Saikano: The Last Love Song on This Little Planet (2006)

Touches You

Fresh and Exciting

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Please don't read the others comments for they have no clue to LIVE ACTION MOVIES. This movie was touching and a piece of art. I enjoyed this movie in its entirety. You may need to watch the ANIME first before watching this to have a complete understanding as to where the directors were going with the CGI and Special effects. It couldn't have been pulled off any better. I applaud them for their work and look forward to their next movie which should make progress in leaps and bounds.I cannot disclose to much information but this drama/ sci-fi is about a girl who was given the ability to protect their country from invaders. The implants she was given started out needing the aide of the scientists who gave her these abilities but later they started adapting and modifying themselves according to her emotions and need to win. SHE: Became the Ultimate Weapon. It evolved without anyone's help. It is a sad yet love story that you should learn to appreciate.

I have to agree that this movie wasn't that good, especially if you saw the anime or read the manga. I was looking forward to this movie, I think they should of stayed more true to the anime/manga. The personalities of the characters were altered, Chise who is supposed to be clumsy wasn't really portrayed that way, Shuji who is honest and upfront even if it means being harsh was portrayed differently, Akemi who is supposed to be a loud mouthed tomboy was different in this movie and they didn't really develop the relationships of the characters like they should have. I agree that if you are a fan of the series or manga watch the movie just for the sake of completing the series but this isn't a good place to start if you haven't seen or read saikano yet, as it may alter your take of a very good anime/manga.

I have been tempted to check out the Anime for a while now but I seriously hope it is better then the movie and I suspect that it is.Aki Maeda pulls off a good performance but has little to work with and had zero chemistry with her co-star which leads to a number of awkward scenes especially when ever they are meant to be intimate.Another major flaw is that nothing is explained, we have no idea how Chise was chosen to become a Weapon (and where does she hide all those parts?) nor do we even have any idea who Japan are at War with or even why for that matter.Painfully average and a great premise that sadly just doesn't pay off.

Where do I start? The plot of the movie, which is about a love between two high school students during wartime, while one is a living weapon, and their struggle to maintain that love is a very good plot. It is based on a manga by Shin Takahashi which was also turned into an anime in 2002, both of which I have yet to read or see.This review is about this live action adaptation however. Sadly, this honest to goodness was a terrible movie. It isn't as if one could site certain aspects, and say, for instance, the budget is at fault, or the acting is to blame. It is, sadly, a series of underwhelming and ineffectual elements that bring this film down.The acting is poor. Not to say Aki Maeda and Shunsuke Kubozuka are bad actors, but they didn't have much to work with, and seemed miscast. Neither seemed to have the physical range to draw the viewer in the story as well as being too old for their parts to a distracting degree.The script was weak, the leads act unrealistically, and behave irrationally. The film also plays for the heartstrings, but ends up being predictable, all the while not being compelling, and under-developing the characters. There are also pacing issues.Visually, it is unremarkable. The film uses green screen heavily and unnecessarily in too many scenes. The other special effects also have a cheap look to them, especially where minimalistic practical special effects could have been used. There is also no visual flair, as if there were no cinematographer or art designer to make the scenes look consistent and stimulating.The music and sound effects were fine, but unremarkable.Overall, the movie isn't devoid of enjoyment, and fans of the series shouldn't be discouraged to see it at least once just for the sake of completion. People unfamiliar with Saikano, this probably isn't the place to jump in as it isn't a very good movie or melodrama. It isn't the movie or the cast and crews fault, it just isn't inspired, and that is what kills it.