Earlier in 2026, manga artist Yorita Miyuki launched a Kickstarter for a big-budget film edition of her hit manga serialized in Galette, Kanojo no Kuchizuke Kansensuru Libido (彼女のくちづけ感染するリビドー). This manga had already gotten a short movie in 2022, which is still available to watch on YouTube, and which I reviewed last year here on Okazu to get myself ready for this new project. That short movie was a 40 minute three-part movie to tell the story of Sana and her first love, Akane.
The 2026 project, yuri movie Her Kiss, My Libido Twinkles was a more complete story, a full 2 hours to cover more of the manga, with new actresses and a full film cast and crew. As Kickstarter rewards, I also received a lovely full-color “program” book, with photos from filming and behind the scenes, notes from the Director and creator, as well as full cast and staff credits and postcards.
The story follows Sana (Watanabe Yui), a cheerful high school student. After an injury puts her in the hospital, she meets Akane (Ukawa Moeka), a girl with little facial affect, who seems to have a dark backstory. Akane teases Sana and is hard to understand, but the two of them are definitely attracted to one another.
Once they begin dating, Akane seems to have an idea that Sana is hers, and is possessive of her…and sulky when Sana mentions her friends. Sana’s friends are likewise distressed that she’s paying so much attention to Akane.
The story here closely hews to the manga, and includes a scene that, no matter how many times I read or watch it, makes no sense to me. Sana invites Akane over with the intention of introducing her to Miharu, her closest friend. Mi-chan is unusually distressed by Akane’s presence in Sana’s life and we, an audience of adults watching this, can tell instantly that Miharu has feelings for Sana she has not admitted. But the scene is, in every iteration, awkward and icky.
Overall, this movie is a very slick affair, but… and I don’t meant this to be harsh…it adds nothing to the short movie, except maybe a little more slowness to scenes that don’t need to be slower. Kiss scenes in JP media are already excruciatingly slow. We did not need them to take more time, I promise.
Another point to the short movie is that Sana’s actress here, while perfectly decent, did not encapsulate the bubbly cheerfulness of the character, as Tsuboi Nagisa managed to.
I don’t regret backing this movie at all. I enjoyed it and all the well-put together rewards. But if you missed the Kickstarter, I’m going to suggest you watch that Youtube movie instead. This is very good, but that short movie, while low-budget , is somehow just as sincere.
Ratings:
Cinematography – 7 Everything one expects in a JP media.
Acting – 8 Good job by a small cast who have to carry the entire story
Story – 8 First love, first desire, the usual
Overall – 8
This series is being published as English-language manga through Kickstarter, as well. Yorita-sensei is up to Volume 3, I believe.
