for the rent for this week?" "Yes, sure." "Thank you." "After all you did so well last night." "It's for you." "For me?" "Aha." "Go on, open it up." "What is it?" "I don't know?" "Take it out!" "Oh wow, someone made an effort!" "Yeah, that was quick!" "But nobody knows where I live?" "Can I open this one?" "They give things to people they don't even know?" "Don't cream your panties sweatheart, we get gifts all the time." "Oh wow!" "Lovely!" "Look!" "It's with real feathers!" "And if I were you, I'd have that cleaned before I wore it." "I mean, you can never be sure, but some of these perverts like to jack-off on the stuff, before they give it away." "It's so nice to see how quickly the other girls have accepted you." "No, really." "Usually it takes ages for them... to get along with the newcomers." "Thanks for waiting." "Here for take-away." "Yey, thanks for waiting." "Thanks." "Your little Lolita trick seems to go down quite well with the customers." "Trick?" "What do you mean?" "Hurry up!" "Mick Jagger?" "Come on, he's much prettier than Mick Jagger." "Polly..." "Of course it's Polly." "Look, doesn't he look exactly like you?" "No!" "My lips are not that big!" "Hello." "But you've got silicon in them." "They weren't that big when you first arrived." "Do you like shopping?" "Yeah?" "When?" "Tomorrow?" "Tomorrow." "I wanna come too." "I want to go shopping with one girl." "I want to go shopping with you." "I lived in a flat share as well for half a year." "So I know to live with these girls is so hard." "They stole my money." "You should be careful." "Larissa's traces seemed to be fading away, but I just wasn't going to give up." "Can I borrow your shampoo?" "Not before I'd found out what really happened." "Thanks." "I think there's a leak in that part." "Ouch!" "Ow, Rachel!" "What the hell did you give me?" "What is it?" "Shampoo." "This isn't shampoo!" "What did you give me?" "I don't know." "Glue!" "Look at this!" "Ah fuck!" "Awe, it hurts..." "and it smells like shit." "Jesus Christ!" "What is this?" "Oh!" "Ow, ow, ow, ow. ow." "It's still hurting." "My third night in Tokyo, brought me a little closer to my antagonist." "It's easier to recognise evil, when one is expecting it." "And I was ready." "Come on, it's not so bad." "Wow!" "These are pretty amazing." "Finally something different in this crappy place." "I hope they're not all the same size." "Who are they for anyway?" "For Mr. Kruilman and his guests." "Well, if that's the case... what kind of pay are we looking at tonight?" "Everything double." "Ooh, cool!" "I thought he wasn't going to show up again." "Well, you didn't seriously think... we'd get rid of him that quickly, did you?" "He's got us in the palm of his hand." "My fault, isn't it." "Blame it on me." "I didn't mean it that way." "Oh, for gods sake what horrible colors." "I told this Papa-Arse I wanted Dirndls." "The classic one's from Bavaria." "What does he give us...some kind of Chinese imitations." "The cripple is no good for anything anymore." "Even the most ghastly rags can't disfigure these nordic elves." "Come on sit down, come on!" "Whom do we have there?" "A new face." "Good evening." "Good evening." "Come..." "And what's this enchanting creature called?" "Angela." "Oh no!" "I should have thought of that, of course..." "Angela." "If this isn't the face of an angel." "What do you think gentlemen?" "A woman who looks like this... can't possibly be from this planet, can she?" "I think... this wonderful, delicate creature... has come from somewhere up above." "I believe, that she has descended from the Stratosphere down onto the earth... in order to make us all happy." "For the men." "Lets drink to The Stratosphere Girl." "Kruilman seemed harmless, at least in the beginning." "He was a well known guest in the club, everyone seemed to know him." "Do you have a minute." "Yeah, of course." "I sensed there was a link between him and Larissa." "But what was it?" "A hero must always be alert, ...especially when he enters hostile territory." "He must understand the tactic of the enemy, this will help to protect him." "Angela, go back to table number 3." "Angela, table 3, the guests are waiting." "What's going on?" "Angela?" "Hey wait up, you haven't got a key... how were you going to get in otherwise?" "Thank you." "Wait don't think that... don't think that one of the girls..." "Dear Yamamoto, I don't know where you are at the moment, but I'm looking forward to seeing you." "When are you coming?" "I tried to reach you on the telephone... there is so much I have to tell you." "I think, I'm uncovering a secret..." "I must be careful." "It wasn't easy for me either, the first weeks in the club you know when I was new." "It happened to me as well." "They also put glass into my soup." "But I nearly died, I had to be in a hospital for a whole week." "I need to look for another place to stay." "Yeah, maybe it's for the best." "It's very difficult to find anything affordable." "But I might know of somebody." "And what should I do with my money?" "You can't just walk in and open a bank account like that." "Welcome." "The tax authorities will be onto you in no time." "We're working here illegally." "Don't forget that!" "Don't worry, I know guy who can take care of everything." "I don't feel like working in the club anymore." "The police can send you back anytime and that is if you're lucky." "I once visited a girl in jail..." "He's got plenty of space... and he doesn't even have to pay any rent... and he's so friendly." "Does he look after your money?" "Of course...you can really trust him." "So it's really safe?" "Yea...absolutly." "Don't worry." "Over here..." "Look...this is where he lives, the green door under the bridge." "See you later." "Bye." "Bye." "Things seem to be going well for you!" "I guess, not bad for 3 days." "Not bad?" "That's 40 thousand yen." "Could you give me a receipt?" "I don't even know you!" "A receipt!" "?" "How many girls are you doing this for?" "Almost all of them... and nothing's ever gone missing." "I don't have anywhere to stay at the moment." "Do you think I could stay here for a while?" "Okay, but you owe me one." "Scotty's so...understanding..." "but a bit strange." "Scotty... he was really in love with me." "Unfortunately, I wasn't interested in him." "I mean not in that way..." "I think he's still keen on me." "Didn't he mention me?" "No, he didn't say anything to me." "Ah I think..." "I miss you already." "What a pity that out of all the people, you're the one who's moving out." "Uhuh." "Oh..." "where did you find this?" "You asked me if I knew what had happened to Larissa." "Look, let me show you something." "It's a Cumo pipe." "Very rare and very expensive." "Careful, you'll get really buzzed." "Angela, is everything alright?" "I'm fine." "You sound so different." "Shall I meet you at the airport?" "Never ever tell anybody what I'm about to tell you now." "It all started at that party." "I did a job with her at some rich Japaneses place." "A publisher or something..." "Anyway, he's mad about blonds." "He really coughed up the goods and in exchange... they wanted us to kind of fool around with each other a bit." "We knew exactly how far we could go without them thinking we wanted sex." "We thought that we had the whole thing under control." "They were actually being quite sweet to us." "Larissa and I even had a good time... and then suddenly Kruilman appeared with these two girls." "Whom I'd never seen before." "From then on..." "things became unpleasant." "They kept on lighting new pipes." "By that time, we were already completely out of it." "Suddenly I became so drowsy, that I fell asleep..." "When I woke up, I didn't know how long I'd been sleeping." "I just wanted to get some fresh air." "That's why I was walking around." "At first I thought Larissa and the other two girls... were in there, but then I noticed it wasn't the girls." "It was the men." "They were wearing wigs." "And I remember seeing blood." "Welcome." "When one is looking for something, everything has a meaning." "I didn't find very much in Larissa's bag, just enough to confirm my suspicion." "Angela to table number 1." "I can't believe it..." "he wants you, all on your own." "Congratulations." "So have you made already any friends here?" "No, not really." "I've only been here for a few days." "Oh, I see." "I came over here to visit a pen friend." "Penfriends." "Does it still exist?" "Yeah." "But, I never got a chance to meet her." "She's from Russia." "Aha." "I can't find her and I have a feeling the other girls, they know where she is, but nobody wants to talk about it." "How childish." "What was the young lady's name?" "Larissa." "Whatever he knew, he wasn't going to share it with me..." "Your parents must be proud of you." "If I were your father, I wouldn't let you out of my sight." "My father left us." "I'm sorry." "It's okay, I still have my mother... she's a little bit old fashioned but..." "But she's allowing you to travel all over the world, that sounds quite progressive to me." "She doesn't know that I'm here..." "Nobody knows." "So if I understood you correctly, you ran away, didn't you?" "Come." "You made a very good decision to come here." "Don't worry, my darling." "It all started at that party." "I did a job with her at some rich Japaneses place, a publisher or something." "Anyway, he's mad about blonds." "It was Larissa's connection." "I think she'd already been there..." "It was easy money." "The mood was actually really good." "They wanted us to fool around... and kiss each other, stuff like that." "We knew exactly how far we could go without them thinking we wanted sex." "We thought we had the whole thing under control." "I don't remember having ever been that high before." "Then Kruilman appeared with these two girls." "From then on, things became more and more unpleasant." "At first I thought it was Larissa... and the other girls in there dancing." "But then I noticed it wasn't the girls dancing, but the men!" "And they were wearing wigs!" "Larissa." "Oshima." "You got those panties for me?" "No, not yet." "We had an agreement!" "Very artistic." "Go on!" "The others will show you how it's done." "Did you happen to see a business card laying around?" "No." "But it was laying on my desk a minute ago." "I can't do this!" "You want to earn money, don't you?" "I've got a question... about Larissa." "She used to go to parties at some clients house, didn't she?" "I keep on telling everyone, that it's not a good idea... to meet the client outside the club." "If Larissa had listened to me, she would still be alive." "But what makes you think she's dead, the police only think she's missing." "Oh, what do I know." "Leave me alone with these stories." "Go back to table 3." "I was trying to put all the pieces together." "A girl had been killed, slaughtered in a ritual." "I wanted to forget all of it, escape my thoughts." "I missed you so." "She's very sweet... it's just that she seems to be a bit confused from time to time." "Ah really?" "You know, maybe she's just not the right type for this work." "Ah, here she is." "Hey, how are you?" "I needed to tell you everything, but I didn't know how..." "When you were by my side, everything seemed so unreal." "But what if you didn't believe me, what would become of us then?" "It looks like the girls are afraid of him... and I think they are trying to cover the whole thing up, so that's why Monika told you that I'm confused, but I'm not." "I really don't want to get them into trouble... but I have a feeling that something bad might happen." "What do you mean by that?" "I don't know... but I know who did it!" "You got any proof?" "No, but I know what happened." "I can show you." "If you don't believe me, then...just stay here," "I'm going to bring you the proof." "Don't you want me to come with you?" "No, it's ok." "I have to admit..." "I really like them." "What a strange little story you've made up there?" "!" "It's only a story which I invented." "Of course, of course." "and..." "I haven't quite finished yet." "I very much appreciate your talent." "So please don't get me wrong... but don't you think that you might cause a lot of... confusion with this story?" "Confusion?" "Aha." "No." "No?" "Why?" "Because maybe somewhere there are some people... who think that these fantasies are real." "You don't want that...do you?" "No." "You see, that's why I'll keep them in a safe place for you." "Why did you have to go and stick your nose into everything?" "Because of you, Ella wants to go to the police." "It was about two months ago..." "Kruilman called us and asked if we had time... and wanted to make some quick money and of course we wanted to be part of it so... he took us along to this rich Japanese man." "We'd already worked at his place before so we knew him... and that's why I thought it was completely harmless." "Kruilman was in a terrific mood that night... but Larissa and Ella were already there... putting on their stupid show." "Then Larissa started giving the men the full works." "We all knew that Larissa would do absolutly anything... to make as much money as possible." "We all had an agreement, as to how far we should go... and Larissa just ignored this, she was a real little whore at times." "Later that night, Ella and Rachel had this wonderful idea... and I know it sounds stupid but at that time..." "I thought it was kind of funny... they um, they wanted to cut Larissa's hair." "I remember how she struggled... but she never had a chance against both of them... and then, and then suddenly Rachel just lost it." "But then..." "You have to go to the police!" "Do you have any idea what would happen to Rachel and Ella?" "It's murder, they put you away for twenty years here." "Yes but sooner or later..." "someone will find out." "Not if you... and every other one of you two-faced bitches in this place, keeps your mouths shut." "No-one will ever find out." "We have a meeting..." "did Monika tell you that?" "!" "Could you stop over there for a moment." "What?" "!" "Do you want to stop here?" "No!" "Drive." "Continue driving." "So now, I would be the next to disappear." "What traces had I left behind?" "No thanks, I don't want." "Angela, if you hear this..." "I'm thinking of you." "Real heroes never die, because if they did, who would finish their mission?" "Whatever happens during the journey, it is important to bring the story to a good end." "She is sleeping like a stone, we should let her sleep." "This is how I became a visitor in my own world."