Lullaby to the Big Sleep (Nido to Mezamenu Komori Uta), shot on Super 8 and 27 minutes long, told of the adventures of a young boy getting sucked into the violent demonstrations held by leftist groups resisting the construction of Narita Airport. It played the Pia Film Festival in Tokyo, the main showcase for young Japanese independent cinema. Jury member and punk / biker movie director Ishii Sougo (石井聰亙) loved it and thanks to his lobbying, Harada won a major festival award. Lullaby had already strong Maruo-esque tendencies: an unpredictable, sexually-charged story, experimental techniques and a main character who underwent a wide variety of forms of bizarre abuse. Even the drawing style appears to be heavily inspired by Maruo. So it seems almost logical that Harada choose a real Maruo as his next project: Shoujo Tsubaki .
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