Athlete
2019 1h 28m movie Film Japan

Athlete

アスリート 〜俺が彼に溺れた日々〜

“I want to live my life being me.”

Synopsis

アスリート 〜俺が彼に溺れた日々〜

“I want to live my life being me.”

A former athlete, Kōhei is a swimmer with a wife and child. One day his wife asks him to sign the divorce papers. From shock, he escapes to alcohol, finding himself one night in Tokyo’s gay district, Shinjuku Ni-chōme, where his fateful meeting awaits with Yūtaka, a beautiful twink. Yūtaka makes a living from live sex webcams with men, but his dream is to become an anime creator. Yūtaka however is tortured because he still hadn't come out to his father who collapsed from illness. Kōhei and Yūtaka both carry a cross. They hesitate but can't stop being drawn to each other as if they need each other. The two fall for each other, even at times hurting the other. Kōhei however begins to struggle about what it means "to love somebody" and questions his "sexuality", through his contacts with different personalities in the gay district. Meanwhile, Yūtaka encounters his gay ex Atsushi, and starts to realize he will never be able to be with Kōhei, who is gay-for-pay.

Titles With Overlapping Themes

Films and series that share thematic tags with Athlete. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.

The 2018–2020 Japan Window

In the crowded 2018-2020 Japan release window, Athlete sits at #474 of 525. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.

  1. Sonic Mania Adventures
    #1

    Sonic Mania Adventures

    ★ 9.0 · 2018
  2. Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D
    #2

    Godzilla vs. Evangelion: The Real 4-D

    ★ 8.9 · 2019
  3. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba
    #3

    Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

    ★ 8.7 · 2019
  4. Jujutsu Kaisen
    #4

    Jujutsu Kaisen

    ★ 8.6 · 2020
  5. DARLING in the FRANXX
    #5

    DARLING in the FRANXX

    ★ 8.6 · 2018
  6. Dr. STONE
    #6

    Dr. STONE

    ★ 8.6 · 2019
  7. The Rising of the Shield Hero
    #7

    The Rising of the Shield Hero

    ★ 8.6 · 2019
  8. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
    #8

    Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

    ★ 8.6 · 2018

The 2010s Japan Landscape

Catalog density by release year across the 2010s in Japan, 1769 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Athlete premiered alongside 179 others.

'10137'11139'12165'13178'14187'15181'16213'17194'18195'19180

Position in Catalog

Released alongside 179 other Japan films in 2019.

The 3979th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).

Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).

Audience Engagement

13
Reviews
20th
Review-volume percentile
9th
Popularity percentile

13 audience reviews — more than 20% of Japan films in our index.

Popularity sits at the 9th percentile among Japan films.

Thematic Fingerprint

Tags on Athlete, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.

Distinctive themes · rare across catalog
  • twink · 1
  • closeted homosexual · 1
Recurring themes · common across catalog
  • divorce · 13
Mainstream tags · widely used across catalog
  • lgbt · 73
  • boys' love (bl) · 69
  • gay theme · 67

Reception Benchmarks

6.0
TMDB Rating
13
Audience Reviews
Well Received
Critical Tier

Ranked #3,863 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (16th percentile by TMDB audience score).

Rating is -0.9 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.

Production Details

Primary CountryJapan
Original LanguageJapanese
Production Companiesキャナル, モバコン株式会社, 株式会社ネクシブ
Runtime1h 28m
Release DateJuly 26, 2019
IMDbtt9664838
Official Sitewww.athlete-movie.com

External Catalogs