Breathing new lives to stories, taking them life-sized

Much has been said about anime and manga being worlds more beyond kiddie cartoon shows and comic books. Being two of Japan's more popular cultural products, anime and manga were able to create a niche of their own. With unique plot devices and their own creative traditions, these two became a rich source of new materials that can be crafted and used as content for a traditional medium--film, sometimes even television. Recently, I saw myself watching (and/or re-watching) live film adaptations of well-loved anime/manga franchise, and then reminded that while different in approach from their original, the universality of plots and characters, and the aesthetic and technical aspects of film-making, give these stories a fresh yet familiar vibe. 

I find it really hard to convince myself to disregard any preconceived notions and expectations when I watch these adaptations. But watching movie after movie of such kinds, I get to grasp the idea that this one and that one are different, and let the audio-visual experience do the judging for me. 

Kimi ni Todoke The Movie (2010)

(君に届け, Reaching You)

© 2010 Nippon Television/ Toho/ Kimi ni Todoke The Movie Film Partners

Kimi ni Todoke is originally a manga by Karuho Shina, and made to an anime series by Production I.G. I only got to watch the two seasons of the anime and can say that while it is indeed a teen romance story (shoujo to the core), the story of timid Kuronuma Sawako and good-natured Kazehaya Shota, along with their friends and schoolmates make up for a very light and likeable show. 

While the anime is made of bright colors and helter-skelter animations, Kimi ni Todoke The Movie made use of a somber color palate--brown seifuku, quiet rural neighborhood, grassy fields and autumnal surroundings. The movie, directed by Kumazawa Naoto, managed to put into the screen the calmness of the pace of the story as well as the dynamics of a budding romance between two high school students. 

Tabe Mikako as Kuronuma Sawako and Miura Haruma as Kazehaya Shota, as well as the rest of the cast, embodied the youthfulness and (and sometimes extreme) innocence of the characters. Thoroughly wholesome and cute, and at times funny, the movie gives way for subplots that enabled the each of them, including the seemingly vicious Ume Kurumizawa (Kiritani Mirei), to establish their motives and develop their personalities. 

With a tranquil setting, fluid camerawork, and characters whose energy and emotions are distinctive of people their age, the movie recognizes the clichés the material is made of yet manages to package the story in a way that is, though not strictly inventive, smooth and satisfying. 

[With Haruma (and everything that he is XD) as Kazehaya in his trademark fur coat, and adorable Yano-chin and Chizu-chan and Ryuu, how can I not like this?]

Usagi Drop Live (2011)

(うさぎドロップ, Bunny Drop)

© 2011/ Showgate/ Usagi Drop Live Film Partners

Based on the manga by Unita Yumi and produced as an anime series by Production I.G, Usagi Drop has been recommended to me by a friend last year because she said the live-action film looked promising. I have always admired Matsuyama Ken'ichi's ability to get cast in many iconic characters from anime/manga franchise, and his brilliance in giving these well-loved characters justice. In Usagi Drop, MatsuKen plays the role of Daikichi, an average 30 year-old man who suddenly finds himself the steward of his late grandfather's illegitimate daughter, Rin, played by the adorable Mana Ashida.

Daikichi's struggle with the responsibility he had taken for himself was given  enough weight, from managing his time and resources to take care of the six-year old girl, to dealing with people who have looked at Rin with disdain. Not having the same ample time as the anime series to develop such conflicts, the film used montages of parallel situations, as well as new characters to establish the progress of the two main characters. At the same time, the movie, directed by Sabu (Tanaka Hiroyuki), also allowed for more heart-warming scenes between Daikichi and Rin, showcasing him as changing from a directionless bachelor to an inspired guardian for Rin. 

Daikichi angers, mellows, and becomes resolute in a realistic pace, and also allowing for some of MatsuKen quirkiness to surface. Mana Ashida is such a precious child actress, her cuteness never once got overboard, and Rin's more-matured-than-most-children-her-age personality from the anime makes for a delightful live portrayal. One of the greatest strengths of the film for me was the endearing rapport between Daikichi and Rin, and MatsuKen and Mana Ashida defintely nailed it. 

Using the familiar tokens and symbols from the anime to recognize the franchise's fans as well as using new storytelling techniques and characterizations (those magazines coming to life were really fun), Usagi Drop Live is a quiet and endearing film that can be as easily enjoyed as its anime series version. 

Honey and Clover (2006)

© 2006 Asmik Ace Entertainment, Inc./ SHUEISHA Inc./ J Storm Inc./ DENTSU Inc./ Honey and Clover Film Partners

Some three years ago, there was a time when no parental advice, no visit to the guidance counsellor, nor encouragements from friends could've helped me make a big decision. It was Honey and Clover that got me through it. I first encountered HachiKuro as an anime series, and then as a 2008 television series (which up until today is hands-down one of my two all-time favorites). 

Chika Umino's story of five art university students drawn together by a shared dorm and their charismatic professor had probably always been universal in its appeal to the young adult audience. Dealing with budding and lost loves, relationships, reaching for goals and dreams, this coming-of-age story makes for a somber yet hopeful exposition. Although, literally speaking, the anime and the subsequent adaptations couldn't be any less somber visually--the colors and set, the costumes and character designs are all but descriptive of the environment and the dispositions the characters are in.

The 2006 Masahiro Takata film, starring Sakurai Sho as the forlorn architecture student Takemoto Yuuta (the main main reason of my existence XD I finally decided to watch this), Aoi Yuu as the petite painting prodigy Hanamoto Hagumi, Yusuke Iseya as the exceptionally talented but carefree sculpture student Shinobu Morita, Kase Ryo as the hopelessly inlove architecture senior Mayama Takumi, and Seki Megumi as the strong-willed pottery major Yamada Ayumi, is wrought with vernal meanderings and self-imposed reproaches.

Utilizing Western songs and irregular string melodies for background, as well as hand-held (thus shaky) and wide camera angles more often than not, the film capitalized on the bohemian vibe of the characters and the story itself. Youthful to the core, the emotions portrayed in the film go through irregular wave patterns, no hint of stabilizing until the credits roled. 

I'd still prefer the 2008 television series if I had to choose. However, I think this film serves well as a quick telling of the unbelievably painful, fun, emotional, inspiring, and altogether existentialist tale of the five art university students facing their lives' crossroads.