This review may contain spoilers
A Good Adaption to Dakaichi
As a long-time fan of Dakaichi who’s read the manga, watched all the anime, and seen the movie, I was a bit hesitant to watch this at first. I wasn’t sure a live-action adaptation would do this well-known piece of anime justice, but I was wrong.
The casting was phenomenal. The actors had the most chemistry I’ve seen in a BL live-action in a long time, and the emotional scenes gave me the same feelings I had when watching the anime, which I appreciated. It felt like they truly understood the emotional core of Junta and Takato’s relationship. The intimate scenes, too, were handled with surprising care; the camera angles and cinematography worked seamlessly to keep the tone consistent with the original while also making it feel grounded and cinematic in its own right.
Taking the plot out of the equation, this was a very well-done adaptation. There were a few changes here and there, but they felt necessary or wise rather than distracting. That said, the plot of Dakaichi has always been a bit questionable for me, especially in terms of pacing and consent dynamics, and this version doesn’t change that. Seeing it played out in live-action makes some of those issues stand out more clearly. But I think fans are already familiar with the story and will know what to expect.
Overall, though, I was impressed. This live-action series managed to bring the heart and drama of Dakaichi to a new medium without losing its soul, and for fans of the franchise, that’s all you can ask for.
The casting was phenomenal. The actors had the most chemistry I’ve seen in a BL live-action in a long time, and the emotional scenes gave me the same feelings I had when watching the anime, which I appreciated. It felt like they truly understood the emotional core of Junta and Takato’s relationship. The intimate scenes, too, were handled with surprising care; the camera angles and cinematography worked seamlessly to keep the tone consistent with the original while also making it feel grounded and cinematic in its own right.
Taking the plot out of the equation, this was a very well-done adaptation. There were a few changes here and there, but they felt necessary or wise rather than distracting. That said, the plot of Dakaichi has always been a bit questionable for me, especially in terms of pacing and consent dynamics, and this version doesn’t change that. Seeing it played out in live-action makes some of those issues stand out more clearly. But I think fans are already familiar with the story and will know what to expect.
Overall, though, I was impressed. This live-action series managed to bring the heart and drama of Dakaichi to a new medium without losing its soul, and for fans of the franchise, that’s all you can ask for.
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