Here’s another wacky buddy comedy that turns serious and back into a wacky buddy comedy. It kind of goes without saying that this farce is adapted from a manga, in this case a best seller from the Gekkan Spiritsu publication. Conceived and drawn by Keigo Shinzo when he was only 23, the story revolves around high school classmates (though not friends) Kiyotaka (Shuhei Nomura) and Todoroki (Kento Kaku). It starts with happy-go-lucky Kiyotaka vowing to get his drivers license to impress hottie Matsuda (Yukino Kishii). Shortly thereafter he’s biking on a dark street and gets hit by yakuza-in-training Todoroki. In turns out the platinum blonde toughie Todoroki doesn’t have a license (despite driving for a yakuza boss) and the two youths end up at the same unsanctioned driving school in the outback. Todoroki is the picture of cool detachment while Kiyotaka wears his heart on his sleeve, but, hey, this is a buddy pic, so of course they grow close. The camp’s female instructor Saki (Kumiko Aso) offers the boys a chance for romance, though this is only a subplot. Instead, Kiyotaka matures while Todoroki may grow a conscience, and naturally they have many madcap adventures. In turns silly and earnest, this coming of age comedy does invert some of the shopworn themes of the genre. Worth a look. (Japanese title: Moriyama Chukyoshujo ; 103 min.)