Reviews

The beginning of the beautiful love story of Takumi and Gii

'Takumi-kun Series: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa' portrays the sparkling love story of Takumi and Gii, in a real-time adaptation of 'Takumi-kun Series', the well-known manga series of light novels of the shōnen genre. ai, written by Shinobu Gotoh, and published by the Kadokawa Shōten publishing house.
Kenji Yokoi and Hiroko Kanasugi, the same duo from the previous film, are back together to, the first as director and the second as screenwriter, add to their filmography this romantic, school, youth and Japanese BL drama, released in 2023, which tells the original story of the first installment of the 'Takumi-kun Series' and the beginning of the romance between these two boys, and to do so it combines three titles from the Kanzen-ban 1 (omnibus edition) of the original novels: 'Akatsuki wo Matsumade' (Until I Wait for Dawn), 'Soshite Harukaze ni Sasayaite' (And Then, I Whisper in the Spring Breeze) and 'Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa' (The Morning of the Beginning of a Long, Long Story).
Without a doubt, it will surprise the public that, 17 years after the first film adaptation in 2007, the popular series is producing a film that travels back to its beginnings to recreate this famous romance with a new cast and story.
The film has taken the viewer by surprise, who never thought one of the classic Japanese live-action adaptations that were made at a time when today's popular BLs were hardly produced would ever be revisited. However, nostalgia, curiosity and intrigue have summoned his followers of yesteryear, while making those who have never seen the previous titles rear their heads: 'Takumi-kun Series: Soshite, Harukaze ni Sasayaite' (2007), 'Takumi -kun Series: Nijiiro no Garasu' (2009), Takumi-kun Series: Bibo no Detail (2010), 'Takumi-kun Series: Pure' (2010) and 'Takumi-kun Series: Ano, Hareta Aozora' (2011) .
With this, six live-action films have been made based on the series. Actors Tomo Yanagishita and Keisuke Katō played Takumi and Gii, respectively, in the first film. In subsequent adaptations of the franchise, both actors were replaced by Kyōsuke Hamao and Daisuke Watanabe in their respective roles of Takumi and Gii. Yukihiro Takiguchi, who played Akaike, was the only actor to appear in every film. Here Takahashi Rio is responsible for assuming the role.
Plot
Far away from the city and deep in the mountains, lies Shidō Academy, an all-male high school. In years past the school housed only the children of the country's elite families, but recently it has opened its doors to everyone in its historic classrooms. Takumi Hayama, a boy of humble origins, prepares to enter the prestigious institution.
The story begins precisely on the day of the entrance exercise. Giichi Saki, or just Gii, played by Kato Daigo in his acting debut, a popular boy who has returned from the United States, passes Takumi Hayama (Morishita Shion) in the hallway.
Fascinated by his striking presence, strong magnetism, and Gii's exotic, non-Japanese beauty, Takumi follows him with his eyes. Gii stops walking and they look at each other, with a mischievous smile on the latter's lips.
Now a high school student, Takumi is treated like a weirdo by his classmates due to his haphephobia, that is, phobia of human contact, the product of a psychological trauma from the past. It is for this same reason that he avoids socializing with others and everyone at school sees him as unemotional and unsociable. However, his aversion to touching and being touched by others begins to disappear thanks to Gii and his relationship with him.
Furthermore, Takumi is discriminated against for having a humble origin. The only person interested in forming a sincere friendship with Takumi is Toshihisa Katakura (Yusuke Noguchi), his dormmate.
Spring arrives and, at the beginning of the second year, the students are relocated and Takumi begins to occupy a dormitory with Gii, unaware that his own withdrawn and distant personality has caught the attention of his new partner. Gii is the only person who doesn't see Takumi as a stranger and the two become friends. The distance between them shortens while the bond strengthens. As Takumi learns more about Gii, he must also learn to overcome his past and the rivals who threaten to break up their budding relationship. The days of peace for Takumi will soon be altered.
Romance takes time to develop. Faithful to the original, the bond between the two young people is cemented from silence and distance. When the characters finally realize that they are meant to be, all the waiting is worth it. Having seen the previous films allows the viewer to understand that the relationship is simmering, and that at the least expected moment the love interests will finally come together.
The public must understand that their characters are completely opposite and have led a very different life because they come from two worlds facing each other: that of capital, on the one hand, and that of work, on the other. That is, that of luxury and waste, and that of poverty and deprivation.
The relationship is unintentionally helped by third-year student Kei Aso (Nagashima Ryunosuke) by asking Takumi to participate with him in the campus "shrine quest" event. Gii's jealousy does not take long to appear, realizing that other boys are also interested in Takumi.
On the other hand, Gii is more determined every day to get closer to the boy to protect him from harassment and accompany him in his loneliness. Paying attention to what Takumi's other students say drives him to relate insistently. The united glances and close encounters eventually lead to a closer bond.
Against everything desired, Izumi Takabayashi (Nakayama Satsuki) is the essential key for Gii to finally confess his love. Takabayashi is the first to realize that his beloved Gii not only does not pay him the required attention, but is also interested in Takumi. And while jealousy consumes him, he plans an attack against him, and summons the students who idolize him.
However, Gii realizes Takabayashi's plot and tries to save Takumi. While they are kidnapped, Gii takes the opportunity to confess his love. This truth disturbs Takumi, however, he realizes the true sensitivity of Gii's personality.
And so begins the long, long, brilliant story of Takumi and Gii. I doubt I will end the saga with this film. He himself left the door open to continue the romance.
Through the eyes of Takumi, the narrator, the viewer will be able to enjoy the birth of romance between two people who are a priori incompatible and who, however, enter into a loving relationship, marked by trauma and jealousy.
With a modern approach to differentiate itself from the previous films, Kato Daigo, the actor who plays Gii, has a strong presence on the screen and those scenes of walks around the school or simply being in his bedroom, near Takumi or talking to Other characters can make the audience delirious.
Morishita Shion shows the fragility and vulnerability of her character, and also how she comes to understand that Gii was the piece she needed for her life to turn around and begin to be happy.
There are no kissing scenes, but the interaction, physical and emotional, and the chemistry between the protagonists are manifested in so many other moments of intimacy, such as a friendly conversation.
I value in the film that it joins other dramatized films to address issues related to sexuality and gender identity. In conservative societies with strong patriarchal and heteronormative traditions, such as Japan, where discrimination against LGBT+ people persists and relationships between people of the same sex are not recognized, and where stigma and repression of sexual diversity prevail, conscious or unconsciously, the population has a deep-rooted prejudice that separating, even a little, from "normality" causes unhappiness.
Although some change is beginning to be seen, even young people instinctively discriminate when they pity homosexuals and think that they deserve support because they are not normal people. Perhaps, through works like this, people, especially new and future generations, will realize that homosexuals also enjoy "normal happiness" and a daily life that is not far from their own, thus allowing society changes.
By showing relationships between people of the same sex, without a doubt the image of the homosexual man in society changes. In this film, the character of Gii, an educated, high-society, athletic and attractive young man, who falls in love with a humble and broken boy, with a trauma that consumes him, and together they share a romance, which also has a transformative capacity, It can be the remedy to free young people from the image they harbor of masculinity.
I celebrate in boys' love their efforts to portray the diversity of human relationships with delicacy, dismantling the prevailing stereotypes regarding what is "normal." I applaud that efforts like this contribute to gradually changing society, bridging the gap between fiction and reality. Step by step, Japanese boys' love infiltrates the collective consciousness, and could usher in a new era in which homosexuals are not discriminated against.

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The genre shift was jarring, but it made me feel all the emotions.

Dong Gu is a North Korean spy who has been dispatched to South Korea, living a small-town life as an idiot country bumpkin, along with his other two comrades who live as an aspiring singer and a high school student. One day after years have passed with no order from the North, a sudden power shift in the North turned their mundane lives upside down.

"Secretly, Greatly" is a mixed bag. It starts out ridiculously foolish and funny... It's not until the midway point, that it turns into a spy action movie with an intense twist, none of those joyfulness was meant to last. Although this tone shift was jarring, it made me feel all the emotions, all the way to the end. The comedic and fight scenes were impactful and well-choreographed. Some of the jokes were so embarrassing that I feel bad for the actors, and there were times when I thought the stabbing/shooting went over-the-top. For the most part, though, it was entertaining. There were also some touching moments between Dong Gu and the villagers. The ending was really dramatic and memorable.

I never imagine Kim Soo Hyun could pull-off such gritty action sequences but wow, I was blown away! He was awesome fighting in his army uniform, and shirtless too! His acting ranges really the highlight of this movie. If you want to be gripped by his performance, I would recommend it.

thanks for reading :)
Find me on instagram @kdramajudge

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This is so short, it was possible to watch it to the end, without getting too annoyed.

What I liked:
* Jang Eui Soo's (Chef Choi) acting. He did what he could with his script.
* The waiter and the sous chef were not just there but had their own characteristics, at least as much as they could within the short time.

What I did not like:
* Almost everything else. Examples:
* Empty scenery: Empty restaurant, empty beach, empty luna park... Where are the people?
* Overexposure does not make scenes romantic if there are no feelings. Same with montage + music.
* I think the main problem is that the script was faster than my emotions while watching. We have the rivalry / antagonistic beaviour in the beginning, that's okay. But when chef Choi acts like an arse during the first meeting and is shown to be the one who will maybe end Chef Yoon's employment, we, as the audience, need something to empathize with Chef Choi. We did not actually get it. I still don't know why Chef Yoon would fall in love with him.
* I have no idea why Laura (the restaurant's owner) wants to get rid of Chef Yoon. She says she wants to expand (he doesn't) but he's the one whose dishes people like?
* There's not enough restaurant and kitchen scenes -- show us how they work together, how they get closer doing their work.
* If the restaurant's so busy that Laura wants to expand, why are there no customers, why do the two main leads have enough time to hang around beaches and amusement parks and so on?

Both the world building and the relationship building is severely lacking in this movie. If I can empathize with the waiter and the sous chef more than with the couple, then something is very, very wrong.
It wasn't bad enough to stop me watching, but there wasn't anything to like it either.


Not recommended.

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"We'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne"

The title Hotaru no Hikari referred to the Japanese version of the song Auld Lang Syne. The film focused on two school girls in a tight group of friends just before and after graduation. Love, friendship, and broken hearts flowed freely as the young women tried to navigate their feelings and world outside.

Sanae and Omie are close friends readying for graduation. Their lives have very different paths before them. Omie is a gifted pianist and going to Europe for further studies. Sanae is to be married to the bedridden son of the man who paid for her schooling and saved her father’s shop after an earthquake. Sanae is in love with Ariga, “The Prince”. When he asks her to marry him, she refuses without explaining. Distraught at a future without any brightness she goes to her friend Omie for help. Although Omie supports her, she excitedly mentions that Ariga is going to be accompanying her to Vienna. Broken at the news Sanae leaves but doesn’t return home. She makes her way to her “retired” teacher’s house where she helps with the farm work. Sanae may have stepped aside for her friend, but Ariga has other ideas. As the center of the friend group’s attention, Omie does not offer Sanae the same generosity in love.

This film took some effort to recognize the main characters. Initially, many of the students were introduced only to be sent to the sidelines. It did not help that Sanae and Omie/Ishii went by several names. The realities for women were stressed by parents and school authorities. Being a wife and mother was the only path to happiness for women. And women were to marry whoever their parents chose for them even if that person was an invalid. Director Sasaki dared to question some of those presumptions. Omie told Sanae, “Before being a daughter, we must think we are women first.” She also counseled her friend to not be afraid to leave her family and make a life for herself. Sanae boldly chose to do just that. The betrothed Sanae recognized her father’s actions for exactly what they were, “I was sold.”

Early in Japan's talkie era, HnH utilized sound with numerous sing-a-longs with the girls on their outings and in school. Omie demonstrated her ability on the piano several times as well. In the 1938 version of pop-ups, silent film intertitles and clips from Sanae’s diary often appeared to explain things to the audience. The diary pages revealed her innermost feelings and thoughts which I liked but some of the other written explanations would have been better acted out. The film was beautifully shot for the time with creative shots of scenery and buildings interspersed. Despite those appealing frames, time has not been kind to Sasaki's work with many scenes left quite blurry, often obscuring faces.

Also known as Auld Lang Syne or The Light of the Fireflies, Hotaru no Hikari was an interesting watch of young women breaking with tradition. My biggest complaint arose from the final act’s melodramatic noble idiocy. I had become invested in Sanae’s decisions and was quite aggrieved by the ending. This 1938 melodramatic story of friendship and love could have used a cup of kindness to ease the bitterness of the drink.

4/4/24

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U will kicking yourself if u don't watch this now ...

Relationships are not black and white, they are made of hundreds and thousands of shades of different colours - ugly and beautiful, and this movie does a spectacular job of painting such a raw and realistic one.

A soulmate is someone tethered to you and drawn back to you no matter what and this movie depicts the realistic struggles of growing apart and struggling to find and understand each other.

Was it a touch melodramatic? Sure. Was it still just as thought-provoking and relatable? Definitely. This movie - as all good ones should - left me thinking about my own relationships with my friends and family and my value and love for them.

The cinematography and soft music score absolutely fit the theme of this movie - raw and realistic - it doesn't rely on sfx to bring you to tears. In fact, the saddest moments are those in silence. Phenomenal performances from Da-mi and So-nee, their interactions on screen were so emotional.

Life is not perfect, the people in them most definitely are not perfect. But this movie might teach you something about unconditional love, being there for each other no matter what and valuing the time you do have together.

An absolute recommended watch ...

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Victory in Life

I miss movies like this. The martial arts genre is the genre of my youth that I enjoyed the most. Movies of this type have moved into the genre of thrillers, bloody gore or superheroes, but they have never been as good, and that's why I was both surprised and delighted by how much I liked this movie. It reminds me of the golden age of Korean cinema, which for me was from 2005 to 2010 when I was watching Korean movies every day, and in a way this film also belongs to that time.

Actually, I started watching the now movie because it wasn't on my "already seen list", but as soon as the movie switches to the youth of the main characters, I remembered that I had already seen it. I would even say that now, 10 years later, this movie is even better for me than when I watched it for the first time.

The film shows three friends who meet again in the ring after 25 years. The film briefly shows the days of their youth, but the main part of the film is the present time and these actors did the best job. I'm especially glad to see Hwang Jung-min, who is one of my favorite actors, and here he shows how skilled he is in fighting, and also in singing, since we hear his voice in the closing song of the film. The fight choreographies are very good, the story has enough plot and drama to justify the long duration. I have no complaints. A 10 for me.

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A Meditative Intensity Story

I could not sleep early on a Saturday morning, and this movie’s review came up in YouTube out of nowhere. So, on a whim, I decided to watch it. Before you know it, I had finished it and had become so engrossed in its plot and story, I found myself caring about these characters with a certain sense of affection. I found myself teary eyed and gently sobbing for them. It is an intensely gut-wrenching film that is deeper than it is given credit for. I was shocked and dismayed at how poor the reviews were for this movie. I do not understand. I loved it. To be sure, it does not move mountains, but it is not meant to do so. It is a story about two misfit loners who happen to find each other in exactly the right space at exactly the right moment in their lives that connected them in a feeling of fruition. They found each other’s cherished one.

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Dancing and praying

The pilgrimage to Santiago is famous all over the world, and I have heard many touching stories from those pilgrimages, which entail a n exhausting walk of hundreds of kilometers without much luggage. Many go on this pilgrimage for religious reasons, but each person carries his own intentions, which, although they may not be directly aimed at God, are deeply connected with what a person believes.

It was very touching and beautiful to follow the pilgrimage of these two people, Jea Han and Da Hee, their journey and the support they gave each other. In the center is Jea Han, a fifty-year-old woman who is almost blind, but has a big desire to dance flamenco at the cathedral in Santiago. We see much more of her than her companion, we see her prayer, injuries on the way, personal thoughts and worries, as well as great strength of faith and will to overcome all obstacles. Her young companion is in the background, but for her too this is a path of deep life experience.

The film was shot excellently, with many beautiful landscapes, always close to our travelers and pilgrims, and the shots show both natural beauty and religious symbols. This film is an additional encouragement for me on my personal pilgrimage of life, and I believe it will be for every one who watches this beautiful movie.

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Simple yet beautiful

It's such a cute movie. The storyline is simple yet beautiful.

Acting/ Casting:
Honestly, I watched this movie solely for Fumiya Takahashi. I discovered him on TikTok and fell in love with his smile and dubbing videos of anime. He looks so charming in them. I wanted to learn more about him, which is why I decided to give one of his projects a chance. And he didn't disappoint me. In fact, I fell in love with the entire cast. All of them performed exceptionally well.

Music:
I didn't focus much on the music. It had slightly background music. The songs they used fit everywhere. The songs made the movie interesting.

Rewatch Value:
I'm not one to rewatch dramas, but this one is exceptional. I will definitely watch it again.

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I watched the series and the movie version side-by-side. Apart from one scene that's not in the series and some minor editing changes, they are identical.
So, if you want to choose, I think the movie is a bit too long to watch it in one sitting (it's easier to find your place again in a series). Forthe series, I found the flashing light and the electric noise at the start of each episode grating, especially when I have a headache.

Things I liked:
* To do an "enemy-to-lovers-trope" is not easy. You can easily draw things out too long or have a power imbalance -- if the relationship reads more as "bullying" than as "mutual antagonism" it's really hard for me to understand how they would ever end up as lovers. (Looking at you, Make Our Days Count) But here, it ends relatively early, both give as good as they get -- and especially Jang Jae Young as the first instigator backs off when he realizes that he's crossed the line.
* I also loved Chu Sang Woo's character, which reads as somewhere on the autism spectrum for me. It's done better that in the original material, imo.
* The supporting characters were great in rounding out the story.

Things I did not like:
* I think I'd have liked to see the discussion about excavators and the subsequent drawing of one on Chu Sangwoo's arm (rather than the ugly veggie thing).



Overall, the pacing was good, and even if the general storyline was predictable (which is par for the course in romance dramas), the journey of both protagonists was lovely to follow.

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took me in an emotional roller coaster

This was the first Chinese movie I watched in the theater and also my first-ever review on kisskh.

Story: I LOVED IT! As someone who has been struggling with low self-esteem and losing weight all my life, this hit a little too close to home. Her growth in self-confidence and realizing that just because someone is nice to her doesn't mean that they have good intentions was beautiful to watch. It felt like I was along with her on the journey. I felt her happiness, sadness, frustration, anger, and also her helplessness. I was in tears when she was walking to the boxing match and you can see her past self in the reflection.

Acting: I think everyone did a good job. I didn't feel like anyone was doing a half-ass job.

Music: Connected well with the scenes and the background music was phenomenal. Loved the song they used when she was having her training montage.

Overall, loved it and is worth a watch.

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Perfect Cop Comedy!

I absolutely love movies like this! This kinda humour is my kinda humour, silly (but not ridiculous), and light-hearted, but not at all taking away from the serious message of the movie, nor the fast-paced action. The two leads had THE BEST chemistry, I loved their strong characters and their acting was on point. Their awkward pauses and how they switch up when hiding things from their superiors was hilarious and I laughed every time. For those who have watched Midnight Runners, I definitely recommend you watch this movie! And if you enjoyed this movie and haven't watched Midnight Runners yet, WATCH IT!!!

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An interesting move, but it’s not what I thought

El hype de esta película hizo que no me gustara ): Me la pintaron como una película con mucho romance y que te dejaría el corazón destrozado y, si bien ver el final me dolió, yo necesitaba más que solo un final “desgarrador”.

Me molesta que el acercamiento que tienen es muuuy forzado por parte de él, a pesar de que ella lo rechaza muchas veces. Al final termina aceptando por manipulación y eso a mí no me parece nada romántico.

Una relación así de conflictiva no me gusta nada. Definitivamente ella merecía muchísimo más de lo que él podía darle y que solo se haya metido en su vida y desaparecido para siempre, es algo muy cruel.

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