MY TEACHER MY LOVE (センセイ君主) (2018)

Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Sho Tsukikawa
Cast: Ryoma Takeuchi, Minami Hamabe, Taiki Sato, Rina Kawaei, Yua Shinkawa, Yuma Yamoto, Yuki Saso, Riko Fukumoto
RunTime: 1 hr 44 mins
Rating: PG13 (Brief Nudity)
Released By: mm2 Entertainment
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 28 February 2019

Synopsis: Based on manga series "Sensei Kunshu" by Momoko Koda, high school student Ayuha Samaru falls for a handsome stranger who pays for her bill at a restaurant. The next day, she realises that this stranger is her new homeroom teacher Yoshitaka Hiromitsu! Convinced that he must be her destined lover, Ayuha Samaru goes all out to win his heart!

Movie Review:

If you do not already know, the Japanese have an insatiable appetite for teacher-student romance. Without even thinking hard, there are at least 5 movies/television dramas that have been released in the 3 years. My Teacher, My Love is yet another romance movie that falls into that league. However, unlike how some which came across as heavy-hearted, this is a fun and bubbly movie that follows high school student Ayuha (played by Hamabe Minami) and her blossoming romance with teacher, Yoshitaka (played by Takeuchi Ryoma).

Ayuha is a cheerful and energetic high school student who decided that she would like to fall in love. In the bid to achieve her goal of being in a relationship, she confesses to one boy to another, but nothing worked out despite her happy disposition. Just when she was going to pay for her meal while she was complaining and getting advice from her best friend, she realised she did not bring enough money. The snaking queue behind her was starting to get annoyed, and that’s when a knight in shining armour came to her rescue. It was love at first sight, and Ayuha became infatuated with a stranger.

The next day back at school, she recounted her fateful encounter to her best friend, getting all lovestruck. When the new relief teacher who will be taking over their class started introducing himself, it caught her by a big surprise as that was exactly the person who saved her from embarrassment the night before! Despite going through 7 rejections in a row, Ayuha is determined to make her teacher reciprocate her feelings...

As typical as it may be, My Teacher My Love is adapted from the manga of the same name, and follows the safe formula of having a youthful girl + charming dude combi, then sprinkle in some romance and humour. In fact the teacher, Yoshitaka, is a tsundere character (tsundere is a Japanese slang word composed of ‘tsun tsun’ [cold and curt attitude] and ‘dere dere’ [affectionate]; often used to describe a character, usually female, who is at first distant and cold, then becomes sweet and affectionate afterwards), who never fails to give surprises in his interactions with Ayuha.

Whilst the setup of the movie is fairly simple, what made the movie enjoyable was the cast. Hamabe Minami aced the role of Ayuha with ease, and makes people laugh with her comical and exaggerated feelings, fantasies and tactics to get her teacher’s attention. 

The director of the movie, Tsukikawa Sho, has worked on many high school movies, including “My Little Monster (2018)”, “Let me eat your pancreas (2017)” and “Defying Kurosaki-kun (2016)”. He has perfected the ways of capturing the lead male character of the story to make the female audience skip a beat. There were certainly many flattering angles and great shots of Takeuchi Ryoma in the movie. If you consider yourself a fan, get yourself a serving of the fan service and fulfil your own fantasies as well!

Although My Teacher My Love hardly gave any surprise (especially with its rather predictable ending), it was overall a feel-good and cute movie. Coupled with a stellar cast, it’s hard not to leave the cinema with a smile!

Movie Rating:

(A feel-good and absolutely adorable rom-com you never knew you needed!)

Review by Tho Shu Ling