Seven Days: Monday - Thursday (2015)

I loved the movie. It was a nice change of pace to see a BL movie focus on the feelings that develop. I found myself getting more and more drawn in as it went along. I wasnt even paying attention to the time or anything. When the end came my heart sank a little because we never find out if they get together after the week is up or not. I wanted to cry a little. I need to know if there is a second part? A series? SOMETHING!!!!! I really loved this movie. I was worried that Shino would change after the kiss, but was so happy when he didnt. In fact his attitude after that made me happy. It felt like he was becoming more of the boyfriend than before. Will keep it bookmarked to watch again and again. *Just went back and seen that there is a sequel. Looks like no sleep for me tonight. AWESOME!!!!!

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This is the story we need

You need to watch Seven Days: Monday-Thursday first, and then Friday-Sunday. I hope that they put the two together sometime because it should be watched as a longer movie. I'll be referring to both movies as just one in this review.

This is not your typical BL story, and that's good. What this is, instead, is an exquisitely and breathtakingly beautiful story about two young men in high school who, almost accidentally, realize a love that they didn't know existed or was even possible. There isn't any fanservice here, thank goodness, only phenomenal - and age-appropriate! - writing and acting. They actually act and speak like high school boys and their shyness, embarrassment, and halting actions were all backed up by their inner thoughts, which the audience was thankfully privy to. We got to listen in on their doubts and lack of self-confidence even when their outer appearance was the opposite. I had never seen either main lead before and my goodness, they both delivered 100%. Also, the OST was the perfect accompaniment to the story, and it was shot really well, from lighting to the filming angles.
But the importance of this story lies well past how well-done it was. It lies in the fact that two people, who happen to be the same gender, find a love in each other. Yes, most of us have seen BL stories before, and many of us have seen a lot of BL before. And reams of type have been dedicated to the more problematic aspects of BLs, like the lack of consent too often portrayed as normal, the often-toxic nature of the relationships, again portrayed as not only normal, but expected in these relationships, and the ways BLs cater to the female gaze, making that more important than the other stories of LGBTQ+ men and women that deserve to be told. So we need more stories like this (and maybe less problematic BL!)
The beloved LGBTQ+ folks in my life experience the same kinds of fears and hurts as straight folks do in relationships and many of them want to get married and have a family and live a stable, settled life with their love. And they deserve that chance. Hopefully stories like these Seven Days films, Life-Love on the Line, and others, will help change public opinion enough in Japan to help pass marriage equality laws and normalize LOVE. Because that's what it is. #lovewins.

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If you're looking for 2 guys who ravage eachother this isn't the movie for you. If you're someone trying to get a friend into BL then this is a good start. The best way to explain this movie is it was so simple and pure you can't help but love it. It ended better than I expected and honestly it was nice to have pretty much NONE of it go the way I thought it would. It wasn't overbearing and I didn't have a sea of emotions throughout. The 2 characters personalities I think worked so well together. One was shy and reserved(which is always cute) and the other a forward open-minded good senpai. It of course helped they're both really attractive. Lol I'll definitely recommend to someone looking for romance without a typical story.

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Slow paced but definitely worth watching

Let me start off by saying this is the first movie/drama I've felt inclined to write a review for because I loved it so much. I'll be reviewing both parts (this, and Seven Days: Friday - Sunday) but I'd recommend watching them together as the latter is a direction continuation.

Story:
The plot itself is very well thought out. It's not the most complex, but it's simplicity is what makes it so interesting to watch. As mentioned, it is slow paced; there's a few scenes with long pauses where the characters just stare at each other but these pauses are what makes it so engaging. You really get to feel the emotions between the two characters, and you notice the small details like facial expressions and body language which really add to the atmosphere of each scene. Overall I thought the plot was very well executed and perfect if you enjoy slow burning romance then I'd recommend watching.

Acting:
The chemistry between the two main actors is really present in each scene. The way they interact and embody their characters really piques your interest as a viewer. It doesn't feel awkward at any point (at least not unintentionally) and I felt that the actors did an amazing job at playing Shino and Seryou.

Music:
Not so much the music, but the lack thereof. There was a lot of silence in both movies and the music was kept to a minimum. This really let you focus on the plot and what the characters were saying and made it feel so much more realistic - sometimes in other movies music is used to sway a scene (sad music in sad scenes, stuff like that) but here that wasn't necessary and I'm glad they decided to keep in the long pauses.

Production:
The cinematography was really well thought out - there's a few scenes where the characters faces aren't visible/the actors have their backs to the camera, but it was very tastefully done and adds to the realism of the movies. They also have a lot of really aesthetic camera shots and they used the shooting locations very well.

Overall I really enjoyed both movies and would highly recommend watching. One of the best BL movies I've seen easily.

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Love Love

This is one of my favorites. I always seem to come back and watch it every few weeks.
There is nothing over the top about this one. I think its subtleties make it lovely and memorable. Even though it takes place over only 7 days, it doesnt feel rushed at all. Love the characters and the subtle building of feelings. One is straighforward and outspoken, while the other is timid and reserved. This creates a beautiful chemistry that I adored. It is cute, but also tugs at the heartstrings a bit as you begin to understand each othe characters. Lovely. I would definitely recommend. 😄💜

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Fake it till you make it

Only copying the review I had that summed up my thoughts on both seasons cause I'm lazy

It was cute but that's it, there was not much of the story and I thought it'll be easy for the director since it's a 2D story about fake dating turning into real dating between two highschoolers but there was still a lot of holes in the story and so many things left unanswered!! I guess it can be called a journey to sexuality but I think they didn't even have any problems with genders when it comes to dating, it even seems to me that both of them who is popular and dated a bunch of girls are not treating it as if it's new and different-kind of dating when it comes to them dating which are two guys, it leaves me guessing that they might be bi.

I can see why they went with slow-paced story to make it somehow realistic and seem not forced which ended up with them looking like they are forcing to make it realistic which kinda ruins it for me and made me fast forward a lot. The casts were great but the only one that did well without looking awkward or forced with some of their actions is the person who played shino. Individually criticizing, seiryo's actor did not do well on portraying his character, he was shy and introverted but sometimes he went too quiet and the timing he goes back to talking is sometimes not right and in an awkward timing. The way he acted anxious/scared on the kissing scene on shino's room felt exaggerated.. shino's actor did really well, I have no complains. He was not awkward and it really looks normal and easy to understand his character from the way he portrayed and acted.

The story holes is that even though the two dated a bunch of girls, they don't know how to date.. and had to figure it out for themselves along the way. I guess that's being a man who's popular in japan for you, cause I saw a lot of those in jp movies/series. Another one is seiryo's and the girl who has the same name as shino's relationship, it was vaguely shown but it was pretty obvious that seiryo cherishes and likes the girl but how their relationship bloomed was not entirely explained, they both cling onto one another for comfort which was really weird when you think that the girl obviously was still into his brother which made me think why they were in a relationship, the girl sexually harassed seiryo which he didn't liked at first but went a long with it after(?) cause they even dated (showed scenes of them being in restaurants in a couple manner in season 1) so even if seiryo knew about her relationship with his brother, he still went with it so I was like huh.. that's problematic, might make me hate seiryo cause that's being an accomplice to cheating.

Anyways, enough about that it's actually quite enjoyable. Once they finished a day it makes you curious on the day next cause what happens then is always different and while getting closer to a week, you can see them trying to get even more closer and not wanting it to end :') made me feel lots of butterflies and I liked them together a lot IT WAS SO CUTE AND IT COULDVE BEEN MORE if things were explained and if it were a little bit more harder for them to get together in the end cause it went too easily.

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Underwhelming

I really wanted to like this one, but it just didn't do it for me. The whole idea sounded great, but the way they pulled it off and the acting were kind of a letdown.

I didn't really sense much chemistry between the characters. The guy playing Seiryo seemed to capture the whole falling-in-love thing a bit better, but he looked way too old to be a high schooler. Honestly, he seemed closer to 40 than a teenager, and seeing him in a school uniform and calling someone "senpai" felt a bit off. As for the actor playing Shino, even though he looked younger, it was still hard to buy into him wearing a uniform or falling for Seiryo. Maybe a reboot with more fitting actors would be a good call. And those kissing scenes... they were just plain weird. It's like the actors were scared of touching lips or something.

By the way, I've seen other J-dramas where actors in their twenties pulled off younger roles way better. So, it's not impossible to make it work.

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Meh.

It is your run-of-the-mill BL, except I will agree that the concept is unique... the seven days a week once thing... makes him sound like a complete whore, but turns out he is a very dignified whore, who doesn't touch the girls he is dating...everything is soo Japanese... the actions, the reactions, and whatnot... especially the archery club, the flip phones, the suits, ohh and did I mention the hairstyles? I loved how they took it lightly in the beginning and slowly built upon it... But it is really, really average... Nothing jumps out to you in this movie, be it good or bad... maybe I might have felt differently if I watched in 2015 but the standards are not the same anymore in 2024... I appreciate the acting and the cinematography (it doesn't ruin anything much) but that's it. I am not feeling it, so I am not going to rate it very high...

Its the same thing put on repeat... they went out on a movie date, did some sightseeing, some food eating, having awkward high school dead fish kisses (which are actually dead), suddenly falling in passionate love (how? is the right question to ask here...) , had some drama sprinkled at the end ( why bother man? why?), and THE END.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Nothing great.

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I can't share the enthusiasm for this movie..

When I first read the synopsis I was hooked. The idea sounds interesting and fun!

But the movie is pretty boring for me. I don't feel any chemistry between the actors. The atmosphere is lame and bland.

There was one phone call where I thought their nagging were cute, but that's it.

I don't get the progress of their feelings, because they rarely spend time together, so why do they develope feelings for each other? Lol. Barely anything is happening in the movie. I like dialogue heavy movies and shows, but most of the time no one speaks... :')

The sidestory with the girl Shino is also weird. Didn't get it so far, but maybe part 2 will explain more?

The actors do not fit their roles. They look way too old. Although I liked the actor for Seiryo a bit more. His body language screams "dude from an anime". :'D

Wouldn't recommend it because it just feels like a waste of time for me.

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This is the first part of two and it was really good! I read the manga for this first and then came to watch the live version. The story and acting are a lot better then I thought they would be. I'm really happy with the actors and their acting. The storyline is perfect and it is hard not to fall HARD for the main couple. The whole movie was very beautifully executed and in a way mesmerizing. (i think the soundtrack helped with that too).

If you like a steady paced BL, with a couple who both just want to find love and someone who will love them for themselves, then this is it. I highly recommend this to anyone who is thinking about watching it!

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