I. Introduction
Ride or Die is a Japanese romance drama film written by Nami Sakkawa and directed by Ryuichi Hiroki, starring Kiko Mizuhara and Honami Sato. In October 2020, it was announced that Netflix is developing a live-action film adaptation of Ching Nakamura's manga series Gunjō, under the title Ride or Die that will premiere worldwide simultaneously on April 15, 2021.
II. Synopsis
Based on a Japanese manga series, Ride or Die follows the complicated relationship between two women: Rei, a reserved doctor, and her longtime crush, Nanae (Honami Sato) who was physically abused by Nanae’s husband, a wealthy businessman. When Nanae asked Rei to kill him, Rei obliged out of love.
III. Cast
| Pic | Name | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Kiko Mizuhara | Rei Nagasawa | |
| Honami Sato | Nanae Shinoda |
IV. Trailer
V. Movie
VI. Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71 percent of 14 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.80/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating generally favorable reviews. It's got 5.5 scores on IMDB &, 6.6 scores on Mydramalist.
VII. The New York Times
Natalia Winkelman from The New York Times has stated - The director Ryuichi Hiroki paces out the pair’s blossoming alliance with care. Meals are times for laughter and bonding, while occasional flashbacks to the women’s prep school days offer a tender back story of their association. The movie gracefully captures the rhythms of intimacy, how it deepens quicker in stolen time.
VIII. Variety
Maggie Lee of Variety reviewed Ride or Die as - In the spirit of Thelma and Louise, a lesbian fugitive and the woman she’d kill for hit the road with three stilettos and a blood-red BMW in Ride or Die. A glammed up, erotically-charged cocktail of amour fou and true romance directed by Ryuichi Hiroki and written by Nami Kikkawa, the Netflix production gives agency to full-blooded female protagonists. That’s a rarity in Japan’s studio-dominated, cookie-cutter entertainment industry, which explains its liberating, inexhaustible energy.
