A while ago, a friend had given me a copy of the movie Honoka’a Boy to watch. When I asked why he thought I should check it out, he ventured, “Well, It’s set in Hawaii... and Aoi Yu is in it.” Well! On that note I made plans to get around to watching the movie, but to say that Aoi Yu is “in” this movie is like watching the Blues Brothers for Peewee Herman, seeing as how they both appear onscreen in each respective movie for about the same amount of time! But despite that setback, something about the Honoka’a Boy’s slow and calming pace really drew me in, and before you knew it, I was really enjoying it! Starring Okada Masaki as the fish out of water, or rather a Nihongo stuck on the Big Island, the show details his adjustment to life in the Islands as opposed to his life in Japan. The show is crammed full of interesting and eccentric characters, (including a fun performance by Matsuzaka Keiko, (whom I ADORED as Ikushima in Atsuhime), and Baisho Chieko (as the spinsterly lady who falls for Okada) but make no mistake about it: The true “star” of this movie just HAS to be Sexy Hasegawa Jun! From the moment Okada’s character Leo befriends the exotic “local” girl Mariah, her sexiness totally captivates Leo’s thoughts (and ours) and with Hasegawa rockin’ the cute denim short-shorts and skimpy bikinis, you just CAN'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF HER! Funny that until I watched this movie, I’d always believed :”Jun Hasegawa” to be an ACTOR, that is, a dude. What I didn’t realize is that there are actually TWO talents out there with the same name, a fact I sadly discovered when I tuned in on the drama Naka Nai to Kimeta Hi thinking I was gonna see some sweet local goodness and instead saw an up ‘n’ comin’ Johnny’s Boy. D’oh! Living in Hawaii myself, I love going out to visit the outer islands, and I think this movie manages to capture the laid-back and relaxing vibe the islands give off perfectly! When the movie was over, I found myself strangely mellow, as if I'd just come home from a long, breezy visit to Honoka'a! AHAHAHAHAHA!