OK, to the people who've NEVER read the manga: This movie is slow-paced. You may, or may not get bored. It depends if you get hooked in by the storyline, the characters, or the tunes. Of course if you're a fan-girl, HYDE will definitely hook you in. But Hiroki is a cutie as well. He delivers such adorable faces that you won't be able to refuse. The tunes are great also, because HYDE sings it (obviously). But Hiroki sings a little bit in the beginning of the movie too (don't miss it!) The storyline can get a bit too tidy and boring. But the "mystery" will keep you going if you want to find out what's behind everything.
ABOUT THE MOVIE: It's a story of a girl (Mizuki) who has a miserable life (but they don't show much of it), and meets a mysterious man named "Adam." She finds peace and somehow "familiarity" in Adam. And then, Mizuki gets herself run over by a car, and mysteriously finds herself trapped in a mansion with absolutely NO memory of her life EXCEPT Adam. The story starts from there. Go figure why Mizuki is trapped in the mansion as you watch the movie. (*note* no matter how much I mention Hyde's character "Adam" in this review, it does NOT mean that HYDE appears in most of the scenes. BECAUSE HE DID NOT.)
ACTORS & ACTRESSES: Chiaki Kuriyama really gave her best opposite performance in this movie (compared to her character in Kill Bill.) She really did great. Hiroki Narimiya also did awesome. He's got quite a character. I loved him! But I have to say that HYDE wasn't as good as he was in Moon Child. He's cool though. And he's hot. So I suppose that covers it all for the fan-girls? Hah! I also have to say that Hyde speaks some English in this movie, and I know it's adorable, but he can't pull off a British accent to save his life (and his character's supposed to be half British!) Anyways, the supporting kid actor and kid actress weren't what I expected. I guess they're alright? I had high hopes for them to be "adorable." But I wasn't attracted to "Hotaru"'s acting skills. And "Miura" was a bit dull.
OVERALL: I give this movie a 6 or 7. But since I'm being nice here, I'll give the IMDb poll SEVEN STARS. The piano version of the song "Last Quarter" (the movie's theme song) was soooooo GOOD in the movie! That song was used VERY WELL too! HYDE rocked the soundtrack! The movie's theme song is English by the way!
**************SPOILERS ALERT!!!!! WARNING!!!****************
If you've read the manga by Ai Yazawa (the "graphic novel" that this movie is based on), then the first thing I have to say is DON'T EXPECT A LOT OF "COMEDIC ACT" IN THE MOVIE. This movie goes VERY slow, VERY serious, and VERY heavy on the foreshadowing. You won't get confused if you just follow the foreshadowed scenes, or the scenes with the "clues."
The movie is a little bit different from the manga. First of all, Sayaka had a twin brother (in the manga, she didn't.) There are only two kid "investigators" in the movie: Miura and Hotaru. So you don't even see a "relationship" forming between the kids, because the other two kids aren't in the movie. And Tomoki is supposedly the reincarnation of Sayaka's brother (which you will find out much later on in the movie.) Another difference is that Aya recorded a video of her and Tomoki in her cellphone the morning after they "did it." That's how Mizuki finds out in the movie that Tomoki "cheated" on her. In the manga, there wasn't any "cheating" involved. It was just Mizuki giving way to Aya's feelings for Tomoki. The movie also starts with Mizuki celebrating her birthday (unlike in the manga, whereas Mizuki met Adam.) Adam didn't overdosed himself with drugs (from what I understand, compared to the manga), Adam in the movie committed suicide by a "car accident," supposedly to follow his lover. And in the movie, the connection between Mizuki and Sayaka is more than a "reincarnation." It's something to do with the necklace that Adam gave to Sayaka and then, Tomoki gave to Mizuki. Also, don't expect a lot of "comedic act" like in Ai Yazawa's manga (as I have already said). The movie is so much slower. There are some funny parts, but barely... probably only when Tomoki makes funny faces and idiotic comments. Also, the movie has a lot more foreshadowing because it's a movie (I repeat). Like for example, in the beginning, Mizuki tells Adam that she's heard "that song" before because her dad used to sing it to her (although in the manga, Mizuki never heard that "tune," but rather she came to like it until she heard it on the radio.) Yeah, I think that's pretty much it.
ABOUT THE MOVIE: It's a story of a girl (Mizuki) who has a miserable life (but they don't show much of it), and meets a mysterious man named "Adam." She finds peace and somehow "familiarity" in Adam. And then, Mizuki gets herself run over by a car, and mysteriously finds herself trapped in a mansion with absolutely NO memory of her life EXCEPT Adam. The story starts from there. Go figure why Mizuki is trapped in the mansion as you watch the movie. (*note* no matter how much I mention Hyde's character "Adam" in this review, it does NOT mean that HYDE appears in most of the scenes. BECAUSE HE DID NOT.)
ACTORS & ACTRESSES: Chiaki Kuriyama really gave her best opposite performance in this movie (compared to her character in Kill Bill.) She really did great. Hiroki Narimiya also did awesome. He's got quite a character. I loved him! But I have to say that HYDE wasn't as good as he was in Moon Child. He's cool though. And he's hot. So I suppose that covers it all for the fan-girls? Hah! I also have to say that Hyde speaks some English in this movie, and I know it's adorable, but he can't pull off a British accent to save his life (and his character's supposed to be half British!) Anyways, the supporting kid actor and kid actress weren't what I expected. I guess they're alright? I had high hopes for them to be "adorable." But I wasn't attracted to "Hotaru"'s acting skills. And "Miura" was a bit dull.
OVERALL: I give this movie a 6 or 7. But since I'm being nice here, I'll give the IMDb poll SEVEN STARS. The piano version of the song "Last Quarter" (the movie's theme song) was soooooo GOOD in the movie! That song was used VERY WELL too! HYDE rocked the soundtrack! The movie's theme song is English by the way!
**************SPOILERS ALERT!!!!! WARNING!!!****************
If you've read the manga by Ai Yazawa (the "graphic novel" that this movie is based on), then the first thing I have to say is DON'T EXPECT A LOT OF "COMEDIC ACT" IN THE MOVIE. This movie goes VERY slow, VERY serious, and VERY heavy on the foreshadowing. You won't get confused if you just follow the foreshadowed scenes, or the scenes with the "clues."
The movie is a little bit different from the manga. First of all, Sayaka had a twin brother (in the manga, she didn't.) There are only two kid "investigators" in the movie: Miura and Hotaru. So you don't even see a "relationship" forming between the kids, because the other two kids aren't in the movie. And Tomoki is supposedly the reincarnation of Sayaka's brother (which you will find out much later on in the movie.) Another difference is that Aya recorded a video of her and Tomoki in her cellphone the morning after they "did it." That's how Mizuki finds out in the movie that Tomoki "cheated" on her. In the manga, there wasn't any "cheating" involved. It was just Mizuki giving way to Aya's feelings for Tomoki. The movie also starts with Mizuki celebrating her birthday (unlike in the manga, whereas Mizuki met Adam.) Adam didn't overdosed himself with drugs (from what I understand, compared to the manga), Adam in the movie committed suicide by a "car accident," supposedly to follow his lover. And in the movie, the connection between Mizuki and Sayaka is more than a "reincarnation." It's something to do with the necklace that Adam gave to Sayaka and then, Tomoki gave to Mizuki. Also, don't expect a lot of "comedic act" like in Ai Yazawa's manga (as I have already said). The movie is so much slower. There are some funny parts, but barely... probably only when Tomoki makes funny faces and idiotic comments. Also, the movie has a lot more foreshadowing because it's a movie (I repeat). Like for example, in the beginning, Mizuki tells Adam that she's heard "that song" before because her dad used to sing it to her (although in the manga, Mizuki never heard that "tune," but rather she came to like it until she heard it on the radio.) Yeah, I think that's pretty much it.