Himeanole (film)

Himeanole received largely positive reviews. Japanese critic Hinataka of CinemasPlus praised the manner in which the film was adapted and condensed from the manga: "it was constructed so skillfully that it could be said to be perfect."[6] Panos Kotzathanasis of AsianMoviePulse commended the effortless genre-blending: "Beginning as a comedy-drama [...] Continuing as a violent thriller [...] Yoshida manages to merge two films into one [...] This transition between the two parts is portrayed through an intricate and very impressive scene. As Susumu and Yuka have sex, Morita tortures and kills a woman, with the setting switching a number of times and the moves of each “couple” mirror each other in the most unsettling fashion. The scene exemplifies the direction, the camera work, the editing, the sound, and the special effects of the film."[7] Spanish critic Omar Parra of TerrorWeekend rated it 4.5/5, describing the film "as American Pie meets I Saw the Devil, the premise is inconceivable but I think the director has managed to blend both genres to perfection."[8]

James Mudge of EasternKicks rated it 5/5 and praised the cast's performances, singling out Morita "who does an amazing job of distancing himself from his former boy band image as the unstable Morita, expressing a wide range of psychological states and emotions."[9] In a follow-up piece, Mudge lamented that since its world premiere the film "hasn’t been seen as widely as it should" adding that most East Asian films released that year were "generic and unadventurous" while Himeanole was "a brutal punch to the gut" and memorable.[10] Harris Dang of VCinemaShow praised the chemistry between Hamada and Muro, adding that the "production values are great, especially the music score and the editing. The cinematography is also interesting as shots start off static and gradually become more hand-held when the depravity sets in. The film is also refreshingly free of CGI."[11]

Mark Schilling of The Japan Times rated it 4/5, praising Morita's acting, and spoke of "the film’s central theme: Human beings are capable of both good and evil, and crossing the line from the former to the latter can be more a matter of fate than choice [...] And Okada’s sin? Silence, in the name of survival."[12] Andrew Mack of Screen Anarchy praised the film for its anti-bullying message: "While a lot of western films want to show or capture the shattering effects of bullying at the teen level, few have ever ventured into adulthood like Himeanole has to show how long lasting those effects are."[13] Italian critic Massimo Volpe of LinkInMovies rated the film 3.5/5, describing it as "among the best seen at this year's Far East Film Festival" and that "the figure of Morita arouses some compassionate gaze, if not solidarity" following his "chronic bullying suffered at school of which Okada was a guilty Pilatian observer."[14]

French critic Fabrice Sayag of LesChroniquesDeCliffhanger, in his review of its screening at the L'Étrange Festival, criticized the romantic comedy element and found the flashbacks expounding upon Morita's violent impulses as not well-integrated and sometimes "useless." He admonished the director's foray into the genre, stating that Yoshida "is not at ease in these violent scenes, staged without inventiveness," and rated the film 2/5.[15] French critic Pascal Voglimacci of JournalDuJapon stated that "[Morita's] outbursts of violence are anything but gratuitous. They reflect the psychological wandering of the character of Morita, almost always absent, like an undead drifting in limbo." He lauded the film's balancing act, its special effects, and the characters "[proving] much more complex than they appeared in the first scenes" as constituting the successes of the film.[16]

EasternKicks ranked the film at #6 on its list of the "Top 10 Films of 2016" in December 2016.[10] TasteOfCinema ranked the film at #2 on its list of "The 10 Best Japanese Films of 2016" in December 2016,[17] and at #4 on its list of "The 25 Best Japanese Movies of The 2010s (So Far)" in August 2017.[18]

AsianMoviePulse included the film as part of its list of "The 20 Best Asian Films of 2016" in January 2017,[19] and ranked the film at #22 on its list of "The 60 Best Asian Films of the Decade (2011-2020)" in January 2021,[20] at #10 on its list of "The 40 Best Japanese Movies of the Decade (2011-2020)" in February 2021,[21] and at #17 of its list of "20 Great Contemporary Japanese Crime Movies" in April 2021.[22]