As a big fan of IWGP and after searching for this Special for months my expectations were really high, even though I only heard bad things about it. My overall facit after watching it: It's not as bad as they say, but it's not good either.
Still I enjoyed seeing the IWGP characters again so much that I rated it a lot better than it deserved.
The acting was okay, similar to the drama. The music was actually the same as in the drama which made it a little nostalgic. I think it was perfect. Apart from the background music this special had at least two scenes were they should've shortened the songs a lot. Those were concerts.
The story itself was move like a drama episode than a movie. Nothing special to be honest, but it had funny moments and less awkward and embarrassing scenes than the drama - Well, it was only a tenth of the length, though. ;)
I was really disappointed how less screentime the supporting characters had. Especially those I loved so much during the drama. Especially Takashi.
I loved some of the new characters, though. They were cute. It was also interesting to see how other characters developed during the 3 years.
Overall I think this is worth a watch if you're a fan of the drama. If you didn't enjoy the drama you shouldn't watch this, it's the same. :)

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I watched this movie in school when we were talking about buddhism. I think it captures the general idea of the religion pretty good and makes it easier to understand.

The acting was good, the actors seemed really into their roles and I found nothing off.

The music was nice and fit the movie, I actually remember it which is rare.

Overall I found the movie pretty boring, but that may be because it was in school. It drags a little but has interesting and even funny scenes, too. At least my classmates were laughing at times..

It definitely has sad scenes, though. Some things are hard to understand, but I felt with the characters, pitied them somewhat and some things were a little disturbing, too.

If you want to understand buddhism better, this is a movie for you. Otherwise it's not something I'd recommend to watch "just for fun". :)

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This was a nice drama that I quite enjoyed watching, but definitely not for the storyline. The story was clicheed and repetitive, at some points very unrealistic and frustrating. The focus of every episode was to force the main character into her hero persona without giving any of the other characters the chance to truly shine.

The acting was stiff at times, but that was part of the drama's flair: Movement and character's positions weren't necessarily natural, they concentrated on posing and looking good. It's a great drama to take screenshots of but it did seem a bit ridiculous at times.

This all sounds very negative, but the cute friendships between the characters, funny and emotional scenes and the talented actors made this a worthwhile drama to watch.

I was very pleased at the absolute lack of a serious romantic subplot! I would recommend this to everyone else who enjoys platonic love more than the romantic kind. I would not recommend this to anyone who thinks romantic relationships are the most important part of any storyline - You will not enjoy this.

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