Little Love Song (小さな恋のうた, Chīsana Koi no Uta) is a Japanese film released on May 21, 2019. It was base from the 2001 song of the same name by Mongol800. The film was directed by Kojiro Hashimoto [ja] and featured Hayato Sano [ja] as Ryota Maeshiro.

Little Love Song
Movie poster
Japanese小さな恋のうた
Directed byKojiro Hashimoto [ja]
Screenplay byKenya Hirata
Based onChiisana Koi no Uta
by Mongol800
Produced by
  • Teru Morii
  • Masaki Koide
Starring
Edited byMitsuo Nishio
Music byYosuke Miyauchi
Distributed byToei
Release date
  • 24 May 2019 (2019-05-24) (Japan)[1]
Running time
123 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

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The film depicts Okinawan high school students trying to convey their feelings to their friends, family, and loved ones, such as a girl of the same age who lives on a US military base just across the fence, through their band activities. In a small town in Okinawa where a US military base is located, a high school band is gaining popularity. With the ability to sing their own songs and drive the audience wild, the band is scouted by a label in Tokyo and decides to make their professional debut. However, just as they are about to celebrate, a tragedy occurs and the band loses track of their destination. Then, a demo tape of one song and a girl living on the US military base appear.

Characters

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Ryota Maeshiro (真栄城亮多, Maeshiro Ryōta)
Portrayed by: Hayato Sano[1]
Kotaro Ikehara (池原航太郎, Ikehara Kōtarō)
Portrayed by: Yuki Morinaga[1]
Mai Fukumura (譜久村舞, Fukumura Mai)
Portrayed by: Anna Yamada[1]
Shinji Fukumura (譜久村慎司, Fukumura Shinji)
Portrayed by: Gordon Maeda[1]
Daiki Niizato (新里大輝, Nīzato Daiki)
Portrayed by: Jin Suzuki[1]
Lisa (リサ, Risa)
Portrayed by: Claire Tomiko[1]

Background

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Chiisana Koi no Uta is a song by the Okinawan band Mongol800 from their second album Message. Since its release in 2001, the song has become very popular as a Karaoke song in Japan. In the DAM ranking compiled by Daiichi Kosho Company the song ranked first in the category of the most-sung songs by a male artist as well as ranking second for the most popular karaoke song on DAM Heisei Karaoke Ranking behind "Hanabi" by Mr. Chicken.[2] The song placed in top 30 for Oricon's Year End Karaoke charts for eight years straight.[3]

Production

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Mongol 800 announced their song "Chiisana Koi no Uta" will receive a film adaptation on the first day of their "GO ON AS YOU ARE" tour. The film started production in May 2018.[4] Kenya Hirata, who work on the film's screenplay wrote a novel base from the song and use it as the film's script, the novel was release on March 15, 2019.[5][6] The film was directed by Kojiro Hashimoto, while Kenya Hirata was in charge of the script, produced by Teru Morii and Masaki Koide, and Mitsuo Nishio was in charge of the editing.[1]

Miyauchi Yosuke, a support member of Mongol800 was in charge of arranging the music and songs for the film. He also teach the actors how to play the instruments.[7]

Release

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The film was premiered on Japanese cinema on May 24, 2019. The film was distributed by Toei.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "小さな恋のうた : 作品情報". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  2. ^ "MONGOL800「小さな恋のうた」ストリーミング累計1億回再生突破 2000年代リリース曲としては史上2曲目". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). December 1, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  3. ^ "「ハナミズキ」「小さな恋のうた」「残酷な天使のテーゼ」――令和も歌い継がれるカラオケロングヒットのわけは". Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). February 29, 2024. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024. Retrieved July 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "MONGOL800の名曲『小さな恋のうた』実写映画化". ORICON NEWS. May 18, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "『小さな恋のうた』(平田 研也):講談社文庫 製品詳細 講談社BOOK倶楽部". Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "小さな恋のうた インタビュー: 佐野勇斗×森永悠希×山田杏奈×眞栄田郷敦×鈴木仁「ちい恋バンド」沖縄で深めた絆". Eiga.com (in Japanese). May 23, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  7. ^ "佐野勇斗ら"小さな恋のうたバンド"が恩師からの手紙に涙「大きな存在です」(写真26枚)". Natalie (in Japanese). May 25, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
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