Boys on the Run stars Kazunobu Mineta (frontman for punk-rock band Ging Nang Boyz) as Tanishi, a 29-year-old virgin stuck in a menial position at a failing company that manufactures rather risqué capsule toys. Tanishi’s idle existence of porn and fantasizing is thrown into disarray after a night of drunken flirtation with his co-worker Chiharu, the object of his fantasies. Despite Tanishi’s repeated acts of self-sabotage it seems that nothing can drive Chiharu away. But when Aoyama, star salesman of a rival capsule company, becomes a rival Tanishi vows to fight him for Chiharu’s honour.
Playing a bit like the Japanese take on 40 Year Old Virgin, with a little bit of Rocky thrown in for good measure, Boys on the Run is based on a manga by Kengo Hanazawa and is the debut feature film from successful theatre director Daisuke Miura. Chock full of deliciously awkward moments, the film also has a lot more depth than the average sex comedy, asking us to consider how and when exactly a boy becomes a man. On the run from the ever-looming threat of responsibility and maturity, Tanishi tries to explore his masculinity through sex and after that fails, through violence. Boys on the Run is both a hilariously demented sex comedy and a surprisingly touching almost-love story that repeatedly and ingeniously turns underdog clichés on their head.