JMOVIE: Koizora (Sky of Love)

I almost did not watch this movie after reading a review from a disappointed viewer labeling it as a cheesefest…but nothing can stop me after watching the trailer. Because of the bad review, I moved it behind my watch list and decided to watch Aragaki Yui’s other movie, Koi suru Madori. Unlike Koizora, Koisuru Madori got a perfect ten from said reviewer and named it a “flawless film.” This flawless film had me sleeping in no time. I guess I’m the kind who seldom fall for subtlety. Even the ending is a smart-ass blow with my naive illusions on fiction and romance. It’s like saying: Your serendipity is the destiny of another. How crushing is that?

Well, Koizora was the crack that had revived my fantasies. I don’t care if you call me just another fangirl, but I guess this is my weakness. The story of punk and smooth-talking bad boy (sometimes with bleached hair and pierced ears) falling head over heels in love with the sweet and quiet girl is the basic recipe for a Korean internet novel (official and amateur works). My favorite writer of these kind of novels is Guiyeoni who created A Wolf’s Attraction/Temptation of the Wolves, Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do and He was Cool. Two All of them were made into a movie, as you might know.

I kinda categorize Koizora as one of these types. It was a novel published in mobile phones and made 11 million people (probably mostly Japanese high school girls) cry. It’s hard not to spoil the plot if I write what made these people cry. But then again, now that I say it’s a tearjerker, there’s only one way for a teen love story to go and be a tearjerker. In other words…yup, that’s it. You got it.

But don’t back off now. It’s the kind of movie that when you reach the sad parts, you want to rewind and start from the beginning because you either want to go back to the happy parts, or you don’t want to reach the inevitable. It’s the kind of storyline you’ve scoffed off but when you’re right there watching it, you’re still getting the tingles and you’re still sniffing noisily.

Aragaki Yui is climbing pretty fast in my “most charming J-actress” list. With a voice so soft and a smile so radiant, I could hardly imagine her acting evil characters. That’s probably why she’s so unconvincing in Dragon Zakura. Haruma Miura, on the other hand, satisfied my checklist for the fanfic bad boy. I especially love the way he’s so devoted to Mika. Gosh, I knew I’ve seen him somewhere. I never thought, though, he was the 15-yr old boy from 14 Sai no Haha.

Don’t expect Koizora to be one of those “perfect” artsy Japanese films. It’s not. It’s claimed to be written by the real-life Mika. So, how could it be? I highly doubt all of the content is based on her real life experiences. It’s not even very original. If I were one of those Japanese girls to receive this novel in my cellphone, I would have nonchalantly labeled it as a spam chain letter. The ending is extremely predictable. Maybe it’s because I haven’t watched a lot of Korean stuff lately, so I’ve sobbed harder than I needed to. Plus, it is very reminiscent to one my guilty pleasure-teen Hollywood movies: (highlight to read) A Walk To Remember (highlight to read). There are some eyebrow-raising scenes that’ll probably anger and baffle a few viewers, but if you don’t let it bother you too much then you still might enjoy the movie. The enjoyment factor is definitely lower if you are male. Don’t ask why girls love such illogical and foolish love stories, we just do.

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PS: Koizora will be made into a Japanese drama this coming Summer.