reblog

Starring Masaki Suda as Mugi and Kasumi Arimura as Kinu, We Made A Beautiful Bouquet is a bittersweet love story between the two. As if by destiny, a chance encounter leads to the discovery that they both share a lot in common, be it music, movies or books. But as they progress through different stages of life, their four-year relationship meets many challenges and eventually turns sour.

We Made A Beautiful Bouquet was directed by Nobuhiro Doi and written by Yuji Sakamoto, a screenwriter known for his cracking dialogue and complex characters. Both previously worked together on Japanese TV series Quartet, which snagged a number of awards including Best Director and Best Screenwriter in Japan's Television Drama Academy Awards. We Made A Beautiful Bouquet does not pale in comparison either, for the plot is weaved with minute details that make the love story so brutally honest.

In the beginning, you can feel with the characters as they go through a period of bliss and uncertainty regarding their budding relationship. The feeling that this may be “the one” is described through the way the two characters interact and seem to click right from the start. It also helps that Suda and Arimura look compatible and not awkward.

Furthermore, it is very interesting to spot little hints in the film that indicate the status of their relationship. One particularly subtle hint is their shoes. When they first meet, apart from shared interests, their tastes are so similar that they even have the same pair of shoes. But you will soon notice the cracks in their relationship when one scene shows Kinu still has the same sneakers, but Mugi has a pair of loafers.

As their relationship comes to an inevitable end, instead of a straightforward break-up like you would expect in romance films, the realism of the end of a relationship is brought out. The couple struggles to come to terms with what is happening, and makes futile attempts to save the relationship, such as wilfully suggesting marriage will make things better. It is refreshing to see how these conflicting emotions are depicted, which adds depth not only to the characters, but also to the love story itself.

However, this is not to say that this is a sorrowful romance film. Instead, like its title suggests, it is more like a beautiful bouquet — everything looks perfect at first and the flowers will eventually wither, but what was once in their hands is still a precious memory.

In addition, as the plot spans five years from 2015 to 2020, there are a couple of Japanese pop culture references that go with the year, which people who are familiar may notice. For instance, there is a scene at the karaoke room where the song RPG (2015) by J-pop band Sekai No Owari or End Of The World is sung. Other references include Nintendo Switch and video game The Legend Of Zelda, popular Japanese mobile game Puzzle & Dragons, and the mentioning of idol group SMAP who disbanded in 2016.

The movie may seem long with a runtime of 124 minutes, but We Made A Beautiful Bouquet is not an overly artistic film that can definitely be enjoyed by many young adults. Fans of Suda can also catch snippets of the actor-singer singing!

Actress Mao Inoue will finally be making her long awaited return to acting! According to Yahoo! Mao will be playing the role of a female teacher in a Fuji TV drama series that will begin airing in October.

This will be Mao’s first appearance in a drama series since the 2015 Taiga drama “Hanamoyu”. After the release of “Hanamoyu” Mao did not sign on to appear in many projects, her sole role being a voice acting spot in the CGI children’s movie Rudolf the Black Cat. The same month the movie was released Mao announced that she would be parting ways with her agency “Seventh Avenue”, whom she belonged to since the start of her career as a child actress.

Even though Mao signed to another agency, tabloids had a field day using this as evidence that Mao was ready to settle down and perhaps marry her longtime rumored boyfriend Jun Matsumoto, member of the Johnny’s group Arashi. No marriage announcement was made and Mao continued to keep a low profile. She would occasionally be tracked down by paparazzi who would ask her about Jun, only for her to dodge the question.

The drama series is tentatively titled “Tomorrow’s Promise”, and will deal with the heavy issue of suicide among high school students. It’s rumored that Yukie Nakama will also be starring in the drama series.

Mao debuted at 1992 in the drama series “Gakko ga Abunai!”, she was only five years old! Her breakthrough came with the 1999 TBS drama series “Kids War: Zaken na yo“. Eventually Mao went on to star in a remake of “Hana Yori Dango” in 2005 which further launched her career to new heights. Mao continued to appear in multiple acclaimed and successful projects including “Oba: The Last Samurai”, “Ohisama”, and “Rebirth” cementing her status as one of Japan’s top actresses.

They are designed to encourage landlords and hospitals to treat gay couples the same way as married ones.

However, the documents do not provide the same legal status as marriage.

BBC Tokyo correspondent Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says campaigners are welcoming "a small step forward in a deeply conservative country".

Younger people in Japan generally support gay rights but the prime minister has previously urged caution over changing the law.

Hiroko Masuhara, 37, and Koyuki Higashi, 30, were the first to register their partnership in Shibuya district.

Ms Higashi, an actress, told reporters she hoped the measure would spread across Japan and eventually lead to same-sex marriage being legalised.

Japan does not have any national legislation specifically banning discrimination against gay people. Couples complain of being blocked from tenancies and prevented from visiting loved ones in hospital.

"I hope the day will come soon when there will be equality in society," Ms Higashi said, according to the AFP news agency.

Shibuya district mayor Ken Hasebe, congratulated the couple.

"It took a long time to get to here," he said.

Another wealthy district of the capital, Setagaya, has also started to offer the certificates.

Setagaya's mayor Nobuto Hosaka issued five same-sex couples with the papers on Thursday afternoon, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Mobile phone networks NTT DoCoMo and KDDI have previously said they would offer their family discounts to same-sex couples who provide a certificate.