Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku (2020)

Takahata Mitsuki's Singing Stands Out

There are No Spoilers

Watch this at your discretion. Everybody has different viewpoints, and this is mine. I was anticipating this live-action film last year because I loved the manga and anime. After viewing the Musical as it is a Musical more than a Live-Action Adaptation, the Director disregarded the original intent of the manga. I think it's appropriate for people who don't understand the manga should not make a live-action movie. Fukuda Yuichi is better at directing dramas/TV shows, so he should stick with that; he is better than this.

I cannot comprehend why a musical element was applied. The Director's attempt at connecting episodes from the manga/serialization was too long and dull. The Director should have utilized the music Niconico Suite or something else if he valued a musical piece. I initially thought to construct musical scenes for Wotakoi: Love Is Hard for Otaku was a great idea.


The Director was thinking outside the box, but the musical scenes poorly edited it would have been better if the song and dance had been a little shorter and had a sense of speed. Side note Ms. Takahata's singing was too good; I did enjoy her voice; if it's a bit of a treble. The repeated singing and dancing scenes, the shape of the characters became infinitely shallow, including the two main characters for me. I can't empathize with this, and I did not enjoy it. You may have a different experience when watching it.


Takahata Mitsuki's character does not feel a sense of incongruity. Her acting is incredible, trying her best at a weak script putting her talents at work. I appreciated Jiro Sato drunken performance that will force a laugh or two. Nanao's role as Koyanagi Hanako was exciting to a certain extent, and she is beautiful, but sometimes I felt like where did she go? Tsuyoshi Muro's strong acting stood out to me. Now, Yamazaki Kento's character is expressionless from beginning to end that I think it was fun with an easy-to-understand role; a world Fukuda created himself.


I loved the characters, but it was the dances and songs that diminished my viewing experience. The content of the story is a little thin for my taste. What happened to the depiction of the birch flower? I kept thinking to myself I love this game, I love this game, so I compelled myself to finish the movie. Maybe it is not a good idea for a person who has read the manga has a little million thoughts circling his head.


The one good thing is the Otaku-like expression is not much different from the manga. I am not going to bore you on every little detail. It was a feature film for the masses that did not honor the work of illustrator and writer Fujita. Critics of movies can be wrong too. I am not sure if Fukuda Yuichi did not have the budget or resources available to him to edit this Live-Action Musical. It would have aided big time. Some people will want a Sequel, and others will be like me. In my opinion, this movie is just for the sake of seeing its cuteness.

Final Rating: 6.05/10
Acting: 8.68/10

I am not rewatching this. I cannot. Some of you may find it a great film, and worth rewatching.

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Listen. I love Wotakoi. I love musicals. I also love shrimps and dulce de leche but I don't eat them together.

This is one of the most bizarre cinematic experiences I had this year. For all intents and purposes, it should have been absolutely my cup of tea. It has several elements that I'm into, including a property I really like, otaku subculture references, musical theater references and Saito Takumi singing and dancing which, as someone who saw the guy first in tenimyu, I appreciate.

But man, this did not work.

They pretty much took the source material for about 20% of its plot and then went in strange directions that hindered not only the possibilities of the movie as an adaptation but also the movie in itself as an experience. Because this movie goes nowhere. You could say there is a development of the main relationship if you squint but that would be generous, especially if you have any frame of reference from the manga or the anime as a comparison.

What is frustrating to me is that the cast was pretty well picked, for the most part, especially Takahata Mitsuki did a really good job. But I have honestly no idea what Fukuda Yuichi was thinking when he adapted this and why he thought Wotakoi was a good basis to built this bizarre musical experience.

There is a dissonance between the source material and why it works and the way in which movie musicals (and musical theater) is built.

Wotakoi is a comedy with a very dynamic pace, it uses multiple characters with different personalities who represent different fandom experiences to create their comedic energy. It's built around references and jokes that tie with gaming, anime, manga, cosplay and many other things, but it's also built in the clumsy yet heartfelt interactions of characters who have a lot of trouble navigating social situations and stumble over each other in a fun yet sincere way.

Musical theater uses songs to move along the plot and to delve into character motivations, feelings and relationships. Songs are used to set the story, they are necessary for us to understand the characters and their environment. We need Jean Valjean to have a soliloquy to make us understand the moment of emotional turmoil that sends him into making a decision about his life, for example.

That ruins the dynamic of Wotakoi. Their interactions and their pacing which plays off of each other and moves the plot while also providing a rhythm and a narrative identity is interrupted and put to sleep by these musical moments. Especially when you have characters like Hirotaka singing about his feelings, which is something much better shown in his attempts at figuring out his relationship with Narumi than told in a weird number while she's drawing. Or Narumi's entire dichotomy of trying to hide that she is an otaku and blending in with the normies, which feels a lot less relatable as a musical number in Shibuya with some idol outfits.

And if you are here for Hanako and Kabakura I was too and I'm so sorry to say you're gonna have to scrape to the bottom of the film to get something.

The movie wasn't an entire waste of my time, but it could have been so much better if who made it was actually interested in making a live action adaptation of Wotakoi instead of bending it with whatever musical idea they had and shoehorn it there for some reason. With this cast and this production value, the live action could have been really great. And, honestly, with some of these songs and performers, an entirely different movie musical could have also been really great.

But both together in the same thing? Nope.

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This was a crime against anime, manga, dramas, and musicals.

When I heard that there was a Wotaku live action, I had to find it. I HAD TO. I adore the anime and manga. The anime is on my comfort list. (iykyk) But THIS? This was an assault on the senses. Unless you plan on buying out the liquor store and taking a pull every moment you regret watching this, just don't. Because I want those 2 hours of regret back, I want to unwatch this so much. I want to unhear and unsee this disaster.
This disaster barely resembled Wotaku as we know and love it.

There's a character minimum on this so here's a story. My great dane puppy is 140lb of curiosity and suffering from Teenager Syndrome. So in the midst of my rescuing a honeybee from a mud pit, my curious canine came bounding over and shoved her face onto the patio chair I'd placed our muddy little friend on before I could remind her of safety rules. So our little buzzing buddy got onto my pup's lip and I'm diving for the bee even while it's stinging my poor pup who's already halfway across the yard doing the "get it off!" dance. I'm muddy, the bee is dead, and my puppy has a puffy lip and the inability to keep her cement-like drool to herself for the time being.

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Treat it as something else (musical) for better viewing.

The whole thing is just awkward, if you compare it to the story on the anime/manga. It is very disappointing to see that the live action is just a musical movie rather than an adaption of the manga/anime. There is so little resemblance to the Anime/manga. The live action is more suitable to be adapted as some kind of drama instead of this musical movie.

The good thing about the movie is the selection of actors (in fact, some of the leading actors) and the musical arrangements. Still, it is just very weird especially if you have read/watch the manga or anime.

Well, you won't be that disappointed on this if you treat it as a musical movie based on the manga characters instead rather than a live action adaption.

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Wth was this movie???

Okay, I know it is a musical. I know the actors selected for this were amazing (C'mon, Kento Yamazaki and Takumi Saito in the same movie is just divine) and wow, I loved the singing from Takahata Mitsuki! But really, what happened???

I took too long to watch this movie bcz I was not that excited from the moment I noticed it became a musical. But maybe I could have just never watched it and let myself curious. It's really disppointing. Where is that funny story we found on manga? The adaptation for anime was so nice! I had no fun with this movie (except for that scene where Kento Yamazaki makes a dork face haha) and I didn't like the way Kabakura and Hanako were put aside in this movie, I mean, they are also the fun element of the thing!!! And OH MY GOSH there were so many unnecessary scenes like those where Narumi's boss show up. He made everything look forced and there was no humor coming from him at all.

As I said, it's sad we can't 'unsee' things, but at least I finally completed one more movie from my long list.

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Expected more

Admittedly, I haven't watched the anime nor read the manga. However, I have seen bits and pieces of it from social media, so I had some expectations but not too many.

I thought it would be a funnier movie with more comedic elements. It got a bit slow in the second half.

I'm not sure why they made it into a musical and it definitely distracts from the flow of the movie. They could've added more scenes of Hirotaka and Narumi instead (making it more a rom-com than it tried to be).

I thought the FL (Takahata Mitsuki) was super cute and did really well. YamaKen's performance was good too, but didn't really stand out to me. But I blame that on the fact that they gave him too many serious scenes and no chances to act more dynamically.

The best part for me was seeing all the FGO characters and merch haha.

Can't say I really recommend this movie unless it's enough for you just to see YamaKen in glasses and Takahata Mitsuki being adorable.

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I have no idea if the manga is a musical, but I did watch the anime--

I want to give an honest review without comparing to the anime (I'll try) as every movie deserves to be rated on its own.
Let me give a summary first.
The good:
- Yamaken
- Takahata Mitsuki's singing
- some comedy scenes
- plot not dependent on knowing the story of the manga/anime

The bad:
- don't know if I'm watching hard core comedy or a musical, too bad it's a mix of both and I can't jive with it
- some awkward scenes
- female lead is a shallow character (no development)
- I'm not a musical fan and it's a musical movie so there

Cast/Acting:
I've enjoyed some jokes, Kaku Kento is a very good actor (he's funny so it makes sense the director always has him in his movies). Takahata Mitsuki is a great singer. I'm certainly going through a list of Yamaken's movies one by one, although I can see somehow that his acting is not that great (this is the 3rd show I've seen that he is the main chara).

Story/Plot:
A good thing about the movie is that the plot can standalone and doesn't depend on the viewers having read the manga/watched the anime. It's ok to watch on it's own, which IMO should at least be a standard to all live action adaptations. However, I'm not the most eager musical-fan out there, so it might be a crime but I skipped all songs (and only kind of listened to Mitsuki's solo near the end).
So if it's only the story, I think I only have one complaint. As a "nerd" I can very much relate to the characters. It's true to the title, as how being an otaku affects our daily lives. But somehow I wished the female lead is not just a hollow human being regardless of being an otaku or not. Her character could've been better. Tho I think they did well with the male lead's character development. But it's still quite disappointing, really.

Overall:
I can't like the movie. It bothers me that I don't get the movie's tone at all. Is it a comedy? Ok, fine. Is it a musical? Ok, fine. Is it a musical comedy? I definitely can't vibe with the mood since the comedic scenes really clash with the musical pieces, I didn't really watch the songs ok, but what I want to say is, the kind of comedy the movie delivers does not suit the musical quality that it also happens to have. It's like watching 3 different movies at the same time. I get it, it's not a crime to have the mood shifting, but it's just the change/flow confused me. Nothing jives. It might be the comedy scenes should've been toned down a bit to make way for it being a musical. I wouldn't mind that I guess.

Re-watch value:
It's hard to re-watch anything especially if you know there are awkward scenes/acting. And comedies usually don't do so well the second time around. Though definitely re-watch it if you wanna see more Yamaken (who wouldn't wanna see him as an otaku?).

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Where's the soul?

"I can't wait to watch it. Finally my favorite anime gonna be in live action"
That's what i think before i can watch it.
The story is different. Not a bit but a lots. I don't know why "Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life" anime can be a "Musical" live action.
Actually the anime more interesting than this live action. The actor are good. They got the soul of their character.
But... bro the story... ah....
where's the comedy? i feel the original story are gone. It's a new story but use "Wotakoi" branding.
ah..
Just watch it. I can't describe it only can give you a warning so you can safe your time.

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Disappointment galore

I was really looking forward to this movie. I was surprised it contained so many songs and dances. But if you're looking for a movie that will give you the same cute inclusiveness that Wotakoi the anime did, I'm sorry to say you won't find it in Wotakoi the movie.

It's a stereotyping, mess of a movie, where a lot of the comic relief for the main cast has been made cringy and Hanako and Kabakura are almost non-existent, while they're basically the only ones that have a singing voice to write home about (imho).

It was so hard to watch it took me over 4hrs to complete...

Spare yourself the pain, and just rewatch the anime...

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Not Good Enough

" Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii " was a bit disappointing.

First of all, the leading lady was simply adorable. She did a great job with her character and she was entertaining and refreshing. Her music acts were well danced too. The male lead was nice too, but he could do better.

Now, the premises of the story are good, but the execution was bad. The musical acts were interesting overall, but they overtook the focus of the movie. That resulted in having too little time for the actual story, which had a messy pace and didn't allow for the characters to really develop or for the audience to get to know them. The ending was disappointing too.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Cute musical bits and cheesy fun

This was nowhere near as bad as the reviews said this was gonna be. I thought the musical parts were enchanting and super cute. The CGI bits were ehh but nothing too crusty. Mitsuki's voice is quite beautiful. I'm impressed at her contributing so much vocals to the film. Her acting was ok. The critics were right about Kento Yamazaki. He is just eye candy here. Acting is non-existent but he looks so good in a suit so I'm ok with it. Came for him but I might look into the FL's music and other works as her voice impressed me a lot. I knew exactly the kind of movie I was signing up for and wasn't disappointed. It's good for a film to know what it wants to be. The only thing I didn't like was Narumi's boss. His voice was really annoying.

Watch if you want 2 hours of fluffy musical escapism :)

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It's a musical. Keep that in mind.

Overall
If you like Musical it would be a great watch and if you like the storyline they maybe give it a try. I went in just from the description and I thought I would love it but the musical part doesnt go too well with me. It is still OkayI have not seen the anime or read the manga btw

Story
The story was good but the beginning felt rushed and the rest felt draggy. I think that the pacing problem had to do with all the songs that kept happening at points that felt random. Like the very first song felt out of nowhere completely. There were other songs that were great transitions and moments of expressing feelings too, so they were not all random. As for the storylines, most felt complete except for the one with the female coworker at the beginning. I thought that was going somewhere. Also, the ending felt like it was being set up for the type of ending that many K-dramas have but then it didn't happen.

Acting/Cast
The acting was pretty good. I liked Kento portraying the ML and as for Takahata Mitsuki its the first time I have seen any of her work, but she was good too. They both seem to have put a lot of effort into their characters and time to learn all the choreographed and songs.

Music
I think that the musical aspect of the film actually hurt it in my personal opinion but I cannot deny that the singing and dancing was beautiful. It is clear and evident that there was so much effort put into it by th cast members.

Rewatch Value
To Me, I have very little rewatch value because I don't like musicals much. However, to other people I am sure that they might want to rewatch as it had great singing and dancing and the storyline was good too.

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