Sensei! Suki ni natte mo ii desu ka?

I guess it's the director, he can’t do much better than mediocre. I was looking forward to the Ikuta-Hirose pairing, but some of that chemistry was lacking in the end. For a film that tries to feel deep, everything was delivered rather shallowly – for all that the film implied, it delivered precious little. The camaraderie between the three, the relationships between the teachers, the relationship between Ito and Hibiki; it was all just sketched out, never sufficiently fleshed out, so its effect was in the same vein – completely half-hearted. And yet I do believe that this story was told in a much more interesting and colorful way. Despite all the expectations, it was just a kind of bland film about a student falling in love with a teacher. However, all the relationships were shrouded in a veil of inadequacy, so you couldn't root for anyone. The actors might have been playing for keeps, but they couldn't actually give their characters any life or 3D dimension at all with what was being said. Too bad. But fans of Ikuta or Hirose should check it out. They'll be pleased either way. 55%. (03.04.2018)