Hello everyone! So, it's been a while since I wrote a review in this blog😅 a lot of things happen, as we know. But, yeah, today I'm going to review a Japanese live action review which got a lot of hypes in my country, in my opinion. This is because when the trailer was out, I saw so many reactions and comments from people. The live action movie is Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare (2020).
(I will insert the official website of the movie here and info from AsianWiki here.)
This movie is based on manga by Io Sakisaka. Sakisaka-sensei is one of my favourite mangaka, so I was beyond excited when I read the news that this manga will be turned into live action movie! I love the manga a lot. Moreover, when I knew the casts, I was so happy that Minami Hamabe will play the role of Akari Yamamoto. Well, I've hoped (and imagined) that she will be Akari and she is. There are four main casts. They are Akari Yamamoto, Yuna Ichihara, Rio Yamamoto and Kazuomi Inui.
The story follows Yuna (Riko Fukumoto), a shy but kind-hearted girl, befriends with Akari Yamamoto (Minami Hamabe) because they live in the same apartment building. Yuna, who loves shoujo manga, saw a boy who looks like a prince from her childhood book. Turns out, that boy is Rio Yamamoto (Takumi Kitamura), Akari's brother. Yuna also has a childhood friend who also lives in the same apartment building, Kazuomi Inui (Eiji Akaso). The friendship and love life between these four characters start.
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Starting with the plot, this movie follows the same story line as the manga. Almost all of the important parts are included in this movie. The conflict is between the characters; the choices they made will affect the happiness of other characters and I love that kind of conflict. But the typical of this kind of conflict will make a slow-paced movie. I don't mind that, in fact, I love it because the conflict that is faced by each character feels real and it's not easy to make our own choice, especially if it is related to people we love.
"Minna ga shiawase ni naru hoho ga areba ii. (It would be nice if there was a way that would make everyone happy)." -Akari Yamamoto
But, there is one thing that I don't really notice in this movie and it is the friendship between the characters. We can still see their friendships, but it's just subtle. There aren't enough moment that show the strength of their friendships. With those conflicts, the friendships between the characters must grow and getting stronger, but I don't really see that from this movie. For example, I don't really see Yuna supports Akari and Kazuomi (Yuna supports their relationship, but we can't really see it from the movie). I still get it because the duration of the movie and not all of the scenes can be included. The interaction between characters is still enjoyable to see, tho.
For the characters, applause for the actors and actresses because they play their roles so well. If you've watched a lot of Japanese movies, you may recognize Minami Hamabe and Takumi Kitamura. These two even starred in popular Japanese movie, I Want To Eat Your Pancreas. Their chemistry was so good in I Want To Eat Your Pancreas and in this movie as well. In my opinion, the character of Akari Yamamoto stands out for me. She is always already thinking a step ahead to avoid unwanted situation. She always thinks of other people's happiness first. This doesn't mean that other characters don't, but Akari thinks of other people's happiness even since she was in middle school. Minami Hamabe can play this role really well, and the emotions of her character can be conveyed through this movie. Takumi Kitamura nails the role of Rio. I love the development of his character and it is very good. For character of Yuna, I really love Riko Fukumoto because she portrays Yuna very well. Her facial expression as Yuna is really good and I'm sure Riko will shine in many more Japanese movies in the future. Eiji Akaso as Kazuomi Inui is also great. I love his smile and I think he suits Kazuomi who is kind, caring, and loves movies, really well. I haven't seen much movies of Riko Fukumoto and Eiji Akaso, but I'm sure they will star in many movies because they are great. I'm glad that they cast these actors and actresses.
(Riko Fukumoto as Yuna Ichihara)
(Takumi Kitamura as Rio Yamamoto)
(Eiji Akaso as Kazuomi Inui)
This movie also includes some other characters like Akari's mother, Akari's ex-boyfriend, Kazuomi's brother and Rio's friend, Agatsuma. Sadly, they don't make many appearances in this movie. Actually, Akari's ex plays significant role in Akari and Kazuomi's relationship in the manga, but that's okay. Oh, I almost forget. I just wish this movie includes some cute scenes between the characters (like Yuna and Rio first date, and Kazuomi and Akari's cute scene at the firework festival), but don't mind me, it's just my wishes hehe.
Overall, this movie is worth watching. The plot follows the manga, the actors and the actresses portray their roles really well, the characters are well developed, the story and the romance is easy and enjoyable to follow, plus the soundtrack is really really good. The soundtrack is 115万キロのフィルム (115 Million Kilometer Film) by Official Hige Dandism. I highly recommend you to watch this movie, especially if you're a fan of the actors and the actresses. I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.
I also want to share some photos from the official movie twitter :)
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