Hot Road

I. Introduction

Hot Road is a 2014 Japanese romance film directed by Takahiro Miki from a screenplay by Tomoko Yoshida, based on Taku Tsumugi's Shōjo manga of the same title, which was serialized from 1986 to 1987. It stars Rena Nōnen and Hiroomi Tosaka, with Ryōhei Suzuki, Rina Ōta, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, and Yoshino Kimura in supporting roles. The story is of a romance between a troubled girl played by Rena Nōnen, who received no love from her remarrying mother, and a Bōsōzoku's future leader played by Hiroomi Tosaka. The theme song of the film is Yutaka Ozaki's Oh My Little Girl. The film had its premiere at Shinjuku Piccadilly Cinema in Tokyo on July 13, 2014, and opened in Japan on August 16 of the same year on 302 screens around Japan.

II. Synopsis

Kazuki Miyaichi, a 14-year-old girl who lives with her mother in a house that has not a single photo of her late father. She is heartbroken because she is not the child she hoped herself to be. One day her best friend, who was also having trouble fitting in at school, invited her to join her and have fun with those Bōsōzoku boys at night.

At night in Shonan, Kazuki meets Hiroshi Haruyama, a member of Bōsōzoku gang Nights. At first, they dislike and hurt each other, but Kazuki finds herself in a world where Haruyama is a part of, as they both feel a sense of isolation. Despite her mixed feeling of comfort and confusion at the same time, she is rapidly drawn to Haruyama. Meanwhile, Haruyama is also attracted to Kazuki's innocence, but when he becomes the leader of the Nights. He gets caught up in a war with a rival team.

III. Production & Marketing

Though manga Hot Road has been a hit in the 80s, Taku Tsumugi refused to make a feature film version of Hot Road many times because she thought everyone were entitled to have their own version of Hot Road in mind, and no one else could touch it. She finally gave the project of a live-action film of Hot Road a go after more than 25 years. To prepare the film, Taku Tsumugi supervised the script of herself, and Rena Nōnen dyed her hair brown for the first time in her life to portrayed Kazuki. To rebuild the world of the 1980s, Art Director Hidefumi Hanatani got his inspiration from the original manga and put things that were popular in 1980s in the home Kazuki lived. The production team also rebuilt the motorcycles Haruyma rode, Honda CBR400F and CB400F, the way they were in the 1980s with the help of motorcycle shop Uematsu.

Hot road began shooting in November 2013 and finishing shooting in December. It was mainly shot in the area around Enoshima, mainly Kamakura and Fujisawa, Kanagawa.

Hot Road was announced on October 17, 2013, as the next production for Rena Nōnen. On October 29, it was announced that Hiroomi Tosaka would play the hero of this love story. On March 18, 2014, an event reporting the production of the film was held, and Rena Nōnen, Hiroomi Tosaka attended the event with director Takahiro Miki. It was announced at the event that the theme song of the film would be Yutaka Ozaki's Oh My Little Girl. The full cast of the film was announced on May 13, 2014. On May 26, the poster of the film was released, and the first trailer of the film was released on May 30. The film had its premiere on July 13, 2014, with Rena Nōnen, Hiroomi Tosaka, Ryōhei Suzuki, Rina Ōta, Motoki Ochiai attending. A blue carpet event was held alongside the premiere on Shinjuku Ohdoori. n August 6, A premiere event for students was held in Nakamura junior & senior girls' high school in Kōtō, Tokyo. On October 11, 2014, a promotional video with Yutaka Ozaki's I LOVE YOU as its soundtrack was released, when the song was announced to be the image song of Hot Road. On August 16, Main cast of the film attend a stage greetings event in Tokyo, and with 216 cinemas around Japan, live screening the event, about 15 thousand people watch the stage greetings event.

IV. Cast

Pic	Name	Character
	Rena Nōnen	Kazuki Miyaichi A troubled 14 year-old-girl who is lonely and sad
	Hiroomi Tosaka	Hiroshi Haruyama A 16-year-old member of Bōsōzoku gang "Nights"

V. Trailers

VI. OSTs

VII. Reception

Released on August 16, 2014, Hot Road received a lot of attention as the first film since Rena Nōnen earned her fame through Amachan in 2013 and Sandaime J Soul Brothers, the dance and vocal group in which Hiroomi Tosaka served as one of the vocalists, released 2014's hit single R.Y.U.S.E.I. that soared the group to success. The film had generally positive reviews, with Japanese critic Kiichiro Yanagishita describing it as a poem of Rena Nōnen. Critic Yumi Eguchi also praised the film for being able to present those mixed feelings of the characters even without dialogues. It was number-two on its opening weekend, behind Stand By Me Doraemon, with ¥389 million in Japan. It earned a total of ¥2.47 billion (US$22.9 million) at the Japanese box office, becoming the 9th highest-grossing Japanese film released that year in the country and the 15th highest-grossing film of the year in the country.

VIII. Awards & Nominations