Written and directed by Ryosuke Hayazaka, after dying in an absurd accident, a woman wakes up in the afterlife and is forced to choose her next lover through a capsule toy machine. Each capsule contains a disastrous man from her past, from a controlling ex to a ghosting fiancé. As she relives one failed romance after another, she begins to wonder whether her bad luck is fate, or something she can finally take control of. Starring: Kyoka, Karasu Hayashi and Mutuo Yoshioka.
Coming in at fifty minutes, if you were looking for something short and sweet, and utterly easy viewing, The Unluckiest Girl in the World would be a pretty perfect choice. With it being a very brief feature, the story is simple, but it works, as it’s effortless comedy, it doesn’t need to be complicated, just fun. Granted, it can still feel a touch underdeveloped when it comes to the characters, you’re seeing them in a very limited window of time, so even with the leading character, played by Kyoka, you only learn so much.
However, there’s a great personality right from the beginning, the sense of humour is self-deprecating, it’s got a playfulness to it and it’s cute. The cinematography (from Hiroki Matsui) is strong throughout, especially bringing through that slightly neon-tinged colouring. There are those classic baby pinks and blues bleeding into the aesthetic, which nicely leans into that modern romcom meets game show feel of The Unluckiest Girl in the World. Unsurprisingly, it moves well, keeping a quick pacing with that short runtime.
Kyoka makes for a great lead, she brings those quintessential shy, polite qualities. She’s afraid of being forthright and hurting other people’s feelings but at the same time, fed up of never getting what she wants, always being used. She’s enjoyable to watch and it’s satisfying to see her take this journey, that’s not really about her love life, but about her finally discovering her self-worth and how to stand up for herself.
The Unluckiest Girl in the World is easy, entertaining viewing. Kyoka’s performances makes for a good time, and the tone is a little silly but has a nicely sarcastic and dark touch to its sense of humour. It’s shot well and feels very familiar to the modern Japanese style, bringing through an edge of classic gameshows. It’s cute, sweet and maybe won’t stick with you for that long, but it’s enjoyable.
FilmCarnage.com 