There is a cleverness to the series that is missing from this movie. It hits all the important beats needed to make the ending feel satisfying, and most of the setup is handled either in the show or in the movie, with those elements paying off. Unfortunately, the protagonist’s plan itself is not clever and relies heavily on the antagonists making decisions so foolish that it pulled me out of the experience.
Whoever did the casting for this is a genius, especially when it comes to the villains and secondary characters. The plot goes way over the top at times, but the actors really sell it, and even when I laughed at moments clearly meant to be dramatic, I still had a great time with it. The only actor I did not like was Satoh Takeru; he felt too stoic, which created an awkward contrast with the rest of the cast’s over-the-top performances. I think Koshiba Fuka was the perfect middle ground that tied the ensemble together, though this may have been more of a direction issue than an acting one.
Man, Shun Oguri is as stiff as ever in this. I won’t completely blame him or Han Hyo-joo for the shortcomings of their characters, since the writing is extremely inconsistent, but his acting didn’t help. That’s a shame, because I was really on board with both of them at first; somewhere around episodes three or four, they lost me. Still, it’s a fine watch overall.
At no point in the whole show did I felt that Ayumi and Katsuo belonged together. But I loved both characters on their own, that said, Ryoma had a lot more to work with and he nailed the part, he really sold the natural progression of his character and he had a lot of chemistry with the rest of the cast.
I have seen these actors on other roles, so I know they are good, sadly the story and the scrip did not help them at all. I would recommend people to skip this one.
The plot goes way over the top at times, but the actors really sell it, and even when I laughed at moments clearly meant to be dramatic, I still had a great time with it.
The only actor I did not like was Satoh Takeru; he felt too stoic, which created an awkward contrast with the rest of the cast’s over-the-top performances. I think Koshiba Fuka was the perfect middle ground that tied the ensemble together, though this may have been more of a direction issue than an acting one.