For instance, Hiro's former girlfriend, Saki (Usuda Asami) arranges to have Mika kidnapped and raped as a humiliation tactic against Hiro. It's a bit too dramatic at points and some of the story plots seem to be overly contrived (in the style of a J-Dorama/K-Drama story). Their love story plays almost like a "Harlequin Romance" as Mika is at first scared and apprehensive of Hiro but soon begins to see the romantic and sensitive side behind his punk exterior. Much of the film deals with the growing affections igh schoolers Tahara Mika (Aragaki Yui) and Sakurai "Hiro" Hiroki (Miura Haruma) have for each other and the troubles that transpire during the course of their relationship.
Screenwriter Watanabe Mutsuki (who wrote for the quirky "Keitai Keiji/Cellular Detective" TV series) does an admirable job at adapting Mika's novel and keeping the overall tone of the story without taking away from the story. It's success at the Japanese box office (currently in the Top Ten as of 11/28/07) is another indication of the impact it has on audiences. Directed by TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) TV J-Dorama director Imai Natsumi (Orange Days, Koko Kyoshi), the film is a faithful interpretation of the cellular novel and is every bit as tearful, heartbreaking and poignant as its source material. It was only time before the film adaptation of "Koizora" became a reality. Many also criticized the novels portrayal of cancer victims as not really realistic.ĭespite these criticisms, the novel was a best seller and widely read, spawning a couple of stories - "Kimi Zora" (You, Sky) which took the point of view from the side of "Koizora" character Hiro and "Another Koizora", a sequel of sorts. However, much criticism also accompanied the novel particularly from those who saw its depictions of underage sex, rape and pregnancy as obscene. With its tearful story of young love, loss and perseverance, it was an instant hit among readers particularly young, female high schoolers. Following the success of their first cellular novel "Deep Love", "Koizora" was touted as a "true story" based on the life experiences of its young author "Mika", a first time/amateur novelist. "Mahou No i Rando" (a play on "Magic Island") is one of the more popular services to come out specializing in "Keitai Shosetsu" (mobile/cellular novels).
Therefore it was just a matter of time before novels and manga/comics became widely available via online cellular services. It can easily be said that Japan is one of the cellular capitols of the world, where people use their cellular phones not only as communication devices but also for a number of business and personal functions from text messaging and web browsing to paying bills online and watching streaming content.