For our new daily review of the month, we invite you to re-discover P to JK (Love Under Arrest). It is the live adaptation of Miyoshi MAKI's shôjo, published by Delcourt/Tonkam.
Here is the love story of a couple with a fairly significant age difference presented in comedy form. We let you discover the rest!
This review may contain spoilers from the live-action movie and manga. To be read at your own risk.
P to JK
Original title: PとJK – P to JK
Alternate title: Policeman and Me – Love Under Arrest – Police & Joshi Kousei
Gender: Comedy – Romance
Country: Japan
Release date: March 25, 2017
Director: Ryuichi HIROKI (Okami Shojo to Kuro Oji)
Scriptwriter: Nami YOSHIKAWA (Kagekiha Opera)
Original manga: Miyoshi MAKI
Synopsis :
Motoya Kako is a sixteen-year-old high school student. One day, a friend's sister invites her to participate in a gôkon (Japanese speed dating). Pretending to be a student, she meets Sagano Kota, a twenty-six-year-old man. Contact goes well between them but Kota eventually learns that Kako lied to him about his age. However, dating a minor in addition to being a police officer promises to be complicated… He can't date Kako even though he likes her. The only possible solution is to get married!
Main cast
Kazuya KAMENASHI [KAT-TUN]
Kota Sagano | Tao TSUCHIYA
Kako Motoya (Orange) | Mahiro TAKASUGI
Heisuke Okami | Tina TAMASHIRO
Mikado Yaguchi (Dolmen X) |
Daigo NISHIHATA
Jiro Nagakura (The Last Recipe) | Aya OMASA
Fumi Komori | Tomorowo TAGUCHI
Shuichi Yamamoto |
Age difference
P to JK is a live action film that is part of the classic romantic comedy register since it is about feelings of love. But, it is mainly thanks to the concept of age difference (ten years) between the two protagonists that the film becomes interesting. The couple thus offers us a relationship with two points of view: that of the adolescent girl and that of the adult man. Let's face it, this is not the first time that we discover this kind of story and yet, we quickly get caught up in the natural acting of the actors.
If the plot focuses mainly at first on Kako, a heroine still lacking confidence in herself and lying to Kota about her true age. We are still surprised to also find Kota's spontaneous personality and its many facets: sometimes sure of himself in his work, sometimes more immature in his relationship with a high school girl. The couple also offers us a cute plot close to a real couple, but also a beautiful adaptation of the manga. At the very beginning, we notice that it is set up a little quickly compared to the manga but fortunately our doubts fade over the course of the story!
Close to a certain reality
Now let's talk about our two lovebirds but also the secondary characters. First, let's go back to the actress who plays the heroine and remember how disappointed we were with her in her role in Orange's live-action film. At the time tell you that our expectations were high after such a misstep. But, Tao TSUCHIYA surprised us this time, we came out satisfied with his performance after viewing. Kako looks like its 2D version with a small flaw: we just found its character less expansive and beating.
Do we now have to introduce you once again to the actor playing Kota? In addition to being one of the Jhonny's who keep a constant popularity rating with the female public, he is a good actor who has perfectly put himself in the shoes of a police officer. We were charmed by his legitimate questions about his relationship with Kako, his initiatives or his lucidity on certain subjects. The only complaint we can make is that the production team could have chosen a younger actor to play its teenage version…
On the other hand, we find Heisuke whose first meeting lets us guess the nature of his future interactions with his classmate, Kako.The evolution of the character is well brought and provokes empathy especially by his family situation. For Mikado and Jiro, Kako's friends, they fulfill their roles as secondary characters well.
Finally, the same goes for Fumi and Shuichi, Kota's two police colleagues and the teenager's parents. However, it was expected to see some people opposing the couple formed by Kota and Kako in view of Japanese mores. And that would have put pressure on them, but this is not the case!
A successful romance
The live adaptation of P to JK is nothing extraordinary compared to other productions of this style but it seduced us by its simplicity to exploit the theme. The two protagonists have a very marked age difference but there is a certain accuracy in the interpretation. The film largely follows the manga but brings improvements, alternate versions and has moved some key moments. We feel at times a déjà vu because of the paper version but it is not unpleasant. The evolution of the relationship of our heroes as well as their feelings were perfectly transmitted.
The situation comedy and more serious passages are also there to bring comfort and bring the audience closer to the characters. Through these two main characters, we follow the ordinary daily life of two worlds (child / adult) who find themselves turned upside down by love, following a mutual love at first sight. Their age difference gives us insight into the difference in mindsets, choices and priorities. Finally, the feature film makes us have a good time in a good-natured atmosphere. Note that we had a good laugh during the closing scene despite the fact that it is quite far-fetched.
The live action film P to JK offers us a romance about tolerance and mutual sharing within a couple. It is a breath of fresh air in a well-conducted adaptation that we recommend without hesitation!
P to JK trailer:
