nmegahey You'd have to have a pretty broad definition of "youth" to consider the behaviour of 31 year-old character of 'LOVE STRIKES!' (MOTEKI), as being in any way acceptable, but then in this day and age youth seems to be more a condition or state of mind. Or, in the case of Yukio Fujimoto, something of an affliction.Fujimoto is a geek with a job at a trendy youth magazine that allows him to indulge his interests in manga, music and comedy and get paid for it as well. It's every young man's dream. On the other hand, being socially awkward is always going to be a hindrance to a guy who also desperately wants to lose his virginity. Hitting it off with a guy on a social networking site who shares similar interests, Fujimoto at least tries to be more sociable, but when the "guy" turns out to be a girl, and a cute one too, Fujimoto begins to think that his Moteki (his "irresistible period") has finally arrived.There's a serious point to be made about it being in the interests of a consumer-driven society to extend childhood interests as long as possible into a generation that has considerably more purchasing power than teenagers, but you probably shouldn't expect so much from a film that has an exclamation mark in the (English) title. Nor from one that is derived from a television series. Filled with catchy J-pop songs, shallow characterisation and a condescending if not downright sneering tone towards its characters LOVE STRIKES! could itself be accused of cynically pandering to its young audience, or worse, making fun of them.But then again, we don't expect 'The IT Crowd' or 'The Big Bang Theory' to have any serious points to make about the exploitation of geek culture. If it weren't as funny as it is, if there weren't some degree of truth and a measure of recognition in the situations and if it wasn't as damn clever about the manner in which it puts its comedy across, you'd have some serious reservations about LOVE STRIKES! As it is, it's hard not to like.

amu-13997 I usually like Japanese films and am fine with world cinema, but this one was disappointing.It was unrealistic because if you see the 'man' there is no way anyone would be attracted to him. He is weak and into Twitter and other idiotic pastimes like gossip magazines and whatnot. He even let's his boss do the girl that wants him (the boss is one of those man whore 'men' only low self esteem women go with).The other problem is that usually the women in Japanese films are attractive. These ones were all pretty ugly with short hair and as said one of them is spreading it for a man who is a man whore. Disgusting. I am not sure why the director chose only girls with short hair, but maybe his wife has short hair. I cannot give it 1/10 however because the women are kinda cool and one has nice legs and mouthThere is no accounting for taste I guess.

politic1983 'Love Strikes' is a film that certainly has a lot of imagination. Like 96.4% of contemporary Japanese films, it's based on a manga, though the film version takes it to another level. Fujimoto is a 'second virgin' working at an online pop culture magazine, a source of much politically incorrect humour for his work colleagues. On meeting a fellow music nerd, a female one, on Twitter - regularly referenced throughout the film - he then hits a period of moteki: a purple patch with women. But, in his desperation to be with his first love, Miyuki, he finds that success with women brings him problems he has no idea how to handle, leading to more pain, frustration and angst than being hapless with women ever did. But, being another rom-com (aren't all films about youth?!), all works out fine in the end.With music an important element in the film, director Ohne throws in various emotional musical numbers, directed as karaoke routines, complete with introductions and sing-a-long lyrics. All this provides much hilarity. Interestingly, one of the highlights of the film is the closing credits, based on the social networking sites often referenced throughout. At times, the realism in 'Love Strikes' is strong, showing the stresses and strains that social media and mobile communications put on young people in love, with Fujimoto often becoming obsessive over the most trivial of things. (Though with Fujimoto's character being thirty- one years old, it's difficult to know how youthful this really is.) However, all this angst seems to be written off with the happy ending, which detracts a little from some of the film's more serious points. Though with its various pop culture references and cameos by leading J- Pop stars, such as everyone's favourites Perfume, 'Love Strikes' proved to be 'big in Japan'.

webmaster-3017 "With you, I will never grow." Love Strikes continues the good track record of quality Japanese production with a point to express. It is simply about a story of a 30 year guy who just cannot seem to attract or keep a girl. However that's all about to change as the movie shows how he deals with the destiny year of three very different girls coming into his life. It is almost truism to say that people want what we cannot have, but this movie shows and depicts the difficulty for an inexperience guy coming up against the more experienced female counterparts.What I enjoyed most about this film is because it tries to show the story from a male perspective. The carefree manner in which the director is able to breeze through the corridors and every corner is with some fun, some meaningful moments and some tragic times. One of the best lines of the movie comes from the girl that the guy loves the most, giving the following as reason why she prefers someone married over him: "with you, I will never grow." It is one of the most cynical yet true quotations and perfectly explains the sad reality of modern relationships.All in all, Love Strikes! is easily one of the best Japanese romantic dramas in 2011. It may not seem like much, but the film strikes the audience right in cord where it counts, hurts and feels. In a way the film is a bittersweet lesson about the making of the female counterpart and also a story about a nerdy guy trying to find love in face of a battlefield ahead. It is true that love feels great, but to understand it will never be possible. For what it is worth, Love Strikes! is a delightful drama that works from start to finish, if you can ignore the unnecessary sweet ending. Still, this film is easily heads and shoulders above its peers and like 500 Days of Summer, the male audience can relate… Neo rates it 8/10