Ikebukuro West Gate Park SP (2003)

As a big fan of IWGP and after searching for this Special for months my expectations were really high, even though I only heard bad things about it. My overall facit after watching it: It's not as bad as they say, but it's not good either.
Still I enjoyed seeing the IWGP characters again so much that I rated it a lot better than it deserved.
The acting was okay, similar to the drama. The music was actually the same as in the drama which made it a little nostalgic. I think it was perfect. Apart from the background music this special had at least two scenes were they should've shortened the songs a lot. Those were concerts.
The story itself was move like a drama episode than a movie. Nothing special to be honest, but it had funny moments and less awkward and embarrassing scenes than the drama - Well, it was only a tenth of the length, though. ;)
I was really disappointed how less screentime the supporting characters had. Especially those I loved so much during the drama. Especially Takashi.
I loved some of the new characters, though. They were cute. It was also interesting to see how other characters developed during the 3 years.
Overall I think this is worth a watch if you're a fan of the drama. If you didn't enjoy the drama you shouldn't watch this, it's the same. :)

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Story: Not as good as the dorama and a little long but besides that the story is interesting and the comedy is funny (there is an especially funny part I found towards the end) and the part after the credits is good too. A good ending for Makoto kinda. I either wanted him to do that job or be a policeman xD

Cast and Characters: All the good cast and characters back such a the main Makoto, Masa, King, G-Boys and the police guys minus Yokoyama xD I love how there is still rivalry between the East and West side in this.

Music: There are whole music parts in this film, easy to listen to and kinda acted like a break as it was such a long SP.

Overall: Good but not as good as the dorama.

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