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.
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