Seven Days (2015)

Hi! Let's unwind after a long day and take a look at Seven Days - both movie adaptations of the wonderful manga under the same name.

Before I start flooding you with screenshots, I wanna focus on the actors a bit.

I watched both movies two or three times. While I know Yamada James Takeshi from Hetalia musicals (where he played Spain), this was my first time meeting Hirose Tomoki. Both of them are cute, and I think that both of them are talented... I just can't jump on the wave of the Asian type of over-acting.
They have that special way of wearing all their emotions on their sleeves and really showing the audience how they're feeling. Knowing what scenes are awaiting me, I almost don't want to watch the movies. 😂

After I finished Seven Days for the first time, I checked some videos online. I remember watching interviews on YouTube, where they talked about how it felt to shoot certain scenes, about how they shared an indirect kiss when sharing a water bottle, how girls giggled at seeing them and most of all a little kiss accident. 

The actors were so laid-back and so cute about it, it's really amazing how they didn't care.

In my opinion, Japanese actors are too stiff sometimes. But what do I know? I'm a girl from Europe that grew up on cartoons and never cared much for movies and then had the weirdest mix of taste in them.

Alright then. That is all I remember and all I wanted to say, now let's jump into it. Disclaimed: spoilers ahead.

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Seven Days : Monday - Thursday

First movie 

First movie of the franchise follows the story of Yuzuru and Seiryo from (you guessed it) Monday to Thursday, giving us the first look into how a few days can make two people grow closer and how quickly a relationship between two strangers can form.

Yuzuru is a third-year, who has a "handsome face" but "wrong character". He is a free soul that hates going with a flow.

Seiryo is the main character, a lover boy that carries a "relationship trauma" which translated into him dating any girl that asks him out first on Monday. No matter who it is, he will say yes and infamously break up with them on Sunday.

    

[Look at the gay boy!]

    

[I am telling you!!]

The two are both in Kyudo (archery) club, and when Yuzuru's classmate and good friend tells him about Seiryo, Yuzuru gets the brilliant idea of trying it out and asks Seiryou to go out with him.

Starting Monday, the two get together... with vastly different ideas of what the relationship is.

Yuzuru thinks of it as a trial run, as a fun little game, and he is fully expecting the Sunday break-up. He is himself though, and he does all he can to enjoy it - following the typical dating pattern, morning & night texts, walking to and from school together, going out on dates... 

Seiryou however hopes that he can fall in love during those 7 days. Each week, he has an open mind about his new relationship... so he follows his heart, and dates Yuzuru seriously, even though he suspects that for the other boy it's just a joke and a relationship with pre-determined future.

    

    

[He does not think at all. About anything he does.]

[Guess who fell first?]

But a week of dating can change a lot. Having an open mind about someone who is fun and interesting shows to help grow their feelings easier than expected. Seiryo falls first, but Yuzuru falls harder. This chemistry between them confuses both boys at various point during the fated week... but in the end, they manage to healthily communicate their feelings.

    

    

[This scene lives rent free in my head!!]

Which was a joy to watch! Poor Seiryo had nightmares, worried as hell about how will Yuzuru react or act following certain interactions between them. But Yuzuru always kept calm and acted like everything was alright and okay - which must have been a big relief for Seiryo. Who never turned his back against Yuzuru, who got broken up with all the time because "his face doesn't match his personality".

    

[Yuzuru is a gay boy too <3]

[He was absolutely devastated about what happened on the bridge... my poor baby]

[Gay panic lasts...]

The last thing I want to bring your attention to is this very important scene, which I enjoy more and more each time I watch this movie. (This being my third rewatch, if I haven't mentioned that yet.)

    

    

[You can see the exact moment when sadness and disappointment changed into anger.]

    

    

[I know this is a shitty quality pic, but I could not take a better one. He smiled at Yuzuru's words exactly when he took a step after him.]

Like I said, they use healthy(-ish) communication to figure out their relationship and get their sh** together.  It was heartwarming to see how much changed just in three days, and at the same time it was hard to see the boys struggle with their feelings.

Ignoring the facts about how Japan views homosexual relationships (much more in school), it was heartbreaking seeing two boys that were obviously in love but fighting themselves for different reasons. But with this apology scene the first movie is over...

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And I can offer you some relatable memes from this one (and my favorite scenes), before we jump into the second movie:

    

    

    

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Seven Days : Friday - Sunday

Second movie

    

[When Yuzuru asked this, I felt like he was testing Seiryo.]

The movies are divided based on the boy's feeling. The first four days are about them getting to know each other and having their feelings grows inside of them.

The second part of the movie is them dealing with emotions that have a form and a name - love, jealousy, worry.

    

[This felt like a huge symbolism. Also, Yuzuru is scribbling "Shino"].

    

    

Seiryo and Yuzuru need to face themselves, but that proves to be harder than they might thought. While Yuzuru cannot face the other boy because he is worried that Seiryo is still in love with Shino... Seiryo is certain that Yuzuru is just teasing him, but does not feel the same. Or rather, doesn't know how Seiryo really feels at all.

    

    

    

Following the pattern from previous movie, we have some very touching moments that aren't romantic in nature. They are more about acceptance and feeling seen, feeling accepted for who we are.

And everyone deserves to feel that way. What's more, everyone deserves to be with someone who loves them for who they are and isn't with them for some superficial reasons.

[Act like you're not in love with him! ... Nailed it.]

    

    

    

    

    

[The way Yuzuru looked at Seiryo for approval and only went with her when he said it's okay!]

Obviously, towards the end, romance blooms in a way that takes away the breath of those that are called "fujoshi". (Don't google it.) We had something of this kind in this movie as well.

Here is a look on that scene.

[Why did he start to hyperventilate? What was he being so dramatic for?]

    

When I was watching this scene for the first time, excitement mixed with cringe inside of me. Years later... it was the same but WAY WAY worse in terms of cringing. Probably because I knew what and how would happen. 😂

Not understanding each other, but having a clear goal in the future does not work like the boys want. Yuzuru has a plan that he hopes will work out, while Seiryo is pretty certain they are through and he is desperately scraping for anything that would be left of Yuzuru in his life.

    

    

    

[Look how happy he is!!]

"The bow is a mirror that reflects the archer's heart."

    

[Yuzuru was so sure he knew what is going to happen to them..]

Confessing your love is never easy.

Apparently not even when you were previously dating. But since Yuzuru never took it seriously and felt threatened by Shino, it was of course difficult for him to tell Seiryo how he felt.

    

[It did last one minute.]

    

    

    

But the fruits of the tree of suffering always always sweet, once you reach them.

    

"Walking with you again, a new week begins."

𓆩🌻𓆪 ─────── 𓆩🌻𓆪

I and once again offering you relatable memes and some of my favorite frames from the second movie.

    

[This shot lives rent free in my head]

[Are you really gay if your bf doesn't chase you dramatically through the city?]

The scene that followed hurt me. The drama was real, but the second hand embarrassment was even more real. First, Seiryo almost fell on his face while running and then Yuzuru fell on stairs. Jesis!

[I am so proud of myself for getting this pun.]

[Btw doesn't his shoe look too big for him?]

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Bonus

Fun video that I never seem to forget about.

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And that was Seven Days! If you haven't seen it yet, then I obviously recommend it. And manga as well. Despite yaoi/bl/mxm isn't a genre that is liked by most and the quality of acting or the movie itself is not exactly... out of the roof, I think it's one of the best made in all of Japan.

Both boys do great facial acting, if anything, and you can really see their feelings which makes it believable. 

I was sold three times now, and I will be sold the next time I will rewatch these two movies.

Go on. You won't regret it.