Ossan's Love: Love or Dead(劇場版おっさんずラブ: Love or Dead) Japanese film Thoughts

 

   

    Ossan's Love originally started as a 2016 television film that inspired a drama in 2018.  The drama then became the most talked about show on Japanese twitter with many hashtags trending during the show's run. Then comes this film which comes as a continuation to the drama. Love in the Sky was soon made in the same year due to the series ongoing success. Love or Dead was directed by Toichiro Ruto and written by Koji Takuo(Who also wrote for the drama).  Kei Tanaka, Kotaro Yoshida, and Kento Hayashi all reprise their roles with the new addition of Jun Shison and Ikki Sawamura. 

    Soichi comes back to Japan from Hong Kong after a business trip to find is company at an all out war with another shady company. On top of that, his lover moves out of the house that they share together due to a misunderstanding revealing more cracks in their relationship. Their love seems to falling more and more apart as Soichi's boss suddenly falls in love with him all over again after a accident. A new colleague also seems to have Soichi in his sights.... Is love better off dead? 

    Love or Dead pretty much rehashes what made Ossan's Love such a fun viewing experience. This film could have been another season just cut up into parts if they had wanted to but I gladly welcomed the film due to the idea of not knowing if I would get more from the series. There's a ton of over the top humor that works because of the different circumstances that characters find themselves in. More instances have to do with comedy as Ossan's love doesn't choose to be uptight about being correct or perfect. It's more like you have a perfect hot mess full of Gay baiting before you get to tiny bits containing important conversations. Especially the conversation about Gay marriage and the idea that love doesn't have to have a label catering to sexuality. You can love someone as a person regardless of gender. I believe that Ossan's Love how the first Gay Japanese drama to actually discuss the idea of marriage in Japan on Primetime television. This was a huge step for Japan as a society even if Gay marriage still isn't legalized in Japan. Love or Dead keeps this positive approach towards same sex relationships in the film. However, the film doesn't go nearly as deep as the drama did in it's eight episode run. Probably because they don't want to expose the public to this idea in a way that seems like they are trying to "convert" someone to seeing their perspective. All the humor does a good job keeping audiences laughing while also making them think more openly to Gay people. My only problem with Love or Dead is that some people might reduce Gay people to being funny people who are all guy crazy. I would never want who someone is to be only seen has a joke. They always troll on the kiss scene. You got to work for it...... I mean like watching the whole damn film to see it.... 

     Kei's over the top acting makes Ossan's Love what it has become. His performance gives life to the whole series and then the other cast formalities around his acting. His facial expressions kill me because he acts so out of the box based on the situations he's in. Soichi is a very lovable character yet also very doppy. Kotaro and Kei's scenes together are pure golden. Both characters would actually be meant for each other if it wasn't for the age difference. They are both two sides of the same coin. I enjoyed all the couplings for what they represented in an ever changing Japanese society. Everything about the cast is just slick explosive comedy. Even the cheesy sort out for laughs worked when other times most would have cringed. 

   The filming is just was wacky as the performances.  If I saw the camera jerk one more time when Soichi was shocked about something, my eyes would've fell out of my head. the camera was also right there with the action when Soichi was jumping over something or outrunning explosions. Many of the shots capture him really well. No matter if it''s at a low point verses a high point where the camera is filming. Somehow Ossan's Love becomes an action film too.....

   Love or Dead definitely will not let you down if you're a fan of the original drama/Tv film. I do fell that the Ossan universe is a bit disjointed though. Fans who have watched up to this point know what I'm taking about. Having the stories flow together a bit more would be nice.  

Ride Your Wave(きみと、波に乗れたら) Japanese Animated Film Thoughts

 

   Ride Your Wave is a Japanese animated film created by Masaaki Yuasa who is mostly know for his out of the box films such as The Night Is Long, Walk On Girl. The film opened to over three hundred theaters last year and made it to the top ten films of the week as number nine. Many people have also praised the film for it's realism in relationships even if the film was more normal than Yuasa's other works.  

   A girl moves to a beach side town where she knows none. Her love for surfing and the sea keeps her optimistic though. She then meets a guy after dangerous circumstances. They looked to be together forever until he loses his life in a accident. One day the girl notices that her boyfriend appears in water every time she sings their favorite song. ......

   The first half of Ride Your Wave is a bunch of story building. Building up on the location, characters, and their relationships. Love gets laid on real thick in a good portion of the introduction but you have to understand that this is to create a connection with the characters. On top of this, all the characters are very likable due to their relatable personalities however, the action doesn't start till midway through the film. As the fantasy element arises, viewers are forced to face a growing feeling of dread as you watch a miracle be realized to be an impossible situation. Ride Your Waves has a couple of funny light moments to keep you afloat while still presenting cold hard reality. It's a reality that nether viewers nor the main character want to face but life was never meant to be a smooth sailing ride. I enjoyed the core message: "taking life by the horns" or in this case, riding the waves life brings your way. Nothing it every easy when you lose a loved one that you thought you could lean on for eternity. When the time comes for you to stand back up again, you must choose to move on or stay in the same spot. You have to get a move on if you want to keep living. End of story. This is a hard pill to swallow for us humans in life and Ride Your Waves presents this real to life conflict beautifully all the way to the ending credit roll. I actually quite enjoyed the message of the film more than the fantasy aspect due to this fact.  

    The animation in character model looks purely as something Yuasa would draw. I thought the appearance of the legs, eyes, and body were different yet still fit in the casual Japanese anime style. Much of the CGI was used for the ocean scenes and for some of the buildings which looked very pleasing to the eyes. The surfing scenes overall were fun to watch because of the soundtrack's energy. J-pop boyband Generations From Exile Tribe got a whole promotional ad thanks to this film. Well, that song and Omelet rice...[INSERT ME LAUGHING] Their song, Brand New Story was the sole theme song. The English dub lyrics are so cute too. Speaking of the english dub..... They all did the film justice as a guy who prefers overdub when watching anime(and Japanese when watching live action..).  Also, shout out to the English cast for recording the whole film from their respective homes during Covid-19. I see all the hard work to bring this film to English speaking audiences. If I had to find anything I didn't like about Ride Your wave, it would have to be the drawn out sequences with only the soundtrack. You know those scenes used to show time is passing. Makoto Shinkai is guilty of doing this also. Sometimes it works, then other times you might be bored to tears. 

    Ride Your Wave's strong life message and likable characters are enough to keep the film sturdy on any surfboard. There's a bit of falling involved but I can promise that you will find a safe landing before the film is over. 

 

Monsta X(몬스타엑스) - Fantasia Mini album Thoughts(K-pop)

 

    I'm a bit late making a post about Monsta x's latest mini album, mostly because I bought the album and let it sit on my dresser for weeks. Fantasia is what the guys threw out after their American album. I'm not mad at the release considering their Valentines Day album was missing what made Monsta X unique in South Korea. Those who were craving the absence of their strong presence probably broke a door down to listen to this new mini album. Also, shout out to Wonho for doing his thing solo.... even if I like his body more than I like the music........ 

 

TRACKLIST:

• 1. FANTASIA
• 2. FLOW
• 3. ZONE
• 4. Chaotic
• 5. Beautiful Night
• 6. IT AIN’T OVER
• 7.Stand Up

   Fantasia calls on the guys to do the same old same old that got them their fanbase. Nothing new here to really here and no tracks jumped out at my like their last mini album. What I will say is they do their signature style so well that it seems almost locked in. The title track also known as the mini album's title uses traditional indian sounds on top of an dance pop beat which you would except to sound messy all together. They mange to bring a cool smoothness to the vocal lines, especially at the chorus where a lot is going on. Flow just sounds disruptive using all that autotune on the vocals. Then the instrumental is loud as hell when it doesn't need to be. This song was on that didn't need autotune. I did need the skip button two minutes in though.... Chaotic was my favorite track since it's the most manly sounding track outside of the title. Their rap lines that go between the vocal frames are everything I ask for from Monsta X. Beautiful Night belongs in English on their last album as it's sugary pop vibe that pulls the album in the wrong direction. I'm not saying it's a bad track.... Just a pandering track for the masses who can't digest a full out dark Monsta X. You would think a song called "It Ain't Over" would make me wish the song wasn't over but you are sadly mistaken. Lyrics like " It ain't over, till it's over" are too cheesy to accept as good.  The track's recycled 60's soul beat didn't help their case either. My finger was sooooo close to pressing the skip button. IM and Jooheon saved the day at right time. Both guys can rap over any kind of beat and make it work out. Monsta X would be nothing without those two. Stand up can be placed in the same category as Beautiful Night. Super over the top poppy without a reason. The track doesn't fit in with the album's atmosphere. After deleting Flow, Fantasia is easy to swallow. The mini album wasn't a dub, yet it wasn't outstanding. 

   I would recommend this album to old fans. New listeners should go back and listen to songs from Shoot Out onward. I'm not going to mention their era before this song because you're not missing out on much except a young Monsta X trying hard to find their style. 

   

Samurai Marathon(サムライマラソン) Japanese Film Thoughts(2019)

 

  Samurai Marathon is a collaboration film between east and west as Bernard Rose(Candy Man) takes the director chair while Akihiro Dobashi re-wrote the film based on Hirsoshi Saito's novel. The film stars Takeru Satoh, Nana Komatsu,(The World of Kanako) Hiroki Hasegawa,(Attack on Titan) and Shota Sometani. 

   People from a village clan are ordered by their leader to participate in a marathon across the region of Japan. The one who wins get on wish from the kingdom. In the race the runaway princess and a spy raised from birth also have something to prove to themselves......

    In my honest opinion Samurai Marathon isn't an action packed film. I'm just stating this for the viewers who are expecting an sword fighting epic that will have blood flying through the air. You will get that somewhat but the film focuses more on a very fictional retelling of Tokyo Marathon's origins. So you get a film that focuses more on the story then the action expect from a film with "Samurai" in the title. Still, you get a rich plot that's pretty interesting because of the different character motivation during the race. You get exposed to a bit of Japanese customs that still hold true in modern society. Customs such as stepping in a person's home with your shoes on which is very disrespectful to the owner of the household. No Japanese people kill themselves on the stop anymore however, there's exist a public shame if you do something outside of the norm to offend. I wasn't looking out for the slight humor brought on by certain characters but it works in steady flow with the story's progression. Back to the action fans, you get one or two flying heads to look at then about two action scenes. There's not a lot here. The action feels meaty at least making for a full solid film to pass the time. You don't even realize this is a historical film until the end of the film. 

    Nana shines bright here has a sheltered princess who wants to be free. Her acting showcases a balance between the elegant princess who most show the people her grace and the girl who longs be be close to the action. She changes both personas at the drop of a hat and they seem like two different people even though she's playing the same character. Takeru probably had not trouble playing this role since he's played Samurai before. The talent from him is always second to none. I enjoy his stone cold stares so much. Ya'll just don't know. It's the same case for everyone else in the cast too. Nana was the only one who really had something to prove in this film. 

   I also enjoyed looking at the set on location. Clearly the villages are manmade sets. I'm referring to the natural scenes showing the grassy fields under the pink purple sky and the waterfall that goes downward for miles. Wherever they chose to shoot the film really brought 1855 Japan to live as eye candy. 

    While Samurai Marathon doesn't bring anything new to the Japanese Samurai genre, the film is still a good watch when you have nothing else better to do. I believe people who are fans of anyone from the cast will be happy with their performances. This film was made for this cast. I mean that whole heartedly.