Since his mid-20s, Yugo Sakamoto has churned out a steady stream of horror and action movies that have played on the international festival circuit.

One notable example is the ¡°Baby Assassins¡± film and TV series that stars Akari Takaishi and Saori Izawa as two hitwomen. Though they¡¯re lethal killing machines on the job, they comically bicker in their ¡°normal¡± lives.

That funny and serious dynamic is also present in the meandering yet poignant ¡°Nemurubaka: Hypnic Jerks,¡± a coming-of-age film with no gun battles or martial arts duels, though one character displays a mean drop kick. Based on a comic by Masakazu Ishiguro and scripted by Aya Satsuki, the film focuses on two women who room together in a college dorm and form a close bond, but are otherwise as different as night and day.