Why the incredibly tear-jerking and entertaining romance movie '(LOVE SONG)' becomes more addictive the more you watch it

Have you watched any romance movies or dramas lately?

I used to feel like movies were all about “Romance!” but lately, it feels like mysteries or stories about friendship are more common, right?
I even see news headlines about people 'turning away from romance.' Are Japanese people really losing interest in 'love'?

Speaking for myself, I look back and wonder, when was the last time I felt that heart-fluttering excitement?
That was when I discovered and became completely hooked on this movie, '(LOVE SONG),' which was released on October 31st.

It features a double lead, one of whom is Win Morisaki, a talented actor with a sweet face who has even appeared in Hollywood films.

The other is Koji Mukai from the incredibly popular idol group Snow Man, who are currently taking the world by storm.

“...Oh, so it’s a BL, then.”

If that’s what you thought, you’re wrong. This is

【An incredibly pure love story】

! (※I’ll explain why it’s more than just that later)

To give you a brief summary of the plot...

Sota (Win Morisaki) and Kai (Koji Mukai) are classmates and best friends who went to the same high school and university.
In truth, Sota has secret feelings for Kai, but one day, Kai suddenly drops out of university and disappears.
Six years later, Sota, now working in research, goes to Thailand on a business trip.
This is because he heard from a former university classmate that
Kai might be in Thailand...

The setting then shifts to Thailand, and the story begins after the two have a fateful reunion, but the theme of this movie is【Mutual Unrequited Love】.

Wait? If they both like each other, then...

Shouldn't they just tell each other how they feel!?

That’s what I think, but these two are different~
They absolutely do not say it! They don't notice! They don't pick up on it!

They are way too dense!!!!!!!!!!!

How do you manage to dodge the 'I like you' beams from the other person when they're so obvious? What is going on with your self-esteem?
I want to grill them with a drink in my hand... anyway, it’s so frustrating!!!

What kind of romantic conclusion will these two reach? To put it simply, it’s【a super simple story】 where
nobody dies, nobody is terminally ill,
nobody gets amnesia from an accident, and nobody reincarnates as a villainess,

but you know... it’s addictive...

Moreover, this movie manages to balance the seemingly contradictory impressions of being 'tear-jerking' and 'entertaining.' Why is that?
I intend to get to the bottom of that while writing down my thoughts.

First, let’s start with why it’s 'entertaining.'

This movie is actually directed by a Thai director,
and the work they directed, '2gether,' was a global hit.

Maybe that’s why, from a Japanese perspective,
“Whoa... that’s a unique style!”
“Whoa... that’s some intense dialogue!”
There are moments like that here and there. And somehow, that’s fun.

For example, according to the official description, Kai is a 【mysterious photographer】 who
is basically a man of few words. Ennui. The type whose true feelings are hard to grasp.
You see this type in shojo manga all the time, right? The kind that makes the heroine overthink things, and if you get it wrong, they're basically a 'mental health wrecker.'

After they reunite, Kai appears before Sota as if he were a phantom,
and it's almost all in slow motion! Slow-motion shots!
And with a bittersweet background track playing.
I thought, "Wow! This is just like a shojo manga!"
Before I knew it, I found myself waiting in anticipation for
Kai's slow-motion entrance scenes.

And this Kai says some pretty unique lines.
I can't say too much because I don't want to spoil it,
but since the cast mentioned it at the official roundtable, I've decided it's okay to share one.

Isn't that amazing!?
*By the way, Kai-Chiao is a Thai omelet.

I wanted to mentally retort, "Who says lines like that?!" but
why is it...? Is it Thai Magic...?
I was surprised to find myself genuinely touched by it as a swoon-worthy line.

There are other moments, like a sudden downpour of rain at the perfect time,
Sota's coworkers saying "Ganbatte ne!" in unison,
and Kai peeking at Sota talking to another guy from the lab window like a jack-in-the-box,
"I'm curious!"There are little directorial choices like that,
but you know... they have a certain charm to them.
Since I'm this hooked on it now,
maybe it was all part of the plan, and I'm being played by this movie.
It's so addictive that I'm starting to feel that way...

With an atmosphere like that, you might wonder if it's really "moving" as I said at the beginning,
but let me tell you first:
It's not just a case of getting a little teary-eyed; it's a full-blown sob-fest.
From the second viewing onwards, I've been crying so hard I'm practically sobbing.

Honestly, until about the middle of the first viewing,
I was thinking, "Yeah, yeah, unrequited love is bittersweet..."
and even seeing Sota and Kai on their flirty date at the Thai night market
(sharing insect snacks, jumping in with street musicians, etc.),
I was just feeling a bit shy watching them...

The story of the two who were separated in college and reunited really starts to move from the middle. One of the axes of this is

"Theunfinished love song that Kai wrote in college."

Sota knew about its existence, and in fact,
"There's someone I'm interested in... I wrote it thinking of them..."
was what Kai told him, so he was even a little jealous of this song with a backstory.
There is a scene where it is finally completed and Kai performs it live.

This live performance is a very sad scene, but honestly, on the first viewing, I only got a little teary or had a single tear roll down.

But when "the two's past as seen from Kai's perspective" is revealed in the final part of the movie,
it completely takes you. Your heart.

"Oh, so that's what that expression meant back then?"
"Was that what you wanted to convey with those lyrics?"
"Is that why you didn't say anything at that time?"

Such "realizations" come rushing in like a torrent, and as everything unravels,
once you feel the urge to watch this movie again, that's it.
On my second viewing,I was quietly sobbing buckets during Kai's live performance scene.

The clip collection below shows a little bit of the live scene. But honestly,
they cut it at a really good part (great editing!).
You'll cry your eyes out after this... to Kai's song...

Apparently, this live scene isn't lip-synced but is a live vocal recording, and the director and all the staff who were filming it were in tears.
Of course they were. I cried just as much on the other side of the screen.
It's also available as a song, and that's great too, but
personally, I want you to hear this in the theater.It really shakes your soul.

And from the second viewing of the movie, not only this live scene,
but the reunion scene, the flirting at the night market,
and even the humming of the unfinished love song that Sota and Kai insert as much as they can (pardon me) turn into points where I burst into tears.

I'm not the director, producer, or screenwriter,
so I don't know the truth, but perhaps it was their intention from the start
to have people watch it a second or third time...
It's so good that you never get tired of it the more you watch it,
truly a"Surume (dried squid) movie"that keeps giving.
(This is where the unique Thai-style direction comes into play; while there are many movies that just make you cry, this one is "entertaining and moving.")

Next, a little about the cast. First, the two leads.
When I finished watching it,"I'm so glad these two were the leads!"was honestly what I thought.

First, an important point is that both of them are “great-looking!”
It’s a blunt way to put it, but this is important in a romance.
After all, a picture of two beautiful people increases the heart-fluttering factor and is a feast for the eyes. In that regard, both Sota and Kai are truly beautiful, even in extreme close-ups that fill the screen.

Since scenes you can imagine appear in the behind-the-scenes footage, I’ll just say it: this movie has a kiss scene (don’t worry, there’s nothing more than that),
and this kiss scene is also so beautiful, with their jawlines being outstanding, that it’s worthy of being a poster. I think everyone who watches it will be enchanted.

Speaking of them individually, Win Morisaki, who plays Sota, is
just so cute! His smile! A puppy! The sun! (Though he gets wild sometimes) He’s healing!
I already knew him, but I didn’t realize he was such a handsome guy with such a cute smile.
Even though his physique is surprisingly masculine and sturdy,
his face and acting are just wonderful, so he’s cute enough to make your heart flutter while watching (even if he gets wild sometimes).

Koji Mukai, who plays Kai, is cool and his sex appeal is insane…!
His public image is the “variety show guy,” but
when you take the comedy out of it, he has a super beautiful face and an incredible figure, and
I think “a bundle of gaps” is a phrase made for him.
And his eye acting is good! How many times have I been made to cry by those eyes that look like they’re brimming with tears and forming a film,
as if the sadness is about to overflow at any moment? Seriously!

The supporting cast is also—

・Mitchy Oikawa as Jin, who brings a sense of relief just by appearing and is indispensable to this movie.
・Daisuke Fujiwara as Wataru, who is “too cute” and actually creates a crucial turning point in the film.
・Mean (a Thai actor) as Sun, who, like Jin, adds a fantastic flavor to the story.
・Kyoko Saito as Hikari, Sota’s childhood friend and colleague, whom I’m sure everyone who watches the movie will be grateful for.

“Falling in love with two people in love”
is what the promotion said, but as I watched,
I think I fell in love with everyone. That’s the kind of movie it is.

There’s still more I want to write, but it’s getting long, so lastly, about the theme song.

The theme song for "(LOVE SONG)" is "Gravity" by Omoinotake.

Speaking of Omoinotake, "Ioku Kounen" is famous, but
honestly, I thought this song was just as much of a masterpiece as that one.
The lyrics are likely from Sota’s perspective in the first verse and Kai’s in the second, and
the lyrics are just sooooo good.

On Sota’s side, he thinks of the person who suddenly disappeared and wishes to be reborn as the wind, saying he doesn’t need a name.
Because if he becomes the wind, he can go anywhere to search for them and touch them once more.

On Kai’s side, no matter where he is or what he sees,
he just single-mindedly thinks of that person who never leaves his mind and keeps singing a love song.

In other words, from the moment of birth,
even his first cry is overflowing with poignant feelings for you.
If anything, the reason he was born into this world was
to meet you. To fall in love with you.
Such heavy yet emotional lyrics link so perfectly to Sota and Kai that
the end credits playing this song are also a tear-jerker.

The feelings are packed in until the very last second the end credits finish,
and the more you chew on it, the more you watch it, the more you get hooked on "(LOVE SONG)."

I really hope you get to experience this “incredibly tear-jerking and entertaining” film for yourself.

By the way, the novelization seems to be so popular that it’s being reprinted,
and although I’ve obtained it, I haven’t read it yet, so I hope to read it someday.
(Apparently, it fills in the gaps that the movie intentionally leaves for the audience to interpret.)

“If I could say I love you, the world would change.”

Once you finish watching the movie, I’m sure you’ll want to fall in love with someone.