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Flying Colors
Movie

Flying Colors

2015 • Unknown

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

A high school girl, Sayaka Kudō was the bottom of the class. After a year, she improved her deviation value from 30 to 70, then passed Keio University that is considered one of the most difficult to enter in Japan.

Overall Series Review

The movie "Flying Colors" is an inspirational Japanese coming-of-age drama based on a true story about a struggling high school 'gyaru' who attempts to enter one of Japan's most prestigious universities. The narrative is fundamentally a story of meritocracy, perseverance, and the power of a supportive family and mentor. The central themes involve overcoming academic prejudice, confronting a flawed standardized education system, and healing a fractured family. The protagonist's success is a result of her personal character, hard work, and the dedication of her mother and male tutor. The film is a culturally specific product from outside the Western context, focusing almost entirely on individual academic ambition and Japanese family dynamics, which results in a near-total absence of the core themes of the 'woke mind virus.'

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics1/10

The plot centers entirely on the concept of universal meritocracy, where the protagonist's success is determined by her relentless personal effort, diligence, and intelligence in passing a challenging entrance exam. The narrative highlights the triumph of character merit over initial academic status and low expectations from her traditional school and father. Race or any Western-defined intersectional hierarchy is irrelevant to the plot.

Oikophobia1/10

The movie is set entirely within Japanese society and focuses on the high-stakes pressure of its university entrance system. The goal is to successfully integrate into a highly respected, core Japanese institution (Keio University). Criticism is directed only toward the ineffective, rote-learning structure of the traditional high school, which is an internal critique aimed at reform and improvement, not an act of civilizational self-hatred.

Feminism3/10

Sayaka is a strong female protagonist driven by personal ambition to achieve a major academic goal. This centers a 'Girl Boss' narrative of individual female achievement. However, she is explicitly flawed and works intensely to improve, avoiding the 'Mary Sue' trope. The mother is a foundational, supportive figure who sacrifices for her daughter, celebrating motherhood's supportive role. The film centers a female arc without containing overt anti-natalist messaging or wholesale emasculation of all male characters (the tutor is a positive, competent mentor).

LGBTQ+1/10

The narrative adheres to a normative structure, focusing on a heterosexual high school environment and traditional family units. The protagonist's initial motivation for choosing the prestigious university is a casual desire to meet 'Keio boys,' which reinforces traditional male-female pairing. There is no presence of queer theory, gender ideology, or deconstruction of the nuclear family structure as an oppressive institution.

Anti-Theism1/10

The story is secular, focusing on personal belief, perseverance, and hope, but it does not express hostility toward religion. The moral framework is one of objective truth (the difficulty of the exam) and a higher moral law of hard work and familial love, which act as a transcendent source of strength for the characters.