Taiikukan Baby (体育館ベイビー) 2008

Film director Yoshihiko Fukagawa’s 2008 Taiikukan Baby, a story about two guys who started out as bitter rivals and ended becoming lovers, is quite frank in depicting the stories homosexuality genre. Unlike the chaste coupling of Antonio Banderas and Tom Hanks 1993 Philadelphia, Shibahara Jun (Nakamura Yuichi) and Murai Naoki’s (Takahashi Yuta) gay relationship happens. Not only does the couple establish their intimate connection on an incredible emotional level, the two young hot actors also hug and kiss, repeatedly, and made love soon after Jun kissed Naoki who was about to move to United States permanently.

A Genuine progress definitely has been established. The guy’s bitter rivalry provides an outstanding grounding in the story, and Yoshihiko can be commended for his incredible story directing. Taiikukan Baby (Gymnasium Baby) is an excellent love story about two gay swimmers who competes to be the best and that alone, is definitely worth watching. The main character, Shibahara Jun (Yuchi Nakamura) is popularly known as the best swimmer in the team, and is being mentored personally by his father.

The movie’s first scene begins with Jun losing to his long bitter rival Murai Naoki. Although they showed negative characters towards each other, the two still spent countless hours training at the pool, but still maintained a noticeable wall separating them from telling their true feelings. However this bitter relationship soon takes a full 360 degrees swing as the story leads to a special relationship between two elite swimmers, Naoki being the first to confess his feelings towards Jun, receives a rather intimate kiss response from Jun. But Jun was soon banned from taking any activities involving his sport due to health problem, and then tries to stay away from Naoki by studying alongside with Katou, his childhood friend.

The middle scenes in which the stoic Shibahara Jun and the jovial Murai Naoki reveals each of their true feelings are lovely and understated. Yoshihiko wasted no money in finding and getting the most appropriate setting, and an up-beat picture-perfect visuals. The contemporary look provided a really good background for the story, an authentic Wyoming paradise of greeneries, standard size swimming pool site, blazing sky and rolling clouds. The twangy, evocative background music sets the movie’s tone perfectly for creating a mood of plaintive longing. The movie’s controversial highlight centered on Jun intimately kissing Naoki who was about to migrate in the United States.

The movie Taiikukan Baby sets out to be an epic gay love story, but their kissing scene and romance are weighed down by the burden of keeping them minimal as possible. It’s definitely a heavy task for any filmmaker: covering a wide story, the necessary actors needed, and the necessary intimate kissing, all the while asking your stars to play it natural on screen. The vintage concept of its visual effect is unfortunately false. The movie’s visual picture looks more a lot like 1990’s, but is definitely convincing in bringing a romantic teenage gay relationship.