You are here:

Ossan's Love: Love or Dead

Name: Ossan's Love: Love or Dead
Director: Toichiro Ruto
Released: 2019
Duration: 114 min

Representation Score

8.7/10

Excellent

2019

Director

Toichiro Ruto

Runtime

114 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

The film disrupts traditional romantic comedy structures by focusing entirely on queer male identities. It goes beyond simple inclusion by using a typically straight-centered corporate environment to explore non-cisgender themes. The narrative effectively replaces traditional heterosexual milestones with queer-centric emotional arcs. It expands the boundaries of conventional romantic stories by prioritizing identity-driven storytelling within a mainstream genre. While the film excels in LGBTQ+ representation, it remains culturally homogeneous, reflecting its specific Japanese context without broad ethnic diversity.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Ossan's Love: Love or Dead have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film centers its narrative around queer male identities, focusing on the complexities of same-sex intimacy and romantic relationships. It explores these themes as the main drivers of the plot rather than secondary elements.

How does Ossan's Love: Love or Dead portray gender?

Excellent

Male characters display a range of emotions, moving away from traditional masculine stoicism. The workplace dynamics are used to highlight the romantic tensions between these characters.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Ossan's Love: Love or Dead?

Fair

The cast is predominantly Japanese, reflecting the cultural context of the story without broad ethnic diversity. The film stays true to its specific cultural setting.

How does Ossan's Love: Love or Dead represent religion and culture?

Good

The film offers a nuanced look at modern Japanese corporate culture through romantic absurdity. It emphasizes secular, interpersonal connections over traditional religious or family morals.

Does Ossan's Love: Love or Dead include disability representation?

Fair

The film does not depict characters with visible or invisible disabilities. Disability is not used as a plot device, and there are no characters with disabilities given significant roles.

Present on Screen

The film centers its narrative around queer male identities, making them the primary drivers of the plot.
It allows male characters to display a wide range of emotions, moving away from traditional masculine stoicism.
The film uses the office romance cliché to explore non-traditional relationship dynamics.

Limited or Absent

The film lacks broad racial and ethnic diversity within the cast.
There is no meaningful representation or ability to act for characters with disabilities.

Official Synopsis

The story takes place after the TV drama series Ossan's Love (2018). It's been a year since Haruta and Maki pledged their undying love. Haruta has now come back and receives a warm welcome from familiar faces, his boss Musashi Kurosawa and other colleagues. Justice Yamada, a recruit who has been recently assigned to this branch, welcomes him too. One day, completely out of the blue, the headquarter-based project team "Genius 7" shows up at the Second Sales Branch. Project leader Jin Mamiana orders the Sales team to support them in their big project. Maki, who had been transferred and works now at the head office, is among the project team members with Mamiana. Haruta and Maki grow apart, and Haruta teams up with Justice. Then Kurosawa gets involved in an accident and loses his memory, but the loss of his memory is selective and he has forgotten only Haruta. However, when Kurosawa sees Haruta, he falls in love again.. Hilarious and heartwarming, the final battle of Ossan's Love begins.

How are these scores produced? →