Himeanole

Hime-anole (ヒメアノ～ル, Hime-anōru) is a 2016 Japanese romantic black comedy–crime drama film directed by Keisuke Yoshida. It is based on the manga of the same name written by Minoru Furuya, serialized in the Weekly Young Magazine between 2008–2010, and republished into six volumes.[1] The film received an R-15 rating in Japan.[2] It is the second of Furuya's works to be adapted to the big screen, following 2011's Himizu.

Himeanole
Directed byKeisuke Yoshida
Written byMinoru Furuya (original story)
Keisuke Yoshida (screenplay)
Starring
Music byTakashi Nomura
CinematographyTakayuki Shida
Edited byShinichi Suzuki
Production
company
Distributed byNikkatsu
Release date
  • 25 April 2016 (2016-04-25) (Udine)
  • 28 May 2016 (2016-05-28) (Japan)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

The film marks the debut of V6 boyband singer Gō Morita in his first starring role in a feature film as the antagonist Soichi Morita, and stars Gaku Hamada as the naive protagonist Okada among a cast of odd characters entrenched amid love triangles and shoddy friendships.[2] It premiered at the Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy on 25 April 2016, before being released theatrically on 28 May throughout Japan.

Plot

Ando works at a cleaning company where he is tasked in charge of clumsy newcomer Okada. While Ando struggles to remember his name referring to him as "Okamura", the two slowly develop a friendship. Okada, who loathes himself for leading a useless and aimless life, mentions to Ando how he is dissatisfied for having no hobbies, girlfriend, leading a repetitive life and wasting away. Ando comforts him stating no one is satisfied, and dissatisfaction is the driving force behind life. When asked if he feels the same way, Ando replies with a blunt no, stating "I live each day for love."

Okada joins Ando at a nearby cafe to meet his girlfriend, which turns out to be the waitress Yuka he has a crush on but never admitted his feelings to. Ando then notices "the blonde dude" sitting outside, who he thinks has his eyes set on his beloved Yuka. Okada glances and remembers him as Morita, a highschool classmate. Ando tells Okada to talk to him, in case he has ill intent towards his Yuka. Okada approaches Morita, who denies ever having come here before, and the two exchange phone numbers. As Ando and Okada leave the cafe, he asks Okada to investigate Yuka in case she's in any danger. Okada hesitates but agrees to talk to Yuka. Okada waits outside the cafe in the evening for Yuka to finish her shift. The nervous Yuka mentions she fears she is being stalked, including receiving harassing phone calls and her mail disappearing. The next day at work, Ando tells Okada the two of them shall go to the cafe everyday to ensure Yuka's well-being. Okada hands her their numbers, and later Ando rambles to Okada about wanting to take her on a date.

Morita, a habitual smoker and pachinko player, makes a phone call to Wagusa at his workplace demanding $5000. The nervous Wagusa meets his girlfriend Kumiko, a coworker, to help him steal the money from his father's business where the two work. She eventually demands to know why he keeps giving him money. Wagusa reveals the two were classmates bullied by the same kids throughout highschool. A week before graduation, Morita visited Wagusa at night to tell him "I caught Kawashima," to enact revenge for his years of torment. Morita tells Wagusa to beat him with a bat, before Morita kills him and buries his body. Since the incident, Wagusa notes something changed in Morita who began extorting him for money.

During an awkward double date between Ando, Okada, Yuka and her friend Ai, the outspoken Ai tells Ando he has no chance with Yuko. The two are friends since kindergarten and she can tell Yuka loves someone else. Ando urges Okada to determine whether Yuka would date Ando, so he waits outside to talk to Yuka the next day, but she maintains she likes someone else. She reveals the person she likes is actually him. The nervous Okada wonders if it's a prank and stares around for hidden cameras. Instead, he notices Ando hiding at a corner who overhears everything; Ando collapses before letting out an unending scream. Yuka panics in response and begins screaming herself, before the two run away in opposite directions.

Okada and Yuka meet again in private after Ando had been absent from work for a week. The two talk before Yuka convinces him they should date. Before long, the seemingly shy Yuka turns out to be very amorous. Awkwardness ensues when the inexperienced Okada prods her with questions about her partner count and when she lost her virginity. Morita, who's been stalking Yuka outside her house, notices the two having sex and decides to call Wagusa to help him kill Okada. Kumiko convinces Wagusa they should kill Morita instead. This leads to a string of events involving Morita which sees several people dead, and Okada and Yuka's lives increasingly in danger.

Cast
  • Gō Morita as Soichi Morita
  • Gaku Hamada as Susumu Okada
  • Aimi Satsukawa as Yuka Abe
  • Tsuyoshi Muro as Yuji Ando
  • Ryusuke Komakine as Wagusa Kosuke
  • Maho Yamada as Kumiko
  • Makoto Otake as cleaning company boss

Reception

Himeanole received generally positive reviews. Asian film site EasternKicks.com ranked the film #6 on its list of "Top 10 Films of 2016."[3] While TasteOfCinema.com ranked the film #2 on its list of "The 10 Best Japanese Films of 2016."[4] AsianMoviePulse.com included the film as part of its list of "The 20 Best Asian Films of 2016."[5]

Panos Kotzathanasis commended the effortless blending of genres, noting "Beginning as a comedy-drama [...] Continuing as a violent thriller [...] Keisuke Yoshida manages to merge two films into one. This transition between the two parts is portrayed through an intricate and very impressive scene. As Susumu and Yuka have sex, Morita tortures and kills a woman, with the setting switching a number of times and the moves of each “couple” mirror each other in the most unsettling fashion."[6]

Spanish critic Omar Parra similarly praised the film, giving it 4.5 of 5 stars, describing it "as American Pie meets I Saw the Devil, the premise is something unthinkable but I think the director has managed to perfectly blend both genres." However, he noted that the first part of the film may test the patience of those who may more enjoy its second half.[7]

In contrast, French critic Fabrice Sayag, in his review of the film's screening at the L'Étrange Festival, criticized the romantic comedy element of the film, and found the flashbacks expounding Morita's violent impulses as not well-integrated and sometimes "useless." He further admonished director Yoshida's foray into the genre, stating he "is not at ease in these violent scenes, staged without inventiveness, to which he lacks the destructive energy with which he wishes to contaminate his story." He gave it 2 of 5 stars.[8]

Accolades
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2016 41st Hochi Film Awards[9] Best Picture Himeanole Nominated
Best Picture (Readers' Choice) Won
2016 Best Actor Gō Morita Nominated
Best Actor (Readers' Choice) Won
2017 5th Japan Action Awards Best Action Himeanole Nominated
2017 Best Stuntman Daisuke Hibari
Yukihiro Sakate		 Nominated

Manga

Himeanōru is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Minoru Furuya. It was serialized in the Weekly Young Magazine between 2008–2010, and released in tankōbon form into six volumes by Kodansha. The series follows the parallel storylines of two former classmates Susumu Okada and Shoichi Morita, as they diverge into wildly different lives and characters. While the hopeless Okada finds himself in a stereotypical romantic comedy and making ends meet working at a cleaning company; Shoichi drifts further into darkness, traumatized by his childhood, and becomes a serial killer.[1]

No. Release date ISBN
01 November 20089784063617320
02 February 20099784063617542
03 June 20099784063617948
04 October 20099784063618273
05 February 20109784063618679
06 April 20109784063618815

References
  1. "古谷実「ヒメアノ～ル」実写映画化！森田剛が快楽殺人犯役に挑む". Natalie.mu. 23 March 2015.
  2. "Live-Action Himeanōru Film Gets R-15 Rating". Anime News Network. 26 October 2015.
  3. "Top 10 Films of 2016: #6. Hime-Anole". EasternKicks.com. 18 December 2016.
  4. "The 10 Best Japanese Films of 2016: #2. Hime Anole". TasteOfCinema.com. 17 December 2016.
  5. "The 20 Best Asian Films of 2016". AsianMoviePulse.com. January 2017.
  6. Panos Kotzathanasis (October 2016). "Keisuke Yoshida's 'Hime-Anole' combines Japanese indie and violent thriller in a very unusual fashion". AsianMoviePulse.com.
  7. Omar Parra (26 August 2016). "Himeanole review". TerrorWeekend.com.
  8. Fabrice Sayag (13 September 2016). "Hime-Anole (Critique) L'Étrange Festival 2016". LesChroniquesDeCliffhanger.com.
  9. "報知映画賞 ノミネート一覧". Hochi Shimbun. 13 November 2016.
    Readers' Choice winners highlighted in red.

http://www.fareastfilm.com/easyne2/eng/film/hime-anole.aspx?IDLYT=7505

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