Shinmai Kisha Torokko: Watashi ga Yaraneba Dare ga Yaru!

I would have love it at thirteen

I didn't quite get on with this film, and I think the reason is that it might be aimed at young teenagers.

Because the plot itself is nothing new -- group of underdogs discover corruption/a conspiracy, and must fight against the system/corrupt corporation/evil group to make it public. The only difference is that here, the setting is at an elite high school and the underdogs are a non-sanctioned newspaper club -- and it's all infused with messages about morals, truth and growing up. It also points out sexism, classism, adultism and how an imbalance of power easily leads to injustice. And the main protagonists and their idols are all girls and women, which I like a lot.
Viewed through this lens -- that the target audience are young -- some more things in this film make sense, for example that the evil CEO is a milk-drinking caricature of an antagonist, or that the young ones on the side of the good are Very Earnest and Very Brave.
The story starts out very slow, and builds up momentum along the script I mentioned above, with some but not many surprises who are already familiar with the tropes, and finishes in a finale that might be more emotionally satisfying for those unaccostumed with them.

Performances were appropriately earnest/comedic throughout; and there's nothing to complain about iregarding technical aspects -- I found the music slightly invasive at times, but I could blend that out quite quickly.

I wonder if this might be adapted from a manga. The actors spoke with the same speed and intonation as anime voice actors. The sets were strangely distinct, in an artificial way -- the small room for a tea ceremony in the school clashed with the modern school building, while the CEO's office would have fit in right into a business melodrama; and the way the actors stood and moved in the sets felt straight out of a manga panel.

Was it good?
It was done very well, and there was not much to complain about.

Did I like it?
I admit it, if this had been a series, I would probably not have finished it.

Who would i recommend it to?
Teenagers, aged 13 to 15. I think they might love it.

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shifting comedy

I'm still trying to work out how to describe this. It begins as a coming of age centred around high school problems taken very seriously by those involved in them. Too seriously as it shifts into stylised exaggeration (let's call it 'dry melodrama'), a bit tongue in cheek. Before it ends there's overtly comedic exaggeration countered by earnest high school students up against all odds.

A lot is told rather than shown, it feels like a close adaptation of a novel. The acting suits the moods of the various strands, creating an engaging mix of flavours. It will help if you're willing to just go with the flow as it shifts. I wasn't sure at the beginning but by the end I really enjoyed it.

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