Bokura wa Jinsei de Ikkai dake Maho ga Tsukaeru (2025)

So I cried 6 times watching this

Not sure if it was because I'd already seen the Gekidan EXILE BOOK ACT rendition of this and knew how the story was going to go and how it'd end, or because I'm simply easily touched, but I just kept reaching for tissues when I was watching this in the cinema. But perhaps uniquely, the two aspects that stood out to me the most about this movie were the cinematography and soundtrack, but I'll talk about the story and cast first.

To elaborate on the synopsis (with slight spoilers) - 4 boys find out that all men in the small homely village they grew up in gain the ability to make a wish and have full freedom on what they use it on other than anything concerning life. There, you're introduced to the characters. Akito wishes to become a professional pianist and enter a music college. Natsuki wishes to become a professional soccer player but has to give up his dream after an incident. Yukio is passionate about handicrafts and has a crush on a fellow schoolmate in the Handicraft Club. Haruhi, born with a weak heart, became friends with the gang after Akito approached him on his first day of elementary school.

The story first goes through the boys' conflict on what they should use the magic for - their own wants and wishes, or the sake of their loved one's happiness. Then, that is pushed slightly aside when all the characters go on their separate paths after graduation, until they all reunite towards the end for a single goal. While the story is centred around the 4 boys, there's also a pretty significant emphasis specifically on Haruhi and Akito's bond (which I find really cute and sweet <3)

The story had some potential, especially seeing how well it was carried out in BOOK ACT, but I found that it fell off in some parts in the sense that it became somewhat cliche, to the point it became not as interesting as it could have been. There are certain parts where it's obvious they're trying to do some foreshadowing, but it's too obvious till you know exactly what happened before the "grand reveal", which doesn't make the climax as impactful.

Inoue Yuki and Sakurai Kaito definitely showed themselves as actors. They were responsible for a lot of highly emotional scenes and I feel like those scenes never really felt awkward even if they were practically wailing in an otherwise completely silent scene. And objectively, while I may be a fan of Yusei, I do feel like he had a couple of awkward bits (such as the one where Akito was screaming at Natsuki) but also scenes where he impressed me (such as his eyes as he was listening to his father during the scene in the bar).

Now, cinematography-wise, it honestly felt like the movie was made in partnership with the tourism association of the location to encourage tourism to the village, the way they filmed the countryside, the natural scenery... it was genuinely breathtaking, which can make sense plot-wise, BUT can also feel a little in your face at times because you can definitely tell they were trying to highlight the beauty of the greenery at various (slightly random) parts of the movie.

In terms of music, I learned after the movie that Yokoyama Masaru, the composer for this movie, was likely a very expensive individual to hire to work on this movie, considering the shows he's worked on, and honestly, I can tell why. His soundtrack is so dramatic and beautiful, and so fitting of each scene, that it truly elevated the emotions of each scene. Not sure if it's my imagination, but I feel like there's a bit more emphasis on the use of piano in the soundtrack than normal, which if there really is that emphasis, it would seem like they took Akito in mind when creating the base and I just think that's so wonderful. Also, my favourite soundtrack is Lush Balloons :)

Overall, I would say this movie stood out to me while I was watching it as it's rather uniquely carried out, but didn't leave much of an impression on me after. Though, as of now, having watched the movie about a week or so ago, I do want to rewatch it, so the rewatch value may be high for me... think I'll cry a lot again rewatching it one day though ><

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