PiranianRose

This is a gentle little film with a big heart. "I don't know why I have to learn piano," asks young Mew early in the film. "Maybe one day, you can use it to show someone how you feel." Flash forward to present day, teenage Mew is the handsome lead singer of a band asked to write a love song. Everyone thinks it's cake but he struggles, as he doesn't know what it feels like. Enter Tong, Mew's childhood-separated neighbor. They hit it off immediately, and melody of love now comes to Mew naturally as he writes one song after another expressing his feeling about Tong. It's a joy to watch Mew fearlessly fall in love. His magnetic smile especially blossoms at Tong's presence. You can feel how drawn he is to Tong, especially when he sings to him. Unfortunately their love is interfered by an external force. Without the feeling, Mew can no longer sing authentically. It is heartbreaking precisely because we saw how happy they were together.

I've focused on the romantic relationship, but I fully concur with the reviewer who said it is the integration of this and the family subplot that makes it more whole than most gay-themed movies. In fact, that subplot dominates the second half of the movie.

Music is not only a central theme but the gentle OST is also used to great effect throughout the movie. The main imperfection for me was Mario's acting as Tong. He basically sleepwalked throughout the film. I get that he is supposed to be unsure about his sexuality, but he looks monotonically bored in most of his scenes.

This is a feel-good coming-of-age story, where the strenuous walk strips students of their outer shell and makes them come out with their secrets. The end result is a little uneven - at times great, other times sloppy. There is an impressive long take at the beginning gradually revealing the entire student body on an open field. But some scenes don't achieve the desired emotional effect due to the amateur cinematography, which is odd considering the aforementioned impressive shot. It's as if the film was shot by different people.

As often in Japanese movies, there are a number of eccentric characters, from the rock-n-roll guy who is miserable during the day but comes alive at night, to the brothers with moose masks. These provided comic relief and memorable characters.

It's a simple movie we can all relate to on some level. The comedy helps maintain the light mood, while the mysteries keep you intrigued. Recommended.

I'm a big fan of the original Saint Seiya anime from the 80s as well as the 2000s Hades arc. This story is a solid addition to the legacy. Like the Hades arc, it's more modern than the original, but what sets it apart is the superior characterization. Characters here are deeper and more complex; I found myself caring about even those who appeared only briefly. My favorites, as with before, are the gold saints. Here they bear resemblance to their 20th century incarnations, nearly everyone more fleshed out, but there will be some pleasant surprises. For example, I was glad to see a dignified Cancer, while the Pisces saint is beyond cool.

One of the problems with SS was it started getting repetitive after a while. I'm happy to say not so with this story. It does draw many parallels to Kurumada's SS, making old fans feel warm and fuzzy. Yet, the story here is refreshing and unpredictable. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen for all 26 episodes.

The 2 minor imperfections are one, the series ends before the manga, leaving you hungry for more, and two, it does get just a little repetitive and formulaic with the way gold saints are introduced and their fate. All things considered, the solid story and execution are quite possibly the best we've seen in SS thus far.