This was a really entertaining story that deals with these three friends and how they decide to tackle life now that they are in the "prime" of their life. One takes the "realistic" route and decides to go to college, the other takes the route of "dreams" to pursue his passion of being a comic artist, and the third is stuck in the past, forever wanting to be the wonton woman-wooer.

The movie actually touches on a lot of internal struggles that young people face when they reach this age of "adulthood", especially for young men. And while it follows some tropes and themes of a typical Korean drama, super intense scenes do not drag out and are actually amazingly well balanced with humour that you don't often expect.

If you're a fan of ????, then you will most likely enjoy this film as well.

Also: there's a fair amount of sexual references, penis-jokes and other random sexual humour that I didn't actually expect, but was well done and was really quite entertaining.

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Story:
The basis of this story is very simple, but it carries a lot of emotional and psychological weight as we watch Kobayashi Daigo transition from what he thought his ideal life would be, to something entirely different, as well as exploring the importance of life and death, as well as the beauty of death and need to respect the dead, even for those we don't know or seemingly don't care about.

Acting/Cast:
This was a fantastic cast and Motoki Masahiro does a phenomenal job of playing the part of Kobayashi Daigo, a man who is desperately trying to find meaning in his life after loosing what he thought was his dream job, as well as dealing with the struggles of his broken family. The rest of the cast is quite simple, but do a fantastic job of supporting Motoki's character without taking away from the importance of /his/ story. The only qualms I had with regards to acting was that of Hirosue Ryouko. Her acting was decent, but I found she didn't really fit in with the rest of the cast, though perhaps that was the point, considering she's supposed to be a "city girl". I didn't find her acting as believable as Motoki.

Music:
The soundtrack for this movie is hauntingly gorgeous and does a phenomenal job of supporting the movie.

Rewatch Value:
This movie leaves such a huge psychological and emotional impact on you that I feel like I wouldn't really /want/ to watch it again. However, if I was to recommend it to someone, I would gladly sit down and watch it again with them.

Overall:
This is a Japanese classic that should certainly be watched by all.

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Story:
At first I thought the concept of the story was far-fetched, and I was really hesitant to watch it because I was afraid of how heavy the romantic drama would be. However, this story was incredibly light-hearted and was really well written. There was a very abrupt transition in the story where "something bad happens" and it follows through with your typical drama angst that's unfortunately predictable but is somewhat saved by the acting between Sato Takeru and Sakurako Ohara. I also have to admit that I was quite disappointed in the ending-- especially the "alternative/extended ending" after the credits. I felt the ending was unsatisfying and sort of diminished the impact of the story as a whole. However, I'm not familiar with the original story to be able to give a full in-depth critique. And please don't let these negative comments deter you from watching the film, because everything leading up to the end is honestly really, really well done.

Acting/Cast:
The acting for all of the characters was fantastic and believable save for Kubota Masataka who felt like the typical trope anime-styled character that you see in most dramas. The other supporting roles were very well done. Sato Takeru once again astounded me with his passionate acting abilities. Sakurako Ohara's character, though incredibly naive, is far from annoying or boring. Sakurako manages to bring out a lot of emotional strength, and convincingly plays the part of a young genius in music. Not to mention that her voice is incredible! The chemistry between Sakurako and Sato is very well done and convincing for their characters.

Filming/Editing
I also have to give a lot of praise to the filming, directing and editing crew. Everything about this film was very high quality and beautifully filmed and edited. There were no inconsistencies and everything carried some level of significance right down to the coloured filters that were used in the editing process.

Music:
I really enjoyed the music that was created for the characters of the show as well as the supporting soundtrack. The soundtrack isn't particularity memorable, but that isn't the impact that it's trying to make. It properly supports and enhances the movie watching experience in its subtlety, and doesn't fight with the music that the characters play in the story.

Rewatch Value:
I will definitely be rewatching this movie again. However, I would probably skip the extended ending.

Overall:
Please watch this movie!! It's really good!!

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