After the Rain has the Best Cast in an Anime Adaptation

Koi wa Ameagari no You Ni (After the Rain) is a manga and anime series which received it's live-action adaptation treatment in 2018.

Image Courtesy: IMDB

The story follows a 17 year old girl who is in love with a 45 year old man. Before you get appalled and close this blog in angry-shock, I will let you know that the story is very heartwarming and cute for such a dramatic and sensitive theme. Regardless of the story matter, this article discusses how the live-action adaptation of the anime has some of the best selection of actors to bring the animated characters to life. Also, the criteria for judging the adaptation is not only acting skills but also how much the actor resembles the anime character they are potraying.

1. Yo Oizumi as Masashi Kondo

Yo Oizumi is an actor of very high range, experience and calibre. He plays the perfect balance of an overworked manager in his mid 40s; doing his best to coordinate his team of workers at Café Restaurant Garden. 

His portrayal of Masashi Kondo showcases an aging manager's frustration and struggle to keep up with the demands of his customers, as well as his young employees. Also, his reactions to the various remarks and actions of his young employees is similar to the anime, without being too cartoonish. This type of balance between anime origins and a grounded, real life acting  skill set is difficult to find in the movies available today. Masashi Kondo was Oizumi's perfect cup of tea.

This is not, however, the only movie where Oizumi has brought an Anime character to life. He was also in the Tokyo Ghoul and the Fullmetal Alchemist live action adaptation as well.

2. Nana Komatsu as Akira Tachibana

There was no way the movie company was going to get their hands on an angelic, naive-looking, beautiful, perfect girl with long hair. So, they were lucky to have Nana Komatsu; an angelic, naive-looking, beautiful, perfect actress with medium length hair. 

Image courtesy: IMDB

Komatsu's role was certainly the most difficult as she had to sell the role of "hopelessly in love with an older man", while making it seem believable so as to not alienate the audience. Like a soft, cold ice-cream parfait with crisp, warm waffles, Komatsu details the charm and innocence of a light-hearted young school girl while simultaneously expressing the sadness associated with hiding two secrets. The second secret of not following her old passion about running due to her injury is just as heartbreaking as her irrevocable love (infatuation) to her manager.

3. Honoka Matsumoto as Yui Nishina

"Watashi no Sukina Joyu wa Honoka Matsumoto desu." That is one of the first comprehensive sentences I learnt while practicing the Japanese language. That sentence means "My favourite actress is Honoka Matsumoto", because I loved her portrayal of Urano Suzu in the TV series 'In this Corner of the World'.

Therefore, it was quite embarassing for me to not notice my favourite actress in a side-role right away. Yes, it is true, Honoka's portrayal of Yui Nishina was so much detached from her real-life self that it was almost unrecognisable for the audience. 

Image Courtesy: IMDB

She was so much into the character of Yui Nishina that Yui Nishina was the only person who was seemingly on screen. No sign of Honoka Matsumoto. The make-up work on all the characters was good but they managed to bring a yellow-haired Asian school girl to life, on screen, to portray a side character and made it appear realistic. Nishina only has a small addition to the plot in the movie but this addition is scattered throughout the movie and is not a one time only sub-plot. The sub-plots in the movie are like the chocolate chips on a cookie that makes the cookie more crispier and ummm... more tasty.

4. The other side characters

What really sold the movie adaptation to me, was when the Mr. Kondo's old friend showed up. In the anime, he looks like this:

And in the movie:

Image courtesy: IMDB

That is as close of a resemblance to a chilled out, laid back modern mid 40s man as you can get while still keeping the long, gray anime hair. Not only him, but the other characters in the restaurant are also portrayed realistically while keeping the anime origins in mind. Perfect casting for such a film!

4. The setting

They did not have to seclude an entire street outside a coffee shop at night (Tokyo Ghoul), or arrange multiple computer monitors in a large white hall (Death Note), or hire many actors to dress up in nude suits and pretend to eat food horrifically (Attack on Titan).

However, we must appreciate how much the live action Café Restaurant Garden looks like the one from the anime.

First, we have the external shot:

Then, we move inside towards the reception area

The office which opens to the backdoor

The large parking space

These details had to be perfected. This anime does not have a large following as does Death Note or Tokyo Ghoul, and the movie makers could have used any restaurant and said "Hey! Um... "After the Rain" fans, ... Uh... Could you all just pretend that this restaurant is the one from the anime, after all the plot is what is important..."

But they didn't! The amount of effort put in by the filmmakers, actors, movie directors, and set artists ought to be studied by anyone who wishes to adapt another anime into the live-action format. If only someone explained it in a one-page article and put it online...

Peaceful Sparta wants to know whether you noticed the food inserted under the first three items on this list.