Some films try to say something meaningful about life, death and the importance of human connections. Others approach these subjects from a more unusual angle, using humour and unconventional relationships to explore what it means to truly live. One Year to Live, Buy a Man (2026), directed by Hiroki Kazama, clearly belongs to the latter category. It is a Japanese romantic drama with an intriguing premise, some genuinely interesting ideas and a visual style that gives it plenty of personality. Unfortunately, it never quite manages to bring all these elements together into something as powerful as it seems to believe it is.
One Year to Live, Buy a Man Has an Interesting Premise
The story follows Yui Katakura (Ko Shibasaki), a 40-year-old single woman who has spent much of her life being extremely careful with money. Romance, marriage and other expensive distractions have never been particularly appealing to her. Instead, she has focused on saving for the future. That future, however, suddenly becomes considerably shorter when she receives a cancer diagnosis and learns that she has approximately one year left to live.
Rather than simply giving in to despair, Yui experiences an unexpected sense of freedom. If she no longer has a future to save money for, why should she continue being so careful with it? When she encounters Sena (Eiji Akaso), a pink-haired nightclub host who needs money, she makes the rather unusual decision to buy his company for 720,000 yen.
What follows is an unconventional relationship between two people who initially have very little in common. It is a premise that offers plenty of opportunities for both comedy and drama, while also providing the filmmakers with an interesting starting point for exploring mortality, loneliness and the value of human connection.
Is One Year to Live, Buy a Modern-Day Ikiru?
It is tempting to describe One Year to Live, Buy a Man as a 21st-century version of Akira Kurosawa's legendary Ikiru, particularly one aimed at a younger audience. The parallels are certainly there. Both are Japanese productions that explore the meaning of life through the perspective of someone confronted with their own mortality.
Of course, there are also some considerable differences between the two films. They take place in entirely different periods, and while Ikiru follows a male protagonist, One Year to Live, Buy a Man places a woman at the centre of its story. The way these characters respond to their circumstances is also quite different.
Nevertheless, the comparison is an interesting one, especially considering the potential of the central premise. Both films have the opportunity to ask some fundamental questions about what makes life worth living and what people should do when confronted with the knowledge that their time is limited.
Unfortunately, this is also where One Year to Live, Buy a Man starts to reveal some of its limitations. While it certainly touches upon these ideas, it rarely explores them with the depth or consistency that would make the comparison with Ikiru particularly convincing.
A Strange Balance Between Comedy and Drama
One of the more noticeable aspects of the film is the way it approaches death. There is something rather lighthearted about the way the subject is handled throughout much of the runtime. For some viewers, this approach will probably work quite well. It gives the film a certain charm and prevents it from becoming an overwhelmingly depressing experience.
Personally, however, I found that the comedy could have been toned down a little. There are moments when the film seems almost too eager to find humour in situations that could have benefited from a more restrained approach.
This is probably intentional. The filmmakers clearly want to create a strong contrast between the comedic elements and the more serious drama surrounding Yui's diagnosis. And to some extent, this approach works. The difference between the lighthearted moments and the underlying reality of the situation can be effective.
At the same time, the film occasionally makes this contrast a little too obvious. Rather than allowing the drama to develop naturally, it sometimes feels as though the comedy is being used as a rather deliberate device to make the emotional moments seem more significant.
It is not necessarily a bad approach, but it does make certain parts of the film feel less subtle than they could have been.
Strong Visual Style and Cinematography
One area where One Year to Live, Buy a Man performs considerably better is its presentation. The film has a visual style that feels very much in line with what audiences might expect from a contemporary Japanese production.
The cinematography is good, with some particularly appealing use of colours and visual composition. There is a certain warmth to the way the film presents its world, and the camera work helps establish an atmosphere that supports the mixture of comedy, romance and drama.
It is also worth noting that the film generally looks quite good without constantly drawing attention to itself. The visual presentation feels natural and appropriate for the story being told.
These elements give the film a distinct identity and help make it an enjoyable viewing experience, even when the screenplay does not always provide enough interesting material to maintain the same level of engagement.
A Main Character Who Doesn't Always Work
Another aspect that makes the film somewhat difficult to fully embrace is the characterisation of Yui.
Her rather distant and cold personality is clearly an important part of the character. It establishes a contrast with Sena and gives the story an opportunity to explore how someone who has spent so much time avoiding emotional connections might eventually learn to open up to another person.
The problem is that this approach does not always work particularly well. Yui can be difficult to connect with, and her emotional distance occasionally makes it harder to become invested in what is happening on screen.
Naturally, this is not necessarily a problem in itself. There are plenty of excellent films featuring protagonists who are deliberately difficult to understand or sympathise with. However, in this particular case, the character sometimes feels more like a collection of contrasting personality traits than a fully developed person.
It is understandable why the filmmakers have chosen to present her this way, but the execution does not always make the character as interesting as she could have been.
The Pacing Never Quite Finds Its Rhythm
The pacing is another element that prevents the film from reaching its full potential.
At times, One Year to Live, Buy a Man simply feels a little too slow. Although this is not necessarily a matter of the film moving at an objectively slow pace, it has more to do with the fact that the story does not always find enough interesting things to do with its central concept.
There is certainly enough material here to build an engaging story around the idea of someone having only one year left to live. Yet the film occasionally struggles to turn that idea into genuinely meaningful developments.
The relationship between Yui and Sena is particularly important in this regard. Ultimately, the film wants the audience to believe that a genuine connection develops between these two characters. Unfortunately, I never quite felt that this relationship was developed convincingly enough to make its emotional significance entirely believable.
There are moments that suggest something meaningful is happening between them, but the connection itself never feels as strong as the film would like it to be. This makes it difficult to become fully invested in the emotional direction the story eventually takes.
A Missed Opportunity to Explore Life and Death
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that One Year to Live, Buy a Man only really starts asking some of its most interesting questions towards the end.
The film eventually begins to explore what death actually means and, more importantly, what it means to be alive. These are precisely the kinds of questions that should have formed the foundation of the entire story.
Instead, much of the runtime is spent moving between comedic situations, character interactions and the development of the central relationship. While these elements are not without their merits, they sometimes distract from what could have been a considerably more compelling exploration of mortality.
By the time the film starts addressing its most important themes with greater seriousness, it feels as though it is doing so a little too late.
There are also several conclusions that the film could have drawn from its own premise, but ultimately never quite does. It introduces some interesting ideas about how people spend their lives, the things they consider important and the relationships they build along the way. However, it rarely takes these ideas far enough to arrive at particularly powerful or thought-provoking conclusions.
That is a shame, because there is clearly something worthwhile at the heart of this story.
Final Verdict: One Year to Live, Buy a Man Is a Decent Japanese Drama With Untapped Potential
One Year to Live, Buy a Man is an interesting Japanese romantic drama that has plenty of appealing elements. Its premise offers an intriguing starting point, the visual presentation is strong, and the mixture of comedy and drama occasionally produces some effective moments.
Unfortunately, the film never quite manages to turn its interesting ideas into something truly memorable. Its treatment of death can feel a little too lighthearted, the pacing occasionally lacks momentum, and the relationship between its two main characters does not develop convincingly enough to deliver the emotional impact the story is aiming for.
Most importantly, the film never explores its central themes with quite enough depth. There is a potentially fascinating story here about mortality, the meaning of life and the importance of human connection, but much of that potential remains unrealised.
The comparison with Ikiru might be a little unfair, but it does highlight what this film could have achieved with a more focused approach to its subject matter.
Ultimately, One Year to Live, Buy a Man is a perfectly watchable film with some good ideas and an appealing visual style. It simply never becomes the particularly powerful exploration of life and death that its premise suggests it could have been.
Rating: 6/10
