It took me a while to watch this movie, but I'm glad I watched it now, with a clearer perspective of what's going on in jpop culture and sub-culture, and how gender identity influences this. So, I believe a fair review of this movie needs to not only consider the movie itself but also the context in which it's inserted in. This is not just another sub culture niche movie, and we need to understand why. 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.