Review of The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief (2006) by Jon G — 18 Mar 2008

Ever heard of 'host boys'? Well, these 'host boys' don't so much solicit sex (though they do that too, sometimes); as they say, they're selling a dream to the girls, aka their customers (and telling them they love them).

Forget the fact that most of these host boys resemble girls sans boobs. Their job, at Stylish Cafe Rakkyo, is to create a fantasy world for the girls where they can feel fulfilled, whatever it takes. Issei, host boy and owner of Cafe Rakkyo (and main focus of this doc), admitted to drinking as many as 10 bottles of champagne in one day at the request and (very high) expense of the customers (most are well paid call girls or prostitutes themselves).

As he put it, he will "Drink, throw-up, drink, throw-up...My liver is probably fucked." I was ready to demonize these boys from the start, yet this business isn't as simple as what it most closely resembles: pimps/prostitutes, escorts, etc.

Though the facets of those sex businesses all appear here (special focus on manipulation and deceipt), there's the bizarre spin that it brings fulfillment to those who seek it. Emotional fulfillment.

Even though a lot of the customers understand it's false. So...is what they're doing as bad as it appears? Worse, because of the focus on intimacy?... As many lies as these boys told, they let it all hang out for the camera.

And kudos to them for doing so. One cried while explaining how they charge so much, and others admitted guilt and even falling in love (Issei included, though he informs his employees there's no place for guilt or love in this business).

"Work is work," Issei says. I'll be thinking about this doc for days..