Firstly, I’ve got to say that the filming location for this movie (apparently Mie prefecture) is absolutely gorgeous. This movie made me want to drop everything and move there ASAP! If you like movies set in rural Japan like I do, you will by default LOVE this movie for the scenery alone. One word for the cinematography: WOW!
The story itself is honestly nothing that hasn’t been done before. Tokyo girl (Rio) goes to the countryside for her summer vacation and falls head over heels for the local heartthrob. Lots of cute moments and clichés follow. In fact, this movie takes every possible “summer” cliché and throws it in: sunflowers, blue sky, festivals, fireworks, barbecues, swimming etc. you name it, it’s there. One thing I liked about this movie in particular (compared to other shoujo manga adaptations) is that this movie doesn’t get overly bogged down with lots of forced melodrama or antagonists. Problems are resolved pretty quickly and the overall pace is good.
This movie has a lot of young actors. Wakana Aoi is really good here and I liked her character. Rio was gutsy and knew what she wanted. Respect! Sano Hayato is a little less polished than Wakana but he still impressed me. At first glance he’s not conventionally handsome, but his mannerisms were surprisingly cute and he won me over for sure. Their chemistry together was pretty good too.
This is a shoujo manga story so it's not meant to be taken too seriously. It's unrealistic and dreamy but it has its charms for sure! Give it a try if you like summer romance!
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Light watch to brighten up your mood
I gotta say, I mostly started this because the title song of the movie is within my top 3 fav songs of all time. It was a really nice movie and really helped me feel better (I was feeling pretty sad when I watched it) Of course it's nothing groundbreaking or really well produced but sometimes, when you're in the mood for a movie where everything is bright and happy and nothing bad ever happens, this definitely is the movie you're looking for. It did make me a bit melanchlolic for summer because I watched this on a foggy, cold day in November but the romance and characters were really cute and the setting in a rural area seemed different from the usual Tokyo cityscapes you see in many other Japanese movies.Was this review helpful to you?
Forgettable
This movie, for me, was very forgettable. Seriously, I watched it two days ago and I can hardly remember it.Positives:
Beautiful scenery
No angst
Otherwise:
Not much going on. A lot of longing looks, but too much space with no dialogue. As is the case with so many Japanese dramas, the girl likes the boy immediately, for no apparent reason other than he's breathing. There isn't much character development for us to feel like we know anyone. There was zero chemistry between the lead characters. For me, this movie kind of acted like a lobotomy, to completely empty my brain before watching something else. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it, but I didn't care about it at all.
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The story is nothing special really. It was actually predictable and packed with cliches. On the plus side, you know what you are getting yourself into, as it is pretty much the well known plot path. On the other hand, it's just another teenager-lly movie.
The performances were good as well. However, the couple didn't have chemistry and the love story was weak. That love triangle didn't add anything to the story as it was just a silent note to the whole story.
So, overall, just an okay movie.
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