User reviews

My parents saw this short film on KET a while back, and liked it so much they bought the DVD from the official website for the film.

I just now watched the long-version. It's a really well-done short film - good acting, an involving plot, and I like the cinematography. I especially like the contrasting black and white vs. color scenes in the film. The film showed how stressing it must be to live in a large, busy city like Tokyo, which is especially foreign to me since I've lived in a small town for most of my life. I sort of wish it had been dubbed in English just so I didn't have to follow the subtitles, but I think it being in Japanese is definitely important to the film overall.

If you ever have the chance to watch it, I recommend you do so.

i feel so lucky to have caught this film on a 3 short subject film festival on PBS. it totally caught me by surprise. it's a very effective escape into Japanese culture that has an almost documentary feel.

it's a slightly surrealistic look at a group of commuters who are always at the same station every day and how they relate to each other. it's told from the perspective of a young female who likes to observe the people around her and imagine what they're like in real life.

the film is very low key, even slow paced, but it just has a way of keeping one riveted to the screen that's hard to describe. maybe it was that it was "authentic japan" as opposed to the "hollywood japan" in films like black rain.

black rain never showed the hysterical, but REAL, "beware of perverts" signs posted in subway cars. LOL

the thing that really makes the film awesome though, is the ending. i was at the edge of my seat talking to my TV! it's that good! once it was over, i had to say WOW! i'd love to own this on video. man do i wish that i had taped it.

independent films don't get any better than this.

At first glance, the film is a cute, innocent love story, but real life is bittersweet. The heroine, young Yumi, creates life changes for the group of strangers she sees every day. She's not sure she can do anything at all, but finds the power within herself at long last. The film is black and white, the story simple, but elegant. The camera angles reflect Yumi's view, and they especially highlight the dichotomy of large and small spaces within Tokyo's expansive city. The large traffic intersections collide with confining train cars as we watch Yumi run through the city. These visuals create an intriguing backdrop for the character development of Yumi's strangers. Ultimately, it makes this Japanese "Amelie" short, succinct, and sweet with melancholy.

I was at a friends house and we were flipping channels at like 2 in the morning. We either got to watch this or Girls Gone Wild previews and that wasn't good. I loved this movie I was a little confused at times but the movie was incredible. It's been a few years since I have seen the movie and I could never find it on the Internet and was surprised when I tried it one night with different spelling.I would like to know where I could get it or where I could at least see it again!!! If you ever have the chance to go and see this movie anywhere go it will hopefully be as a good experience for you as it was for me. this is the worst site EVER I've been trying to get a comment on here for like an hour all I want people to know is that its a good movie and you people make it be stupid to where you cant even get a comment on here so I'm done!!!!!!

I managed to find this short film while flipping through the channels and stopped at KCET.... at first I wasn't sure what to expect but I found myself involved within the plot...I do admit that often i groan at conversations in student films and I usually avoid them but perhaps since it was in Japanese, I continued watching. And well, it surprised me....despite a few odd questions I had and petty details, I was impressed enough to jump on the internet to find out more about this guy.

If you managed to find it on TV or at a festival, it's worth your time.....and hey, it'll be better than watching COPS or Elimin-date.

I too was changing channels when I found this on PBS...I heard Japanese language, so I stopped. I've lived in Japan so I was interested at first to see how Japan and Japanese were portrayed. I was impressed with what I felt to be an authentic portrayal of bustling Tokyo commuter life, of a younger generation of Japanese and how they are caught up in traditional social behaviour patterns and how one day that's all turned on its head. A great story of one person breaking out of her shell and helping a couple of others to do so as well. Thankfully, Doki Doki was void of all the Western clichés about Japan and instead showed Japan and Japanese as it is. A country and people in search of the same things as most people...human contact.

This is the Japanese answer to AMELIE. It looks at how one woman can effect the lives of those around her, just by taking notice of those who wait at the bus stop with her everyday.

DOKI DOKI is witty, beautifully filmed and full of warmth and introspective content. The young woman in this film is in love with a man she sees, day in and day out, during the mundane commute. He is handsome and she remembers him from pre-school. As the young woman contemplates how to approach him, her life intersects with those around her..... I don't know if this available anywhere (I saw it on PBS a couple of months ago), but it is DEFINITELY worth watchng!!!!!