Han-shojo

Han-shojo is a short love story with a lot of sweetness.

I don't even know if it has an official English title. A direct translation could be Half-virgin. But in this context, that would not mean what you think it means. Maybe a better interpretation would be "young adult". But actually, I think the best possible title would be Drive My Car.

The protagonist Misuzu is a woman who has got a driver's license, and works as a chauffeur. When she first appears, she seems happy and motivated about her work.

What will give her more trouble is the dilemma of choosing between two handsome men, a poor writer and a rich company executive, who are both interested in her. However, there are obstacles making it difficult to start a relationship with either of them.

A few other interesting or dramatic things happen, but the movie is so short that I don't want to say more, because then there would nothing left to explore. It could easily have been made longer, because there is at least one subplot that could have been dragged out more. On the other hand, it could be boring if all movies were the same length.

Even though I have seen many Japanese romance movies, it is hard to come up with one that feels more authentic. Han-shojo really is fresh, modern, and realistic.

Of course it also has clichés, like the love triangle with one poor and one rich man. The thing is that the characters are not cliché, but behaves like real humans.

I really recommend it if you feel like watching a cute romance that no one of your friends has even heard about. It might be hard to find it with English subtitles, though.