Jmovie review: Nada Sou Sou

Warning: spoilers below. If you're into Nagasawa Masami (who isn't), you owe it to yourself to watch this movie!

If you're not familiar with the Natsukawa Rimi song, then you've abviously not been watching Kouhaku the past few years. The song lasted for more than a year (or something like that) in Japan's top 100 not to mention it was on Kouhaku 3 years in a row. Basically the song's so famous that they've made a movie based on the lyrics.


And I've got to say, its a bloody good movie. Tsubamaki Satoshi, the dude from Orange Days plays Yotaro, a high school drop out who works as a waiter, dreaming of one day opening his own restaurant. Nagasawa Masami plays Kaoru, Yotaro's half sister who he has been taking care of since her father ran off and his mother died. Yes, I know this sounds like one of those Korean shows but fear not, its done the Japanese way: subtle and not melodramatic.

Luckiest bastard in the world....

The first hour is fucking brilliant. Somehow, they've managed to cram like 5 jdorama episodes worth of stuff into an hour. We've got Kaoru coming to live with Yotaro after a few years apart, flashbacks on their history, setting up characters and Yotaro getting scammed. The second hour slows down a bit too much compared to the 1st hour but its still good. The only complaint I have is the show should have ended with Yotaro's death. As I have said, this show is subtle and the whole talk on the beach and kimono scene is too melodramatic and just doesn't fit with the movie.

What I wouldn't do be in his position.

I have to say, the real star of the show is Tsubamaki Satoshi. His acting as Yotaro is great. He's this stubborn underdog who's been screwed by life and only lives for the happiness of his sister. I really can't imagine any other young actor playing his role as well. Maybe that has something to do with him not being a Johnny?

With a sister like Nagasawa Masami, Asou Kumiko doesn't stand a chance.

Of course, the main attraction is Nagasa Masami. Fuck, she is so kawaii. She basically spends the whole show shouting 'Nii nii' (okinawan dialect for onichan) but she looks too goddamn adorable. After the train wreck that was Sailor Fukuu, its great to see a show that maximises her potential. Love the way how she plays Satomi as very cheerful girl yet she has a serious side that she does not want to show Yotaro. Its like the adorable sister bit is all an act to hide her true feelings. And in a way, her exaggerated act is her way of showing her emotions while masking them.


I highly recommend the movie. At the very least, its a good 2 hour music video for the song with Nagasawa Masami for eye candy. Now, who's going to make a movie based on Love Machine?