Less Sad, Less Annoying, But Less Emotionally Satisfying Version of 'Your Lie in April'
This is the live-action movie version of a beloved anime — loved by many but overrated to some.Basically, it's the story of Kousei, a piano genius, who quit playing the piano due to an incident involving her mother. He vowed never to return playing the piano until he met Kaori.
I don't think this movie can replace the anime. It understandably omitted some of the interesting episodes, but at a shorter run time, it may be good idea for revisiting the story without going through the 24 episodes of the anime, which is equivalent to 12 hours.
The movie has removed some of the things that others find annoying in the anime. For example, Kaori wasn't much of a tsundere compared to the anime, but whenever we see some signs of her being abusive, it doesn't translate well on screen. But we forgive her because the actress playing Kaori is cute.
The downside is that the movie does not reach the emotional peak of the anime. The crucial scene near the end doesn't have the same emotional impact, although it's quiet and beautiful.
It's a good film. I recommend watching it at least once. But whether to watch it or the anime every April to start a tradition, I am not sure.
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The war continues and it might continue
Kaguya-sama Love Is War Final (2021) is the second live-action movie of Kaguya-sama Love Is War. I was hoping it would be a notch better than the first, but unfortunately, it's inferior.§ Overview
Shirogane Miyuki and Shinomiya Kaguya are back as student council president and vice president respectively. After both of them apparently confess their love to each other and after a kiss at the end of the movie, both are at it again, trying to make the other confess their feelings for each other.
§ Notes
1. Their confession near the end of movie 1 could have been a fitting finale to the story, and this is why I'm not pleased that they've practically gotten back to square one in this movie.
2. The events are not as airtight as in movie 1. The subplot about Ishigami Yu can be removed without affecting the plot.
Actually, on its own, I like it. Assuming we haven't seen the anime, we get to know Ishigami, and why he behaves that way. As a result, he becomes an endearing character, and I am looking forward to meeting him in the anime.
The problem is that it is inconsequential to advancing the plot. This gives you the unfortunate impression that the movie has run out of material despite reading from anime watchers and manga viewers that the movies have omitted so much.
3. With the way Chika's character acted, I am not sure if I will like her anime version because it seems many people like her. She's brain-dead, a comic relief, but not one you would take seriously.
4. The ending concluded in a similar fashion as movie 1. The story seems to be ending, but they leave enough ambiguity for a third live-action movie to be possible, which I think should no longer happen but I'll watch anyway if ever that happens.
§ Conclusion
It's a good movie but it could have been better. I'm not sure I can recommend it to people who have seen the anime or read the manga, but I am okay suggesting the live action movies for those new to the story with the caveat that these movies are inferior to the anime/manga versions.
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Watch this before you watch the anime!
I'm not gonna watch the anime soon, but I might as well check out the live action. And boy, I like it.§ Overview
At the Shuchi'in Academy, a prestigious high school of the rich, there are two renowned students: 1) Shirogane Miyuki, the president of the student council who had transferred earlier, and 2) Shinomiya Kaguya, the vice president and heiress of the Shinomiya group.
Both like each other, but both deem a confession as a sign of weakness, which is why both will try to induce a confession from one another. Whoever confesses first loses.
§ Notes
1. The guy acting as Shirogane Miyuki, Hirano Shō, seems similar to the character design of the anime, but he doesn't capture how fierce he looks. He can make himself look silly.
The anime version of Kaguya-sama has a weird look, a petite but mysterious woman that I think no actress can really capture her look. To her credit, Hashimoto Kanna is beautiful, and her look as Kaguya is so cute that I don't mind if she doesn't completely nail down the Kaguya look. Her acting is rough around the edges.
2. If you think of a romantic comedy, you usually think of tropes such as a guy or girl being shy around their love interest. Or perhaps blushing around them and fumbling their confession. Also, the physical comedy is over-the-top.
Kaguya-sama Love is War, at least the anime and manga version, is praised by some as the best romantic comedy. Sure, it has over-the-top humour, something that's a staple in a typical romcom, but the dynamic is different. Both fancy each other. The question becomes, who will confess first? How do you force the other party to confess? This dynamic sounds like war and game theory, which is different and interesting.
3. It remains to be seen if I will really find the anime version the best romcom.
Note that the director of this live-action movie is also the director of Nisekoi live action. I rated that one an 8 out of 10, while this is just 7.5 out of 10. It's statistically tied, but perhaps I found this way over the top than my taste permits, even though Kaguya-sama the anime is better regarded than Nisekoi.
Be that as it may, putting up with its OTT comedy is worth it when you consider its game theory aspects.
4. Most anime viewers have judged this as trash and in no way near the anime. I don't know if that's true, but live action movies tend to be inferior to the anime. I recommend only watching this if you haven't seen the anime, or for someone like me who wants to see if the inferior live action version would captivate me enough to seek the better anime version.
Of course, I am also watching it to enjoy seeing the beauty of Hashimoto Kanna so there's that.
5. I won't be specific about this, but there are some events in the latter half of the movie that feel there will be no more movie 2 and that the story will end. But for some reason, they found some justifications for coming back to square one and resuming the game theory dynamics.
This is a bit of a letdown.
§ Conclusion
This is a decent introduction to what some feel is the best romantic comedy, at least the anime/manga version. It's generally enjoyable if you can overlook how over-the-top it is. Hashimoto Kanna is a beauty and might be a good enough reason for some to watch it.
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Mediocre Film but a Much Better Adaptation of Uzumaki
Because of how shit the Uzumaki anime has been, I'm curious how the 2000 movie faired.(See my review of the anime: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=541621
See my review of the manga: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=541619 )
Note: Uzumaki means spiral so the name for this movie can either be Uzumaki or The Spiral.
§ Overview
The story starts with Goshima Kirie going on her way until she finds her boyfriend's father observing something. This bloke has been obsessed with spirals. Kirie's boyfriend, Saitou Shuuichi, feels something is amiss in this town, which he calls the curse of the spiral. Eventually, his father dies and a series of horrors plague this town.
§ Remarks
As a horror story, this is so-so. It doesn't appear in the conversation of Japanese horror stories compared to the likes of The Ring with its iconic character of Sadako.
It has an acceptable enough use of cinematography, and the motif of spirals appears frequently as it should.
That said, I find this a better adaptation compared to the anime. One may fault this for having been released prior to the completion of the manga and that it's not a complete adaptation. But what it adapts, it executes too well. It does not suffer from the phrenetic pacing of the anime.
The elements of several chapters appear, but they are modified as needed. This movie does not attempt to make a one-to-one adaptation. The net effect is that a select few horrific events are given the full effect rather than being diluted as in the case in the anime.
Also, since the manga wasn't finished when this was originally shown, it had to make an original ending. It's a so-so ending compared to the full impact of the manga ending, but philosophically speaking, one can make the case that it's better.
Kirie's survival is low, but it leaves that possibility. Also, the movie failed to establish that they are unable to leave town. Hence, by sheer coincidence, we don't know if it follows the malevolent universe premise of the manga. This hole is what makes it ironically better.
§ Conclusion
I'm not sure I would recommend this movie by itself, but for those who are already fans of the Uzumaki manga, I give this a full recommendation.
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A Satisfactory Introduction to the World of Nisekoi (Watch the Anime Next!)
Looking at the clips of the actors, this seems to be so-so, which is why I had to drag myself to watch this. Imagine my surprise when I liked what I saw.I haven't seen the anime yet, so I have no prior knowledge of the story. I read somewhere that this live action movie was made for someone like me who hasn't seen the anime or read the manga. I was entertained so much. It's funny. It's a Yakuza comedy that reminds me of the anime 'Seto no Hanayome' / My Bride is a Mermaid.
But for people who have seen the anime first, this may seem like a cheap knockoff of the original. Keep this in mind as you may or may not like it depending on whether you've seen the anime or not.
Even if some details in this movie may annoy fans of the anime, it has adequately explained the basic plot, and based on the anime's trailer, it seems to be the same, but perhaps with some different execution of events. Also, it has adequately explained why this is called 'nisekoi' or 'false love.' This false love leads to hilarious events that I won't spoil you.
Suffice it to say that I am entertained enough by this movie that I am looking forward to watching the anime. Thus, it achieves its goal.
Some other remarks: As already mentioned, the main lead actors don't look that appealing as far as I'm concerned. (The third wheel was cute though.) If you feel the same way, don't let that deter you from watching it. It's worth watching.
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Review of 'As Long as We Both Live' also known as 'My Happy Marriage' / わたしの幸せな結婚
I first watched this in October of 2023. Later I watched the anime, then I read the first two light novel volumes covering the events of the anime and the movie, and then watched the OVA, which covers the final chapter of the second light novel. Finally, I rewatched this movie. I can tell you that it's a lovely story.I wrote the following in my thread in X last year after watching both movie and anime:
'@akm_ag先生の「わたしの幸せな結婚」がとても好きです。
Both the movie and anime are one of the best things I've watched this year. It's basically patterned after Cinderella, but what I like about it is discovering midway that it's also an Ugly Duckling story. ....'
see https://x.com/patkarunungan/status/1741487343046119869 for more)
It is a very emotional story. It is touching how she later discovered her gift and became the beautiful swan that she is instead of the ugly duckling the people around her thought her to be.
I believe many people have already written on the merits of the movie itself. I will just list some of the differences between the mediums.
*If you first watch the movie, which was the case in Japan — the movie was released before the anime — you might get confused about what's really happening, but it's good enough as an intro.
On a rewatch, you will appreciate some of the details that you missed on your first watch, but you will inevitably get annoyed at some of the omitted material.
*Whilst the voice actors of the anime did well, the chemistry between this movie's couple is better. It's worth watching just for that alone.
*The ending of the movie is cinematic and in my opinion better than what actually happened in the anime. Both the anime (first season and OVA) and movie covered the events of the first two light novels. I reckon that the producers of this film made this as a stand-alone and that no sequel will be made, which is probably why they made such changes in the film.
*Since the movie had to delete certain scenes and did not elaborate, I recommend that anyone who loves this movie and wants some more start over at the beginning of the anime and/or the light novels.
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Before you watch Cat's Eye the anime...
When I was young, I watched several episodes of the Cat's Eye anime, but I was never able to finish it. I plan to watch the anime soon. Having said that, upon seeing that it has a live action movie, I decided to check it out.******************************************
The premise of Cat's Eye is as follows:
It follows the story of three sisters, Rui, Ai, and Hitomi. They are daughters of a well-renowned painter who went missing. They are stealing his paintings in the hope of finding clues on where their father is.
Now Hitomi is in a relationship with Toshio, the detective who is pursuing Cat's Eye. How will he deal with the truth once he finds out that his beloved is the one he would love to arrest?
******************************************
Both the movie and the anime (and the manga for that matter) follow the same premise. I don't know how the anime and manga end, but the movie ends in a bitter note, a twist that I did not expect nor like.
That said, it's still worth watching this movie if and only if you plan on watching the anime. The music as well as the heist involved are fun and somehow captures what made the anime great, or at least worth watching.
There might be some stuff in the movie that may not be pleasing. Some of the physics seem implausible, such as how did a cat-shaped balloon suddenly appeared in one of their escape sequence? Could they really plan ahead their escape route such that it will appear just in the nick of time? Is it remote-controlled?
The actresses portraying the sisters are just as lovely as their anime counterparts, but their costumes look ridiculous.
As I mentioned, it's worth watching before diving into the anime series. The movie was released a decade after the anime's run, but I can imagine that it was a letdown if you've watched the anime and/or read the manga first.
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