After reading about 5 volumes of the manga, I was ecstatic when I found out they were making a live action movie. I already expected that it would be different from the manga, less hormonally driven if you get my drift, and I was right.
They made a couple of changes that I didn't care for, like having a character that moved away in the manga be a main character in the movie. This kept Akira from fulfilling what I considered an important role. There were a couple of other changes too, but nothing so dramatic that it kept me from really, really liking the finished product.
I LOVED Karam as Akira, although it shocked me to learn that he's Korean. That boy speaks Japanese like a pro. Ito Ono as Mizuki was a little bit harder for me to connect to. I don't know, I think she was too pretty, too obviously cute. It always felt to me like Mizuki was cutest to Akira in ways that not everyone else understood. He was the blatantly cute, everyone mistakes him for a girl, one. With Ito Ono, you know she's a girl; it's obvious.
Still, the movie is adorable, and bizarre, and gender-bending, so know what you're getting into. Loving the manga as much as I do, I'm thrilled that I liked the movie. Cheers!
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xeenatheprincesswarrior
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It is my first time to watch a movie that both main leads are switch in gender, yes, it is gender bender movie with good plot.
The leads are beautiful, yep, even the male lead is "pretty", the reason why he is always mistaken for a "girl". It is not a surprise seeing a man fangirling over a man, or girls over a girl, it is a natural trend (I think that's a unique taste among Asian), and it is not weird. Because myself, I am also fangirling over a girl but I am a 100% straight, check out Touya Hibiki and you'll know what I mean.
The story is refreshing, romantic, funny and it has charms. It also show one or two character of Asian, being jealous and possesive (see how the admirer confronted Mizuki scene and Akira's admirers over Kiss issue).
In this movie, they also showed the modern fashions of Japanese people, those lolita trends, punk, pop culture and so on.
Overall, it is an entertaining movie.
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There were a few parts where I couldn't help but to laugh though because of how overdramatic they were but I think it gave them a bit more character (if that makes sense?) but for the most part I just wasn't feeling it. Honestly I was confused through a goof part of it because for the girl school to be so prim and proper, I didn't understand why they would love the band so much since they looked like they could have fit in with the guys lol. I don't mean this in a bad way. Just confused.
I want to add this was a first for me with all the gender swaps. I don't mean the crossdressing but how they called the most popular guy in school "princess" and the girl was the "prince"? (unless the translations were wrong? Lol then disregard this lol)
The movie wasn't bad, I just didn't feel like this was my kind of movie; though I really wish it was. It gave me NANA vibes for the most part with the band and fashion -- so maybe that's why I was so drawn to it? I'm still chasing that NANA "high" haha.
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The movie is basically drenched in KERA magazine, so you'll see a lot of familiar faces and brands if you're a reader: AKIRA, Karam (from The Boss) and Misako Aoki, for example, and everyone's dressed as if we were entering an alternate reality where KERA fashion was the norm (I wouldn't be mad about that, honestly, but yeah, you're gonna have to suspend your disbelief with that one). Product placement in this movie is very heavy, even more so than in Runway Beat, so half of the movie is a giant KERA fashion spread. I'll make a little note before moving on, I'll refer to the actress AKIRA with all caps to differentiate her from the character Akira from the movie.
The story is based on a Mayu Shinjo manga of the same name, and I'm not a big fan of hers to be honest, I feel her stories are all very similar, her characters look the same, her plots are simple and rely on a consistent wish-fulfillment trope and sex rather than world building, character development and/or original content. So yeah, not a fan. This particular one was always one I stayed away from because I feel it uses gender as a tool for fanservice more than to explore it as a subject in itself: there's a guy who is very feminine looking and a girl who is very masculine looking, they fall in love and Mayu Shinjo level of flirting and spices ensue. Add to that two rival schools (an all-girls one and an all-boys one) and an all-girls rock band (in the movie Akira isn't in the band) and you have your plot. At the end of the day, they're a cis het guy and a cis het girl and their gender presentation never seemed to me to be necessarily a subject of bigger debate. If a mangaka like Ai Yazawa was doing this, for example, we would have another kind of narrative. But, I digress.
The movie is tamer than a Mayu Shinjo manga, but the issues of gender and sexual orientation are as plain as they can be. There’s girls attracted to girls and boys attracted to boys but, at the end of the day, it’s all seen as a game rather than an aspect of sexual attraction or gender identity. Akira, Karam’s character, insists on having Mizuki, Ito Ono’s character, girly clothing because he thinks she wants to look girly deep down because "all girls do" and "she's beautiful". Akira makes a point to shame his classmates for liking him because men liking men "is a no-go". It’s the same old story where these narratives are used for fanservice rather than actual representation. But it had the potential to go much further.
The thing is, the cast has some members whose careers and lives are marked by these things. AKIRA made a career of her boyish look and style and is one of KERA’s most successful models right now, and has been for a few years, so gender fluidity is a brand for her. Still, she admits in interviews to being concerned about her presentation and what’s expected of her in society. Most importantly than anyone else in this cast is Shuto Yoshihara, a trans man member of the all FtM trans boy band SECRET GUYZ, who was cast as a girl. These two people right here could have been the leads with ease. Their performances steal the show and it would have been a much more valuable narrative if AKIRA, a masculine female model whose career is based on gender fluidity (she plays male roles in theater for heaven’s sakes) played masculine-looking Mizuki and Shuto Yoshihara, whose career speaks about making his experience known as a trans male, played an actual male role, Akira. But no, we get Karam, who is trying but doesn’t quite make it, and Ito, who isn’t even trying at all. I'm not aware when exactly Shuto transitioned, but since his debut with SECRET GUYZ was in 2013, this could have been a major platform to start up with as a starring role.
All in all, the movie isn’t bad but it isn’t great. It shows that it’s a niche film made for the sub culture market in which it’s inscribed in but has a story that could have gone further if only it had allowed itself to get out there all the way. It has good moments and its intention is good, it definitely puts out there subjects of gender presentation vs identity and bonds between people despite preconceptions of gender, but it had the potential to go much further, and the performers to do so as well. I thank it, however, for including and casting people outside the norm and giving a platform in which this can expand.
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Quer dizer, essa deve ser a ideia, né? O filme é baseado num mangá, afinal. Mas, o que eu quero dizer é que a fofura referente vem acompanhada de vários clichês típicos japoneses. Esse foi, provavelmente, meu primeiro filme japonês, mas consegui sentir a mesma energia dos animes que assistia quando era mais nova. Foi interessante observar pessoas de verdade agindo como animações 2D asiáticas, haha!
O plot é criativo e muito fofo! Conta a história de Akira Shiraishi, um garoto que é muito popular em sua escola por ter feições femininas. Ele é tratado como uma princesa por seus colegas, com direito à paparazzi, fanclube e tudo mais! Só que o Akira é apaixonado por essa garota, a Mizuki Sakurazaka, que é guitarrista de uma banda famosa. Ela estuda numa escola só pra garotas e, adivinha, ela parece um garoto, então faz muito sucesso com suas colegas!
Eu estava louca procurando esse filme pra assistir, quase tive que ver em inglês, porque o plot me chamou muito a atenção. E eu gostei muito, de fato, o ritmo da história é muito bom, os amigos do Akira são engraçados daquela forma boba dos animes, sabe? (nem preciso dizer que eu encontrei esse filme por causa do Terada Takuya, né? Só amores pra ele <3), as amigas da Mizuki são m-a-r-a-v-i-l-h-o-s-a-s e o visual lolita gótica de praticamente todas as meninas que aparecem na história me deixou com saudade da minha infância nos animes (me senti velha agora, ixi). O que me deixou meio desapontada, mesmo, foi o primeiro beijo do casal. Pra não dar nenhum spoiler, só vou dizer que o Japão precisa se tocar que existe uma linha bem grossa entre romance e assédio, eles só não vêem porque não querem! Ainda que o filme seja de 2012, isso me incomoda um pouco.
O final é comum e fofinho, nada que eu já não esperasse, por ser um romance bobinho. Num geral, foi uma boa história, me fez querer voltar a consumir conteúdo japonês e eu acabei pesquisando e descobrindo que a Kaoru (Disaconde Akira) tem uma banda de J-Rock que eu vou definitivamente procurar saber mais sobre!
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