The Asylum Session



The Asylum Session is a 2009 feature film by Takuto Aoki. Set in near future, it tells the story of a high-school girl Hiyoko, voiced by Aya Hirano. She wants to be a painer like her deceased mother, but her father disapproves. She runs from home, ending up in the Asylum, an abandoned stadium occupied by a commune of misfits. One of them is especially weird: Akira, a tattooed white-heared rebellious boy with a prosthetic leg who can somehow fly. Unfortunately, the Asylum is about to be demolished. The inhabitants stand up to protect their place. Apart from fighting the police, they decide to protect the Asylum by holding an underground rock fest.


 * Cloudcuckoolander — the Elder.
 * Crazy Homeless People — Asylum has lots of these.
 * Cyborg —.
 * Eccentric Mentor — the Elder.
 * Electronic Eyes — Akira.
 * Eyepatch of Power — Myonhi.
 * Faceless Goons — the police.
 * Goggles Do Nothing — Akira doesn't really need goggles to fly, but still wears them in the opening scene.
 * Great Offscreen War — the one was made for. Hiyoko learned about it in the school, but we don't get any information about it.
 * Missing Mom — Hiyoko's.
 * Phlebotinum Rebel —.
 * Pixellation — when Akira goes around naked whil his clothings dry.
 * Refusal of the Call — Akira's reaction when the Elder tells him to organize the festval.
 * Take Our Word for It — we catch only a glimpse of the Asylum from its top, and a long Reaction Shot of Hiyoko astonished by it.
 * The Runaway — Hiyoko.
 * Time Compression Montage — the preparations for the festival are shown as a bunch of black and white photos.
 * Twenty Minutes Into the Future — they have cyborgs, live in smart homes with retinal locks, but the overall setting is pretty much like the present.
 * Unperson — the Asylum inhabitants: "Only those who have ID and who pay tax are considered residents".
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human? — in-universe. Since Akira is a robot, he's not getting a trial, he'd just be disassembled.
 * When You Coming Home, Dad? — dad was too busy at work to show ut for Hiyoko's birthday.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy — Akira.
 * World Gone Mad — in the end.
 * You Are Number Six — Akira denies this: red number on his back is crossed out with a tattoo.