Movie Review: Strobe Edge

Strobe Edge- movie

Ninako is happy with her one-sided love for Ren. But for how long?

It's weird to describe the movie nonchalantly when it's based on one of my favorite mangas. I feel like I'm not giving justice to the manga. Let's cut to the chase. I didn't enjoy the movie. I don't hate it but I just feel indifferent about it due to different factors.

First, their passiveness to their feelings was not the same as it was in the manga. It didn't carry on to the movie and it became drawn out and boring instead. There's something missing and I can't pinpoint what. Second, what's wrong with me hating Ninako when she knows that he's taken! But I swear I wasn't like this at all when I was reading the manga. And third, it was a wrong move to watch it back to back with another of Saisaki's manga to movie adaptation, Ao Haru Ride. I have watched AHR anime and didn't read the manga. I enjoyed it when it gets past the story covered in the anime. It also doesn't help that the actor Kou Mabuchi is hot! Mabuchi and Ren are pretty much carbon copies of their kuudere personalities. (Am I right?? I'm not good with my -deres) The actor who played Ren in the movie is fine but after watching AHR movie, he just paled in comparison to Mabuchi. Io Saisaki has a penchant for trains and her works remind me of Bokura ga Ita (We Were There). There's the sweet torture but lesser pain plus they all have this other girl as obstacles.

The movie is still a reverse harem but in just a teeny-weeny bit. In the manga it started out as a reverse harem but one of the guys eventually finds his own path and it's basically a love triangle between Ren, Andou, and Ninako. In the movie, the third guy is still shown but in passing.

The manga is really memorable for me and it's hard to meet my very high expectation. I'm also not stringent with actors looking exactly like the characters but I was a bit disappointed with Andou. Its greatness is its own downfall. It has raised the bar too high. Looking back, the only good thing I got from this is AHR and not Strobe Edge which is sad. If you still haven't read Strobe Edge or seen/read Ao Haru Ride, you might still enjoy this one.

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