This review may contain spoilers
This movie is really peculiar.The focus is not the romance, not both ML, but just purely on the FL, imo. When you watch this, focus on her, don't mind the MLs.
This is a story about intense love turned into obsession. About love that can turn a happy and normal person into an empty shell, devoid of emotion. This is about how a person become emotionally aware and awoke, a journey of realization. This is about loss of trust between lovers, and the budding of healthy, strong relationship and romance between 2 people. This is about the importance of 2 healthy individual in a relationship, emotionally, mentally, and physically.
The acting is superb. Both FL and ML did a great job, but you should really understand the phase and emotion of the character to know whether they are portraying the character or just do a poor job at doing their work.
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Asako I & II is about this girl name Asako who lives in Osaka and meets Baku in a photo exhibit. Asako & Baku's first meeting is not your usual, it has literally sparked from fireworks & confidence. Asako & Baku seems to be that couple that is free in love, enjoying together's company but the thing is Baku is not your usual guy, he often missing in an unusual way. One day, Baku went missing & never comes back for 2 years. Asako moves to Tokyo but still has that reminisce feeling of Baku but little did she know, she will meet a man who looks like her first love in Osaka, the man who looks like Baku name Ryohei who works as an employee in a beer company that got transferred from Osaka since that meeting after Baku's disappearance, Asako's feelings from the man who she loved in Osaka lingers to a man who looks like him in Tokyo.
I don't have any expectations while watching this, I'm surprised that I knew most of the cast in here. The color tones for this film somewhat tell how the story will convey. I appreciate the direction & cinematography of the film as it was trying to relate it to the content. The characters especially Asako is not perfect, she tends to be selfish, she tends to be cruel but when she decides to set her heart she will pour it out. Baku is a character that is deviant, you will never know what he's thinking or what he will do next. Ryohei is a warm person, he works hard, he tries to mediate and he's never been selfish.
There are parts that seem non-sensical but I think that provides as the turning point for Asako, if it never happens then she will never know. Ryohei thought he could handle Asako's past but there's a part of him that he's scared & there's a part that he will never trust her ever again but as Ryohei already gave his words Asako who just got awaken by her true feelings seems accepting that fact but still loving him despite the scar that she did to him.
I don't think the pace is slow, to be honest, the film is almost 2 hours but I didn't feel bored, it actually has a lot of different scenes & stories. I appreciate this film, I never knew I would need it.
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THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF ONE'S ACTING CAREER.
You heard of all the fuzz with how Higashide Masahiro (HM) cheated on his wife for Karata Erika (KE). Prior to said news, I watched this because I am deeply in love with KE's beauty. Hence, I waited for it intently.The story line was unique in itself, KE's past love and present love were both played by HM, hence they looked the same. Of course, the typical cliche were part of the story. However, it was provocative in the way that since both characters looked the same way and you love them both, who would you choose? I'll let you find out for yourselves.
When the news broke that HM cheated on his wife for KE, I wasn't really surprised. Rather it just confirmed my they had such amazing chemistry with each other. The lines they threw to each other were heart felt, it was as if they were truly in a relationship with each other. Surprise, Suprise.. They were.
Music was pretty decent, which is pretty standard for Jmovies.
Re-watch value? I've watched it 5 times. I dunno why. I just like watching Erika's face too much :D.
Overall, a solid 10 for someone who is a hopeless romantic and a corporate slave at the same time.
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This review may contain spoilers
I liked it, but I'm conflicted
What I enjoyed:- cinematography
- all the actors did great, especially Baku/Shohei except Asako
- the editing, I was not sure if Baku's return at the apartment was fake or not. I finally decided it was fake but then he shows up at the restaurant which I also assumed it was fake. But then was devastated when I realized she really made that choice!!!
- about her choosing Baku at the restaurant: she did NOT handle it well, but I can not blame her for doing what she did. I am glad for the character and for the plot that she went with him. She went out with him as a young woman and his VANISHES. There was no closure there. Would you not be curious what on earth happened to your bf? Her destructiveness is very real.
What I did not enjoy:
- the actress who portrays Asako. I am sure the movie would have done better if she was a better actress. Even Jintan the cat had better shots than her.
- the ending i see as a way to be all like 'love solves everything, here is the power of love' and is a very MOVIE ending where loose ends are tied and mostly everyone is happy. But it's really not realistic. Or i wish there was more dialogue to hint what their future holds, i just cant believe they'll get married and continue on with the only difference being Shohei wont trust her as much.
The conflicting part:
To me Baku is a classic fuckboy. To me Shohei is the dream guy that girls need but dont realize it till it's too late. This is so classic and I dont want to believe thats all there is to the movie. If thats all there is to get out of it, was the cinematography and the drama the only things to reap? That's sad.
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Story - okay this is why I'm low marking. The beginning was okay. But it quickly fell apart and became a complete chore to watch. I would mark this in minus numbers for the story. It was a mess of an ending with a ridiculous and unnecessary twist. The twist was what had me hurling abuse at my laptop. This story had so much potential (as the first half showed), sadly it was all squandered and for NOTHING. So for me this is 1/10
Acting/Cast - The cast deserved 9.5 maybe even 10 because they CARRIED this rubbish on their backs. Their acting was the ONLY reason I kept watching and the ONLY reason I'm giving this a 6 overall. Most notably Higashide Masahiro as Baku / Ryohei. The three main leads really gave it their all, but the writing and story itself completely let them down. I hope to see more of the three main lead actors, Higashide Masahiro, Seto Koji and Karata Erika (in that order).....they worked so hard to make a mess of a story watchable, and for that I can only thank them.......and hope they get better projects more worthy of their talent in the future. 9.5/10
Music - It was okay nothing really memorable. 4/10
Rewatch Value - there is only any rewatch value if you truly adore the the cast, especially the main leads, and can't find anything else with them in. However, if there are even adverts they've been then watch those - it will still be better than this. 3/10
Overall Score - As I've already said, the acting of Higashide, Seto and Karata is the ONLY reason I kept watching and the ONLY reason I'm giving this a 6 overall. so yeah, 6/10. (though it is still better than the all time worst of the worst 'Miss in Kiss' - though watching paint dry is still better than THAT mess).
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The story was good and the romance was really intense. I liked how they presented the relationship and its course. The two had great chemistry and that helped a lot with the progress of the drama. However, the ending twist was really not good. It felt out of the blue and kind of unexpected. Also, it annoyed me how the character did what she did and they didn't explained it properly.
So, six and a half out of ten for sleeping or waking, because of the wierd ending and the not so great twist about the character who went missing.
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Despierta o dormida
Me gustó mucho. Es una película con un ritmo extraño, pero que en general está muy bien. No me gustó particularmente el personaje de Asako, pero sí la química entre Masahiro y Erika (años más tarde, entendimos por qué). Sin embargo, dejando la polémica de lado, en general la historia es buena y entretenida. Sabe desarrollar el drama para empatizar con sus personajes, y también deja muy en claro su mensaje sobre la madurez y la búsqueda de nosotros mismos.Was this review helpful to you?
