J-drama SP: Anohana Live Action (2015)

Plot: One summer day, Jintan had an extraordinary experience when he heard a voice of a girl talking to him. The voice is from Jinta's childhood friend Meiko, but it is a strange moment because Meiko died years ago. She appeared in front of him to whom he first ignored wearing the same white dress when she died, but she’s grown older. She tells Jinta that she has a wish and that's why she came back as a ghost, but Meiko can't remember what her wish was. Therefore, Jinta along with their other friends, Atsumu, Naruko, Chiriko, Tetsudo and Meiko gather together for the first time in 7 years to grant Meiko’s wish. However, Jinta is the only one who is able to see Menma.

Comments:

In this kind of film, I feel that there is so much hope in this world that may only be attained when we realize the compassion from the people around us. It has a light story about friendship despite the unfortunate event that happened one summer day. I was so pleased to watch the series because I have encountered a lot of emotions and they didn’t get mixed up in a bad way but it showed the two sides of living life: one is living in the past and the other one is living in the moment while remembering the past and moving forward at the same time. The characters were very remarkable and they have contributed so much in bringing the right emotion in the context of losing a friend at such a young age. Also, this is not a depressing movie despite demanding the viewers to get carried away by so much crying that happened. It is not sad but rather heart-warming because it truly showed how they value the friendship that they have made in the past as young kids and how much that event had made an impact in their lives. Nonetheless, they still participated in helping Menma find that peace that she deserved.

J-Movie: Orange (2015)

In a Nutshell: This is a manga adaptation film which depicts friendship in a form of a parallel universe, where a message to her own self was transmitted through a letter by Naho’s future endeavor.

On her way to school, Naho received a letter from the future telling her of the sequence of events that will take place in school. She then shrugged the idea of it however she met a new transferee in her class, Kakeru. Later on, her curiosity arises as the letter gives her the decision to make in an event that she has to make one for herself.

Comments: Japanese films are generally about uplifting the human spirit and fighting your own evil. This film has a gloomy side which was portrayed through the character of Kakeru. However, evil can be altered through the presence of the people significant to Kakeru, his friends. Basically, it presents well the idea that when you took a matter seriously and urgently, you can make a difference to someone. This is what this film is all about – friendship over romance and friendship above everything else.

Review: Swing Girls

English Subtitled DVD

Watch it Online!

Release Date: September 11, 2004
Genre: Comedy, Youth

Familiar Cast:

Ueno Juri - Tomoko Suzuki
(Nodame Cantabile)

Review: Wolf Children Ame and Yuki

It is an animated film with a box office hit success in Japan on 2012. It received numerous recognition from the different award winning bodies and positive reviews from critics. The movie was highly recommended by JYJ's Yoochun which he mentioned in one of his interviews  and that's how it caught my attention.