Cast - I gave perfect score, 'cos they really deserved it! for Yano and Takahashi's role, they did a great acting, they gave life to the role... I mean it's really like in the anime.
Music - I love the OST. Great choice of songs. :)
Rewatch Value - Definitely, I will watch it all over again.
Overall - since it has 2 parts as of now this is the first part so I'm still looking forward to the second part. Totally inlove with the movie! Watch it and you'll see! :)
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I’ve seen the anime so I was excited to see the film adaptation.
2) Storyline/Plot:
*I already saw the anime so the story was known to me; I would say it was a fast forward script from the one in the anime. Writers cut the 26 episodes in a two hours film which made it lose so many cores compared to the original one.
*Now the review for those who haven’t watched the anime or read the manga:
Positive points:
*The film was a light school romantic story wrapped up with some melodramatic feelings without falling into the tragedy level. It actually belongs to the “Slice of life” category.
*Main genres:
--->Romance: Like any slice of life melodramatic story, the romantic concept was sad while being innocent; it was interesting because the plot was divided between the past and the present.
However, the romantic development was way too fast to contain a lot of depth yet the important feelings were there.
--->Life: There were those moments where you feel that this story touches real life; it makes you think about your first love, your first relationship and the tragedies that can happen anytime when you least expect it. Although it was important to have those elements that touches life but the existence of hope is what made it more appealing.
--->School: It’s your usual Japanese school drama, it was an important concept to make plot changes happen.
Negative Points:
*It was very fast, it doesn’t leave you time to think about the story’s core. I did rather that they made it into a drama instead of a film.
Story: 7.5/10.
3) Acting/Cast:
*It was really good to see Ikuta Toma in this film since it has been a long time that I saw him in something; his Yano portrayal was actually quite well.
On the other hand, Yoshitaka Yuriko was good enough to keep me interested but I can’t say the same about the rest of the cast because many actors didn’t deliver enough feelings to make it sound real.
*As for characters, they were brought to life but I have to admit that they lacked depth in many aspects and it all goes back to the fast forward storyline.
Yano was a good character but it didn’t have many sadness moments like it’s supposed to.
Takahashi was less annoying than the anime (which is a good point).
I hated the way Takeuchi character appeared here, it was uninteresting when it’s supposed to be one of the most captivating characters in the story but again it’s all due to the fast script.
*Other characters were simply neuter to watch, no special feelings about them.
*Appreciated Character: Yamamoto Yuri was an impressive character here because many plot changes depended on her existence.
*Relationships:
--->Romance: The romantic concept was good enough but it lacked depth so the chemistry wasn’t that great.
--->Friendship: This is a school drama so it’s supposed to have many friendships yet there weren’t many moments to talk about.
--->The triangle: The one that had Yamamoto Yuri was interesting but the one with Takeuchi was simply ridiculous to watch.
Cast: 7/10.
Acting: 8/10.
4) The ending
*There’s Bokura Ga Ita Kouhen so this can’t be considered as an ending that’s why I won’t rate it for now.
5) My impression (how did it affect me):
*To start with I was impatiently waiting for this film to come out, I wasn’t fully satisfied but I wasn’t disappointed either because it was fair enough compared to the anime.
*It felt good to see some characters come to life while others seemed really annoying plus I was bothered by the quick script; the fast events didn’t allow me to feel the depth of tragedies presented in this storyline.
*Is this film memorable: Maybe, I am not sure if I should remember this because I rather remembering the anime instead. However, I may change my mind after watching Part two.
My impression: 7/10.
6) Overall:
*If you like innocent romantic school dramas then you would like this.
*If you watched the anime then you may want to give this a go.
*Bokura Ga Ita Zenpen was a good film on the emotional scale, it had many interesting turns but it was rushed in many plot changes. Overall, it was faithful enough as a live action adaptation.
Overall: 8/10.
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I loved how this movies felt so light it just make you feel like your feelings just so light, it was simple yet so touching, I loved the dark side of Yano and the innocent of Takahashi, the an seeing bond between them.
I've read a lot of commits about how there is no chemistry between the leads, but for me it was so beautiful since they didn't look so much with each other & that's why I fell for them, they were so different yer so sweet.
movie that will diffidently melt your heart, don't miss it !
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Story- The story was amazing. Well, I started on the anime, which is amazing as well. Then, I found out about the movie watched it. I am in love with this story line. Yes, I know it's a sappy love story about high school kids, but the things that go on in their lives make it less sappy to me. After I finished this I couldn't find part 2 so I read the manga, so I could find out how it ended. I will say the writer of the movie and anime both literally just took every thing from the manga and made the pictures move and the drawings become people. That almost NEVER happens when book are turned into t.v. shows or movies in the States.
Acting- I love all of the actors and actresses in this. They all did such a good job in making all of this believable.
Music- There aren't really any songs that stand out to me. So it's just kind of meh. At least they didn't play a happy song when they were trying to be serious or anything. That has happened in dramas I've watched.
Rewatch- YES!!! I cannot express that enough.
Overall- This may actually rank in my favorite movies of all time. That's kind of impressive.
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Although I would've given the manga's story a 9 while the anime's an 8, I gave this one a 7 because this movie, when watched by those who are not aware of the manga/anime or haven't read the manga or watched the anime yet, didn't really manage to make the audience grasp the feelings the scenes should have shown. It's really because of the fast pacing. If the manga and anime have fast pace in this part of the story, the movie's way faster. It felt like I was fast forwarding the scenes myself. (The fast [romance] pace in this part of the story's what I actually dislike in the series.) Regardless, though, I have to say that I didn't get bored while watching this. I actually kinda liked how they showed the past.
Ikuta Toma's acting is good, although like what some people said, his "atmosphere" is different from the actual Yano showed in the manga and anime. Just looking at the movie, though, it's not that much of a problem since his Yano is still good. The girl who acted as Nana-chan is tolerable. I agree with what others said that they don't have much chemistry and I blame that again for the fast pace.
I'm kind of disappointed with the Take here. I actually love that character, but the movie doesn't show much of him. The girl who acted as Yamamoto is good.
I liked the music all throughout the movie.
There's a big possibility that I'll re-watch this, most especially because I really originally love the series.
Overall, for me, this is a good movie. I liked the cinematography. The story's just... really fast. But the scenes after the "ending" of this part is what I'm really looking forward to. This part is good, but the later parts should be better. (And I really hope the part 2 of the movie gives justice to them.) I agree with what others said that this should have been made into a drama instead of a movie with two parts because that way, the feelings and thoughts of the characters could've been given more emphasis.
In any case, people who love BGI should give this a try. Also, those people who like innocent high school romance stories may like this.
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I actually enjoyed the storyline. I also enjoyed where they ended the first part of the film series. It was a really fitting ending, and made you want to see the next film. I thought For me the storyline never dragged. I do wish that they would expand a little on the happy times that they went through instead of relying on the drama. I thought the build up to the romance was very well executed.
I have not read the Manga nor have I watched the anime. I found this storyline with no context to either, still very enjoyable and definitely a recommendation to future viewers.
Acting/Casting: 8.5
I have to be honest, at first, I didn’t like the male lead. To me, he wasn’t as handsome as the second male lead, and he did not look he should be in high school. It bothered me slightly that they didn’t recast for the second film, because both leads didn’t quite look like they belonged, given their style. But he grew on me throughout the film, mostly just because he did a fantastic job. Dealing with these type of moody characters is typical in Japanese drama’s, but I liked the complexity of emotions he had throughout. One particular scene for him stood out, when they were looking at his ex-girlfriend’s photo.
The female lead was okay as well. I thought they could have gone with a slightly better lead, in terms of choices, but I find her characterization simple. Which a complex storyline, that was kind of what the role called for.
For casting choices, I thought they should have chosen younger actors for the first film, then used the leads only in the second part. It would have made the impact, For me a little bit better.
Music: 8.0
The music never bothered me. I didn’t particularly take any interest in this film, listening to music wise. I do feel like silence would have been more impactful at some turns, but it worked okay with in this film.
Rewatch Value: 7.0
The reason why this isn’t a highly rewatch value, is mostly just because it has a lot of drama and deals with the significance of death and how it affects those still living. Though it may not be a tough situation for some, others may find it hard to rewatch. Especially ones who have lost loves. Though overall it is a extremely great film, and I recommend it to first time watchers of Japanese romance-school films.
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