Almost Transparent Blue


Almost Transparent Blue is a 1976 novel, written by Japanese author Ryū Murakami, that features a portrait of narrator Ryū and his friends trapped in a cycle of sex, drugs and rock 'n roll during the 1970s.

Plot

Narrated by the main character Ryū, the novel focuses on his small group of young friends in the mid-1970s. Living in a Japanese town with an American air force base, their lives revolve around sex, drugs and rock 'n roll.
The near-plotless story weaves a vividly raw, image-intensive journey through the daily monotony of drug-induced hallucinations, vicious acts of violence, overdoses, suicide, and group sex.

Characters

Murakami submitted the novel to the literary magazine Gunzo debutant contest, in which it won the first prize. It also won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize the same year. The title of rock band Luna Sea's song "Blue Transparency -Almost Transparent Blue-", off their 1991 self-titled debut album, is a reference to the novel.

Film adaptation

26-year-old Murakami made his directorial debut with a film adaptation of his novel Almost Transparent Blue, which he also scripted, in 1979 and Toho distributed the film in 1980. Hidenori Taga and Kei Ijisato under Kitty Records produced the film, starring Kunihiko Mitamura, Mari Nakayama, Haruhiko Saitô, Keiko Wakasa, Narumi Tokura, Yuri Takase, Goro Masaki, Togo Igawa and Akiko Nakamura.

English-language editions