last quarter
Also known as Kagen no Tsuki, Last Quarter was based on the romance/mystery manga (with the same title) by Ai Yawaza. Having just discovered that her boyfriend's cheating, Mizuki runs away from her 19th birthday party and, lead by a haunting familiar melody, wanders into an old mansion. There, she meets Adam, the guitarist who was playing the melody. Immediately upon meeting him, she opens up to him and feels a connection like never before, explaining to him all her family problems. Comforted by his words and the sound of his guitar, Mizuki falls in love and lives with him. He himself also feels attached to her, and his need for her reminds her of her own yearning for her mother. And so, she promises to never leave him. They live together for a week until Adam decides to leave, mysteriously disappearing while thanking Mizuki and bidding her goodbye. She begs to come with him, though, so he instructs her to meet him at a street corner before the moon vanishes from the night sky. However, as she runs away from everything else in her life - her family, her friends, her school - in order to be with this stranger she's only known for a week and yet fallen in love with, her fate takes a turn for the worse.adam
Adam is hott. Even with that... hairdo of his. His purpose is to be enigmatic, romantic, (somewhat) badass, and SEXY. OH YEAH BABY that's what I'm talkin' about 8D He doesn't say much in the movie (thus, not much acting required for Hyde), except for a few romantic lines like "I can't live without you." And then all the girls in the audience (including me) die and melt and forget the fact that Hyde is almost double Chiaki's age as he's tightly embracing her. Honestly, he's not the star of the film. He appears for the first 20 or so minutes, then comes back randomly in short flashbcks. You'll be seeing a lot more of these two detective kids than you'll be seeing of Adam -_-; By the way, in the manga (not shown in the movie), Adam is a blonde heroin addict who makes out with Mizuki rather often. (This isn't the case in the movie) Anyway, to keep this spoiler-free, Adam is a British rockstar, renting out a mansion in Tokyo for 2 weeks. He has a strong attractive presence, which is accentuated by his smooth deep voice and the way he carefully manipulates the strings of his acoustic guitar.
co-stars
Chiaki Kuriyama is most well known for being in Kill Bill, Battle Royale, and many bloody gorey films or creepy horror movies. She always plays schoolgirls. This is her first role as a normal teenage girl, and she fits it very well, bringing an emotional dramatic performance. In Kagen no Tsuki, she plays the main role of Mizuki.
Hiroki Narimiya is a young Japanese actor rising in popularity recently. He mostly does dramas, but has also been in many popular films, such as Azumi (with Aya Ueto) and now NANA (with Mika Nakashima). In Kagen no Tsuki, he plays Tomoki, Mizuki's stubborn playboy boyfriend who only realizes his true love for Mizuki just as he's about to lose her.
good points
- Excellent acting, especially from Chiakibad points
- Those two kids are annoying :\opinion
This movie was so much better than I had expected. It didn't even bother me that Hyde wasn't exactly the star of the movie; I would've loved the film even if he wasn't in it at all. Then again, you must consider the fact that it was based on a shoujo manga and I, being a very... "hopeless romantic" kind of girl, was automatically attracted to it that way. Anyway, this movie explored a variety of themes, mostly focusing on destiny and love. Either way, it was an excellent romantic film with just a touch of mystery. I loved the acting, especially Chiaki's. Her final encounter with Adam (Hyde) brought me to tears. Although I didn't like the two little "detective" kids, I liked all the other characters. Even Tomoki matures through the film and becomes more likable. Besides the wonderful acting and powerful atmosphere, the music is excellent as well. I had already loved Hyde's "The Cape of Storms," but this movie just puts more meaning and value to the song. Many things from the manga were excluded in the movie, but that's understandable. It was still a good adaptation of the manga, and I think Ai Yawaza would still be proud by the production of it. Overall, this film displays interesting themes of fate, love, and destiny, all tied together with beautiful music, a talented cast, and a perfect atmosphere.extra facts
1. - Chiaki's favorite band has always been (and probably still is) L'Arc~en~Ciel. So lucky~ She got to be in a movie as the love interest (sort of) of her favorite band's vocalist *_*2. - During the filming of the movie, Hiroki admitted to actually falling in love with Chiaki. Hyde said that he was also entranced by her (but obviously didn't fall in love).
3. - Hiroki says he remembers singing L'Arc~en~Ciel's "Winter Fall" at a karaoke bar after he got his high school admittance letter way back when.
4. - The director of Kagen no Tsuki, Ken Nikai, also directed L'Arc~en~Ciel's 1994 Siesta Films. He said Hyde was the perfect person to play Adam, due to his beautiful voice and good looks ;]
5. - A portion of the movie was filmed in London, England, and the other part was filmed in Tokyo, Japan. Both places were extremely cold at the time. EXTREMELY. So cold, Hyde's tea became frozen xD
6. - Hyde had so much trouble when he was told to cry for one of his scenes. He even thought about using eyedrops instead. Eventually, he had to repeat his line (the line he had to say while crying) over a hundred times before he finally got inspired to cry.
7. - Hyde's fondest memory of the filming was when he saw Chiaki practicing "The Cape of Storms" on piano. When she missed a key, he sat beside her and they did a sort of "duet" on the piano.
8. - On the last day of shooting, Hyde gave Chiaki a bouquet of flowers. (you could see it in the "Making of Kagen no Tsuki")
links
- Storm in Heaven: scanlations