This movie features a totally bonkers story: the encounter of a yakuza and a middle school choir boy through karaoke lessons. Does it seem a bit crazy ? For sure, but it was so right. I went through a lot of feelings following their journey: laugh and emotions. It is very simple tale with some very outlandish humor that worked very well for me. Maybe the background of the characters could have been more developed to reach a higher level of emotional investment from my side, but I was for sure truly entertained.

Ayano Go who plays the yakuza was top notch. Saito Jun was a suitable younger acting counterpart, maybe a bit green on some points but he succeeded at the most touching scenes. The relationship between them felt right : mentor-mentee vibe (in both way). While I think it could have looked strange or creepy, it never did and I think it is a testimony of their good performances that they were able to avoid what could be a serious pitfall to the scenario.

The OST was good, full of karaoke songs sang with more or less talent which was really the fun aspect of it. The filmmaking was colorful presenting the yakuza life in a vibrant way. It felt disconnected from the reality but that was the point of that crazy but touching story.

I would recommend this to people that enjoy music and/or coming-of-age movie. If you are an aficionado of karaoke, it will for sure bring you up some memories. In overall, it is a good comedy around an atypical mentor-mentee relationship.