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This review may contain spoilers
A Story about Overcoming Disabilities... with a Hint of Romance?
Hidamari ga Kikoeru is more of a story about overcoming disabilities than a romance. While the movie claims to be a Boys Love, there is barely any romance. Kohei gives Taichi many hints that he is in love with him, but Taichi is very dense and doesn’t notice. He even doesn’t know how to react to Kohei kissing him, so there is barely any romance.
•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•
However, just because there is barely any romance, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad movie. Taichi is constantly saving Kohei by not treating him any different from normal, and that is the heart of the story. It’s through Taichi that Kohei learns to love himself and his disability. There are very few films out there that can deal with this type of heavy topic without getting preachy, and this film is one of the few that does it perfectly. There is no special treatment or romance to save the day, it’s all just Taichi being Taichi that warms Kohei’s heart.
That being said, this is a movie and has a very short screen time. The movie tries to cover Kohei’s disability, his emotional turmoil over not being able to adapt to society and his growing feelings for Taichi. Due to issues with screen time, Kohei and Taichi’s relationship end up becoming more of a bromance because it’s not explored much in comparison to Kohei’s disabilities. I wish we had more screen time to show Taichi and Kohei's romance because... well, it is marketed as a BL.
•❅✧❅✦ Manga vs Film ✦❅✧❅•
While the manga is still ongoing as of writing, it’s so much better than the movie. The movie only covers the first volume, but Kohei and Taichi’s romance starts blossoming much later. Taichi starts to notice Kohei’s hints and starts trying to think of his feelings. It takes a while, but he does end up dating Kohei. Once they start reciprocating their feelings, they are an amazing couple. Taichi even starts to think of building a better future for Kohei where he can be included in society without prejudice, so he drops out of college and starts working at a company that helps those that are hearing-impaired. While Taichi may be slow and dense, he really puts Kohei and Kohei’s comfort first.
Honestly, while the Movie is good, the Manga is so much better. The movie feels rushed and unfinished towards the end. It feels rushed because at the climax, Kohei and Taichi have a misunderstanding, which leaves Kohei all flustered about not being able to live without hearing Taichi’s voice. There wasn’t much build up on his personality being very paranoid about not being able to hear Taichi, so it felt like it came out of nowhere.
As for the ending… Well, they kiss… And that’s it. Taichi doesn’t respond back to Kohei’s feelings, which is manga accurate, but he didn’t hate it, nor was he confused about it. He accepted Kohei’s feelings and nothing else. Kohei also just accepted that Taichi didn’t understand the meaning of the kiss and was willing to just have Taichi by his side without any strings attached. It wasn’t a very satisfactory ending, but an ending that screams there needs to be a sequel.
•❅✧❅✦ Film vs Drama ✦❅✧❅•
The drama version was made in 2024, seven years after the movie. The drama follows the plot of the manga more closely than the movie. The drama also covers more volumes than the movie. Due to having more time to explore the characters and the plot, the drama is able to focus on numerous plot points like Kohei’s disability, his emotional turmoil over being unable to adapt well to society due to his deafness, and of course, Kohei’s love for Taichi. The drama also includes Maya, a girl with a similar disability as Kohei. The drama also expands more on Taichi’s friends, family, and future prospects as he thinks of a better future for Kohei.
In terms of plot and romance the drama was better. The movie only had a little over an hour to fit everything from Kohei’s disability to their romance. The drama had 12 episodes to explore all of their issues. However, when it comes to the characters and their chemistry together, the movie was so much better.
The characters in the movie seem to embody more of Kohei and Taichi than the drama. Taichi is more loud and annoying, and literally looks dense, but he shows more expressions of concern for Kohei. Similarly, while movie Kohei is less expressive, he seems to genuinely be in love with Taichi and just wants Taichi to be by his side with no strings attached. It’s because of this genuine side to their characters they have better chemistry.
Overall, while I like how the drama expanded on the story, I personally think the movie was far more superior despite it’s flaws with the plot.
•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•
In terms of acting, the two actors did very well. It felt very natural, and they had lots of chemistry. The climax of the film was a bit difficult to understand since there wasn’t enough time to completely show Kohei’s growing feelings for Taichi and how it connects to his disability, but other then that everything felt natural.
•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•
Hidamari ga Kikoeru is a nice movie. It has an interesting storyline and amazing characters. It is a little slow-paced and doesn’t have much romance. But if you can get past that, it’s a nice drama.
From Kohei’s struggles and Taichi’s straightforwardness and willingness to help adapt to Kohei is something everyone needs to see.
That being said, I sadly I won’t be recommending the movie to anyone anytime soon. Instead, I will have to recommend the drama first, before the movie, sadly due to the drama covering more plotlines and having more romance.
It's still a great movie, though so I recommend watching it, especially if you've already seen the drama. Please tell me which Taichi you prefer? I prefer the movie Taichi over drama Taichi~!
•❅✧❅✦ Story ✦❅✧❅•
However, just because there is barely any romance, doesn’t mean that it’s a bad movie. Taichi is constantly saving Kohei by not treating him any different from normal, and that is the heart of the story. It’s through Taichi that Kohei learns to love himself and his disability. There are very few films out there that can deal with this type of heavy topic without getting preachy, and this film is one of the few that does it perfectly. There is no special treatment or romance to save the day, it’s all just Taichi being Taichi that warms Kohei’s heart.
That being said, this is a movie and has a very short screen time. The movie tries to cover Kohei’s disability, his emotional turmoil over not being able to adapt to society and his growing feelings for Taichi. Due to issues with screen time, Kohei and Taichi’s relationship end up becoming more of a bromance because it’s not explored much in comparison to Kohei’s disabilities. I wish we had more screen time to show Taichi and Kohei's romance because... well, it is marketed as a BL.
•❅✧❅✦ Manga vs Film ✦❅✧❅•
While the manga is still ongoing as of writing, it’s so much better than the movie. The movie only covers the first volume, but Kohei and Taichi’s romance starts blossoming much later. Taichi starts to notice Kohei’s hints and starts trying to think of his feelings. It takes a while, but he does end up dating Kohei. Once they start reciprocating their feelings, they are an amazing couple. Taichi even starts to think of building a better future for Kohei where he can be included in society without prejudice, so he drops out of college and starts working at a company that helps those that are hearing-impaired. While Taichi may be slow and dense, he really puts Kohei and Kohei’s comfort first.
Honestly, while the Movie is good, the Manga is so much better. The movie feels rushed and unfinished towards the end. It feels rushed because at the climax, Kohei and Taichi have a misunderstanding, which leaves Kohei all flustered about not being able to live without hearing Taichi’s voice. There wasn’t much build up on his personality being very paranoid about not being able to hear Taichi, so it felt like it came out of nowhere.
As for the ending… Well, they kiss… And that’s it. Taichi doesn’t respond back to Kohei’s feelings, which is manga accurate, but he didn’t hate it, nor was he confused about it. He accepted Kohei’s feelings and nothing else. Kohei also just accepted that Taichi didn’t understand the meaning of the kiss and was willing to just have Taichi by his side without any strings attached. It wasn’t a very satisfactory ending, but an ending that screams there needs to be a sequel.
•❅✧❅✦ Film vs Drama ✦❅✧❅•
The drama version was made in 2024, seven years after the movie. The drama follows the plot of the manga more closely than the movie. The drama also covers more volumes than the movie. Due to having more time to explore the characters and the plot, the drama is able to focus on numerous plot points like Kohei’s disability, his emotional turmoil over being unable to adapt well to society due to his deafness, and of course, Kohei’s love for Taichi. The drama also includes Maya, a girl with a similar disability as Kohei. The drama also expands more on Taichi’s friends, family, and future prospects as he thinks of a better future for Kohei.
In terms of plot and romance the drama was better. The movie only had a little over an hour to fit everything from Kohei’s disability to their romance. The drama had 12 episodes to explore all of their issues. However, when it comes to the characters and their chemistry together, the movie was so much better.
The characters in the movie seem to embody more of Kohei and Taichi than the drama. Taichi is more loud and annoying, and literally looks dense, but he shows more expressions of concern for Kohei. Similarly, while movie Kohei is less expressive, he seems to genuinely be in love with Taichi and just wants Taichi to be by his side with no strings attached. It’s because of this genuine side to their characters they have better chemistry.
Overall, while I like how the drama expanded on the story, I personally think the movie was far more superior despite it’s flaws with the plot.
•❅✧❅✦ Acting ✦❅✧❅•
In terms of acting, the two actors did very well. It felt very natural, and they had lots of chemistry. The climax of the film was a bit difficult to understand since there wasn’t enough time to completely show Kohei’s growing feelings for Taichi and how it connects to his disability, but other then that everything felt natural.
•❅✧❅✦ Overall ✦❅✧❅•
Hidamari ga Kikoeru is a nice movie. It has an interesting storyline and amazing characters. It is a little slow-paced and doesn’t have much romance. But if you can get past that, it’s a nice drama.
From Kohei’s struggles and Taichi’s straightforwardness and willingness to help adapt to Kohei is something everyone needs to see.
That being said, I sadly I won’t be recommending the movie to anyone anytime soon. Instead, I will have to recommend the drama first, before the movie, sadly due to the drama covering more plotlines and having more romance.
It's still a great movie, though so I recommend watching it, especially if you've already seen the drama. Please tell me which Taichi you prefer? I prefer the movie Taichi over drama Taichi~!
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