Zíza

Very unconvincing. They were good as friends, i.e. Yuina and Ryoma, though unfortunately Fūma is a terrible actor; but once it switched to a slightly different style it wasn't very interesting. Overall it felt a bit spiritless and oddly cobbled together, though there were of course moments worth seeing. Maybe. And there aren’t many. A weak, average series.

Kurosaki-kun had a similarly "violent" theme, but I ended up liking this movie better. Especially from an acting standpoint and the thinking of the characters. Whether they were likable or not, they were believable. And altogether I enjoyed them more. Not to mention that Nikaidō is a very fine actress and Yamazaki is just rising in the ranks, and it shows here. I just don't think the shaky cam is a good fit for a film in this genre. Yes, you can see that the film didn't have a very big budget, but that doesn't fundamentally matter in the end. Well, except for the cinematography and some of the transitions. And every now and then there was a scene that needed to be shorter. But I actually wasn't bored at all. I would say that the heroine's self-esteem is much better portrayed here than in the anime or the prequel. I'm sure it could have been done better, but whatever. It's pretty average.

As has been said from many corners – the weakest I've seen from Miyazaki so far, and I've seen almost all of his work. I'd almost go so far as to say that this film ran out of steam, plagiarized itself a bit, and lacked the will to drag the film into something suspenseful. Even Kiki was basically a feel-good story where not much happens but we see her character develop, etc. That was missing here. Nothing really happened at all, unless you count little things like the old ladies getting out of their wheelchairs. A Little Mermaid story with no evil, no villains, but with five-year-olds. A colorful, peaceful story that is Miyazaki-esque but somehow soulless.

A story that deserves to be deciphered and pondered. What was the author trying to say? What were his characters after? As long as you don’t figure it’s an ordinary overlong film where nothing ever actually happens, Kuwabara gives us the background music just so that we don't notice that there won’t be much in the way of excitement, as long as you step back from the dullness and "boredom", you might find that this is a fairly complex and well-constructed film. Where everything has its place, even its characters represent what they are supposed to represent – whether it's a piece of society or just a minority voice. There aren't many actors, but the important ones play the everyday and almost mundane well. The whole thing hinges on the bland Nanami, played by Kuroki Haru. Here she put the charm with which she manages to draw attention to herself on the back burner and she really was just a wallflower. A very pretty one, to be sure. I still can't get enough of that actress. And then there was Ayano Gō, representing the anonymous company firm. Just the way he talked made him seem out of reach, someone who can’t be relied on if he isn't going to get anything out of it. But of course, it doesn't end there. Watch closely, it's not a film for staving off boredom.

A nice, fairly believable romantic comedy. The bonus is that the Filipinos won't express any sexuality at all, so that's a bit of a plus (at least for me) compared to all the other Asian romantic comedies. Enjoyable, the actors are attractive. It did get a little choppy here and there, and some scenes I did not enjoy one bit, but it was still a successful film. A better 3 stars.

I gritted my teeth and jumped into this romantic comedy even though I don't really like Fukada Kyoko. Fortunately her character was useless, so she was able to pull it off (most of the time I get the feeling she might want to quit acting, but here everything was within tolerable limits). This is not a show where the actors give you bravura performances. This is an unadulterated romantic comedy where everyone acts like people with witty dialogue, especially Fukada x Fujioka, who were the best of the series. The plot is nothing groundbreaking, but it's fairly well handled and you could almost say that the creators avoided all the clichés; if not, they at least used them well enough that they weren't annoying. Admittedly, it did have some missteps; for example, at the beginning we were served a couple of side characters who, over time, completely disappeared from the series because they simply weren't needed – the writers threw them away. Or Miura Shōhei's voice acting, which at times I disliked; on the other hand Dean Fujioka balanced it very well. For a romantic respite, this is probably the best of recent Japanese work.

I have to admit, I loved it. A bunch of wonderful actors. A camera that knew when to be what. And the story. Its denouement, when it finally becomes clear that sometimes less is more. That's the kind of story I love. From the previews it looks exactly how the boys wanted it to look. I basically had the same good feeling I had felt after watching Library War. They're not gems, but they suited me perfectly and managed to impress me and play with my emotions, whether joy or sadness. Simply all five thumbs up.

The last installment is also the most emotional. There's more shooting than talking – or that's the impression I got. It's just a wrap-up of all the loose ends and relationships that started in the previous movie and TV special (which is also worth seeing, to find out what Tsuchiya Tao is actually doing there and who Tezuka's brother is). For me, the quality falls right between the previous installments; the first film really fired me up when I watched it. Once again I am walking away from a movie actually satisfied, yet not knowing exactly why. Probably due to the good balance of action, romance, jokes, and good acting.

Absolutely did not grab me. The cast is good, the characters behave reasonably, but with all the episodes with the protecting and everything it entails all that, I couldn’t care less about the characters; I didn't care who was tied up or shot, I didn't feel sorry for them, I didn't wish things had turned out better for them. The only thing I could sink my teeth into was the soundtrack, it was truly magnificent. Otherwise, the series had absolutely no spark for me. Even the ending... that was probably the worst of all.

If you’re not familiar with the history of Japanese film or television and you don’t know anything about Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, you probably won't enjoy this as much, but I still think it's a very enjoyable insight into a time when the great colossus was just getting off the ground in Japan. Mitsushima Hikari gives one of her best performances here. The episodes are less than half an hour long, and they move along briskly. In every episode a guest star comes in and shows off (or doesn’t), but you still notice. I probably enjoyed Miura as Charlie Chaplin the most. I enjoyed all the episodes and maybe only the last one felt a little weaker than the previous ones, but maybe that's because it was half a farewell and half a promise that Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's life is not over and she is still full of enough life to keep annoying TV viewers. The series is quite sentimental, so anyone who doesn't like sentiment probably shouldn't watch too much of it. Basically, the only big fly in the ointment was that Kuroyanagi, played by Mitsushima, didn't age at all. A brief look, perhaps for some an inspiring one, at the life of a hyperactive and extravagant lady who just so happened to be there at the birth of NHK. A weaker 5 stars.