Title: Seishun 18 x 2 Kimi e to tsuzuku michi / 青春18×2 君へと続く道
Rating: 7 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who want to watch a youthful love story set against the backdrop of beautiful scenery from Japan and Taiwan
Liked:
- The biggest selling point has got to be the breathtaking scenery from both Japan (including Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture and Tadami-machi in Fukushima Prefecture) and Taiwan (mainly Tainan). Given that the two story arcs in both countries were set in different seasons, the contrast between the sights and the weather complemented the different timelines. Back in Tainan when the leads met and fell in love 18 years ago, the rising temperatures and warmth from the people around them reflected the sweltering summer. On the other hand, the current timeline was set in late winter which seemed to reflect the male lead's situation in life - lost his company and job as well as the direction to head towards from now on.
- The acting of and chemistry between the leads Hsu Guanghan and Kiyohara Kaya turned out to be better than expected. Even though the story puts them as 4 years apart in age and Kiyohara's character Ami was supposed to be older, it did bother me a little because Hsu is actually 12 years older than her in real life. Thankfully, his babyface and the imaging in the Tainan arc made him look convincing as a high-schooler. There were also a number of cameos featuring actors from both Taiwan and Japan to look out for so if you haven't done any research on this, you might get some pleasant surprises to see your favourite actors suddenly pop up on screen.
Disliked:
- The only thing which I didn't quite like was the predictability of the storyline. It was almost a giveaway that there won't be a happy ending after all and that it wasn't due to the lead characters not being on the same page with their feelings. As such, if you are looking for some novelty or surprises in this movie, you may be disappointed.
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