Linda Linda Linda

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A 2005 Japanese film, Linda Linda Linda is the story of a group of high school girls who form a rock band to play at their school's cultural festival. When both their lead singer and their guitarist quit after a disagreement, the three remaining members recruit a Korean exchange student to take over as vocalist. Problem is, the exchange student, Son, isn't fluent in Japanese. As the girls work to learn their material in time for the concert, they become close friends and develop new confidence in their talents.

The title comes from the hit punk song "Linda Linda", originally performed by the Blue Hearts, which the girls cover.

Tropes used in Linda Linda Linda include:

• Annoying Younger Sibling: Nozomi has several.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Kyoko can't confess her love to Kazuya, who also seems to be unable to do the same to her.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Son seems to qualify, though she's a more subtle, realistic example of the trope. Some of her cuckoolander-ness comes from her linguistic misunderstandings, but she's also eccentric on her own (beef darts, anyone?)
• Daydream Surprise: Kei's dream near the end of the film. The events seem normal enough until her ex-boyfriend presents her with a glove that looks like a hand (made by Yamaha), and the band somehow ends up at the Budokan, getting ready to perform for the Ramones.
• Dawson Casting: The girls were supposed to be 17 or 18 years old; however, only Yuu Kashii (Kei) averts it since she was 18 at the time of the film's release. Aki Maeda (Kyoko) and Shiori Sekine (Nozomi) were 20 and 19 respectively, but Bae Doona (Son) was 25.
• Defictionalization: The band in the film, "Paran Maum", also released a real-life single, "We Are Paran Maum".
• Did Not Get the Girl: None of the characters with love interests get the guy. Son rejects the boy who confesses his love to her, Kyoko is too shy to tell Kazuya how she feels, and Kei doesn't get back together with her ex-boyfriend, even though she still seems to have feelings for him. Still, this is all depicted as less important than the girls' friendship and their love of music.
• Finagle's Law: Of the frustrating, not humorous, kind. On the day of the concert the girls fall asleep during practice. They wake up a few minutes after 3:30 (when their band was scheduled to perform) and must catch a bus back to campus, but not before Kei accidentally hangs up on Kyoko's crush, who's been waiting for her for an hour. On the way to the bus stop, it starts to rain cats and dogs. Then, Nozomi forgets her bass and has to go back for it. The girls take a taxi back to school, but while running to the auditorium, Son does a face-plant on the concrete. Things get better after that, though.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Before joining the band, Son's best friend is a little girl. The two of them hang out and read Shojo manga together.
• Kuudere: Kei, the guitarist. Usually stoic, she shows off her more sensitive side in the sweet (but very strange) dream she has towards the end of the film, and in her interactions with her band mates.
• Love Confession: Comes up a couple of times. A boy very awkwardly confesses his love to Son. And later, drummer Kyoko attempts to confess her feelings to her crush, Kazuya. Too bad she Cannot Spit It Out.
• No Koreans in Japan: Noticeably averted. Son, the Korean exchange student, is portrayed positively, even if she can be a bit odd. Her struggle to learn Japanese and form a closer group of friends at her Japanese school are major plot points. She even hosts an exhibit on Korean culture at the school festival.
• Rain, Rain, Go Away: This is reason why the gym is full of people when the girls play.
• Reality Subtext: Done very subtly; Koyama-sensei, the teacher who keeps on eye on the girls throughout the film, is played by Komoto Masahiko, younger brother of Komoto Hiroto (vocalist of The Blue Hearts).
• School Festival: The entire movie takes place over the course of one of these festivals. Kyoko and Son have to balance their band practices with their other duties at the festival (Kyoko helps her class sell crepes, and Son runs a "Japan/Korea Cultural Exchange" center.)
• Shout-Out: The School Festival episode "Live Alive" of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya it's almost a shot-by-shot recreation of the final scene of this movie. Also, Haruhi's guitar is the same as Kei's.
• Slice of Life: Obviously. Except for the rock scenes, this is a very laid-back film.
• Team Mom: Nozomi, especially noticeable when the girls go shopping for food at a supermarket.