If you are a regular reader here at Okazu, you know that I have loved the darkly violent Yuri manga GUNJO from the day I received a message about it on Japanese social platform Mixi, back in 2008ish. I’ve written reviews of various chapters I read in Morning Two magazine and all three of the volumes in Japanese in my GUNJO category here on Okazu. In 2018, I was able to meet with Nakamura-sensei (over what was possibly one of the hilariously worst lunches I can remember. This was supposed to be a BLT. It was inedible.) At the time, we worked out how we might do a translation for GUNJO into English. And she mentioned that she was in talks about a live-action adaptation.
Translator Erin Subramanian and I have completed the translation for Volume 1 of GUNJO, into English, which is purchasable by the chapter on Nakamura-sensei’s website. We’re hoping to see a collected Volume 1 on ebook sellers near you one day soon. As we completed Volume 1, the pandemic hit and the project was paused. Today’s review was, in large part, why it paused. Last night Netflix released Ride or Die, the live-action movie based on the manga by Nakamura Ching. Ride or Die, directed by Hiroki Ryuuichi, is not GUNJO. It is, however, within spitting distance of it.
Like GUNJO, (I ended up using this spelling when Morning Two magazine chose it over Gunjō, so forgive me) Ride or Die contains graphic violence and marital abuse. Unlike the manga, the movie also contains several explicit sex scenes, both straight and lesbian. If any of this makes you feel uncomfortable, you may well want to give this movie a pass. Interestingly, for the lesbian sex scene at the end of the movie, the staff brought in an “intimacy coordinator,” which Max Gao writes about in his article on NBC, Stars of Netflix’s lesbian thriller ‘Ride or Die’ on their on- and off-screen connection. This intimacy does change the end of the story considerably, but whether you think it works better or worse will be an entirely personal decision. In my opinion the end of the manga is very hard to beat for perfection. ^_^
Another change from the manga is that the characters – who remained nameless and were referred to as “Megane-san” and “Lesbian-san” by Japanese fandom – here are named. They get to share moments of genuine joy in this movie, which was probably the most disconcerting change for me. I don’t think it was a bad change, it merely signaled that we would not get that manga ending. Overall, I think both Sato Honami as the abused Nanae and Mizuhara Kiko as Rei, the woman who loves her enough to kill for her, did an excellent job. There were moments when Sato looked so like Megane-san that it was quite extraordinary and I found myself commenting on it every time.
As you may remember in my other movie reviews, I dislike the slowdown of pacing that seems to be to be a common occurrence in Japanese live-action manga adaptations. In the case of Ride or Die, it was the sex scenes that I felt went on too long, and the movie would have benefited from them being cut slightly. But this was pretty much my only complaint. This, I think, came from the choice of director whose career began in pink films and whose body of work tends to favor graphic sex and violence.
Some of you may wonder about the title, Ride or Die, which I’m sure many of us see as an already tired trope. Nakamura-sensei mentioned that the title change was something she approved of and I’m inclined to agree. It allows us to view the movie as something separate from the manga…but also to see this is a subversion of the trope itself. This is not a “ride or die” scenario in the most typical sense. The characters are, yes, being followed by the police, but not hot on their heels. There’s just no urgency as they wander randomly through their lives together until they and we have all the pieces.
Ratings:
Cinematography – 9
Story – 9
Characters – Portrayed beautifully, so 9 but they are sometimes deeply unlikable
Service – 10
Lesbian – 10
Overall – 9
I’ll watch it again, for sure. If you get a chance to watch it, let us know what you think in the comments!
Just finished the movie, here are my thoughts (spoilers included):
Overall it worked quite well for me. The “revenge thriller” part was well-executed throughout, but what it sold me on by the end was the romance. Rei did what so many say they could – kill for the person she loves. The ending, while I don’t yet know the manga ending to compare it to (though consider me front of the queue for the ebooks you’re putting out!), from the final sex scene to Rei turning herself in, was a fine conclusion to Rei’s character development up to that point.
One upside of Netflix expanding their J-drama output is their productions seem to be getting better budgets and/or staff than most J-drama. I noticed this with Alice in Borderland recently, and this film was noticeably well put together visually compared to what I’m used to with J-drama. Hopefully the good production values can help western audiences to take notice when many western viewers are now used to higher budget shows than the average J-drama.
Initially I thought the opening scenes were overly violent and sexually explicit compared to what was needed but as I settled more into the film’s approach I came to appreciate the importance of quite an impactful inciting incident. With that out of the way, probably the main flaw of the film is the length, or to be more specific, how elongated some scenes feel. I can understand taking time to establish atmosphere and tension, but I’m not convinced that single shot of the train station at night in the rain needed (I timed it) an entire one and a half minutes. Still, I thought highly of the film overall and think it’s a positive step for Yuri J-drama. A high 8/10.
I totally agree on the length. It’s long been my opinion that Japanese movies share a characteristic reluctance to just end the scene. In this case, as in so others a good 20 minutes off the runtime would have tightened it up.
Thanks for sharing your opinion with us.
Just watched the movie last night, and did not read your review until now because I’m the type of film viewer who doesn’t like going in with preconceived notions.
I don’t know if I’ll ever watch it a 2nd time, not because it wasn’t damn good and well-made, but because it was such a raw, intense experience the 1st time around. Its overall craft really astounded me, and from all the single-take drama scenes it’s even more astounding how the actors put their all into everything. Kiko will always be Mikasa from the live-action ‘Attack on Titan’ for me, so seeing her in general here was also a winner.
Plus, while some may not be a fan of slow-paced Japanese movies, I’ve always been used to them because the slow pace made their movies more immersive in a way when executed right, and in my opinion it felt like an advantage here.
I’ve looked at the manga’s 1st volume at Erica’s recommendation from way back when, but it was so long ago that my memories are vague at best, so I pretty much went into this movie cold enough to judge it on its own merits. And due to the story’s tone and direction, it certainly rounded out to a conclusion that was “happier” than I would have expected but still fitted.
Again, I don’t know if I’ll watch it a 2nd time, but I’m glad I got to see it!
Thank you for sharing this, Eric!
My wife and I watched it for our movie night last night. I would have to agree that it was overly long – it would have been a much tighter, better-paced movie with better editing at 2 hours or even 1:45.
I am somewhat familiar with J-dramas, so I was not surprised at the at times overly melodramatic acting. My wife is not and it was definitely a sticking point for her. I thought that there were times that the actors were able to transcend the “J-drama acting mode” and come across more as real people, but I wish they’d been allowed to behave more naturally more often.
If the original manga was MORE dour and joyless than this I certainly am glad for the changes; I do not see myself going for the original if that were the case. Not that I need a happy ending – the ending here was entirely appropriate and understandable (even inevitable). But mentally I can’t wallow in nonstop loneliness and pain for 2 hours anymore.
I’m not sure if this was in the original and included for that reason, but the parts that most took me out of the story were Rei (and, especially, later Masato) hitting Nanae. What kind of person hits a woman under any circumstance, but especially one who has just gotten out of an abusive situation? Rei offers a flimsy excuse for it but Masato has no excuse – he doesn’t know this woman at all and he close-fisted punches her in the face and everyone is ok with that?
As you say, the director’s background in pink films is obvious from the sex scenes, which were certainly longer and more graphic than necessary but stopped just shy of prurient, IMO. In particular I’m not sure the situation with the cab driver was explained at all unless it was that Rei was somehow scared in an unspoken way that if she turned him down for sex that he would hurt Nanae.
So yeah. I can’t say I “liked” it but I don’t think that was the point. Like Eric I can’t see myself watching it again, but I’m glad to have watched it once. If nothing else it seems like a promising milestone toward less-chaste and awkward depictions of LGBT lives in Japanese cinema. I also appreciated the cinematic craftsmanship in separating the scenes in high school and current; they somehow really managed to make the actresses appearances match the large time gap, especially Nanae. If I had to pick a part that I liked “best,” it would be scene near the end where the two leads embrace and watch the sun rise outside the hut. It conveys their connection better than the long sex scene that precedes it.
That’s fair. Dour isn’t how I think of the original. It’s more complex. Like a deeply complex spirit that burn its way down, I guess. ^_^
Thank you very much for your thoughts!