Director Nobuhiro Yamashita tends to slip under the radar in the big(ger) budget world of Japanese studio pics.

His varied works have either been too art house for mainstream tastes or too commercial to be seriously considered by film experts. His breakthrough flick Cream Lemon (2004), based on a popular manga, addressed half-sibling incest. But it was his next film Linda Linda Linda (2005), a rock effort, that brought him commercial success, critical acclaim and the ability to make almost anything he wanted. Yamashita promptly veered off in a surreal direction with The Matsugane Potshot Affair (2006), which played well at festivals but baffled the public. My Back Pages (2011) was a serious investigation of 1960s radicalism that found little support at the box office.

Yamashita now offers a light and amusing high school story centering on three girls trying to access ESP. Its stars, Manatsu Akimoto, Erika Ikuta and Nanami Hashimoto, are members of the J-pop girl group Nogizaka 46 (a “rival” of AKB48, though that may be giving them too much credit). Based on the manga City Lights, this is an undemanding, mainly comedic fare with Yamashita’s deft touch. Good fun. (119 min.)