Aged 7, Rino Hasebe survives a serious illness after meeting a mysterious young boy named Jun Kouno who vanishes when she calls out to him. Through the following decades she repeatedly meets this man again, every time ending in frustration as he disappears as soon as she confesses her love for him. Finally, Rino (Ai Mikami) meets Jun (Kanta Sato) at university, but he has no memory of her, and furthermore has short-term memory loss meaning he is unable to recall the events of the preceding day. Rino is determined to meet with him every day, repeatedly confessing her feelings to him and hoping that he does not vanish.
Adapted from the manga series “Fujimi Lovers” by Yuna Takagi, with a screenplay by director Daigo Matsui and Toshiya Ono, “Undead Lovers” is a romantic drama based on an interesting premise. The opening half of the film, featuring the various reunions of Rino and Jun, sets up a mystery in the form of his disappearances and failure to remember their previous meetings. This is explained later in the film in a way that is logical and causes you to reassess both what happened and the characters’ responses to it. The second half of the film is taken up with the couple’s relationship at university where Jun is dealing with severe memory loss. Ai Mikami and Kanta Sato have good chemistry as the young couple and we sympathise with both of them in this unusual situation. Yuzu Aoki is also enjoyable as Tanaka, Rino’s long-suffering best friend. The film’s bright, beautiful setting is perfect for the light tone of the majority of the film creating a vibrant summer feeling with the lush surroundings of forested mountains and seaside. While the film requires several logical leaps, such as how Jun is able to complete a university course while unable to remember anything that happened the previous day; or why Rino’s friend Tanaka fails to give her crucial information, it does provide a relaxing and relatable drama about young love.
For the most part “Undead Lovers” treads familiar ground with the overly keen Rino chasing her dream of a relationship with the charismatic Jun. The film does features a fun twist with the revelation about Jun’s repeated disappearances, which speaks both to Rino’s character and the themes of unrequited love. Throughout we see how memory is fickle, with characters forgetting important details about their pasts. It also touches on the importance of living in the moment rather than being overly concerned about the past or the future. The past has such a major impact on our sense of self and our relationships that it is interesting to consider what happens when this is taken from us. Jun’s story in particular, with his inability to remember day to day, is heartwrenching as he is forced to relive everything again and again without recourse to his memories. Similarly, Rino faces a constant struggle to reaffirm her love for him, without the comfort of knowing that he will remember their shared experiences. A lighthearted romantic drama with an novel twist that will please fans of the genre.
