This review may contain spoilers
super cute! but not a great adaptation. [very long]
i'm currently re-reading the manga for the first time in about 10 years. i was thinking "the only thing missing about this is a 2000s jdrama adaptation that takes itself way too seriously" and i stumbled upon this. so allow me to make a couple comments:
1. as a lolita myself, the amount of btssb all over this movie had me close to fainting. i saw a girl holding an usakumya plush and then i look up at her face and see that it's MISAKO MF AOKI HERSELF. i couldn't find the name of the dress akira wears to sneak into the girls' school (i'm not as familiar with btssb/aatp catalog as i am with angelic pretty) but i DID see that baby collabed with pullip to produce a doll of him??? insane collector's piece i fear it's on my lolita grail list right next to milky-chan the fawn jsk. i adored seeing so much of this fashion that's so near and dear to my heart. however, i do still kind of wish that more masculine looking women had been cast to play blaue rosen.........the manga makes quite a point that mizuki is often mistaken for and treated as if she's a man, and while the actress cast to play her was very cute and expressive, i really don't find that she fit the bill appearance wise. however, i do find that akira's actor was quite well cast, he's decently androgynous-looking for the role and i think he pulled it off well. he also looks great in a jsk and otk socks lmao.
2. if you're looking for a faithful adaptation to the manga, this is not it. i kept waiting and waiting on the topic of kaoru moving overseas and the band breaking up to become a topic, since this is quite literally what propels the plot in the manga. kaoru moving away is the driving force that brings akira to mizuki in the first place, which then leads to the plot of him joining the band as their new vocalist. like i'm actually shocked that out of all the parts of this movie that were faithful to the manga, the primary plot of the entire story was completely omitted. i'd understand taking out some parts for time constraints, but i feel like SO much of the story was changed that it doesn't exactly feel recognizable. if you're okay with viewing it as it's own separate media independent of the manga, then go ahead. but if you want a good adaptation, maybe skip it.
3. i find that compared to the manga, many parts of the story were quite sanitized for a lower age rating. for example, in the scene where ran discovers mizuki is a girl, the manga has him jumping on her and tearing her clothes open quite violently. whereas in the film, i believe it's a bit of an ouran situation of him accidentally feeling her chest. seeing as the film is much more comedic in tone than the manga which takes itself quite seriously, i can see why this was done, and i do appreciate it a bit for being more tasteful than the manga. there's actually quite a bit of sexual theming and serious topics such as assault/harassment in the manga (seeing as the target demographic is adult women rather than teens or young girls), so the choice to omit these for a light-hearted romcom feels more appropriate and respectful than if it hadn't been.
in conclusion, i really did love this movie, it was really cute and fun and sweet and the music blaue rosen played in universe is exactly what i pictured while reading the manga! that being said, the manga is MUCH different in tone, and while i'd advise to use discretion regarding the topics of sexual harassment and such, it really is a great read. i'd strongly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of josei romance like nana or paradise kiss. i feel like it's one from its era that tends to get overlooked quite a bit.
1. as a lolita myself, the amount of btssb all over this movie had me close to fainting. i saw a girl holding an usakumya plush and then i look up at her face and see that it's MISAKO MF AOKI HERSELF. i couldn't find the name of the dress akira wears to sneak into the girls' school (i'm not as familiar with btssb/aatp catalog as i am with angelic pretty) but i DID see that baby collabed with pullip to produce a doll of him??? insane collector's piece i fear it's on my lolita grail list right next to milky-chan the fawn jsk. i adored seeing so much of this fashion that's so near and dear to my heart. however, i do still kind of wish that more masculine looking women had been cast to play blaue rosen.........the manga makes quite a point that mizuki is often mistaken for and treated as if she's a man, and while the actress cast to play her was very cute and expressive, i really don't find that she fit the bill appearance wise. however, i do find that akira's actor was quite well cast, he's decently androgynous-looking for the role and i think he pulled it off well. he also looks great in a jsk and otk socks lmao.
2. if you're looking for a faithful adaptation to the manga, this is not it. i kept waiting and waiting on the topic of kaoru moving overseas and the band breaking up to become a topic, since this is quite literally what propels the plot in the manga. kaoru moving away is the driving force that brings akira to mizuki in the first place, which then leads to the plot of him joining the band as their new vocalist. like i'm actually shocked that out of all the parts of this movie that were faithful to the manga, the primary plot of the entire story was completely omitted. i'd understand taking out some parts for time constraints, but i feel like SO much of the story was changed that it doesn't exactly feel recognizable. if you're okay with viewing it as it's own separate media independent of the manga, then go ahead. but if you want a good adaptation, maybe skip it.
3. i find that compared to the manga, many parts of the story were quite sanitized for a lower age rating. for example, in the scene where ran discovers mizuki is a girl, the manga has him jumping on her and tearing her clothes open quite violently. whereas in the film, i believe it's a bit of an ouran situation of him accidentally feeling her chest. seeing as the film is much more comedic in tone than the manga which takes itself quite seriously, i can see why this was done, and i do appreciate it a bit for being more tasteful than the manga. there's actually quite a bit of sexual theming and serious topics such as assault/harassment in the manga (seeing as the target demographic is adult women rather than teens or young girls), so the choice to omit these for a light-hearted romcom feels more appropriate and respectful than if it hadn't been.
in conclusion, i really did love this movie, it was really cute and fun and sweet and the music blaue rosen played in universe is exactly what i pictured while reading the manga! that being said, the manga is MUCH different in tone, and while i'd advise to use discretion regarding the topics of sexual harassment and such, it really is a great read. i'd strongly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of josei romance like nana or paradise kiss. i feel like it's one from its era that tends to get overlooked quite a bit.
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