The Liar and His Lover

So last night I watched The Liar and His Lover (Kanojo Wa Uso Wo Aishisugiteru). It's based from the manga with the same title. I came upon it by chance. I wanted to read something different, something outside of fantasy, so I thought maybe something with a rock band in it? I found lists of dozen of mangas recommended, and reading their short summaries, Kanojo Wa was the one that caught my attention. I thought that it was cute. I didn't expect to love it so much! I'm so happy to have discovered this manga.

God, it's such a pain to find Japanese movies online! Well maybe because they're recent? Not really sure. I waited several months just to watch Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno! Lately I've been on the prowl for Say, I Love You and Blue Spring Ride. I recently finished watching the anime series of these two, and whilst googling about it, of course I read that there were live action movies of them, released just this 2014. I wanna watch them badly...

So if anyone has a link to a site where I can stream these movies, hit me up on the comments below. Thanks in advance!

 

 Summary:

Aki Ogasawara is a talented musician. He is actually the creative genius behind Crude Play's music. Three of the band mates are his childhood friends, except for Shinya, the bassist. Aki used to be the bassist of Crude Play but quit the band just before their debut. Aki was fed up with the music business, and had just broken up with Mari, a famous pop idol.

By chance, Aki met Riko Koeda,a high school girl. He was humming a beautiful song, and Riko, hearing it, fell inlove with it instantly. Maybe with Aki as well. He asks her, "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

Wanting a fresh start outside of the music industry, Aki begins dating Riko without telling her who he really is. He told Riko that he hates women who sings, not knowing that Riko is part of a band with her two friends. She plays the guitar and sings.

By coincidence, Soichiro Takagi, producer of Crude Play, discovers Riko and her friends, Yuichi Kimijima and Souta Yamazaki while playing on the streets and decides to debut them as Mush & Co.

Then everything became complicated. Riko eventually found out that her boyfriend was really Aki, but this did not affect their relationship. Through the pressures of the music business and fame, Aki broke up with Riko and was gonna leave the country. 

On the day of Mush & Co.'s debut, and the day Aki was to leave, Shun, Aki's best friend and Crude Play's singer, found a way for Riko and Aki to reunite.

Cast
Aki Ogasawara: Takeru Sato
Riko Koeda: Sakurako Ohara
Shun Sakaguchi: Shohei Miura
Shinya Shinohara: Masataka Kubota
Kaoru Ono: Kouki Mizuta
Teppei Yazaki: Koudai Asaka
Yuichi Kimijima: Ryo Yoshizawa
Sota Yamazaki: Yuki Morinaga
Miwako Nagahama: Mitsuki Tanimura
Mari: Saki Aibu
Soichiro Takagi: Takashi Sorimachi

Director: Norihiro Koizumi
Original Story: Kotomi Aoki

My thoughts:

I didn't even know Takeru Sato played Aki in the live action! So finding that out was like... OH MY GAAAHHHD!!! I just went crazy. He's well known for portraying Kenshin Himura in Samurai X trilogy, and also, a very significant role for me, as Koyuki in the live action movie for Beck Mongolian Chop Squad!

He so dang fine. But I noticed that his face is kinda puffy in some scenes. I love that Japanese live action films stay true to the manga or to where they adapted it.

Regarding the story, it really hits me in the heart. I love listening to bands as much as the next girl, but finding out the ugly side of the business is really disheartening. A lot of my favorite bands that I used to listen to when I was younger, are either broken up or sold out, and the most frustrating part is when the vocalists go solo, thinking they have greater chance to make it big. Getting recognized is okay. Of course we all want to be known for our craft. But to a point of losing their identity? That's what i can't get my head into. And it breaks my heart every time I see some great and change into something where they feel that they'd be more accepted as. Heck, what do I know? I'm a talentless dork.

The love story aspect, in the midst of the crazy world of fame and music, is what makes this story great. They love each other, they want to protect each other, even with the craziness surrounding them, and it endures, their love endures. It was not because Aki was this handsome musician, but what Riko saw was a man with a deep sadness that needed protection, care and love. Yes, Aki did not fell for Riko right away, but the way that he had fallen inlove with her made your chest hurt, he fell hard and all at once.

At the beginning, I had no feelings for her whatsoever.
It was all lies.
But even if I was a habitual liar, she said I was an “honest person.”
She smiles and pretends that she doesn’t notice.
I never stood a chance.