I have seen the 2002 Japanese romantic comedy "Dog Star" once before, however I had forgotten about the actual contents storyline and only remembered the movie by name and a rough idea of the story. And thus, as I happened to stumble upon the movie again here in 2023, of course I opted to revisit it.

The storyline in "Dog Star", as written by Takahisa Zeze, whom also directed the movie, was adequate. It wasn't really an outstanding storyline, and perhaps that is why the contents of the plot and story had dissipated from my memory. It made for a watchable movie, for sure, but it just wasn't packing that much of a wow effect or a memorable punch.

The acting performances were adequate, but it grew a bit tiresome to watch Shiro in human form, especially since the movie dragged on for 125 minutes. I am not saying that actor Etsushi Toyokawa did a poor job, not at all, but the character and the contents written for the character wasn't all that great. It was fun to see Ryo Ishibashi in a movie such as this.

I believe that I found "Dog Star" to be more enjoyable the first time watching it, but it just came off as a bit bland here the second time. And that 125 minute runtime didn't exactly help to improve on the viewing experience. A more roundhanded cut in the editing room would have benefitted the final result of the movie.

Watchable for what it was, my rating of writer and director Takahisa Zeze's 2002 movie "Dog Star" lands on a five out of ten stars.

You know how every romantic comedy has the same basic plot line? This one is actually very different. A seeing-eye dog (Shiro) is granted one wish by his former owner. He chooses to become a human for a short time so he can find the girl who trained him as a puppy. While attempting to get to know her (as he runs along behind her and sniffs for her around town) he eventually falls in love with her. It sounds very strange, but it actually plays out as a very sweet, quirky comedy. (It doesn't hurt that Shiro in his human form is played by the always handsome Etsushi Toyokawa.) I found the movie to be quite enjoyable, and it was a nice change from the norm in this genre.