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Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together Review (Sunny: Tsuyoi Kimochi Tsuyoi Ai) [2018]

Hello everyone! Today I'm going to be reviewing another Japanese movie that the CD just released a week ago, and it is Sunny: Our Hearts Beat Together (2018).





(My review might be related to the Korean version) This movie is a remake from 2011 South Korean movie, Sunny. I've watched the Korean version like 20 times because it is great, funny, and touching and the Korean version is one of my favourite movies of all the time. The movie tells about Nami, a mother who is married with a successful businessman and has a beautiful daughter. Her life seems perfect, when in reality, she feels like there is something missing in her life. One day, when she visited her mother in the hospital, she met one of her best friends when she was in high school. Her friend suffered from cancer. Then, her friend, Chun-Hwa (in Korean version) asked Nami if she could met their friends of their group called "Sunny" for one more time. 

***

The Japanese version is officially in my favourite movie list now. It's as great and touching as the Korean version but the Korean version is funnier, in my opinion. The theme and the plot are still the same as Korean version. The difference is only in the setting. I think the setting becomes a plus because we can see and feel like in 80s era in Korean version, and 90s era in Japanese version. 


(2 pictures above are from the Korean version. Sets in 80s. Love their styles!) 

(The Japanese version. Sets in 90s. Love their styles too!)

From what I've watched, teenagers in the Korean version seemed love Western singers like Cyndi Lauper and Western styles (correct me if I'm wrong) in the 80s. Whereas, the girls in the Japanese version followed an iconic Japanese singer in 90s, Namie Amuro. The girls wore loose socks, cardigan, and dyed their hair into brown. Their style reminds me of Gyaru style. So fun to see the culture from the movies. 



(Momoko Tanabe as young Shin in Japanese version)

About the cast and characters, both in Korean and Japanese versions, all of the actresses and actors nailed their roles! You can see all of the details of cast and characters from Asian Wiki, but basically the characters from Japanese version are:
1. Nami (played by Suzu Hirose. The older version is played by Ryoko Shinohara)
2. Serika (played by Maika Yamamoto. The older version is played by Yuka Itaya) or Ha Chun-Hwa in Korean version
3. Yuko (played by Mio Noda. The older version is played by Eiko Koike) or Hwang Jin Hee in Korean version
4. Kokoro (played by Momoko Tanabe. The older version is played by Rie Tomosaka) or Ryoo Bok Hee in Korean version. In the movie, her name is not Kokoro, but Shin.
5. Ume (played by Miu Tomita, The older version is played by Naomi Watanabe) or Kim Jang-Mi in Korean version
6. Nana (played by Elaiza Ikeda) or Jung Su-Ji in Korean version
7. Wataru Fujii (played by Haruma Miura) or Joon-Ho in Korean version



Suzu Hirose is one of the best Japanese actress, in my opinion. She nailed all of the roles she played (e.g as Chihaya Ayase in Chihayafuru or Hikari Tomonaga in Let's Go Jets!) so when it was announced that she will play Nami, I'm so excited! I also have watched one of Ryoko Shinohara drama and she was really good in it. I've watched some movies and dramas of the other actresses too and they were really good at portraying their roles. But if I have to say, Miu Tomita is my favourite in this movie. I've watched her in Let's Go Jets! with Suzu Hirose and her role in there was a shy high school girl, but she really nailed her role as Ume because Ume is (I'm not good at describing someone, but if you watch the movie, you will know. Sorry) really different. There is Haruma Miura too in this movie and he is handsome as always. However, the character of Seo Gum Ok is not exist in Japanese version so Sunny consisted of 6 girls in this version.

There are some scenes in Japanese version that are different from Korean version, but it is accepted since the Japanese version must adjust the movie with the setting. But almost of the plots, dialogues  and scenes are still the same. It can be said that it is 80% similar with Korean version. The soundtracks of this movie are also very pleasant to hear. This movie is worth watching.

My rating (my rating can be different from other people's rating): 4/5

Here are pictures that I got from the official website and twitter:






















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