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I’ve watched ‘Let’s Go Karaoke!’ Live Action for the nth time and this is what I thought…

Hello everyone!

So, I found this movie by accident some days ago, when I was absentmindedly scrolling YouTube.

I was encountered with a clip from its anime, ‘Karaoke Iko!’, and instantly it picked up my interest. I did some research on here and there and found out that: 1) It’s not a BL, and 2) Its main lead had an age gap. I was about to drop it, not because it’s not a BL, but because of the age gap. Moreover one of the main leads is still underage. Tbh at first I didn’t know that Satomi was in middle school, I thought he was in high school. It really did surprise me when I found out that he was still a middle schooler.

Long story short, it turned out that I like the story, and then I found out that it had a sequel called ‘Fami-res Iko’ and it also had a Live Action movie adaption called ‘Let’s Go Karaoke!’.

It was the movie which got me deep as I got obsessed with. And since I got bored with work, I’ve decided to make a post about it.

So, I’ve watched ‘Let’s Go Karaoke!’ Live Action for the nth time and this is what I thought…

Disclaimer:

I haven’t read the ‘Karaoke Iko’ manga, yet, so all the comparisons I’ll mention here will only be between the Anime and Movie adaptation.

I’m doing this just for fun. I’m not an official movie reviewer or something.

I’ll only focus on Satomi and Kyouji.

English is not my native language, and grammar mistakes are corrected by myself. Please tell me if there’s still any mistakes.

Warning. Spoiler alert! So if you haven’t seen the movie please see it first.

Okay then, let’s start with:

Their acting.

To be blatantly honest, I don’t really follow many J-Drama, so I don’t really know both Ayano Go and Saito Jun’s project besides this movie (except for Ayano-san whom I only know from Crows Zero II). But, we can all agree that their time in acting is different. Sooo many years apart. So it’s not a surprise that Ayano-san’s act is better than Saito-kun’s.

I don’t mean that Saito-kun’s act was not good. It’s just, sometimes, how he delivered the line still lacks of emotion or expression. But sometimes it also felt natural. Like when he refused to accompany his mother to do some errands, or when he teased Kyouji for getting a tattoo when they talked on top of a building. Or that annoyed face when Kyouji kept on picking Kurenai. Good Lord, I laughed so hard every time I watched it! So, Saito-kun is a good actor, and he still has many years to improve.

Ayano-san on the other hand, his micro expression was good. And not just that, his intonation, and how he paused for a moment only to deliver a simple ‘hn?’ had so much emotion in it. Especially when he was silent, listening to Satomi’s explanation, we can all see each changing in his expression. I love to see it, making his clueless Ossan vibe more adorable.

So in short, both are good actors, and I thanked them so much for picking these two as their leads.

Next is:

The camera angle.

Sometimes when I watch a film, I can feel the crew on the screen. It’s not because of…camera leak? I don’t know the correct term to describe it. What I mean is, it’s not because of the crew or the shooting props that got caught on screen. No. I can feel it mostly because of the actor/actress’s sense of camera. Or how they put the angle. And though they have made it so good, I can still feel that this is fiction, a film.

Yes, I can still feel it when I watched this movie, but most times, I missed it. The way the camera moves, and its placement, made me feel like it actually happened and not just an act. I don’t know the better way to explain it but, let’s take the scene in ‘Karaoke Lesson with the other Yakuzas’ for example. After Dandelion-san sat and the karaoke began, the camera moved to zoom in both Satomi and Kyouji, and that scene felt like it actually happened, in a karaoke room filled with people that wanted to practice. It didn’t feel like a studio. I can’t feel the cameraman or the other crew in this scene. Both Ayano-san and Saito-kun’s ignorance of the camera’s presence was so good that it felt like I was a ghost that stood in the middle of the room to observe them. I hope you understand what I mean.

Now, let’s talk about:

The change in storyline.

Yeap, they’ve changed it, but the plot is still the same tho. And I think it was for good. Because it made more sense. I didn’t mean the anime is lack of common sense, what I mean is that if they copy paste the anime to live action raw, I don’t think it will work.

Though they’ve cut some scenes, like the strawberry scene, they’ve put some mini extras to fill the gap and it helped the story to build. They’ve sewn the old and new scenes all together so that it had become a good one piece of story without missing all the important details, like the finger scene, for example. And as for the mini extras, what I mean is something like the movie club. It wasn’t on the Anime, but they put it on the LA for a good reason. It was there to lead Satomi’s clash with his junior, it was there to help Satomi (sort of) realize his feelings to Kyouji. So their choice to slightly change the storyline was a good move.

But, there’s something that I don’t really agree with this changing, and it was Wada’s characterization. He had become a completely different person in this LA. But I think it’s for the sake of their storyline. Because if it was the same Wada in the anime, I don’t think it would make sense at all.

In contrast to Wada though, I like, even LOVE, Kyouji’s slightly different personality in this movie adaptation.

Besides being a huge simp to Satomi (yes, I said it, SIMP, I’ll explain later), the Kyouji in this LA is more of a troll than in Anime. For example, when he told a story about his Aniki (Dandelion-san) I really thought he had actually died. For a second I felt sorry for Kyouji. But when the story ended… Well...

And Satomi was his victim, twice.

Not only that, the way they picture Kyouji as Satomi’s ‘Sugar Daddy’ is also different. In Anime, Kyouji said it himself though Satomi denied it, and yet he kept on buying FnB that Satomi ordered without any complaint (Anime!Satomi said it himself). In this LA though, beside the FnB that Satomi ordered during their lesson, Kyouji also bought him the player without a second thought. He sure does spoil that kid.

And…that was what I thought about the general things in the movie adaptation. For now, we’ve come to the main course, which is:

Kyouji and Satomi’s dynamics.

And the very first thing I want to mention is…Kyouji’s attempt to flirt.

O. M. G.

I notice it happened for the first time in Minami Ginza, when Satomi stopped out of curiosity only to end up meeting Kyouji. In that scene Kyouji said that he had a talent to find Satomi. And that, IS a flirt. I assure you. Sadly though, Satomi’s reaction was more due to the fact that Kyouji found out his name despite he never telling him.

Second is when they went to the karaoke for the second time. Kyouji blatantly said that he had found the voice of an angel, straight to Satomi’s face. Without intro or outro he said it like water is wet and the sky is blue. And it, finally, caught Satomi off guard for the right reason. I swear this LA felt more BL than the Anime because Kyouji’s simp over Satomi was nearly without filter at all.

Yes, once again you read that right, simp.

I promised you that I’ll explain, so here it is:

I felt like Kyouji in this LA had a feeling for Satomi. A genuine feeling towards someone, not admiration for a mentor, or adoration for a kid. I mean, look at how he looked at Satomi. I know it’s a crime since Satomi is still an underage, but I can’t deny the fact that it was something. Which, if it’s okay to say it, I’ll name it ‘love’. Maybe on that particular rainy day, when Kyouji laid his eyes on Satomi for the first time, it was love at first sight?

Besides, have you noticed that Kyouji never again raises his voice in front of Satomi? The very first time (and also the last time) he did that was on their first karaoke session. And Satomi was so scared of him. And I think, after that accident he decided to never raise his voice again to Satomi. Even when Satomi lied to him that the choir practice got cancelled, or when Satomi admitted that he only gave the practice book out of a whim, Kyouji didn’t get angry at him.

After Kyouji treated Satomi differently, their relationship had changed, from a scary Yakuza Ossan who wanted to practice Karaoke to a Karaoke buddy.

And it works.

I mean, when you watched it, you’ll notice how different Kyouji acted before and after their first karaoke session. I bet after picking up Satomi’s umbrella, he had decided that starting tomorrow he would put down his Yakuza cloak to win over Satomi. His first invitation on that rainy day was more like a compulsion, with his intimidating aura as a Yakuza leaking from his grin. His second attempt tho, it felt so much more like a genuine invitation. With him stepped closer and slightly tilted the umbrella to cover Satomi and pulled that kid inside his personal space. And dare I to say that he looked a little annoyed when the girls squealed which pulled Satomi’s attention from him.

Satomi might not be a scaredy cat, though, well, he acted more timid than Satomi in the anime in front of Kyouji. But who had the gut to face a Yakuza let alone tease them? So, yes, Satomi is a brave kid. But I think it was Kyouji’s decision to be calmer upon approaching Satomi which helped him get closer to that middle schooler.

Because, if he kept acting like a real Yakuza, he would only scare Satomi further away, right? Just like what happened on the ‘Karaoke Lesson with the Yakuzas’ scene. Everyone, except Kitty-san, was so harsh, and loud, and scary that Satomi might have PTSD after that. But Kyouji was there to help him, stood for him, and most importantly, brought him home alive.

So yeah, I won’t stop saying this: Kyouji is a simp to Satomi.

He was so sad when Satomi got scared to the point he didn’t want to meet Kyouji again, to stop their lesson. Yet, he respected Satomi’s decision. Instead of yelling or maybe threatening Satomi, Kyouji, the scary Yakuza guy, the Fourth Generation Sairin Family Assistant Leutenant, apologizes to a middle schooler for scaring him. And it was because Kyouji liked him. Or maybe even love him. (And it happened again on their ‘break up’.)

Then when Satomi asked him to go to karaoke again, somehow I can picture his happy face on his silent over the phone. In my mind, he would smile slightly, the exact smile he did when Satomi showed him his song list. He even seemed to forget about the paper when Satomi suddenly moved closer. A gesture that I believe Satomi never did before. It was always Kyouji who approached that kid first. So when the table had turned, it surprised Kyouji. The paper was still in his hand, Satomi was still speaking to explain his song list, yet Kyouji’s eyes were fixated on Satomi only.

And now, let’s talk about Satomi.

Unlike Kyouji, I think his feeling towards that Yakuza bloomed over time. Though, it happened so quickly (two karaoke lessons, I think?). And maybe Satomi used Kyouji as his escapee from the choir as he has been (sort of) replaced by his junior (Satomi said it). He found a place in Kyouji, so that’s why even though he was scared, as long as it’s only Kyouji, he was willing to do karaoke together.

Yeah, I know this is not a BL movie, but the smell of shounen ai was so thick in this LA.

Especially on the scene after Kyouji mentioned Kazuko, Satomi’s behavior was slightly changed. The ‘What for?’ he muttered when Kyouji answered his LINE message I’ll translate as, “Why bother? I’m just a kid you found to help you. I’m no one important.” And the scene after scene which followed was about love interaction (the movie, his parents). Satomi was willing to come to the Karaoke without Kyouji picking him up from school, and I think that was what he gave to Kyouji: his lesson in singing. Because giving in love doesn’t have to be something big. Something that you both liked or enjoyed was enough.

(And I still wonder what Kyouji touched when they met in that karaoke bar? Satomi’s hand? Because that quick scene looked so intimate, as Kyouji looked so gentle to Satomi and the kid just looked surprised and so clueless.)

Not to mention the ending tho, when Satomi sang the song.

Just like in the Anime, they showed us a flashback about Satomi and Kyouji’s interactions, with the song as the background music. But unlike the Anime, they didn’t put a voiceover in that scene to explain Satomi’s feelings. But the flashback was enough to put the bridges between that song’s lyrics to Satomi and Kyouji’s relationship. And it felt, heavier. Especially after their ‘brake up’, and Satomi thought Kyouji had died, his sang put so much weight on the song. Plus the quick scene which showed us Kyouji’s face, those scenes screamed couple out loud to me.

Even Satomi said it himself, “When an important person disappears, your heart turns crimson.” And after the song ended and Kyouji emerged from the toilet, he said it, “After all, it’s Kurenai, huh?” so I think, Kyouji acknowledged Satomi’s feeling. And if it’s not enough, at the very end, Satomi read the intro of Kurenai in Japanese, the exact copy that Kyouji read. That man had gone without a trace and Satomi felt sad because of that. Though he didn’t show or say it out loud, the narration was enough to describe his feeling.

And then, let’s go back to the last school scene, when Satomi explained to his movie buddy that he and Kyouji couldn’t meet again because the karaoke competition was over. It reminds me of what Kyouji said in the anime version, that he didn’t want an old man to bother Satomi’s youth. It might not be shown on the LA, but I believe Kyouji’s decision to cut ties with Satomi was the exact same reason as in the anime.

That guy really does respect Satomi. And what is it if it’s not love?

And speaking of love, it’s not complete without jealously.

Yes, guys, I think I found jealously in this movie.

It wasn’t shown to us directly, it was more subtle, lurking behind every move and dialogue between Satomi and Kyouji.

Remember that I said, after Kyouji mentioned Kazuko, Satomi’s behavior slightly changed? He might not realize it, but when he watched Casablanca he said, “Did Kyouji also tell Kazuko, ‘Here’s looking at you, kid.’?”. That was Satomi complaining. He even brought it up again in their karaoke session some days later. After Satomi translated the song to Kyouji, he guessed that Kazuko was the reason Kyouji was persistent in picking this song, even though he had correctly guessed the real reason in the early days they did karaoke together. Satomi was blinded by jealousy that he forgot he already knew the reason why Kyouji wanted to master this song.

His pissed-off looks were so funny though. After days of wondering, his jealously was for something that didn’t even exist.

Then, what about Kyouji? Did he also experience it? I think yes, though, not as obvious as Satomi’s.

And I think, it happened when he watched Satomi and Nakagawa have an argument with Wada.

I don’t think he could hear anything that happened between those three, so I assume, when Nakagawa took Satomi’s hand, Kyouji thought it was about love quarrel (just like what Satomi said when he yelled at Kyouji). And Kyouji, after receiving a very positive and supportive message from Satomi, the one that he sure does love, I think he was a little bit (maybe very?) disappointed when he came to see Satomi only to find out that he already had a cute girlfriend. So that’s why when Satomi explained to Kyouji that they were just talking about club activities, twice, he refused to hear it. And still cling to his belief that it was a love quarrel.

He hid it though, behind laughter and teasing. In hope his disappointment wouldn’t be seen by Satomi. But sadly that movement only put more lemons to Satomi’s already sour mood. So he got yelled at.

And here we can see just how much Kyouji loves and respects Satomi despite how younger he was to Kyouji.

He chose to stay in silent.

I didn’t see it as an adult who got an argument with a teenager. I see it as Kyouji, a Yakuza, got an argument with Satomi who was a middle schooler. (I’ve explained it before but I’d love to repeat it again.) If Kyouji only needed Satomi to teach him, with no feeling getting involved, I don’t think Satomi would have a chance to yell like that. His fate would be worse than getting a silent from Kyouji. So that’s why I believe so much that Kyouji really fell in love with Satomi.

And, do you remember his face after Satomi threw the charm? He looked so sad omg. That wasn’t annoyance, Kyouji didn’t get mad, he was upset.

Do you realize, that unlike the anime, Kyouji apologized first before sending a much lighter message about Satomi looking like Frieza when angry? That small change speaks louder about their dynamics in this movie. Kyouji apologized for upsetting Satomi, and he sent the second message to make the mood slightly lighter. And it seems Satomi senses Kyouji’s distress. And yet, their ‘break up’ took a toll on Satomi.

Well, I think that’s all. It sure does a long babble here.

Oh, and one more thing, there’s something I want to mention, tho. It was about Satomi’s umbrella. I think maybe there was a reason why they chose that motif. I’m not Japanese, so I don’t really understand the implied meaning of turtles and cranes besides happiness and longevity. And cranes alone (correct me if I’m wrong) represent long love and loyalty as cranes mate for life. So, it’s a hope (clue? Overshadow?) that Satomi and Kyouji’s relationship will be a mate for life? Well, maybe it’s just my overthinking taking over.

Okay, that’s it.

That’s the ending.

That was what I thought about this movie. And I’m sure this movie will take place in Japanese BL Drama that I will recommend besides Cherry Mahou and Sekaiichi Hatsukoi despite the fact that this is not a BL.

I do wish that someday they’ll make a sequel of this movie with them (Ayano-san and Saito-kun) as their main lead again. I want to see how Satomi reacted to Kyouji’s new tattoo, and how Kyouji reacted when Satomi hugged him out of the blue.

But for now, what I want to do is making a drabble about them, with a prompt: ‘When Kyouji missed him, he kissed that tattoo.’

Will I really make it tho?

#Let's Go Karaoke!#カラオケ行こ！#narita kyouji #oka satomi #ayano go #saito jun #Live Action #Movie Adaption