Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru

It's truly a testament to an actor when they can take something completely messed up and make it seem.. sort of.. acceptable as a form of entertainment. Which brings me directly to the movie I just watched, called Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru, or... I'm In Love With My Younger Sister. I know. Gross. I knew about this movie awhile ago, but passed it over before I had even seen anything with Matsumoto Jun or Eikura Nana. Now that I have seen them act (and very well, might I add) in things like Hana Yori Dango, Proposal Daisakusen, Smile, and Mei-chan no Shitsuji, I was much more inclined to watch something starring the both of them, even if the subject matter was sketchy. And do you know what they did? Do you? Those sickos had me rooting for them. I was creeping myself out a little, but it's true. I'm not like, yay incest by any means, god no, but they way they portrayed their characters made it seem realistic and somewhat.. sweet? *winces*

I mean, don't get me wrong. This movie is sloooooooooooow. There are more completely silent pauses in one scene than I see in most movies altogether, and the story moves along at a steady but somewhat sluggish pace. Still, it's not completely unpleasant to watch, but I have a feeling it would have been if less talented people had been cast. The basic premise is this -- Iku and Yori are twins (honest to god co-habitated in a womb twins here, people, none of that step-sibling half-sibling bullshit) and have basically spent nearly every waking moment together since. At one point in a flashback chibi Yori even tells chibi Iku she's his bride and gives her a ring made from a "flower" (one of those shitty clover weed things). This is what we in the business call "foreshadowing". And what normal people call "creepy".

Oh, hahaha, kids say the darnedest things, right? Wrong, Bill. He actually wants her ass. At the start of the movie, Iku keeps trying to talk to Yori, who basically just keeps brushing her off. This has apparently been happening for awhile, so Iku is pretty convinced she's done something to make Yori hate her. We viewers, with our keen sense of observation and the completely self explanatory title in front of us, however, tend to think differently. About 20 minutes into the film, Yori is pretty damn tired of hiding his feelings for the past like... life. So while Iku sleeps (and even as teenagers they still share a room, bunk beds no less, how convenient), he goes to kiss her. Aww (?).  

I know it's fairy tale-ish and all, but did you ever think about how kissing someone who might not want to be kissed by you (which could have very well been the case here, except of course it wasn't or there wouldn't really be much of a movie, and who would really object to MatsuJun being that close to their face anyway?) while they're unconscious is sort of like... face rape? Just a thought. Anyhow, before Yori gets the chance to actually kiss her, she wakes up (nice timing), asking him what's wrong. I mean, because I know when there's something wrong with my brothers they lean really close to my face while I sleep. O.o In the following conversation riddled with lengthy soul staring pauses, Yori informs Iku he's in love with her, and she has to decide to either be with him or someone else.. RIGHT NOW. Way to let the girl have time to absorb this awkward news, Yori.

Now, most girls in their right minds would immediately jump Jun at this point. But since they shared amniotic fluid and all, Iku has to think about it for a minute. After that minute (a silent one, of course) is up, Iku kisses her brother (*twitch*) and the two very quickly move towards "consummating their love" (which understandably makes breakfast with their mother the next morning a little... awkward) ... aaaaand the movie begins to skeeve me out a bit. Just a bit. It's TASTEFUL, not like a porno or anything. But it's still vaguely icky. But then Jun comes on screen and I remember why I'm watching it in the first place. :B Seriously, that guy can make you fall in love with just about anyone, whether it be a stupid curly permed company heir, a cheerful half Filipino on probation, or even, god, a monosyllabic kid who wants in his sister's pants. How the hell does he do that?

Anyway, the rest of the movie is basically them hiding their relationship from everyone else (but apparently when you stare at your twin longingly and then make out with them in classrooms later, a few people end up finding out). Hiraoka Yuta in dork glasses co-stars as Yano Haruka, Yori's best friend who has feelings for Iku but ends up helping the two in the end. Also co-starring is Komatsu Ayaka as the desperate bitch who wants Yori for herself and therefore convinces him at one point that he's only going to end up hurting Iku and that she should be his girlfriend. She's a little nuts, telling him she doesn't care if he hates her because he's still hers. Someone's been hitting the crack pipe a little too hard, if you ask me. 

The ending is more than a little ambiguous after Iku and Yori try to go back to the field of their youth only to find it completely gone. Yori comes to the realization that they can't go back to that time and that place, and that in actuality Iku can never be his bride (common sense and a basic knowledge of the law probably could have told him that years ago, but whatever). Even so, the two leave hand in hand, and I guess we're left to wonder. Overall not a bad movie, but again, I have a feeling if anyone else (by "anyone" else I mean less skilled actors) had been cast in the roles (especially Yori), it would have been unbearable to watch just because of what a slow movie it actually is. I wasn't sitting there annoyed waiting for something giant to happen, though, because I could tell that it was one of those films where everything that happens is in the synopsis and it's just a matter of watching it all unfold. Overall still a little creepy, and not really obviously cute or romantic, but it was easy to see how much the two main characters care about each other, which was nice, seeing as it was the central theme of this story. And Jun was brilliant as always, as was Nana.

But even so.. sorta yucky. >_>

Proposal Daisakusen (Operation Love)

Just started this a few days ago (I'm only finished with 4 episodes, though, due to my classes starting this past Wednesday), and it's pretty good. Although one could argue that the "Hallelujah chance!" pose looks suspiciously like the "bang" move from Kurosagi (and I swear I heard Yamapi say something about shirosagi in the last episode).. in most aspects it's a pretty original show.

The premise is somewhat odd, but it works. Yamashita Tomohisa plays Iwase Ken, who is attending the wedding of a friend he's known since primary school, Yoshida Rei. Unfortunately, Ken happens to be in love with Rei, and she's marrying someone else. He's deeply regretting that he was basically an idiot and always messed up his chances to tell her or show her how he cared. He thinks maybe if he had done things differently and been a little more considerate, Rei might be marrying him right now instead. Sensing this deep emo mood and finding it a bit odd, a, er... fairy... who lives in the church and apparently has nothing better to be doing appears during a slideshow at the reception after Ken is wishing to himself to be able to change what happened. He tells Ken that he can give him a rare opportunity, and actually LET him go back and change things until the point that the picture is taken. So he does, equipped with all of his future knowledge, determined to change Rei's sad face in the latest picture to a smile.

Every episode, Ken goes back to a little before a specific picture in the slideshow, changes things and fixes past mistakes, switching many of the forlorn looks Rei had in pictures to happy ones, albiet in unconventional and usually unplanned ways. As soon as the picture is taken, he's back at the wedding, and nothing seems to have changed except everyone's memory and the picture itself-- the bride is still sitting next to the wrong groom. The fairy tells him that the human heart isn't as simple as all or nothing, but each time Rei seems to look at Ken a little differently than before.

Yamapi's acting in this one is hilarious, and the supporting actors seem to be perfect for their roles. It gets a little cuter each episode, despite the fact that I'm unused to seeing Yamapi in anything without Maki. XD But I'm looking forward to watching more of this one. ^_^ And then starting another. >_>