WHY?..You don't make endings like these. It's unfair, It's not healthy for any Viewer. It's just plain weird. First of. everyone is overacting. The tamaki guy Always says the wrong thing. He just plodder along like a braindead. The Girls sickness, the overacting, the Japanese cuteness.. alright I get it! if it's done with some authentic feelings in the mix. Aoi Miyazaki looks like she really could act under the right direction. I did like the moving in part.. I like that sort of lovestory buildup. But it never gets there.I don't know what to Think of this film.. A Little spoiler: What kind friends doesn't send you letters from your long lost love? They can't be ordinary humans, maybe cyborgs. Why do they prevent him from meeting the girl of his Dreams and let him explain to her how much they love each other? Even though she's sick I bet your ass she wants to spend rest of her time with him.. sigh..Nobody does that. nobody Thinks like that. If this really had happened to me, I would have blown my head straight off. No kidding,..that's how cruel this soap opera ending is. Remember the Movie 5 centimeters per second.. This is much much more Surreal.

I was a bit surprised by the sometimes frank and honest dialog coming from Aoi Miyazaki's character in what for the most part is a very family friendly bit of Japanese young love/first love cinema. But it is appropriate for her character, a set-to-mature-at-any-moment young woman deficient in some necessary growth hormones needed to push her over the edge (that when triggered by a first kiss could ultimately be her ... undoing) and seems trapped in young adolescence. It's a very cute and cute-funny, and really sad, sad, film. Miyazaki teeters the edge between coy and seductive so well it made me dizzy ... with delight. I could, however, understand her pouty lipped attempts at cuteness turning some folks off. She does slip out of it each time very quickly, though. That's part of her charm, I guess.The film is beautifully photographed. The 'heavenly' forest is fairy-tale gorgeous, as are the three young actors we spend time with. The story is engaging too, clearly a novel-adapted one.

This is one of those light movies that is so charming and enjoyable you can't even begrudge its slightly sappy ending. Hiroshi Tamaki stars as Segawa Makoto, a university student who shies away from people because of an unknown illness. He's interested in photography and one day while taking pictures in the woods he runs into Satonaka Shizuru, a quirky waif and classmate, adorably played by Aoi Miyazaki. The normally shy Makoto feels strangely relaxed with the energetic Shizuru, and the two form a friendship. Complications arise from Shizuru being not-so-secretly in love with the oblivious Segawa, who's instead in love with another classmate, the beautiful Miyuki, as well as Shizuru's illness.Both leads are good, though frankly this is a movie which they don't really have to do much besides act cute. Still I have to praise Aoi Miyazaki, who stole the movie. I'll be honest, I'm one of those grinches who usually can't stand the relentlessly cute and cheerful, squeaky-voiced female protagonists popular in Asian romances. But Aoi Miyazaki completely charmed me with her exuberant performance, which seemed natural despite its childishness. It took me a little while to get used to Hiroshi's Tamaki's performance, I felt he overplayed the awkwardness of his character in the beginning. But he and Miyazaki have a really nice and easygoing chemistry, and they form a realistic couple you want to root for. Supporting characters aren't annoying (if you've watched Asian dramas, you'll know what I mean).Thinking back, I'm struck by how perfectly balanced the cuteness and unforced emotion was in the movie. Too many romantic dramedies tend to overdo the former, in my opinion, and sacrifice the latter to get a tear, by setting up melodrama. Not to say that this movie doesn't do that. The ending is the cliché melodramatic ending we've see again and again in Asian romances. Yet it works because the movie has engendered so much good will along the way and it shows just enough restraint.The cinematography is adequate. I feel it didn't quite utilize the full beauty of the title forest(there was perhaps a little too much light in the scenes). That perhaps speaks for the movie as a whole. It's a little too fluffy to be substantial, there have been more original and sensitive versions of its basic plot line. But I recommend it, mostly because of the performance of the female lead.

From the writer of Im ai ni yukimasu ( that happens to be one of my favorite movies... ever), comes this new Japanese romance drama.It tells the story of a love triangle between 3 university students ( the ambiance reminded me of the drama Orange days quite a bit).One of them is our main protagonist. A shy, intense and mysterious young man who loves photography ( The actor is Hiroshi Tamaki also known as Chiaki sempai from Nodame's fame ^^) The second character is a shy, rather mysterious girl, who lacks self confidence but is cute and amazingly pure of heart. Did I mention she was really cute ? The actress, Aoi Miyazaki also played one of the leads for Nana 1 ( They changed her for Nana 2 because she was shooting tada kimi wo at the time) The third one is the perfect girl. Beautiful, feminine, smart, confident. She is played by Meisa Kuroki ( who also plays the 'french' girl in "Haikei, Chichiue-sama") Our two main protagonists are, a bit like in Ima, unsure of the feelings of the other one.The score is great, especially the ending music that I have been listening on my ipod non stop for a few months now :) It's by Ootsuka Ai ( Renai Shashin).The acting is first rate, especially by Aoi Miyazaki, the movie really revolves around her even is she isn't the main protagonist. Some of the university friends do suffer from over acting but they have a very minor role so it's not really disturbing.The scenery and photography, as it is usually the case in Japanese movies, is very beautiful and skillfully rendered.Yet I have to admit, I felt Ima Ai ni yukimasu was better in pretty much all aspects.Mild spoilers follow ( I don't really say what happens in the end but you might guess it from my comments) There's a surprising twist at the end of the movie. At first, I must admit I felt a bit cheated (it is quite a common trick often used in Asian cinema, especially in Korean movies).But then, once it had settled in, it's actually quite a beautiful ending. I still can't help but feel slightly frustrated because of what I think is a missed opportunity of character development....I really hesitated for rating this movie between a 7 and a 8. I guess it's a 7.6. There's something missing and I still think it is because of the ending that happens a bit too fast and is not as intense as it should be.If you loved Ima, ai ni yukimasu, you will like Tada, kimi wo aishiteru ( 'Just, I love you' or as the international title says Heavenly forest)