Sukutte goran

Tokyo-based bank clerk Makoto (Matsuya Kashiba) has been banished to a backwater village after insulting his boss; he realizes that his problem is that he has kept his emotions so under wraps that they burst out of him against his will. In the village, he meets Yoshino (Kanako Momota), a lovely young woman whose job involves helping customers "scoop" goldfish, a task that gives them great joy; and Asuka (Nicole Ishida), an exuberant pub owner who takes a shine to him. But Makoto only has eyes for Yoshino, who has her heart set on someone else....

This is a sweet and tender musical - yes, musical, people burst into song every few minutes, when they aren't scooping fish, that is! It's based on a manga and has the kind of visual appeal of that genre, being full of colour and light, a physical joy to watch! But it's the music that steals the show. It probably won't take your fancy if you don't like musicals, but if you do this is a sweet and lovely confection to behold.

The whole movie just feel like watching a bad manga adapted into a movie. The acting (or overacting or under-whelmed acting?) is just terrible by a very unlikable non-talent male guy who looks more like a Korean actor with male Korean forehead covered hairstyle. The whole movie just make you feel that it was made for the teenagers instead of the matured adults. Recently, I've watched many very good Japanese movies, but this one definitely is excluded.

We liked Matsuya Kashiba in "Kantaro, the Sweet Tooth Salaryman", so we were curious about him in another role... the problem is that he acts bascially the same as in the aforementioned Netflix series, which in this movie feels out of place.

It is a musical... in with songs ranging from forgettable to "please be done already".

It is supposed to be in the romance genre... but the characters are completely flat and the main character has no believable chemistry with anyone.

At least the ending makes some sense.

The cinematography is beautiful enough, but it doesn't make up for the rest of it.

My personal recommendation: save yourself some time and watch something else.

I have been watching Asian cinema for decades. If this is where japanese movies and films are heading is sad. This show is all looks and no substance. Yes they have dressed the younger actors and actresses in kimonos but it's obvious non of them understand how to act. You might as well get German actors in kimono.

Sad how west is creeping in like a virus.

It's a shallow two dimensional show.