As a fan of Kimi ni Todoke, I was apprehensive at first when I heard that they were making a live action movie adaptation of the anime. My experience with live movie anime adaptations hasn't been so good after all. But like the true Kimi ni Todoke fan that I am, I watched the film anyway. (The movie trailers piqued my interest.) And I am so glad that I did.
The live action adaptation of Kimi ni Todoke was a lot better than all the other live action anime adaptations I've seen. I shall now attempt to sum it up into "what I like" and "what I don't like" about it.
What I like about the live action adaptation of Kimi ni Todoke:
- The actors are good-looking. Well, except for Pin. Haha. I especially like Miura Haruma as Kazehaya Shota. He's so adorable! Haru Aoyama, the guy playing Sanada Ryu, is hot, too. And the girls playing Kuronuma Sawako and Yoshida Chizuru were pretty cute as well.
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| Miura Haruma as Kazehaya Shota |
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| Haru Aoyama as Sanada Ryu |
- Even though the basic story in the anime and live action movie is the same, many of the specific events are different, and some situations that were in the anime are presented differently in the live action movie. Although I really love the anime, it would have been a bit boring to watch a movie that had the exact same events presented in the exact same manner as an anime that I have already seen.
- It's so "real". It was like looking inside a real classroom in a Japanese school and seeing normal Japanese teenagers going about their daily lives.
- The scenery was gorgeous. The movie was filmed in such a beautiful place. I wonder where in Japan this is.
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| The place where Kazehaya and Kuronuma met |
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| Yoshida's favorite spot to go to when she's depressed |
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| Kazehaya's bike route home |
What I don't like about the live action adaptation of Kimi ni Todoke:
- It leaves too much unsaid or unexplained. (Or is it just that the fansubber's English translation didn't quite capture the essence of the movie? I'm still thankful somebody subbed it though since I can't understand Japanese that well.) I don't think I would've fully appreciated the story had I not seen the anime already.
- There was hardly any background music except in a few short scenes. And since the camera was a bit shaky as well, it felt almost like a home movie. Or maybe that was the type of cinematography the director was going for...
- No Pedro Martinez! Haha. Seriously, that puppy played an important role in the relationship of Kazehaya and Kuronuma.
Overall, I would give the live action movie adaptation of Kimi ni Todoke a 8/10. It's a live movie anime adaptation definitely worth watching!
