2018 Top 5 Picks – May: The Best Kento Yamazaki Movies

I’m not the typical fan who goes for the mainstream, but Kento Yamazaki is part of this category who I’ll make an exception for. Given he’s really cute and all (my personal opinion not yours!), he has been casted to a lot of popular high school Japanese dramas and movies that you can consider him overly used but not to easily get tired of.

People say if Korea has the Second Lead Syndrome then Japan has Kento Yamazaki to win the girl whether he’s the first or second lead. I am not sure how true this is, but a lot of netizens say the same thing on platforms I’ve been constantly around and based on my own experience I can say he always does win the girl (lol). He’s the absolute dream male lead that can have natural chemistry with every actress he’s partner with. Plus, despite the similar high school student roles he often portrays, with Kento’s versatile acting, he can easily bring out a distinctive character to all of them that will easily swoon you.

Excuse me for my bad judgement, but I’ve been swallowed by the black hole that is Kento Yamazaki. So, read my Top 5 Kento Yamazaki Movies here!

5. Your Lie In April

Kosei Arima was a piano prodigy when he was a kid, but since his mother’s death he has been unable to hear the sound of the piano. He coincidentally meets the bubbly Kaori Miyazono who plays the violin like a free spirit. Their forming bond becomes Kosei’s inspiration to be able to play the piano again. But Kaori, who has been nothing but a ball of sunshine in his life, holds a secret that may break Kosei down once more.

Comment: This movie has been highly anticipated and largely talked about that my expectations were somehow not satisfied by the movie. Yes, the movie has depth, musicality is superb, the actors are totally in character that it didn’t come out obvious that the energetic Kaori is actually sick. But I’m really a huge fan of stories that make my heart flutter so I think this story came short in that area that’s why it’s in no.5.

4. L-DK

Aoi Nishimori and Shusei Kugayama started off at the wrong foot, but the strong-headed  Aoi ends up living the dream of every other girl in school: to live under the same roof– room — as the famous, most-sought after boy, Shusei Kugayama.

Shusei is quiet and mysterious, sometime cocky and has difficulty expressing himself, but knowing Aoi will change everything and things will get a little bit sweeter between them than the first time.

Comment: Personally, I think that Kento portrayed Kugayama well. I’ve read the manga and the story line doesn’t deviate from it, which I am very glad about. What I only do not like is how difficult it was for Kugayama to accept his feelings (and I know this only has to do with his personality) for Aoi. it is quite frustrating. And the rival girl is kind of too desperate and selfish and she uses this to her advantage, knowing that Kento can’t leave her alone. That’s why it’s in no. 4 right now.

3. Jinx!!!

Jiho loses her boyfriend to an unfortunate accident and she is left with a broken heart; half of which her boyfriend brought with him to his grave. With a wound she is carrying, Jiho leaves Korea for Japan to start anew and there she meets the local university student, Kaede. With her sufficient knowledge of Nihonggo she expresses her desire to get her together with Yusuke, who Kaede secretly liked since middle school, and teaches them lessons how to court and date the Korean way.

Comment: Although I wish there could have been something romantic between Jiho and Yusuke rather than with Kaede, I’ll hand over the boy to the main female lead as it is. Let’s give Kaede props for making such a cutie as Yusuke fall in love with her the way she is.

On the other hand, I am surprised at how good Hyomin is with her acting and her Nihonggo. I have very low expectations from her considering her idol background and wanted to give her benefit of the doubt for acting in a Japanese film like this, but all doubts were washed away at how good she portrayed Jiho, the brokenhearted wingman who got her two friends together. Watching her is really such a treat. She made me laugh, get amazed and also made me cry at some point and I guess that’s what makes this movie more appealing than the first two movies.

The main reason why I didn’t consider it for second or first place on this list is quite a bit biased, but perhaps a lot of you would be wishing the same thing: that Jiho could have also found her own happily ever after more than making others happy.

2. Wolf Girl and Black Prince

With peer pressure the hell called ‘high school’ brings, Erika Shinohara pretends to be in a wild romance with her nonexistent boyfriend. Since she has been faking having a boyfriend for a long time in front of her so-called ‘friends’ and they are starting to doubt that what she is saying is true, on a very random occasion she stalks and snaps a picture of the first handsome guy she sees on the street. Conincidentally, this guy, Kyouya Sata, is studying in the same school as her and is very popular she almost fails to conceal the fact that Kyouya isn’t really her boyfriend, if not for the devil himself saving her butt.

Much to her relief, Erika is able to keep her lie the truth in front of her friends because of Kyouya, but what she didn’t see coming is the cunning side to a pretty face. And Erika ends up becoming Kyouya’s slave.

Comment: So, the master and slave theme is such a cliche in terms of Japanese story plots, but I can’t deny that they don’t get old. I still get the butterflies whenever the male lead tries to be mean to his ‘slave’, but ends up caring for her until it’s him calling her ‘mine’.

This movie is the real life embodiment of this cliche and made me fangirl over Kento’s bad boy role so much that I can totally relate to the female lead. Fumi Nikaido has portrayed Erika’s role well. I am totally moved by her performance even though I must admit she is a different kind of beauty. Nonetheless, she is beautiful both in and out and with her versatile acting like Kento, they make the perfect chemistry as high school sweethearts. She’s probably his only leading lady I am quite jealous of.

1. Heroine Disqualified

Hatori Matsuzaki thinks her life is like a drama where she is the only heroine to her own story. Because of this thinking, she has spent her life like a free spirit who waits for Rita Terasaka, her childhood best friend and ultimate love, to finally confess his undying love for her.

But everything she knows crumbles when Rita unexpectedly starts dating the unpopular, nerdy Miho Adachi who easily gets bullied by the school punks. Swayed by Rita’s actions, Hatori tries to secretly win Rita her own way, but ends up only getting her heart broken a couple of times. And to get herself to move on, for some time, she ends up dating Kosuke Horimitsu–the most popular male student in school–who will come to sincerely like her back.

Many misunderstandings between them will come along the way, but will they both make it before it’s too late?

Comment: Why I placed this movie on the number one spot is mainly because of it’s almost perfect story line. Heroine Shikkaku has both romance, comedy and some drama to it that will surely elicit many emotions from you that you can’t expect from other Japanese high school movies.

It’s cheap slapstick comedy and special effects to back it up are literally going to hurt your tummies from too much laughter. That I must thank Mirei Kiritani for bringing comedy to life to another level. She’s just the total package; the embodiment of a pretty face plus great acting skills, which is a perfect combination to Kento portraying Rita who is quiet and shy.

The only thing I must not really like about this story is how much Adachi changed from being selfless to selfish because of how much she liked Rita, despite her knowing how obvious Rita sees Hatori as something more special than just a friend. But at least, there’s Kosuke to sometimes steal the spotlight and cause me to have Second Lead Syndrome! That guy is just really cool and I love him for being able to see through Adachi’s character.

 

Over all, these movies that Kento Yamazaki starred in are all really good in their own ways. I have a different taste than other people that is why I ranked it this way though. So, it’s up to you which of his movies you’ll end up really liking. I’m just here to probaly help you make your mind if you’re having a hard time picking which you’ll watch first.

Anyway, which Kento Yamazaki movie has left a very deep impression on you? Is it one of the movies I ranked on this post? Tell me something about!