MyDramaObsession
If you are going to make an age gap movie, especially when one of the lead character is a minor, don't do it like this movie! Yes, I understand that this is common theme in manga/anime! I actually love a lot of stories with this theme so I'm not trying to be prudish about it at all! I know you can create a story where it's plausible and even enjoyable to have an age gap with a minor romance. Unfortunately, the way they did it in this movie is cringe worthy!
The first thing you have to acknowledge is poor story pacing. I understand that a lot of story is hard to fit in two hours, but it can be done. You've probably read by now there literally is no courtship before marriage. There isn't really even enough chemistry or social/physical interaction to sell the whole love at first sight hook! So the only thing you can deduce is that he married her because he was lonely, felt some weird guilt trip so felt the need to protect her. Which if honestly was the case, wouldn't require marriage at all so it still feels really off. When you add in additional factors and how immature/innocent Kako acts even for a modern 16 year old it plays out even more cringy!
This leads to the second thing that must be acknowledged, their maturity levels. Kako could pass as a 12 year old trapped in a 16 year olds body! Her behavior and expressions are so childish it makes the thought of a grown man seeing her as a woman very uncomfortable. On the flip side you have Kouta who could pass as more mature than 26 year old because of his obsession with propriety as a officer and willingness to sacrifice himself for the job! So in the end the age gap gets way more absurd and creepy! The only conclusion you can make that doesn't sound a lot like pedophilia is that he wasn't physically attracted to her as a woman and just wanted someone he could protect and not be alone, maybe have the best position of control? That doesn't exactly make for a swoon worthy romance, more like a borderline psychological thriller/horror movie plot device.
This leads to the most disturbing of all things that must be acknowledged! It is made crystal clear by Kouta that Okami is still a child! It implied many times that Kouta is a mature adult officer and Okami is a kid and needs to rely on adults like the police for help. Yet Okami acts way more mature than Kako! So it's hard to sell the double standard that Kako is grown enough to be an equal, consensual marriage partner, when it's established that she is Okami's peer therefore at the same level (if not lower maturity level ) as a dependant child! This plus the odd, uncomfortable small scenes of physical/romantic interaction between Kouta and Kako make it feel like a little girl with a crush on her older brother. She literally never reaches the maturity level you would expect from a married woman all the way to the end! The only reason you don't have the urge to call CPS when Kouta kisses her or proposes is because he appears to regress in maturity to the level of a teenage boy. That in itself is pretty disturbing though when you actually try to rationalize it!
After acknowledging all the faults it's easy to say this movie definitely failed at being able to comfortably portray a marriage let alone a romance between a 16 year old girl and 26 year old man. Since that is the major premise of the movie it's really sad to admit. The highlight to me was actually the friendship between Kako and Okami! I would actually have preferred a movie based on their circumstances to be the lead romance and the policeman story to be more of a friendship crush that never developed romantically. Why? Because it felt genuine and much more interesting. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to insult Kame, his acting, or trash how well he executed the story! He looked amazing as ever, and I understood his perspective genuinely! It was truthful the storyline and underdevelopment of the characters relationships that made this movie nonsensical. The acting was actually not bad, but with the weird storyline and disjointed characters it felt like they were all performing in unrelated stories!
This is me commenting on the music, it was okay, lively but nothing truly beyond to be notice worthy in my opinion.
I can't actually recommend a re-watch just because there isn't much to warrant it! I mean even in badly executed rom-coms there is often enough sweet warm and fuzziness for a squee fix even if you fast forward the rest! Unfortunately all of those moments in this movie are so uncomfortable to watch and unsatisfying it's more of a downer. My advice is to screenshot Kame and his very sexy-suitable hairstyle as a screensaver and move on to the next movie! ?
The first thing you have to acknowledge is poor story pacing. I understand that a lot of story is hard to fit in two hours, but it can be done. You've probably read by now there literally is no courtship before marriage. There isn't really even enough chemistry or social/physical interaction to sell the whole love at first sight hook! So the only thing you can deduce is that he married her because he was lonely, felt some weird guilt trip so felt the need to protect her. Which if honestly was the case, wouldn't require marriage at all so it still feels really off. When you add in additional factors and how immature/innocent Kako acts even for a modern 16 year old it plays out even more cringy!
This leads to the second thing that must be acknowledged, their maturity levels. Kako could pass as a 12 year old trapped in a 16 year olds body! Her behavior and expressions are so childish it makes the thought of a grown man seeing her as a woman very uncomfortable. On the flip side you have Kouta who could pass as more mature than 26 year old because of his obsession with propriety as a officer and willingness to sacrifice himself for the job! So in the end the age gap gets way more absurd and creepy! The only conclusion you can make that doesn't sound a lot like pedophilia is that he wasn't physically attracted to her as a woman and just wanted someone he could protect and not be alone, maybe have the best position of control? That doesn't exactly make for a swoon worthy romance, more like a borderline psychological thriller/horror movie plot device.
This leads to the most disturbing of all things that must be acknowledged! It is made crystal clear by Kouta that Okami is still a child! It implied many times that Kouta is a mature adult officer and Okami is a kid and needs to rely on adults like the police for help. Yet Okami acts way more mature than Kako! So it's hard to sell the double standard that Kako is grown enough to be an equal, consensual marriage partner, when it's established that she is Okami's peer therefore at the same level (if not lower maturity level ) as a dependant child! This plus the odd, uncomfortable small scenes of physical/romantic interaction between Kouta and Kako make it feel like a little girl with a crush on her older brother. She literally never reaches the maturity level you would expect from a married woman all the way to the end! The only reason you don't have the urge to call CPS when Kouta kisses her or proposes is because he appears to regress in maturity to the level of a teenage boy. That in itself is pretty disturbing though when you actually try to rationalize it!
After acknowledging all the faults it's easy to say this movie definitely failed at being able to comfortably portray a marriage let alone a romance between a 16 year old girl and 26 year old man. Since that is the major premise of the movie it's really sad to admit. The highlight to me was actually the friendship between Kako and Okami! I would actually have preferred a movie based on their circumstances to be the lead romance and the policeman story to be more of a friendship crush that never developed romantically. Why? Because it felt genuine and much more interesting. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to insult Kame, his acting, or trash how well he executed the story! He looked amazing as ever, and I understood his perspective genuinely! It was truthful the storyline and underdevelopment of the characters relationships that made this movie nonsensical. The acting was actually not bad, but with the weird storyline and disjointed characters it felt like they were all performing in unrelated stories!
This is me commenting on the music, it was okay, lively but nothing truly beyond to be notice worthy in my opinion.
I can't actually recommend a re-watch just because there isn't much to warrant it! I mean even in badly executed rom-coms there is often enough sweet warm and fuzziness for a squee fix even if you fast forward the rest! Unfortunately all of those moments in this movie are so uncomfortable to watch and unsatisfying it's more of a downer. My advice is to screenshot Kame and his very sexy-suitable hairstyle as a screensaver and move on to the next movie! ?
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