Have you ever watched a show that was really different from the synopsis you read? The Japanese movie Today’s Kira-kun is like that. You ask yourself, which show would have been better, the one I expected, or the one I got?

What we are told

Today’s Kira-kun is a high school romance. I usually don’t watch high school dramas, but I watched this one because of the parrot. Here’s what the Viki synopsis teases us with:

“Having been bullied for most of her life, Ninon has never once felt comfortable around others. An incredibly introverted individual, Ninon struggles to communicate with anyone other than her family and her pet parrot, who offers her a fair amount of emotional support by remaining perched on her shoulder day in and day out.” And then they tell about Kira, the most popular boy in school, who helps her out and has heart disease. Whatever, they had me at “parrot.”

What we get

Basically, this is a cute teen romance story. The two main characters make friends; he has an illness that he keeps secret, and she finds out about it. He encourages her when she is shy, she encourages him when he feels down, and they both grow up a little. There are parents who object to the friendship and a second lead girl whose motives we are unsure about.

The movie is based on a manga that deals with some mature issues, but we are getting the fluffy cleaned-up version. Kira has been rebellious in the past. Ninon starts out looking like a manga character by hanging her head and with hair in her eyes but progresses past that pretty fast. Ninon’s mom was more like a manga character – she used what in Korea is called aegyo, talking cutesy with a high voice, which I found surprising in an adult.

Cinematography

There are some nicely framed and set up shots, but there are also some editing problems. The show’s beginning is very confusing because it jumps around between the present and the past without warning. It takes a little time to sort out what is going on and who the characters are. For example, we see Ninon with bangs down to her nose, then with short bangs, and then long ones again. You aren’t sure if she is the same person or has grown her hair out again and how much time has gone by.

The Parrot

**SPOILER ALERT ** The whole parrot storyline fell through. It’s true, Ninon has a pet bird. It’s a cockatiel, which is a kind of parrot, but you must know that I had been expecting a big red parrot, like Long John Silver had. Sadly, it is not a major part of the story, never sits on her shoulder, and only says one phrase. She makes stuffed toy birds at school but doesn’t take the real one anywhere with her. So that was a disappointment. **END SPOILER**

Overall reaction

This is a light watch and nice for a filler. I expect teens would like it. The first time I watched it, I found it cheesy and ended up laughing at what were probably meant to be touching scenes. But when I watched the first part again to get pictures, I enjoyed it more; maybe because I knew what to expect and wasn’t so annoyed at the cockatiel. If you watch it, let us know in the comments if you liked it the way it is or would have rather had the red parrot that talks!

Telzeytalks

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi