Sailor Otaku: BL Movie Review #1-Junjou Pure Heart

After my long while of trying to find some age appropriate Yaoi anime (which never worked out unless it was shonen-ai), I once again stumbled across that weird part of YouTube. Fortunately though, this accidental find put me into an awkward-in-a-good-way mood and thus ignited a new flame of obsession for BL films.

Name: Junjou Pure Heart
Release Date: September 4, 2010
Language: Japanese
English Subs? Yes

Cast [Actor->Character]
Rakuto Tochihara-Keisuke Tozaki
Yuta Takahashi-Shousei Kurata
Mitsuyoshi Shinoda-Miyata Kazuomi

Summary
A writer by the name of Keisuke Tozaki has a chance meeting with his former high school crush Shousei Kurata. After a night of drinking together, Tozaki admits that he had a crush on Kurata. How will their relationship develop from here?

My Thoughts
Being my first BL (Boys Love) movie, I was curious to see if I would get the same fangirl mood I get when watching an animated BL series. And I'll admit, I didn't really fangirl as much as I thought I would. But what it lacked in fangirling scenes, it made up in the actual plot. The fact that the movie didn't rely heavily on BxB action, earned my respect in the sense that I would consider it an actual film, as opposed to a movie who's main goal is to drown you in your own nosebleed.

The soundtrack was really well composed. It was very lighthearted and enhanced the mood of the story in a very subtle yet effective way. Would I go out on a full hunt for the OST? Not really, but it's still worth listening too. Plus it makes a good track to study too!

Character wise, the movie was well casted and the characters were really conveyed well. Rakuto Tochihara, to me, had the perfect uke face and I couldn't have asked for a better person to portray Tozaki. Yuta Takahashi on the other hand, really didn't stand out that much to me as a seme, but more of a "friend to the uke" type of person, as far as looks goes. This, though, can be easily forgotten by his superb acting.

Overall, I really enjoyed this as my first BL movie. The only con I can really think of is some of the kissing scenes. They seemed very over exaggerated and forced, and quite frankly, a bit awkward to watch and not realistic at all. But that's my only complaint about that, and despite those few scenes, it doesn't take away from the rest of the movie. This is defiantly one I would put on my recommendation list of BL movies.

Rating
8/10

Here is the movie for those of you who would like to watch it.