For the longest time I avoided this movie because Jin just rubs me the wrong way (and it has nothing to do with kattun) but I eventually gave in for Shunji Iwai who produced and wrote it. I actually liked it more than I thought I would considering I saw a lot of negative opinions about the characters (especially the girl) and the ending. Like someone else said this movie is like a more mature version of Beck. The characters are not fully likeable but they feel more real and the story feels more authentic. They get moody, selfish, jealous, insecure, undeceive, immature, and abuse alcohol. The volatile, kind of onesided, relationship between Natsu and Asako is portrayed quite well even if they were frustrating. It is not some fluffy story of 'tru luv'. At that point in their life they were pretty incompatible and Asako explained it well during their conversation towards the end. The band members aren't some bffs with a dream, they get into conflicts - some petty, some serious. The focus isn't just on the band members as musicians and their inner drama but on the business side of the music industry in the early 90s and its pitfalls. Is fame worth the price of artistic integrity? The acting is strong even with Jin there. At first I was like 'why was he even cast, he can't sing or act' but looking at Natsu's character I understood why Jin worked. Even if this is the only type of role he knows how to act, it was a fit here. Perhaps he was playing himself and that's why it worked JK :) I liked the music very much here. I would have liked it more if Jin was a better singer but the songs were catchy, I even downloaded them (I liked the song by Happies the most). Lands is one of two fictional bands to ever top the music charts in Japan.