First off, I saw the title of this movie "little love song" and thought to try it out. I had low and I mean low expectations because it looked like a usual high school music movie. I decided to give this movie a shot and it blew me away which made me write a review for it.

Story: This movie teaches you about friendship, music, and life. While watching the movie, I kept thinking about the title of this movie in English and Japanese. I thought that it sound familiar and then I realized oh its that song Chiisana koi no uta. This movie was based on that famous song Chiisana koi no uta and the band Mongol800. I'm not sure how accurate if the movie was fully based on the band's true story or not but it still was a beauty to watch. I enjoyed the ways the characters had a motivation goal to keep playing their music. Whether it was for someone gone or someone who was leaving, they loved music and wanted to play it. I thought the interaction with Lisa (american girl) was different to a youth music movie. Having 3 band members put more focus on each member and gave them a better identity in the movie. I wish they had more scenes of the relationship between Mai and her brother to showcase how much he meant to her. I think more bands having a female member in it with males work out well and we should see more of them in movies/life. They wanted to play their song for the school festival/lost friend, then for a memory of their american friend, and last for their love of playing. The love of music is powerful.

Acting/Cast : I looked at this cast and didn't recognize anyone. I'm not really a big fan of the newer actors today but I was introduced to some in this film. I think the main cast who played the students didn't look too old as students, they fit quite well enough. The actress who played Lisa was fine. I didn't care much about the other "american" actors.

Music: The strongest point of the film is the music of course. Chiisana koi no uta is a famous song in Japan and the many versions of someone new singing it doesn't disappoint. The other 2 main songs in the film "Sayonara doll" and "Anata Ni" were also good. Both fit the mood of who they were singing it for.

Re watch: Yes I want to re watch this movie. My before expectations were at low then after watching the movie, I am at a very high for re watch value. It has two things of a movie I enjoy youth and music.

Overall : This movie is a hidden gem and more people need to watch this. The ups and downs they go through and their love for music is a joy.