Japanese romantic comedy offers treat for ping-pong fans

For ping-pong lovers, the upcoming romance comedy Mix features their favorite sport.

The film is the first Japanese movie to hit Chinese mainland theaters in the Year of Dog, and the 120-minute feature will reach screens on March 9.

The movie, directed by Junichi Ishikawa is based on a script by Ryota Kosawa, an acclaimed screenwriter. And the inspirational story, also known as Mixed Doubles, is about a former table tennis genius and a former star boxer.

The two join hands to form an unlikely team. And they later fall in love after a series of challenges and a tough competition.

Earlier this year, Japanese actress Yui Aragaki, the lead star who runs a struggling ping-pong club in the film, took home the best actress award at Japan's 60th Blue Ribbon Awards, an event which honors the country's movie talent.

For Chinese distributors, the popularity of Aragaki, the 29-year-old model-actress followed by more than 800,000 netizens on China's largest online forum Baidu Tieba, is one of the key reasons why they imported the film.

"We watched the movie before it won the award.

"It features elements that resonate with Chinese audiences, and has a cast full of A-listers from Japan," says Teng Qiutao, the president of the Beijing-based RYD Movie, which bought Mix for distribution in China.

China has made very few films or television dramas about ping pong, despite the sport being extremely popular, says Teng.

Meanwhile, besides ping-pong fans, foodies may also like the film, as members of the ping-pong club often gather at a Chinese restaurant to order mapo tofu, a signature dish from Sichuan province in southwestern China.

Giving more details about the film, Teng says: "It's not only a sports-themed movie, but also an inspirational story which encourages people to follow their hearts"

In the movie, Aragaki's character is cheated by her ex-boyfriend and she returns to her hometown to run her late mother's ping-pong club, while her mixed doubles partner, played by actor Eita Nagayama, is divorced and doesn't have a decent job.

The other characters, played by amateurs, include a woman trying to be a perfect housewife and a farming couple.

The movie, which premiered in Japan on Oct 21, 2017, dominated Japan's box office charts for around three weeks.

It has so far received 7.5 points out of 10 on Douban, China's most popular movie review site.

As for the comments on the film, one netizen on Douban says: "Sports-themed movies in Japan are very good at skillfully using details to inspire moviegoers.

"Mix is a quality work, which really touched me."

xufan@chinadaily.com.cn