Love Stage!! (2020)

i tried so hard to not be biased but

Having delved into both the manga and anime, I feel justified in expressing my viewpoints. Despite my earnest efforts to appreciate this drama, regrettably, my hopes were dashed due to excessively lofty expectations. Primarily, the substandard quality of production came as a surprising letdown. It's truly baffling that the anime/manga production entity would endorse such a meagerly funded project. Whether this stems from financial limitations or sheer negligence on the part of the scriptwriters and producers remains uncertain. Given the existing manga and anime as a blueprint, the alterations in the narrative and the evident lack of meticulousness seem outright disrespectful to the original creations.

The ensemble cast could have been more judiciously selected. I don't intend to be overly critical, but although the cast's performances are passable, not all of them seem apt for their respective roles. The character of Izumi, meant to embody a blend of beauty, clumsiness, innocence, and grace, falls short in the portrayal by the actor. His demeanor leans too heavily towards masculinity, with lackluster facial expressions that occasionally veer into inappropriateness. And the depiction of Ryoma is a whole other debacle. The actor's appearance is less than appealing, and his interpretation is cringeworthy, completely distorting Ryoma's essence. There's much more I could articulate, but the frustration almost renders it inexpressible. The sole character that evoked reminiscences of the anime/manga was Shogo, solely due to the actor's adept capture of his speech patterns and demeanor. I relinquished viewing midway through, compelled to persevere till the end. Such is the profound disappointment this production embodies.

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Funny and cute

I’m not sure why such bad reviews? I’ve never read the manga but I thought it was good. Ryoma especially was funny and I enjoyed watching him as a character. It did feel quite low budget in terms of filming etc but it is what it is. I really enjoyed it.

Would I watch it again? Probably not but it gave me a laugh and it was cute too.
I didn’t think Izumi looked all that feminine either but I think the premise was a unique one I’ve not seen one with that storyline before.

Like I say it’s not the best thing I’ve watched but I don’t think it deserves 1s 😂

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Good story, dreadful Directorship & Acting

Reading through other reviews, I see the common excuse for the awful acting as being that the movie aims to replicate the "manga" and "anime-style" acting. Problem is: that's a problem with Japanese directorship lately. Japan can produce very beautiful masterpieces, however, when they try to desperately stick to their anime brand it results with this cringe-filled content that is difficult to watch never mind take seriously. P.S: I can't speak on behalf the manga, but I will speak from the Anime adaptation that in my opinion was amazingly done

Story: I personally loved it. For a movie adaptation, I enjoyed the change from a straight wedding to a same-sex wedding. I also enjoyed that Izumi was the one to comfort Ryoma and that they removed his awkwardness in front of cameras. However, there's no impactful scene in the entirety of this movie like there is in the anime. In the anime, we have multiple impactful scenes from Ryoma finding out Izumi is a boy to Izumi's debut as himself into the showbiz world. Those were amazingly done. In the movie? Well... there's barely any substance and it was hard for me to watch it.... The movie is boring. The director has failed to capture many key moments from the anime, and has replaced them with monotone scenes that don't really provide much of anything.


Acting & Casting: This is by far the worst part of this movie apart from the massacre that has occurred to the characters of this series. I'm not sure whether this is the actors' fault or the director's but this "anime style" acting does not work in live action media, that is not based on a fantasy environment where I feel like it's easier to get away with. The acting strips the characters of all their remaining life in the most ironic manner possible and makes them hard to even care about. Honestly, it's hard to take this movie seriously and it feels like a bad YouTube original. The anime works because it is animation but also the anime doesn't neglect animating the characters naturally when it is needed. Izumi has very serious and well directed moments in the anime, particularly when he explores his sexuality and attraction to Ryoma. Ryoma equally has his raw scenes as he fights for Izumi's affections with the few bittersweet moments between him and Shogo. In this movie, however, the acting is unredeemable and fails drastically to represent the mixed emotions the characters develop throughout the story.
Another things that puts me off is the casting. Though not terrible, neither of the actors or the way in which they're styled represent their characters. Ryoma barely looks like the cool and flashy actor that he is and for a 2020 movie, it has already aged awfully. DISCLAIMER: I am not hating on the actors directly, I am sure they're great but personally I do not see them in these roles. The actors hold no chemistry together and honestly, they should've chosen a different casting. These actors do not sell their roles.

Characters: What happened?! Ryoma is NOT Ryoma! Ryoma in the anime adaptation is represented with a quite puppy-like love towards Izumi and is also represented as naive to contrast his public image of a cool guy. The huge contrast between the on-screen Ryoma and the Ryoma we see interact with Izumi is huge. That's what makes him charming to the audience and root for him. In the movie? He's just a dull, cringe-worthy character that lacks all charm. This issue mainly comes down to the directorship and acting, it's hard to watch. Izumi is honestly the dullest character and it's the reason why the argument of the movie staying "true to the manga" doesn't hold. The characters, the most important element, are not true to the predecessors. Izumi charms the audience because of his naivity but a cutely represented love for Magical Girl LalaLulu that he is often seen to use to boost his confidence in himself In this adaptation, he is a boring character and nothing feel earnest. The only part in which Izumi is likeable when he calms Ryoma down during filming in the first 10mins of the movie.
Rei also significantly has collapsed as a character. From a cool, admirable character to a flat, uninspiring side character who barely gives the same flare to the movie as he did in the anime. More so, his relationship to Shogo is so lazily thrown in! Shogo is quite literally the only character that is true to the other adaptations.
This is the easiest thing to get right and yet this movie completely fails at it,

Music: Boring.

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Fans of the anime will enjoy this

This is based off the popular Boys Love manga and the anime. Love Stage is about two guys who reunite after starring in a wedding themed commercial (CM) 10 years ago. Ryoma falls for his co-star on set whom he thought was a girl when he was a child. Ryoma is now a popular actor. Izumi comes from a line of entertainers: his mom is an hallyu actress, his dad an entertainer, and his older brother the lead singer of a band. 10 years later, Ryoma requests the exact cast to be apart of the new CM. The only change I wish they didn't make was Izumi didn't wear a wedding dress. That was the best part of the anime/manga because that's the whole point. Ryoma thinks that Izumi was a girl this whole time, even when they act together in their Happy Wedding CM.

Other than that, I am thankful they kept it very PG. They removed the rapey scenes. I have seen the anime and the OVA and I am glad they removed them and kept the best parts of the plot, which is where Ryoma comes to terms that his childhood crush who encouraged him in his acting career is actually a guy. The love story is really sweet, albeit weak facial expressions from Izumi's actor. He reunites with Izumi and after making a mistake, tries to become his friend and helps him in his manga. He wants to help him like Izumi did when they were starring in that CM 10 years ago. He encourages Izumi with his manga and I found that really sweet. They turned a source material that is considered yaoi due to suggestive scenes and made it more accessible for a wider audience. I only wished it was longer and we got to see Izumi pursue acting. Believe me, it starts off really cringey but it gets much better as it goes on.

In Japan, or in Asian countries, for a popular actor to come out as gay is essentially career suicide. So for the ending to nonchalantly be accepting of that is actually revolutionary. I wished the ending went on for longer than it did. Boys Love usually caters to Fujoshis, or women, but what sets Love Stage apart is how well written its narrative is. The mangaka did write the screenplay for the movie.

I only wished that the on set architecture was better. I wished that Izumi's house looked more glamorous. I wasn't convinced that his well established family would be living in what looks like an average suburban house. It should have been tacky and adorned with tacky expensive furniture. Even Ryoma's apartment should have looked fancier if he's considered a popular actor. I don't remember the anime much, but even the settings in the anime looked more glamorous than the shoddy housing in this movie.

I enjoyed it more than the anime. The anime's art style I wasn't a fan of and I prefer that they toned down the scenes and made it more consentual. This is coming from someone who hates Jdramas. I typically gravitate more to American TV and Kdramas. Better than any of Hirokazu Kore-eda's movies. Look I'm familiar with Japanese cinema and this was a solid good movie.

The acting is Jdrama quality and the production level was slightly higher than your typical Jdrama. These guys both acted better than what you see in a Jdrama. Izumi's actor looked the part but wasn't as good as Ryoma's actor. He was hilarious.

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Exaggerated acting but watchable

The acting here is "exaggerated" like most typical Japanese dramas/movies where the acting is anime-style. If you don't like Japanese dramas where the actors act like they came straight out of an anime then I suggest you skip it. But if you don't mind the anime-ish "exaggerated" acting then you'll like it

I personally liked it, its fun, simple and lighthearted. I'll try the Thai adaptation next

One thing that ticked me off was the "kiss without consent," or the "forced kiss to confirm self's feelings"

Like I get that this is depicted the same way as anime acting too so I shouldn't take it seriously, but it still makes me a bit uncomfortable to see two real people doing anything to someone without consent no matter how "light" or "innocent" it might seem. That's the only thing I didn't like about this movie

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Olvidable

Dos niños se conocen en un rodaje, uno se enamora del otro pensando que es una niña (va vestida de tal). Años más tarde, siendo éste actor famoso, quiere recrear el anuncio donde se conocieron y se entera que la niña era un chico.

Al principio se horroriza pero le sigue gustando. El otro pasa olímpicamente, pero al final se gustan y se declaran y ya se quieren. Fin de la trama

Está muy mal escrita. El punto de partida está bien, intenta algo diferente con la historia de que se conocían de pequeños y uno estaba enamorado sin saber que era un chico y tal, para ir luego en su busca y darse cuenta de que sigue enamorado. También tiene puntos decentes, como que el chico no quiere se actor, viniendo de una familia de atores, queriendo ser mangaka y luchando por su sueño, pero la trama amorosa está horriblemente mal desarrollada.
El chico mayor parece un acosador, porque claramente el otro no está interesado jugando un poco con sus sentimientos, y en un par de escenas ya se da cuenta de que lo quiere y quieren pasar el resto de sus vidas juntos.

Se podría haber desarrollado mejor la premisa lanzada, pero tambien entiendo que es una película, aún así se le podría haber sacado más partido

Los actores actúan bastante... ¿desganados? Se ve que es una producción de bajo presupuesto, pero no creo que sea escusa. Además los pintan de guapos y tampoco me lo parecen. Sale Daigo, que eso siempre es un plus porque es uno de mis ídolos de la adolescencia jajaja pero tampoco actúa bien. Fijate que la mini trama secundaria que dejan entrever entre él y el manager me parece más intersante que la trama principal.

¿Te la recomiendo? Si no tienes nada mejor que hacer, si. Me la volvería a ver de nuevo? No jajaja Mírate mejor Cherry Magic otra vez.

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