After reading about 5 volumes of the manga, I was ecstatic when I found out they were making a live action movie. I already expected that it would be different from the manga, less hormonally driven if you get my drift, and I was right.
They made a couple of changes that I didn't care for, like having a character that moved away in the manga be a main character in the movie. This kept Akira from fulfilling what I considered an important role. There were a couple of other changes too, but nothing so dramatic that it kept me from really, really liking the finished product.
I LOVED Karam as Akira, although it shocked me to learn that he's Korean. That boy speaks Japanese like a pro. Ito Ono as Mizuki was a little bit harder for me to connect to. I don't know, I think she was too pretty, too obviously cute. It always felt to me like Mizuki was cutest to Akira in ways that not everyone else understood. He was the blatantly cute, everyone mistakes him for a girl, one. With Ito Ono, you know she's a girl; it's obvious.
Still, the movie is adorable, and bizarre, and gender-bending, so know what you're getting into. Loving the manga as much as I do, I'm thrilled that I liked the movie. Cheers!
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Yamapi may even be a better actor than my personal favorite, Kamenashi Kazuya, and that's saying something. Although, yes, I admit that watching Yamapi kiss does knock Kame down a couple of rungs on that ladder. It's always a shock when an Asian actor kisses like he means it, and Yamapi definitely acted like he meant it. That's what I mean, the passion between him and the leading lady, Keiko Kitagawa, is amazing. And I thought Kame and Haruka in "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi" was awesome!
What more can I say. Well, one little thing, I don't love dramas with a sad ending. *winks*
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It's fun hearing Kenshin speak the same way he does in the anime, with an eccentric something tagged on the end of his sentences. It's cute, and it suits him. You get to know the battle-scarred Kenshin, and he is seriously scary, but you also get to know the Kenshin who's seeking a place to call home, as he experiences that need for connection. Isn't that the human condition, the need to connect?
I can't praise the movie high enough. It's different from the anime, but that's okay. There are so many story arcs in the anime that something a little condensed is very refreshing. This movie is high-quality directing, acting, and staging, with absolutely STUNNING battle sequences. I wish all Japanese movies took the time to make such a magnificent work of art.
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Now I'm fighting the urge to show it to one of my friends who loves vampires, but doesn't usually go for Japanese stuff. I'm a mystery to her, but she loves me anyway. *grins*
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