Definitely not what I expected
When I first found out about ‘He Won’t Kill, She Won’t Die’, the summary made me think ‘oh, just another edgy teenage romance huh’. But I loved what a delightful surprise this was.The plot of this movie isn’t anything extraordinary. The film followed three stories— an unfriendly guy who always tells others to die and a suicidal girl, a girl struggling with boyfriends who never actually seem to like her for who she really is and her friendship with a studious girl, and a determined girl who never gets tired of confessing to her crush despite the fact that she always gets rejected by him. Sounds uninteresting? Well, sometimes a film doesn’t need to have an outstanding story in order for it to be good, and this one is an example.
With a mesmerising cinematography, what this film does capture most correctly is the emotions and the feels of each scene. What makes this film so special is how it managed to execute this simple plot with in-depth characters and a great storytelling. The acting is really good too. This film surely reminded me of why I actually loved watching Japanese films the most.
Overall, a solid 9.0/10 for me. The rewatch value is low because it’s not really the kind of film that’s rewatchable, but not all good movies are worth a rewatch as the first times tend to give you feels that you might not feel the time you re-watch it. Thus, I highly recommend this film to everyone :)
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I want to say that I don't really care about the other 2 sets of characters, but that's not entirely true. Their storylines intersect with the main couple in interesting ways so they're sort of necessary. But I really couldn't stand Kyapiko. I get why she is the way she is, but that doesn't make me like her any better. She and her bff Jimiko were the only ones I didn't care for. Everyone else was amazing, and I have to give extreme kudos to Shotaro Mamiya and Hinako Sakurai for their performances. Outstanding, by far, and the main reason why this movie lingers in my memory and emotions.
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imperfect youth and relatable love stories
For anyone that likes well-written characters and not your cliche plotlines. At times it was painfully realistic and made me remember my first relationship. This movie caught the essence of youthful love, the emotions of it, awkwardness, and coziness.It follows three couples as they experience first love, break-up, and even grief. There was a storyline for friendship, as well, which played out as wholesome.
Characters were my favorite part of this movie. All of them were distinct and showed different aspects of their personality as the movie went on.
Kosaka Rei and Shikano Nana's relationship was my favorite, perhaps it was relatable. Rei showed his affection through his actions, even if his words were mean at times.
Another highlight was Kyapiko, which struggled with loving yourself and tried to find love in others. She was faking her cute demeanor, and yet had a delightful best friend which cared for her.
The cinematography made it realistic, continuous shots made the viewer feel as if they were experiencing events as they happened to the characters. The relationships weren't glamorized, it made me remember the days when I was too with friends and crushes fooling around.
I disliked music in this movie because at times it felt out of place. Thankfully most of the movie used natural sound, which helped with immersion.
Should you watch it? Yes, if you want to reminiscence about your high school or even university days, and experience imperfect characters.
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Good Enough
" The boyfriend that can't kill and the girlfriend who won't die " had a really strong main story. However, they didn't equally handle all the stories.First of all, this movie is not the typical school romance film, with cute scenes and romance all over it. On the contrary, it explores themes like depression, family drama, and problems that high school students might encounter and deal with. The way the 'couples' (referring to them as pairing not as romantic relations) healed each other and provided comfort was a nice and hopeful note. However, even though the stories were intense and had depth, they needed more time to bloom. The film hardly had time to give them equal time for all of them and that resulted in either having some of the characters underdeveloped or having things happening rashly, which sometimes confused the plot.
Nevertheless, the ending was bittersweet and unexpected. And the actors did an amazing job, especially the leading lady in those final scenes.
So, overall, 6 out of 10.
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This review may contain spoilers
Things to consider
I spent more time debating on whether to write the review than I will on the actual review. But I didn't see a whole lot of things that would have helped me, if I'd looked, so this is a heads up.There are 3(?) different timelines going on here. I can only see 3, anyway. Knowing this prevents confusion later on.
Rei talks to Nana like he does for multiple reasons, the main one being that she would totally not be responsive to him if he talked to her any other way. It gives her someone to express her negativity with, without shutting down. It was their own personal "love language" to the point that it was almost uncomfortable to watch him smile at her. So while it may seem abusive or like bullying, its actually his way of connecting to her.
Do not plan to get out of this movie without tissues. When I got to the "Oh GOD!" part of the movie, I thought that I could breathe my way through it without tears. But I literally felt like something was pulling the tears/emotions out of me as the rest of the movie played.
The emergency line is built into the phone irl. Please use it if needed. That said, the character would not have been happy living in a state that required dependence on others.
Finally.....there needs to be a trigger warning on this movie, as it deals with some real-life problems. There are kids dealing with depression, bullying, low self-esteem, cutting, etc.
I thought I was in for an afternoon movie. I didn't expect to be traumatized. It was 100% worth it though.
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Get ready for a teen drama that's as twisted as your last breakup
"He Won't Kill, She Won't Die" takes high school drama to a whole new level, and I'm still catching my breath from the emotional rollercoaster it threw me on!So, picture this: three seemingly unrelated stories – a grumpy guy who thinks 'die' is his favorite word, a girl going through more boy troubles than her Wi-Fi signal, and a relentless romantic warrior who could give Cupid a run for his money. Confused? Good, that's the point!
At first, I was like, "What's going on here?" I felt like a detective trying to crack a high school mystery, and I didn't even have my magnifying glass! But hold your horses; it's all part of the master plan.
The movie's got this crazy, genius timeline that'll make your head spin faster than a teenager's mood swings. Just when you think you've got it figured out, bam! It hits you with the unexpected – a plot twist that's more shocking than finding out your crush doesn't like pineapple on pizza.
Now, let's talk characters. Rei, our grumpy protagonist, has a unique way of expressing his love – by telling Nana to 'just die already.' Sounds twisted, right? But guess what? It's their secret love language! Who knew 'die' could be so romantic? These two made me laugh, cry, and question my entire high school experience.
And then there's Kyapiko, caught up in a whirlwind of boy drama. I swear, her romantic life is more complicated than solving a Rubik's Cube blindfolded. But hey, she adds the perfect sprinkle of chaos to this high school concoction.
Let's not forget our romantic warrior, Jimiko, who's the MVP of one-sided love. The girl deserves a medal for persistence. I mean, I'd give up after the third rejection, but not our Jimiko. She's like a love superhero – no cape, just undying affection.
Now, the cinematography is no joke. It's like the filmmakers raided the coolest Instagram filters to match every high school mood – from cafeteria drama to rooftop confessions. The colors are poppin', just like the unexpected emotions this movie throws at you.
And hold on to your popcorn, because "He Won't Kill, She Won't Die" dives into some real talk. Depression, bullying, and one-sided love – it's like they went through my high school diary and turned it into a movie. Props for keeping it real, though!
The ending? Oh boy, it's like a mixtape of emotions. Some might love it, some might not – it's the pineapple on pizza debate all over again. But one thing's for sure, you won't leave without feeling something deep in your teenage soul.
So, is it rewatchable? Maybe not for everyone, but for the sheer wild ride, it's worth revisiting at least once. "He Won't Kill, She Won't Die" – a movie that's crazier than prom night and surprisingly heartwarming.
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This review may contain spoilers
Perfect Execution, Great Story
When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was quite interested and finally watched it, the beginning of this film might be a little confusing because the audience is faced with 3 different perspectives and are not related to each other but in the same timeline. but mid to the end of this film it becomes clear how the influence of 2 other side characters' perspectives on the MC story. When I first realized that they were in different time frames, I was quite surprised, because this film was packaged so well that the audience could not guess how the plot of this film would go in the future, plus the ending was quite sad for the characters Shikano Nana and Kosaka Rei. Another uniqueness of this film is that the 3 perspectives displayed have their own uniqueness, each pov from Shikano Nana, Hotta Kyapiko, and Miyasada Jimiko. but in the end it turned out that the three pov had a relationship with each other in the plot of the story presented.Then I like how they shoot the cinematic, this film have very good cinematic quality and using appropriate color grading to match the mood of high school student with the drama that occurs in it. The cast in this film is also very good with unquestionable acting skills and is very in line with the personality of the characters played.
Special mention for this film because it brings up some important issues that are happening all around us but many people turn a blind eye to seeing it. Like a high school student who is depressed and slashes his hands, with no one to care, but instead the environment bullies him. Then the relationship between high school student and adults which in the end they only become adult escapes, and also one sided love(common drama theme).
Verdict, this film has a very unique timeline and makes the audience also wonder whether the pov has anything to do with each other or not, if there is something wrong?. Then this film raises several important issues that become special mentions in my review this time, although these issues are not the main problem in this film, but when this film raises these issues, I think it is quite good to have it. The drawback of this film is the ending, not everyone likes this ending. but in my opinion the ending shown in this film is enough to bring the emotions of the audience in watching this film.
To re-watch this film, I don't think so, because in my opinion a film like this is the type of film that we should watch the first time, when we re-watch it, the feeling given to this film is not as interesting as when we first watched it.
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Beyond My Expectation
For those who're looking for motivational and encouragement kind of movie..this can help you a bit..but dont expect happy ending..I love the way the ML treat the FL..not trying so hard but surely he made the FL moved by his action..But, kind of sad when FL had to continue living alone..
I'm kind of dissappointed about other unnecessary and not linked characters..I couodnt relate the importance of other side characters..
The story should more about the ML and FL..their story are too short and light..even its not complicated but it should be fun if the story about the main lead being eloborate more..
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This review may contain spoilers
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.This movie was not on my "To Watch list". I was hesitant to watch it (I don't really know why) but I found myself reading the comments and spoilers about it. The ending was SAD. I don't know what came to me, I'm not a fan of sad endings but this movie intrigues me . Since this is a sad movie, I tried to prepare myself by reading the reviews that contain spoilers as much as possible. So, I thought that it was enough since I'm fully aware how it's going to end but then "IT" happened and I was still SHOCKED and I CRIED. And this movie made me feel SO SO SO SO SO SO SAD, but it WAS WORTH IT.
The tears, worth it.
The time, worth it.
It's so worth it for me that I even made myself logged in to this website (I even had to reset my password, because I forgot) and leave a review.
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then u have Jimiko and Kyapiko, who r best friends from kindergarten, one is a nerd and the other a needy promiscuous airhead. and even though u see the connection at the end - its seems more like a side story of two good friends - and how they r there for each other - Kyapiko the needy promiscuous one jumps from guy to guy dumping them before they can dump her because she was more or less deserted by her single mother, and u see how lonely she really is, and how the only one she can rely on is Jimiko her bff.
then last we have Nadeshiko who is in a one sided love with Yachiyo, she constantly keeps confessing even though he keeps shutting her down. until their story develops and u see what is going on in each's mind, and how they seem to connect..
read comments that its a "must see" won't go that far, but it isn't ridiculous, stupid or some weird - out there sh*t that u can't "get". its stories about teens, love and even death (which comes out of nowhere, and was a bit shocking - as it was so unexpected - but that's a spoiler so wont go into it)... i enjoyed this and would've liked a better ending, but it is what it is...
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This review may contain spoilers
The world won't change if you die but I might change a little bit
I've put this drama on hold for a long time.This is not one of those japanese movie or drama that I usually enjoy but I like thos movie just fine.
The ML I could describe him as a disillusioned young man who became curious of the FL who seems to want to die but also shows some signs of wantong to live on.
Their story is quote intresting and touching. He gave her the will to live at a cost. I wish they dod not have such an ending.
The cute girl and her best friend. Not that I could relate to the cute girl but I understand her need for a relationship she grew up lonely. Her best friend is her pillar of support. I think their part of the story is not that developed though.
Lastly we have the the girl who likes a guy whose not into her but eventually gives in and likes her back. This one is a bit fluff but like the other two stories it has depth.
The acting was fine.
The osts are just okay nothing remarkable or memorable for me.
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