Excellent but underrated film

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Upon finishing the film I'm left feeling a mixture of feelings. While the first half I disliked characters Hiro and Mika, (Hiro for seeming to use Mika and discard her quickly after, and Mika for blindly loving Hiro even after all the turmoil he caused her directly/indirectly,) I'm now trying to recover from what I can honestly say was one of the most grueling and heartbreaking love stories I've ever seen!Taking a step back, I will admit my doubts at the beginning of the film. For starters, I felt the chemistry between Hiro and Mika was definitely lacking. Within hours of first meeting, Hiro has somehow managed to persuade a cautious and reserved Mika into bed with him?! It felt cheesy and rushed and very much like a shallow and melodramatic romance between teenagers who are falling in love for the first time.... oh wait..! Perhaps that is exactly what we are meant to feel? I was reminded of my first High School romance... and I reflected AND cringed at the similarities. Not in the awful rape scene or the premature sex per say, but more in the mushy gooey "I know we've just met, but you are my everything!" behavior. Keeping in mind that the characters are in fact young teenagers at the beginning of the film, and incredibly impressionable in Mika's case (as was I at that tender age), it is easier to watch and digest these beginning scenes. The film didn't begin to leave a major impression on me until after the couple's spilt and I saw Mika's world without Hiro. Her reluctancy to let him go and then her syrupy-sweet and gentle new relationship with Yu. (What a lovely boy he was!) Beyond this, I found it incredible just how much Yui Aragaki was able to embody Mika's character through her loss of innocence and maturity throughout the film's progression. Her character at the beginning and ending of the film seemed entirely different not only in behavior, but outwards appearance...And then Mika's first encounter after quite some time without Hiro at the spot they promised to meet and remember their unborn child... seeing Hiro again, but now sporting a hat... and paler face. Instantly I put the pieces together, something Mika's character only realizes later down the road.When she has discovered Hiro's sickness, there is only brief hesitation over whether to leave her healthy relationship with Yu. This... was a bit far fetched to me. How can you, now having matured and promised Yu a relationship, so quickly run away? These are issues I would not have dealt with so rashly... but then again this was not me. Returning to Hiro... the scene in the hospital room and our first encounter with a deteriorated and sickly boy instantly tore at my heart. Whether you loved or hated him before, now you feel pity. Entirely stripped of the ridiculous silver hair and tough boy facade ... you see him plainly. I need not gush over the hugely talented Haruma Miura, or remind you he was only 17 upon the movies release (so only 16 during filming?) , but I will anyway. Tackling roles dealing with terminal illness is tricky to begin. Throw in the fact you're still so young, hardly lived life's hardships firsthand, and this seems like a recipe for disaster yet.. one Haruma conquered delicately and with eerie realism. This film is a testament to his talent.Interactions between the two from this point onward were so beautifully acted. I'm reminded AGAIN that both were still teenagers themselves with these roles... and that just blows me away. The romance we're shown at the end of the movie is entirely different. It's... so natural. Small tiny interactions that were so minute yet pivotal in making the relationship seem realistic. And the scene at Hiro's favorite spot, where he went to feel strong, but now cries against a tree for a life he knows he will not have... Needless to say I was a mess of tears the remainder of the film. To describe these interactions is hard, but for this portion of the story alone the film is worth watching.The ending will take your already tender heart, stomp on it repetitively, and then calming walk away leaving you.... exhausted from crying. But it takes you on a journey. An incredibly tragic coming of age tale with no frills, very much realistic when you take a step back and compare it to others in this genre.Would I recommend this? Yes. ONLY, though, to those who are prepared for a tragic story, those with an open mind, and those with a box of tissues near by. We were all teenagers once, perhaps you still are. There is something very real and very honest about this story. Watch if you're prepared for that. If anything, marvel in the talent of Yui Aragaki and Haruma Miura. This film was brought to life through them.

The movie is based on the novel by the same title that was uploaded on to a mobile site called Mahou No Airando (魔法のiらんど). It's supposed to be based on a real life event, but due to the improbable way pregnancy and cancer is depicted, its authenticity is under suspicion.Mika (Yui Aragaki) is a high school student. She loses her cell phone one day, but a boy named Nozomu (Aoi Nakamura) finds it and leaves it on the shelf in the library. From this incident she gets to meet Hiro (Haruma Miura). They fall in love but Mika becomes pregnant. She has miscarriage due to being pushed by Hiro's ex-girlfriend Saki (Asami Usuda). Hiro then suggests that they break up. They break up, but later Mika finds out that this was because Hiro had terminal cancer.When I watch this movie, the story did seem kind of artificial. It has rather stereo typical story about teen pregnancy, and that being equated to sincere love. More simplistic plot follows of moving away due to illness equated to sincere love. There's kidnapping, and rape, which shows the underlying violence of society as well. The overall depiction is that love is easy, or loving someone is easy. Consequences are not written realistically. The effect this has on youth who are impressionable might have very negative consequences. Hiro shown in this movie was just a violent and thoughtless idiot. That's depicted as the proper behavior for the white knight. His expression of love was of violence to show loyalty, and sex to show affection. The end result can't be good.So even for a simple juvenile love romance, this story is rather a poor one. The movie had imbecility that was difficult to watch at times. I especially hated the character of Hiro, and how he sold his love and heroism on screen.

Koizoro starts out pleasant enough, seeming to be a gentle coming-of-age romance. The two leads are attractive and surprisingly young (both were teenagers when the movie was made) Japanese idols, with charisma and ease in front of the camera. Unfortunately neither of them can emote, despite the soap-opera/Lifetime movie melodramatics Koizoro cycles through. What started out as a possibly understated romance where high school freshmen good-girl Mika and bad-boy Hiro fall in love, degenerates into a second-rate tearjerker within half an hour, as Mika (Aragaki Yu) is gang-raped by a group of boys paid by Hiro's ex-gf, becomes pregnant, miscarries, and dumped. Mika eventually meets another guy totally different from Hiro but of course plot devices contrive to draw the two former lovers together.Even though this movie has been described as a tearjerker, I didn't really cry at all because the lead actors did not give any pathos to the roles. Aragaki Yu and Miura Haruma are still superficial actors, they're pretty to look at but they have no facial expressions, particularly Miura. The cheesy lines the male actor has to say don't help. Surprisingly, Koide Keisuke, as Mika's second love, also seems to be phoning it in. Keisuke is one of those young actors that seems to pop up in a background role in a lot of the popular Japanese movies. He's talented and usually gives a strong performance even in minor roles, but here he seems bored by the material, as was I.The director doesn't let scenes play themselves out. Plot devices are introduced and resolved without giving time for the material to make an impact. Compared to other Japanese movies of this genre, the film is more frank about teenage sexuality but it has incredibly inept depictions of issues, like rape, divorce, cancer, etc.Despite the plot flaws, it was hard for me to outright hate this movie. The cinematography is beautiful to look at. There are better films of this genre out there, though this is probably one of the better looking ones. Despite being set in the countryside, the high school students look like they stepped out the pages of Seventeen magazine. And the pacing does keep things moving, so you don't have to dwell on how awful a scene as at least.

This film is one of the amazingly touching Japanese drama films. In truth, I only started watching the film due to the fact of Haruma Miura playing the lead male character.. Well I'm certainly glad I did watch it!The basic story line itself is quite a simple one, two young lovers fighting through many hardships to remain together. Of course, there are twists and more complications within the story :)Everything within the film is very well directed and tastefully done, the actors/actresses despite their young ages (Yui - 19, Haruma - 17 at film release) acted amazingly well and you really feel for Hiro and Mika through out the film.I would recommend this film to anyone I know, although, due to the fact it is a tearjerker.. make sure your not already very upset over something or I doubt you'll stop crying... It took me a long time!