angie chui books, movies

Today’s Kira-Kun Live Action: Movie Review

kira-kun-ogp-1_origSynopsis: Today’s Kira-Kun is the live action adaptation of the Japanese manga Kyo no Kira-kun written by Rin Mikimoto. It revolves around the character of Yuiji Kira (Taishi Nakagawa), a popular high school student suffering from a heart ailment, and his classmate Ninon Okamura (Marie Iitoyo), a painfully shy girl whose only friend is a parrot called sensei. However, when Ninon finds out that Kira has only a year left to live, she pledges to stay by his side until the end.
I was expecting something really cute from a manga adaptation. But I got so much more when I watched Today’s Kira-kun. The movie made me feel like a crazy person, one minute grinning because of the pureness and innocence of Ninon and Kira’s young love, and the next bawling my eyes out because the reality of Kira’s condition rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times.

I love how well matched the two lead stars were. They looked good together and had great chemistry. I liked that unlike Itazura Na Kiss or Hana Yori Dango, the lead guy was not mean or cold towards the girl from the beginning. If anything, he seemed to be the only one to see through her shyness. I loved how the series gradually laid out how Kira and Ninon fell in love. It was a really moving journey. My favorite parts were the scenes where they looked so deeply into each other’s eyes and smiled so naturally at each other. It made the film all the more special because the actors conveyed a very innocent vibe. The supporting cast was few but effective and I liked how Yabe (Shono Hayama) and Yahagi (Yuna Taira), in particular, brought to life the best friends that the characters needed.

I loved how the series gradually laid out how Kira and Ninon fell in love. It was a really moving journey and made a lot of sense. My favorite parts were the scenes where they looked so deeply into each other’s eyes and smiled so naturally at each other. It made the film all the more special because the actors conveyed a very innocent vibe. The supporting cast were few but effective and I liked how Yabe (Shono Hayama) and Yahagi (Yuna Taira), in particular, brought to life the best friends that the characters needed to see their relationship through.

Technically, the idea was not very original. There have been several movies that touched on lovers dealing with fatal illnesses. A Walk to Remember was one of them. The Japanese movie I Give My First Love to You was another. There were also plot holes throughout the movie — like how specific the timeline was about Kira’s remaining time (a year), or how Kira, in his condition, could run so fast and not collapse sooner. I also would have liked the movie to delve more on Ninon’s friendship with sensei like in the manga.
But all in all, Today’s Kira-kun, in my opinion is one of the cutest adaptations of a Japanese manga that I’ve seen. While it had a tendency to go dark, it perfectly married cuteness with realism and depicted the sweetness of love and the bitterness of reality. It didn’t wallow in the negative and focused on the positive. In the end, while life isn’t always made up of roses, there are times when you luck out and find someone who makes you see through the darkness. Its a great message delivered so well. I shed many tears throughout this movie, both from joy and sadness and I could safely say that it was well worth it. Sugoi!