Needless to say that I had actually never heard about the 2010 Japanese romantic drama "Yuriko No Aroma" (aka "Yuriko's Aroma") prior to stumbling upon it by random chance here in 2023. And with it being a Japanese movie that I hadn't already seen, of course I had to watch it.

Writer and director Kota Yoshida delivered a very unique movie here, if nothing else. The storyline and narrative in "Yuriko No Aroma" is pretty strange, bizarre and unique, and I dare something you would definitely expect to come out of Japan of all places. While the story deals with some odd fetishism, then it was also a sort of coming of age story, mixed with a relationship story. And it actually played out alright in a greater viewing experience.

I was actually genuinely entertained by the story here, not the strange fetishism that the movie dealt with. And the good performances by leading actress Noriko Eguchi (playing Yuriko) and leading actor Shota Sometani (playing Tetsuya) really helped to make it a watchable and enjoyable movie.

Given the strange focal point of the storyline then "Yuriko No Aroma" is not a movie that will make for an easy or enjoyable viewing by the general audience. This is somewhat of a niche movie, and I believe something reserved for fans of the Japanese cinema. However, I would suggest you sit down and watch "Yuriko No Aroma", should you have the chance, because it is such a unique movie experience.

My rating of "Yuriko No Aroma" lands on a six out of ten stars.