I had no idea that this was an adaptation of the manga until the characters introduced themselves, it’s been years since I read the manga so I didn’t put it together during the opening elevator scene. Yoneda Kou is a ride-or-die mangaka for me, meaning I’ll read absolutely anything she writes, so once I realized it was her Shima and Togawa I was super excited to keep watching.

However, this movie I feel really did the character of Shima a disservice. Yes he had that intense poker face that Shima had at the beginning, but throughout the manga he is very sassy with Togawa as they get to know each other, and that is what I felt poorly translated to the film. Not to say that I feel the actor who played him did not do a good job, I loved the casting for this film. I just feel that the story suffered in the translation to a film because we could not see Shima’s internal monologue and his thoughts like in the manga. After finishing the movie I went back and reread the manga and there is just so much more emotion conveyed because we are able to see what Shima is thinking in certain situations.

That being said, I loved seeing one of my favorite mangas brought to life, and by total surprise! I’d definitely watch again. Also the actor that played Shima was super cute, I loved that he had a mole on his face like in the manga. Whether the actor actually has a mole there or if it was makeup, I thought it was a nice touch.