Fortunately this film isn’t just another repetition of the Japanese highschool drama genre – even though all characters are students and a reference to bullying is not missing. Instead, we witness the very complex relationships between Yoshida, leaving Shimizu for Aihara (or at least he tries to), and his friend Ito, whose love for Yoshida seems to have little chance for success. In the end we have a coalition of Ito and Aihara – who may or may not be in love with Ito (or with Yoshida, who knows) – teaching Yoshida a lesson. This is not a film about homosexuality either, indeed one message of the film may be that it doesn’t matter if a boy loves a boy or a girl. Anyway, the complexity (even incomprehensibility) of the motivations of the characters is a most realistic and just reflection of the motivations of modern Japanese teenagers. Or in other words: the film captures exactly the same thing which Banana Yoshimoto describes in her novels; what it is however, is very difficult to say.

This groundbreaking drama, one of few to feature gay lifestyles in a Japanese context, is the work of writer, editor, cinematographer, director and co-star Hiroyuki Oki, an avant-garde filmmaker. In the liberal enclave of Kochi City, Japan, a gay college student, You (pronounced using two syllables as “Yo-ooh”), is living a contented life with his lover and classmate. Then he spies an attractive young man at a train station, and their meeting leads to a subsequent sexual encounter. Although You confesses his infidelity to his boyfriend and even seeks the advice of an ex-lover, he does not completely break off his new relationship, leading to a love triangle that forces each of the men to question his sexuality and identity. Running barely one hour long, I Like You, I Like You Very Much (1995) was short for a feature-length film but earned critical respect for tackling what remains an extremely sensitive cultural issue in its home country.

Sayoko, a young woman, meets Goh and his older gay lover Tochi, and invites them to use a room in her apartment. The three become good friends until Tochi’s wife threatens to expose Tochi to his office workers. Tochi leaves and Goh falls for a new man, Kurihara. Sayoko tries to entice Kurihara to meet Goh, but he is not really gay. Kurihara seduces and abuses Sayoko, leaving her with child.