This one totally better not have a bait-and-switch in it. My Yamapi is finally doing a honest to goodness renai so imma hunkering down to soak in all the feels when it arrives. I’ve been waiting and waiting for Yamashita Tomohisa to deliver a drama or movie I can love as much as I love some of his earlier works like Nobuta wo Produce and Buzzer Beat. In between lays the detritus of crap like Kurosagi and Code Blue and even last summer’s Summer Nude turned out to wallow in the pool of suck. It was so deadly dull it can be used to tranquilize overactive children. It was supposed to be a romance and have a love triangle and all it ended up delivering was a snoozefest contained not a single relatable or genuinely likable character. Up next for Yamapi looks exactly up my alley – he’s starring in the live-action movie adaptation of the popular manga Kinkyori Renai (近キョリ恋愛 literal translation Short Distance Love) opposite model turned actress Komatsu Nana.
She’s all of 18 years old and a brand new face in the industry so my only opinion of her is that she definitely looks the part of a high school student and has a more lissome Kawaguchi Haruna vibe. The manga is about a top ranked high school student who excels at all the disciples except for English. She falls for her substitute English teacher after a series of events brings them together but they need to keep their relationship a secret until he’s done with his teaching term. While the teacher-student romances are anathema to me in real life, I’m fine with it as a storytelling set up and shoujo mangas have actually done a few amazingly well without any ickiness such as Kiss Mo Yori Hayaku (Faster Than a Kiss). Directing the movie is the director who helmed another popular and successful live-action movie adaptation of the manga Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You) with the adorable Miura Haruma. Kinkyori Renai drops in theaters in October and before then I’ll tackle the manga to see if it’s up my alley.
Manga overview:
I’m looking forward to this movie and I’ve been thinking about watching the prequel series kinkyori renai season zero but knowing how it ends before starting it and with a different cast seems a little weird
I watched two episodes of season zero and it was so weird to watch without Yamapi. The cast is okay but the acting and pace is all over the place. You probably wont be missing out on much if you dont watch it lol.
I watched that drama and actually fell for it and the casts <3
i watched it without knowing the story at all tho.. so it's kinda sad to know that haruka didn't end up with mirei. :'(
but now i really really want to watch the movie, just in case to know what'll happen between haruka and mirei in the future
I’m looking forward to this movie. I really liked Buzzer Beat and it made me wish that more dramas would use the friends fall in love trope.
Just finished reading faster than a kiss; Am going to put this one on my to read list, though they sound very much alike.
I love teacher-student romances.. I’m surprised they are doing a live-action since usually these don’t even get anime. I’m excited!
He is adorable but his acting is just…too painful to watch after nobuta. :/ i might watch for the pretty..maybe.
Interesting…. I might watch.
Side note: second season of Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo comes out Mid- September!!!
WTF How he never gets old O_____O
ahhh! I totally love teacher & student theme romance! My absolutely favourite is Slammed by Colleen Hoover which has that plotline but doesn’t sugar coat that it is ethically wrong. Nevertheless this looks good and directed by the very person who did Kimi Ni Todoke – yup yup going to watch!!!!
I rewatched the movie several times for several days. So romantic n not icky at all. He wasnt touching her all the time, showed respect for her. No wonder she fell for him. Just his voice is enough….
Thanks for the information about the movie Okoala. I enjoyed it!
Thank you for alerting us to this movie Koala. I really enjoyed it!
Yeah..thz moviee is quiteee gudd..i really liked it….eventhough i dont understand the language..i love to watck korean moviesss…..::)