MY SUNSHINE - Mark Reviews Movies

My Sunshine, Film Movement

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Review by Mark Dujsik | September 18, 2025

My Sunshine isn't the story one might think it will be. That is to the movie's credit, to be sure, because writer/director Hiroshi Okuyama genuinely surprises us with where this tale goes and what it says about both its characters and this particular society. To surprise, though, is quite different from actually examining these characters and those concepts or, for that matter, giving that last-act shift the emotional impact Okuyama is attempting to achieve.

Part of the issue, perhaps, is that, while the story and its aims certainly change, the actual approach to the storytelling here never does. It is a gentle, quite movie about two kids forming an unexpected bond, an athlete discovering happiness once again in teaching a new student about his beloved sport, and how everyone seems capable of getting exactly what they want and more by simply helping and supporting each other.

Without saying too much, that running theme does not last all the way through the story, for reasons that Okuyama's script gradually reveals or suddenly throws into the mix. It may not seem like it, but this becomes a story about casual, unthinking cruelty in a way that even the filmmakers don't quite seem to comprehend. It definitely doesn't feel as if the movie accurately portrays that element for exactly what it is.

There are three main characters in this narrative, and all of them are vital to it in some way, even if significance of one of them isn't shown until the third act. At the core, perhaps, is a young boy named Takuya (Keitatsu Koshiyama), an aspiring athlete in both baseball and hockey who has the misfortune of not being particularly good at either sport. While in the outfield, the kid is so distracted by the sight of the season's first snowfall that he lets a ball fly right past him. In front of the net, Takuya is hit by enough pucks while serving as a goalie that he simply falls down to the ice.

This is pretty much the end of his hockey playing for the time being, so Takuya really has nothing athletic to do until weather clears for baseball. While at the ice rink, though, he spots some figure skaters practicing, and as Sakura (Kiara Nakanishi) passes him repeatedly in graceful motion, the sun shines through the windows, illuminating her in sort of the way kids see their crushes (Okuyama, by the way, also serves as the movie's cinematographer, and there is plenty of notable use of natural lighting here).

In other words, Takuya starts trying to figure skate on his own. He is not very good at first or, really, at all, until Arakawa (Sōsuke Ikematsu), the rink's figure skating coach, notices the boy and takes an interest in him learning how to properly skate. Takuya is a fast learner, indeed, and soon enough, Arakawa wants to team the new kid with Sakura for an upcoming ice dancing competition, thinking it will help each of them become better skaters.

The rest of the story, well, isn't much of one in terms of any conflict or uncertainty. In fact, everyone does become better, both on the ice and off it. Takuya doesn't just take quickly to figure skating, with his new coach's teaching and a pair of skates the man lends him. He's clearly happier at home and school, since he has something to look forward to, and while the boy seems the silent type due to a stutter, Takuya is even more prone talk and enthusiastic when doing so.

As for Arakawa, he has come to this small town after leaving Tokyo, where he had a notable career of figure skating. Some of his unpacked moving boxes are filled with mementos and memorabilia, including a calendar featuring his picture and a glowing magazine article about his career. Since arriving in this new place, though, he hasn't been happy, as Igarashi (Ryūya Wakaba) notes when Arakawa now talks about his day at the ice rink. As for who Igarashi is and how he's connected to the coach, the movie plays it coy—maybe a bit too much so—in order to keep some sense of mystery as to how this story will turn.

The same can be said of the portrayal of Sakura, who wonders why such an accomplished skater has come to her small town, is initially irritated about having to pair up with Takuya, and gradually leaves such questions and doubts behind once it becomes clear that this trio might accomplish something. At a certain point, one might wonder why Sakura seems to be overlooked by Okuyama's screenplay, especially because it genuinely is interested in and cares for Takuya and Arakawa's personal lives beyond what starts to feel like a formulaic sports story.

This is not that kind of story, however, so yes, the shock of how suddenly, subtly, and easily everything changes for the dynamic between these three characters and for each of them individually is genuinely unexpected. My Sunshine, though, doesn't quite earn the massive shift, because it does obfuscate certain details and prevent us from really knowing one third of this collection of main characters. Once the change arrives, too, the movie maintains its subdued approach, leaving everything feeling broadly bittersweet, instead of really confronting just how awful matters have unnecessarily become for some of these characters.

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