1. Heavenly Forest
The film depicts the romance of amateur photographer Makota and the cute and endearing Shizuru. The film goes through an emotional coaster ride of emotions and has the right amount of romance, friendship and comedy blended with some dramatic twist making it a fantastic watch. The character portrayal of the actors of Aoi Miyazaki and Hiroshi Tamaki with the serene music makes this movie stellar.
2. A Song To The Sun
A Song to the Sun, starring Yui and Takashi Tsukamoto in the lead, tells the story of a girl who has Xeroderma Pigmentosum. This medical condition forbids her from being exposed to the sun. She dreams of becoming a singer and sings every night in front of a station, playing the guitar. One day she meets a boy Koji, and they start talking. Frequent encounters lead to a blossoming of romance between them, but as her condition worsens, Kaoru eventually dies. In the end, Koji remembers the time they spent together with his mind replaying her voice.
3. My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday
2016 released, My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday starring Sota Fukushi and Nana Komatsu in the leads is more than your usual romantic love film. Love that crossed parallel dimensions, but will the love stay forever when both the lovers are moving in different timelines? This touching love story stands out due to its slice of time- travelling and the desperate attempts of the lovers to hold on to the precious memories they hold together.
4. Let Me Eat Your Pancreas
The tragic love story of a school’s popular girl Yamauchi Sakura and her aloof classmate Shiga Haruki. Their connection despite their different personalities makes this movie earnest, heartfelt, and devastatingly beautiful. The emotions expressed by the actors speak volumes, and the incredible storyline has succeeded in becoming one of Japan’s greatest love films of all time.
5. Crying Out Love In The Centre Of The World
The film depicts the beautiful but sad love story of high school sweethearts Saku and Aki. Saku returns to his hometown and gets holds of some old tapes recorded by his school sweetheart Aki before her death and reminisces their good happy moments. The narrative is tear-jerking and the actors Takao Osawa, Masami Nagasawa, and Ko Shibasaki gave justice to their characters. If you like a slow pace romance drama, then ‘Crying Out Love, in the Centre of the World’ is a great pick.
6. My Rainy Days
A romance between a self-centric high school girl, who uses people for her gain, and a bookish professor who holds a secret to himself. Rio was head over heels when she met her crush Kouki, a 35-year-old professor in a store. She changes herself for the better to make her crush like her. Even though Kouki gets interested in Rio, he suddenly disappears without saying goodbye. The refreshing characters and their poles apart personalities make their love even more interesting to watch.
7. Bokura Ga Ita
Bokura ga ita follows a light school romantic story of Motoharu and Takashi Nanami. It's not your typical love story and gives a slice of life and tells that love is not everything. The film contains many dramatic turns and is good on the emotional scale. The complexities of emotions portrayed by the actors Tomo Ikuta and Yuriko Yoshitaka were impressive. Finding love at the wrong time eventually leads Motoharu and Nanami to part ways. The end scene is a tearjerker for sure.
8. The Girl In The Sun
The film portrays the story of two childhood sweethearts who parted ways but found their way to each other after ten long years. They fell in love again and became man and wife, but one of them holds a big secret that can change their life and may endanger their relationship. The exciting storyline with an unexpected twist with the excellent performance of the leads makes this movie worth a watch.
9. Koizora
Koizora tells the young love between two students Mika and Hiro. Upon finding her lost phone in the school library with the help of an unknown caller, they start messaging each other. And upon meeting, Miko considers communicating with Hiro. They develop feelings for each other. Their relationship undergoes various obstacles and eventually breaks up. The sad part of the movie is towards the end when Mika realizes that Hiro broke up with her due to his illness. Nevertheless, upon knowing this, Mika stays with Hiro and takes care of him. Hiro even shows signs of recovery but gives in to his disease during a routine check-up.
10. I Give My First Love To You
My First Love is Dedicated Toward You also known as ‘I Give My First Love to You’ tells the love story of a boy whose life has an expiry date and a girl who loves him. The cute love story with dramatic scenes makes the viewers glued to the film. The film explored their relationship through ups and downs from friendship, love, and heartbreaks, and misunderstandings. The innocent love put together with the heaviness of the story makes the movie truly beautiful.
