Koizora (2007) Reviews

• wonderful, touching tearjerker!

  cerijam-12008-06-01

  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!

• Not a reasonable plot for love

  ebiros22011-12-03

  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.

• Emotionally charged romance that will touch your heart...

  jmaruyama2008-03-19

  It can easily be said that Japan is one of the cellular capitols of the world, where people use their cellular phones not only as communication devices but also for a number of business and personal functions from text messaging and web browsing to paying bills online and watching streaming content. Therefore it was just a matter of time before novels and manga/comics became widely available via online cellular services. "Mahou No i Rando" (a play on "Magic Island") is one of the more popular services to come out specializing in "Keitai Shosetsu" (mobile/cellular novels). Following the success of their first cellular novel "Deep Love", "Koizora" was touted as a "true story" based on the life experiences of its young author "Mika", a first time/amateur novelist. With its tearful story of young love, loss and perseverance, it was an instant hit among readers particularly young, female high schoolers. However, much criticism also accompanied the novel particularly from those who saw its depictions of underage sex, rape and pregnancy as obscene. Many also criticized the novels portrayal of cancer victims as not really realistic. Despite these criticisms, the novel was a best seller and widely read, spawning a couple of stories - "Kimi Zora" (You, Sky) which took the point of view from the side of "Koizora" character Hiro and "Another Koizora", a sequel of sorts. It was only time before the film adaptation of "Koizora" became a reality. Directed by TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) TV J-Dorama director Imai Natsumi (Orange Days, Koko Kyoshi), the film is a faithful interpretation of the cellular novel and is every bit as tearful, heartbreaking and poignant as its source material. It's success at the Japanese box office (currently in the Top Ten as of 11/28/07) is another indication of the impact it has on audiences. Screenwriter Watanabe Mutsuki (who wrote for the quirky "Keitai Keiji/Cellular Detective" TV series) does an admirable job at adapting Mika's novel and keeping the overall tone of the story without taking away from the story. Much of the film deals with the growing affections high schoolers Tahara Mika (Aragaki Yui) and Sakurai "Hiro" Hiroki (Miura Haruma) have for each other and the troubles that transpire during the course of their relationship. Their love story plays almost like a "Harlequin Romance" as Mika is at first scared and apprehensive of Hiro but soon begins to see the romantic and sensitive side behind his punk exterior. It's a bit too dramatic at points and some of the story plots seem to be overly contrived (in the style of a J-Dorama/K-Drama story). For instance, Hiro's former girlfriend, Saki (Usuda Asami) arranges to have Mika kidnapped and raped as a humiliation tactic against Hiro. While it does add drama to the story, it's a bit gratuitous and over-the-top in my opinion. While many have criticized the physical relationship between these two characters (Mika and Hiro are both around 15-16 years old) director Imai is very tasteful in not emphasizing or exploiting that aspect. Even in the much criticized scene where Mika and Hiro make love in the school library, Imai thankfully leaves the details to one's imagination without going into too much salacious territory. There are some aspects of the film that were a bit much. While the story takes place in Oita Prefecture in Kyushu, the high school seems to be almost too "hip" to be a school in the Japanese countryside. All the students looks like they belong on MTV's "The Real World" and it seems a bit too staged. Also, both Mika and Hiro seem almost too perfect to be for real. They seem far more mature for high school sweethearts. Okinawa born model and actress Aragaki Yui plays the title character of Mika. Tall, cute and sweet, she is perfect as the main love interest. Her charisma and charm radiates from the screen and one can't help but be captivated by her. J-Pop Singer/Actor Miura Haruma is also spot-on perfect as the loner/rebel character of Hiro. His character is the atypical Japanese hero (brash and carefree, strong but sensitive). With his bleached blonde hair and dark tan, it is little wonder why he captured Mika's heart. Yamamoto Ryuji, Aso Yumi, "Karina", Takahashi Joji, and Fukada Aki are all very good in their supporting roles. Koide Kesuke, who plays Fukuhara Yu rival lover to Hiro, is also very likable as the nice guy character who can't seem to compete with the "bad boy". It was nice to see veteran J-Dorama actress Asano Yuko again and she is perfect at Mika's understanding mother. Kudos also go to cinematographer, Yamamoto Hideo whose wonderful shots of the Kyushu surroundings as well as the skies over Japan are breathtaking and grand. On the whole I was quite happy with "Koizora". It is weepy and sometimes overly dramatic movie at times but still a good enough film for couples in love. A good "chick flick" with a little bit of a bite and one that won't have male viewers bored to tears.

• Nice cast, nice idea, disastrous story

  ethSin2008-05-01

  "Koizora" is another one of those Junai movie that showed a lot of promise, but flopped miserably. The first 20 minutes of this film was a terrific love story. Aragaki Yui was really cute as Mika, and although the male lead's character was a bit too outgoing for a Japanese high school student, I enjoyed watching it, and wanted to have a sweet relationship like that one day. But then, cheesefest began after the Mika got raped outdoors. The story and character development after that point was more like a soap drama than Junai film, filled with cheesy lines and inconsistent character behaviors. It was corny, but I loved the whole "Koizora" and "I'll watch over you" idea of this movie and the way it ended, but the mid-section of the film was just so poorly executed that it was impossible for me to cry watching a movie like this. There was also too many plot-holes in this film, such as Aragaki Yui in her usual innocent role, yet she goes around having sex everywhere. What kind of person takes out a dying guy at night then have sex with him outdoors and gets knocked up twice? And this character happens to be played by the idol of ultimate innocence, Aragaki Yui, who didn't even kiss in 2 kiss scenes in this movie (using camera angle manipulation). And is it even possible for someone under cancer treatment to reproduce? I also don't see how Miki could so easily forgive a woman who ordered her rape and killed her baby. There were too many inconsistencies and questionable character behaviors that I find it hard to believe this story is really based on a real story. It's a really poorly made chick flick, but I must admit it was very visually pleasing. Scenery in this movie was beautiful, and it was perfect for an Aragaki Yui fan like me since she was on screen almost the whole time, cute as ever. The male lead Miura Haruma was abnormally good-looking in this film, in fact, he looked totally like an anime character. I'm not gay, but he was damn hot. He definitely didn't look like that in "14sai no Haha". Although the blond hair seemed really out of place, the makeup artist for this movie did an excellent job. Overall, horrible story and direction, but a treat for fanboys and girls.

• Bland and pretty

  kcla2008-06-16

  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.