Aichaku

愛着 ‧ Movie ‧ 2024
Completed
Kabukicho7384
4 people found this review helpful
May 4, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.0

Groundbreaking

Saw this film at a test screening. As a foreigner living in Japan, it hit me in the feels. Great performances by Chris and Chris. Showing the crosscultural experience as it really is, and LGBT without the "boys love" tropes. Japan needs more films like this!
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Completed
DazzaHarding
2 people found this review helpful
May 4, 2024
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Aichaku is a film that has a lot of heart and comes from a shared experience that all foreigners have felt when living in Japan–at times almost feeling too real.

At the test screening in Nakano, Tokyo, one of the directors Micheal remarked that he felt “happy that viewers can view the unique lived experience of foreigners and LGBT people in Japan.” According to the directors, the film was 95% finished with music licensing being the final touches for the film.

The diversity of the story and themes is somewhat unseen in modern cinema with indie films like Aichaku having to pick up the gauntlet, doing so emotionally and with some great acting by the two leads. McCombs especially channeled the exhaustion that foreigners get when the system collapses on top of them into a powerful scene that, as someone who has been in that position millions of times, felt cathartic to see represented. The relationship between the two leads felt very raw and emotional, even if some of the setups played into Japanese tropes. Though to be fair, the film was set in rural Japan where those less-than-modern tropes still flourish.

Aichaku is a heartfelt indie film that has something for everyone, even those outside the LGBT community.

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Completed
PPBongi
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 17, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

A Tale of Two Stories

The title of this movie is aptly named. Aichaku literally means in Japanese ‘attachment’. But an attachment to an object that is more like a feeling of affinity – what the object means. It takes on an emotional attachment. And this movie is certainly that. It is a movie filled with a lot of emotional bonds. This is a story about dreams where destiny seemed inevitable. Yet, destiny is not a given and it may not happen at all, no matter how hard one believes. Then the synergy of two men who happen to meet, fall in love, brought strengths with them to make each of their dreams a reality. While the first half was slow-moving, the second half carried the story to fruition. It became relatable, less centrist to one or the other character, and together combined to make dreams happen with a result being a new beginning for both men. Overall, the movie ended up being a very moving and poignant story with periods of humor and touching interactions. Read the full review of this rather entertaining movie at BLBliss.com.

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Completed
The BL Xpress
0 people found this review helpful
Jun 13, 2025
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0
This review may contain spoilers

A Perfect Movie For Lazy Afternoons!

The title of this movie is aptly named. Aichaku literally means in Japanese ‘attachment’. But an attachment to an object that is more like a feeling of affinity- what the object means. It takes on an emotional attachment. And this movie is certainly that. It is a movie filled with a lot of emotional bonds.

However, it takes a long time for the story to get somewhere though. While the first half was interesting, even informative, it was mundane and uneven. It is a story about a focused American gay man, teaching English in the rural countryside of Chiba, Japan. His name is Lucas (Christipher McCombs) who strains to save all his money for something, to the point of forgoing almost all other pleasures. He bikes past an abandoned restaurant on his way to teaching every day and stares in, and we assume that is what he is saving for.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2025/06/13/aichaku-movie-review/

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Aichaku poster

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  • Score: 7.2 (scored by 98 users)
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