Kinkyo Renai, aka Close Rang Love/Short Distance Love, is a 2014 film starring ex-News member Yamashita Tomohisa and Komatsu Nana. This film is based upon a manga series of the very same name by Mikimoto Rin which was serialized from 2008 to 2011. I do not think this was one manga series that I read, so I wasn’t actually anticipating anything nor can I inform you how it compares. I can inform you that while I simulated the film in general, it did seem like there was some significant plot holes. I do not know if this is due to the fact that they were abbreviating the story or if the storyline itself was that similar to Swiss cheese.
Get the drama here
Our main setting is a high school. The story focuses on the mentally repressed senior Kururugi Yuni (Komatsu Nana) who masters every topic other than English. It was always her dream to study under a popular science professor who teaches at a university in California, however she quit that dream considering that her English sucks. Go into in new English instructor Sakurai Haruki (Yamashita Tomohisa). Given that his is the only class she’s doing poorly in, he takes it upon himself to tutor her one-on-one which angers her since she does not like him, and upsets other classmates with huge crushes. Through their study sessions, Yuni begins to experience new sensations and should find exactly what to do when her first love takes place to be her instructor. We likewise have Sakurai having a hard time to come to terms with his own feelings and showing to Yuni that his are unvarying and real regardless of the reality this is a forbidden relationship. Include Yuni’s guardian who is a family friend and fellow instructor and Sakurai’s ex-girlfriend and childhood friend, plus a male student who succumbs to Yuni, and the road to love is absolutely not smooth.
Picture among the worst actresses worldwide. They are blank-faced and can not provide lines with any believability and you basically have the character of Kururugi Yuni. She actually keeps all her sensations inside and never ever expresses any feelings in her voice or her expressions. If you do watch her carefully, you will discover she does reveal emotions in various ways, such as rubbing the cat head on her favorite hairpin, clenching her skirt in her fist, and clutching at her ear. I give major props to Komatsu Nana. She does a magnificent job at playing Kururugi with her little tells, however general blankness. Think about how hard it must be to act a part and not reveal any expression? You understand that Kururugi is not the outcome of bad performing, however intentional acting when you see Kururugi blossoming and showing feelings. It’s amazing! It really is. In general, I believe Komatsu really did a smashing task with the product.
Yamashita Tomohisa. Yamapi. I utilized to great naturedly speak about how he was an idol who might not actually act. Aside from some standout roles in Nobuta wo Produce and Kurosagi, you actually don’t get much out of him. He’s played a lot of wacky characters like Akira from Nobuta so it does get old, especially since they didn’t really hold the spark that you might see there. Kurosagi was actually effectively carried out in regards to acting. Yamashita truly does play the exact same types of characters over and over and they are all never ever really revealed quite well. It’s like there isn’t really as much emotion as there could be. While his acting still isn’t perfect by any means, I actually feel that his Sakurai Haruki was an action above some of his earlier functions given that we, or rather I, handled to get more of a psychological connection from this function. There were still some times where his acting did go a bit flat, however I truly was pleasantly shocked by just how well he did in the function of an instructor contravened his sensations for his student.
Get the drama here
There was supporting cast, however, in all honesty, the bulk of scenes were focused on Sakurai and Kururugi with our small players stepping in from time to time. I believe the acting overall from the ensemble cast was all right. There were no scene thiefs or anything like that for me, but that’s fine.
Hirofumi Arai plays Kururugi’s guardian Akechi Kazuma. Her moms and dads are doing work out of the country so they left her in his care. I think Hirofumi has actually played similar functions prior to and there really isn’t much to him. The character and the performing is basic and simple till we get to the huge expose of the relationship (which in fact wasn’t all that big mind you).
Mizukawa Asami plays Sakurai’s ex-girlfriend Takizawa Mirei and sometimes she simply feels so unneeded. Like did the new instructor actually need to be an excellent pal and ex to Sakurai? This includes a layer of jealousy which sends Takizawa to admit to Akechi, but I do not really think this part is developed enough for whatever factor. It’s mainly just pointless screen time with her. It was hilarious when she tries to do “girl talk” with Kururugi about the situation with Sakurai and Kururugi is her normal blank-faced self.
Kotaki Nozomu plays Kururugi’s same-age love interest Matoba Ryu. He falls hard for her after she saves his journal from being read by fellow trainees. Kotaki’s performing was actually representative of a young teenage male. He has a dream which can be belittled considering that it is not manly, so he conceals it, but thanks to Kururugi, he can open up about his dreams to somebody and this interests her because he’s going full steam to his dream while she gave up on her own. It’s really thanks to his presence that Sakurai finally breaks down and offers into the reality he is hopelessly in love with a trainee. I also like that Matoba is completely familiar with the sensations between the 2, but not does anything underhand about it and keeps back from their method up until Sakurai harms Yuni by breaking up with her and that makes the instructor a punch from our young guy.
As for the romance. It is believable enough. I think the biggest issue is we see Kururugi Yuni’s ideas and feelings more so than Sakurai’s. Hence her development from “hatred” to her English instructor to like made sense considering that we saw the development and simply how lost she was at exactly what she should be doing. With Sakurai, you can appear some development, but I’m not 100% convinced on the validity of his feelings at the start. He’s a bit two-faced, not in an awful method per se. To his trainees he will smile and appear lovely, but he’s a bit more stoic than exactly what he really portrays in his work setting. With his interest in Yuni and dealing with her, you see him opening a bit, but again, uncertain you can truly see that development which leads up to a stunning first kiss (Yuni conceals under his lecture podium with a note pad saying she thinks she enjoys him, so exactly what must she do and this has him drop a pen and plant one on her) and has him choose that marriage is the only way to show the truth he truly likes her.
Get the drama here
Oh, and on the topic of marriage. Really? A seventeen or eighteen-year-old needs proof of sincerity and that’s exactly what you can use? They have not even dated yet and you can genuinely understand why Yuni (as well as Sakurai) hesitate to think the longevity of the others’ feelings, but marital relationship? I’m sorry, I probably would have movinged towards the hills as it is way too abrupt and serious for an individual at that age. I do not care how mature individuals believe they are, that’s still too young in this day and age to dedicate like that. After the shock has actually worn off, Yuni quickly concurs! And thus a secret relationship kept from everybody is born. Shakes head. And by secret … that truly is all it is. No romantic trysts truly or any signs of a relationship. They chose to be together and Sakurai is patiently waiting while our bad Yuni is so confused when she sees all the lovey dovey couples around her.
No story about a teacher-student relationship would be total without somebody providing up something. In order to make specific that Yuni does not provide up on her dream, Sakurai lies and states his love is over. Kururugi remains in excruciating discomfort over this, particularly considering that she understands he’s lying. Aigoo. Noble idiocy, but it was what she required to get her to do what she actually desired with her life rather of becoming an immediate haus frau after high school graduation. Obviously the film ends with Kururugi taking a break from school to come to Sakurai and inform him that one of his dad’s flight of fancies certainly had some reality to it (a very uncommon blue sundown). Therefore they go to their special beach and confess their sensations yet again and they are on the road to marriage once again.
This is certainly a sweet romance and I enjoy watching Kururugi learn and establish to reveal herself one of the most. Yamapi was born in ’85 and Komatsu in ’96 so their age gap really did fit the plot. It did not feel stretched or uncomfortable, so that was absolutely a plus. Since of this age space … and because this is an Asian high school oriented movie, the kiss is simply a simple pushing of the lips together, but I believe it actually matched the situation this time as we are handling a young lady in the throes of first (and only) love in addition to a male who, while he has actually been in relationships, he’s never ever started physical contact and was never ever mentally invested.
Give this a watch. Go attempt out the drama version which provides you the back story of Sakurai. Once again, why no back story for Kururugi?
Get the drama here
Recent Comments