Thomas Storai 
“Play It Cool, Guys is a fun and feel-good slice of life about cool but clumsy guys. It is a series filled with both great comedic moments and sweet moments. Each character has his own storyline, goal and struggle that will make you care for them. It’s a perfect cast, everyone was the right pick for their respective character.”
Play It Cool, Guys (クールドジ男子, Cool Doji Danshi) is based on the manga of the same name by Kokone Nata. Earlier this year, we reviewed the anime adaptation, so it only makes sense we take a look at the live-action version. The series aired in Japan in April and stars Takumi Kawanishi from the famous boy band JO1 and Yuta Nakamoto from NCT 127. The series is now available on blu-ray and DVD for fans around the world.
STORY
Play It Cool, Guys is a series that tells the daily life of cool but clumsy guys. It follows five characters – Hayate Ichikura (Yuta Nakamoto, NCT 127) is a 20-year-old university student, Souma Shiki (Takumi Kawanishi, JO1) is a 19-year-old vocational school student, Shun Futami (Maito Fujioka) is a 17-year-old highschool student, Takayuki Mima (Dori Sakurada) is a 27-year-old office worker in marketing and Motoharu Igarashi (Toshiki Seto) is a 27-year-old writer. The beginning of the series takes its time to introduce the first four characters separately so we get to know who they are. Then, it brings everyone together. Motoharu joins the group halfway through the series.
Each episode tells two small stories about these cool but clumsy guys. Seeing the daily lives of these clumsy guys is a great source of comedy, they get in so many ridiculous situations. It is a lot of fun. Their clumsiness is actually quite relatable! I think we have all encountered some of the situations they have been in. But, this series is also filled with so many sweet moments that will bring a smile to your face. It is a beautiful story of friendship that at times feels a bit like a cute Boys’ Love. Each character has his own storyline, goal and struggle that will make you care for them. They all have roughly the same amount of screentime. The episodes feature the different characters in turns, sometimes on their own, sometimes as pairs and other times all together. It’s a fun and feel-good slice of life.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ANIME AND THE LIVE-ACTION
Since, I have watched both adaptions, I find it interesting to make some comparisons. First of all, the anime had 24 episodes of around 11 minutes each while the live-action is composed of 12 episode of around 24 minutes each. What the anime was doing in two episodes, this series is able to do it in one since the runtime is longer. It follows the same story-beats as it is adapting the same manga but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any changes. For example, the scene at the park with Motoharu and Takayuki doesn’t take place at night anymore, it takes place in broad daylight. The park is also different with mostly trees in sight, you don’t really see the city around. This changes the atmosphere of the scene. It feels more intimate and more relaxing as they are away from the big buildings of the city.
But, the main changes come at the end. The final episodes take a different direction skipping the stop at the festival and the beach trip. Instead, Hayate visits his family which allows the story to explore the emotional past of the character. The way Hayate questions his future and the answers he finds are more meaningful with what we know about his father. It definitely adds another layer to the character. And the birthday celebration with his friends at the cafe is a full circle moment because when you think about it, it’s this place that brought most of them together so it makes sense the final episode ends there with all them together. It’s a really beautiful ending.
Despite these changes, each character still gets to do what they did in the anime but in different places and sometimes in a different way. For example, Souma still works on the CD jacket of his friend but when he gets the first answer that saddens him it happens at the cafe and he then moves to a lonely park which really allows him to have a character-focused moment. All in all, these are interesting changes that make this live-action adaptation even more exciting to watch!
CAST
Moreover, Play it Cool, Guys has what I call a perfect cast. Indeed, everyone in the main cast was the right pick for their respective character. Each character has captured what their character is all about. Yuta Nakamoto who is part of the boy band NCT 127 is simply excellent as Hayate Ichikura. He is able to juggle between the sweet side of Hayate and his embarrassing reactions when he is clumsy. Then, Dori Sakurada plays Takayuki Mima’s clumsiness so naturally, it’s a real joy to watch him. Maito Fujioka is so funny as the clusmy but serious and blunt Shun Futami. His reactions when being called cute are priceless. Toshiki Seto has beautifully captured the dreamy side of Motoharu Igarashi.
But perharps the most difficult role is Souma Shiki as he spends his time laughing everytime he fails. For it to work, the laughing needs to sound genuine and Takumi Kawanishi has nailed it. It feels so natural when he does. Takumi delivers a heartfelt performance. He is really joyful as Souma while also bringing some depth to his character. In the anime, my favourite characters were Hayate and Takayuki but with the live-action, it has changed to Hayate and Souma and that is because of Takumi’s portrayal of the character. Takumi Kawanishi is a Japanese idol from the successful boyband JO1. He is an accomplished idol who is great at singing, dancing and now acting. He seriously can do anything.
VISUALS & SOUNDTRACK
The series has recreated the iconic Mawarimichi Cafe from the manga. It has kept the vibe from the manga in terms of design while accentuating the Tokyo cozy cafe atmosphere. You find most of the places from the manga showcasing the beauty of the city. It is a nice cinematography. The soundtrack features three main themes – one for clumsy moments, one for emotional moments and one for inspiring moments. It is a fitting score for a slice of life that really highlights the sweet side of the series.
Play It Cool, Guys has an opening credits. It shows the clumsy side of each character and then shows their cool and handsome side as they wear idol costumes. The first six episodes feature the song ‘Honeycomb’ by Ayumu Imazu. It is a dynamic song that captures what this series is. The second half of the season features the song ‘You n Me’ by Chilli Beans with Motoharu added to the credits. This song also fits for the series and definitely feels something like you would hear in a slice of life.
The end credits play as scenes still happen but you can hear in the background the song ‘Sunny Road’ by NCT 127. Yuta Nakamoto who plays Hayata is part of this boy band. It is my favourite of the three songs. It’s upbeat and is perfect to end each episode.
THE BOX SET
The box set has definitely been designed with international fans in mind. Indeed, when you insert the main discs with the episodes, you immediately have the option to activate english subtitles. Only the bonus discs don’t feature English subtitles. Avex Pictures and Square Enix have made an exceptional box set for the fans. This is only for the first press limited edition. It actually comes with a lot of stuff and depending from where you buy it, you will get different additional bonuses. It comes with a photo book of 48 pages, 5 double-sided photocards (one side showing the drama visual of the characters and the other side showing their idol visual), a premium box case. The discs are in a digipak featuring black and white portraits of the characters on the inside and on the outside colourful promotional pictures.
I got mine from Amazon so I also received a beautiful framed picture of the main visual, 5 black and white postcards and a mirror can badge. This is how you do a premium box set! It doesn’t get any better. You can see the different options from where to buy the blu-ray or DVD set here.
VERDICT
Play It Cool, Guys is a fun and feel-good slice of life about cool but clumsy guys. It is a series filled with both great comedic moments and sweet moments. Each character has his own storyline, goal and struggle that will make you care for them. It’s a perfect cast, everyone was the right pick for their respective character. But, the real highlight is Takumi Kawanishi from JO1. He really nails it as Souma. It’s a difficult role as his character laughs everytime he fails but Takumi makes it feel so natural. It really works. Takumi delivers a heartfelt performance. He is really joyful as Souma while also bringing some depth to his character.
Play It Cool, Guys is now available on blu-ray and DVD.
Collectables and Anime Editor for Future Of The Force.
Star Wars expert and Japan connoisseur.
