Linda Linda Linda

Warning: Video is slight spoiler, but it's also awesome!

Overall Rating: A+
Summary: Linda Linda Linda is the kind of teen coming of age movie that only the Japanese can make. The story focuses on four Japanese High School girls, who get together to form a band. Well, to be accurate, three of the girls, Kei, Kyoko, and Nozomi were already in a band with another guitarist and singer, but three days before the school festival, those girls quit over some drama. To be able to play at the festival, they recruit Korean exchange student Son (the first girl to walk by) to be their singer. Being an exchange student, Son is not fluent in Japanese which leads to some misunderstandings (there's a great scene where she wants to go sing karoake, but doesn't want to buy a drink), but she's enthusiastic which counts for a lot.

The band decides to do covers of the Blue Hearts (a famous Japanese punk band) songs, including "Linda Linda" (which is where the title comes from and what they're performing in the video). With only three days to learn all their parts, the girls get little sleep while they practice.

Although not manga or an anime, "Linda, Linda, Linda" definitely has a lot in common with shōjo, which made me inclined to like it from the beginning. On top of that, The characters are wonderful, and while the pacing can be a bit slow at times, the last third of it is so much fun, that I forgot all about any problems it might have had in the middle third. It made me wish I was a 14-year-old Japanese (or Korean) girl in a band, and I could rock out at a school festival. I bet you'll feel the same way.