Wow. So many bad things to say that I don't know where to start. I was so excited to see this live-action movie from one of my favorite manga stories, but it was just horrible. If I hadn't read the manga, I would have been totally lost. The movie just jumps from event to event, with absolutely zero character development at all. The dialogue was really bad, and made no sense half of the time. Crucial events were left out, other events were changed so drastically that they were just limp. There was no emotional connection between any of the characters. This movie just grazes over the main events of a very large story, and it feels disjointed. You get each event, but not "the why" it happened or what brought them to that point. It's like someone picked out the main events from the manga, drew a timeline on a whiteboard, and said... let's go make these scenes, but they didn't add any of the details that lead up to them. So many things were left out that were crucial to the overall story. Also, the characters were nothing like what Miki Aihara created... Hatsumi Narita was a naive pushover; she wasn't stupid. Ryoki was rich, spoiled, intelligent, socially powerful... and decidedly ready to lose his virginity (the catalyst for the entire story). Their relationship was one that started with commands and orders, but slowly developed into communication, compromise, and consideration. Hatsumi learned to stand up for herself and Ryoki listened and learned from her, each developing feelings for the other along the way. That was the core of the manga: to communicate, listen, and learn with each other. None of that was in this movie. To watch this movie without reading the manga, you would think they were in a completely abusive relationship. This movie was just really bad. If you haven't read the manga, go read it to get the real story... with all the drama, emotion, and even humor that should have been in this movie.
Review of Hot Gimmick: Girl Meets Boy
