"Blisters" - "Kowloon Generic Romance" | 2025: Film Record vol. 162
A step taken while wearing new shoes.
When your heart is swelling with such expectations, you almost always end up with "blisters." It was a work that made me think, "Taking on new challenges and growing always comes with pain."
The cityscape of Kowloon is magnificent.
Thanks to it being (almost) entirely filmed on location in Hong Kong, the Kowloon cityscape (art direction) was wonderful and just as high-quality as this year's talked-about film, "Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In." Both works fit into reality so well that... it really doesn't exist anymore, right?
However, the story is a little complex.
I think the pacing is well-put-together, but I felt that the runtime of a movie was a bit short to process (and contemplate) the information as sci-fi while also developing an attachment to the characters. (Of course, this might just be because my information processing ability is low...)
Since the original work is a weekly serial, I felt it was a work created with the assumption of having time (intervals) to contemplate fragmented information or re-watch the main story, such as in an anime or perhaps a drama series if it were live-action.
And what surprised me was that the story reaches a (sort of) conclusion within the film. With 11 volumes and still currently serializing, I thought the scriptwriting to handle all of that must have been quite a struggle. Moreover, it seems to be different from the anime version that aired this year. Since the original work is also in its final stages, being able to enjoy various endings for different routes might be a new form of media mix.
Finally, something that bothered me a little.
It's not that nationality is important to the work, but was it a story about Japan or China? At the end, the Yamanote Line appeared, and I was a little confused by the cityscapes of both countries (maybe they just returned home normally?). That aside, I grinned at the Shimosaya Cafeteria, which had no resemblance to the original.
So, that was "Kowloon Generic Romance."
Also, the theme song "HAZE" by Kroi had a great atmosphere. I had an image of the band as playing up-tempo, chaotic rock, so their chill-style song was also wonderful, and I'd like to listen to more of their music.
Thank you for reading until the end!
Day 298