The Different Side of Japanese Movies

My last two posts have been about the Prince of Tennis musicals, but the truth is I ended up getting interested in them because of Saitoh Takumi, and I only saw Saitoh because one of my perverted friends suggested watching a movie called Sukitomo. (I'm not saying I'm ungrateful for finding him, but come on—he has done non-BL projects...)

I also held off discussing other Japanese movies until I covered Tenimyu because, as it turns out, nearly every Japanese-made movie or TV series since 2005 tends to feature one or more “graduates” from a Tenimyu production. This may be due to the fact that there are so many cast members in the various productions (not to mention the various people who have played the different characters over the years) that it's practically a given for the acting industry to be inundated by them. This is particularly true in the BL genre, where a certain few actors seem to dominate the stage.

I'm breaking this up into two posts, of which the order will hopefully make sense. This post will review the BL-genre movies I've seen, and the next one will review the non-BL projects. For this post, I'll review the ones with so-called “happy” endings (read: no one dies, tries to kill someone, or ends up in a similarly unfortunate situation) first. The ratings are mine, keeping the content in mind:

Sukitomo
Rated PG












Summary: Yoshiki (Aiba Hiroki), a photographer for his school newspaper, takes pictures of his childhood friend Tomokazu (Saitoh Takumi) at boxing matches. A frightening incident makes him realize he just might like the clueless Tomo more than he thought. The only problem is, so does Tomo's own stepsister.

Review: This was the first project where I saw Saitoh Takumi and Aiba Hiroki, and had no idea they had been in Tenimyu together (as Hyotei's Oshitari and Seigaku's Fuji respectively.) While I rate it PG, the truth is nothing ever actually happens; it's probably the “safest” movie out of everything I saw, which is why I suspect my friend suggested it first. The tension is entirely emotional. It's the content of the film that makes it PG—aside from being a BL movie, it touches on the subject of incest (despite the fact Tomo and his stepsister aren't blood related.) On an unrelated note, this is also the movie where I learned the appropriate time to say Ja, matashita (“Then, see you tomorrow.”)


Itsuka no Kimi e
Rated PG-13












Summary: More photography! Photography major Hayase Kouhei (Ryunosuke Kawai) can't figure out his new classmate, the introverted and unapproachable Noboru Fukami (Saitoh Takumi), and ends up befriending Noboru's more outgoing brother Ryu. But the dark secret of Noboru's past may not be what Hayase expected.

Review: Another Saitoh movie—he must have been really busy in 2006. This time he stars with Ryunosuke Kawai, who played Hyotei's Hiyoshi in Tenimyu. I have to say, out of all the BL movies I've seen, this movie had a plot that was the most believable (and interesting.) Admittedly it's predictable, but the acting makes it impressive. However, there are a couple of decidedly suggestive scenes you may not appreciate, and an actual kiss towards the end. If you can handle that, then you might want to take a look, just keep one thing in mind: “Aniki” is the term for a brother, not a name.


Takumi-kun Series: Soshite Harukaze ni Sasayaite
Rated PG









Summary: Takumi Hayama (Tomo Yanagishita), a youth with an acute fear of being touched, attends an all-boys high school where he attracts the attention of the school's idol, Saki “Gii” Giichi (Kato Keisuke), much to the chagrin of Gii's longtime admirer Izumi (Yasuka Saito). Unfortunately, he also catches the eye of a devious, predatory student, who has plans of his own for Takumi.

Review: Tomo Yanagishita (Seigaku's third-generation Kaidoh from Tenimyu—of course) plays the lead; Aiba Hiroki (Seigaku's Fuji) also makes a brief appearance as a violinist. For the most part this movie is relatively safe, and even kind of sweet, if grossly overacted. (Although I get the feeling from other people who have seen the movie that it was intentionally done like that, since the manga is much the same way.) The plot was simple and predictable, but again, it was clearly intended to be like that so I can't fault them. There's a suggestive scene at the end, but the frosted lighting simply makes it too comical to be realistic.

Ai no Kotodama
Rated PG-13












Summary: University students Ootani (Hidenori Tokuyama) and Tachibana (Yasuka Saito) have been living together for two years, hiding their relationship from others. A girl from their high school days suddenly shows up out of the blue, sparking jealousy and misunderstanding between them.

Review: At first I thought there was no Tenimyu connection in this film, but as it turns out Yasuka Saito (who was also Izumi in Takumi-kun) had played Higa's Hirakoba in the "Progressive Match" Tenimyu performance. It's an interesting take on the BL genre—the two actually start off together and face challenges as a couple, rather than getting together halfway through the movie. There are a couple of suggestive scenes and at least one kiss, but nothing too serious or dramatic.

And now for the “Not So Happy Endings” (otherwise known as “the crippled puppy drowns after watching his mother get hit by a car” endings). Do not watch if you're depressed, or don't want to get depressed:

Boys Love
Rated R

Summary: Magazine journalist Taishin Mamiya (Yoshikazu Kotani) is hired to interview the famous model and temperamental high-school student Noeru Kisaragi (Saitoh Takumi), only to find himself in deeper water than he imagined. After a rough start, their relationship is further tested by the demons from Noeru's past and the wanton promiscuity they drive him to in the present. And then there's the matter of Noeru's overprotective friend Chidori (Hiroya Matsumoto)...

Review: The title says it all. Saitoh's back, teaming up with yet another Tenimyu alumnus: Yoshikazu Kotani, formerly Seigaku's Kawamura. First, I take serious issue (!) with the way the relationship between the characters started, but after witnessing far worse things in Kichiku Megane I suppose it's to be expected in this genre. And the ending...granted, the opening scene already gave the impression it wasn't going to end well, but literally everything changes in the last three minutes. It's basically like a sucker punch with an added knife-twist for good measure. I've noticed this theme a lot with BL products, which strengthens my belief that the producers of such projects think these endings are appealing to women. (I would really like to meet these women, because I didn't find it appealing in the slightest.)

While you never actually “see” anything, there is partial nudity and a few scenes that don't leave anything to the imagination, which is why I gave it an R rating. Still, the acting is pretty damn good for a Direct-to-DVD film, so if you can handle the scenes mentioned above, it's a decent enough picture. And for the record (MAJOR spoiler alert; highlight to read): Saitoh can do a fantastic death scene.


Renai Shindan
Rated PG-13






Summary: This is actually a 12-episode TV series instead of a movie, with four completely separate story arcs covering different aspects of “forbidden love”: the first and last arcs are BL, with three episodes each.

In the first story arc, the young painter Tsubasa (Tomo Yanagishita) is constantly being harassed by a gang of thugs when he meets two other boys: tough rebel Leo (Shiozaki Airu) and quiet sculptor Kain (JURI). When he has to choose between the two, the consequences may prove more than he can handle.

In the last arc, physician Kei Katsuragi (Ryunosuke Kawai) is saved by lifeguard Kanade Maki (Kumai Kouhei) when he nearly drowns. No sooner does the relationship start than Kanade is diagnosed with a serious—and fatal—heart condition. (Think of it as Love Story with a truly gut-wrenching twist at the end.)

Review: Like everything else I've seen, Tenimyu actors abound in the BL portions of this series, although Saitoh is absent. Tomo Yanagishita (Seigaku's third-generation Kaidoh and star of the Takumi-kun movie) shows up again, along with Shiozaki Airu (Rokkaku's Amane) and JURI (Yamabuki's Jin). In the other story, Ryunosuke Kawai (Hyotei's Hiyoshi) is back after doing Itsuka no Kimi e to play the role of Kei.

Like the movie Boys Love, nothing is ever actually shown, but you do see some kissing and fade-to-black scenes. Again, the focus seems to be more on emotional trauma than anything else, and this series has that in spades. Without spoiling anything, I can only say you shouldn't expect a happy ending. Ever.

So there you have it. Really, the only reason you'd see these films is if you're a fan of any of the actors (like me *coughSaitohcough*) or you like the genre. If I had to recommend one out of all of them, the acting in Itsuka no Kimi e impressed me so I'd go with that one. Up next: the "normal" Japanese projects I've seen.