His Motorbike, Her Island Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

His Motorbike, Her Island Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 15, 2025

Nobuhiko Ôbayashi's "His Motorbike, Her Island" (1986) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epic. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Nobuhiko Ôbayashi; new audio commentary by critic Samm Deighan; new visual essay by critic Esher Rosenfield; new visual essay by critic Alex Pratt; and trailers. In Japanese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

I had to see His Motorbike, Her Island twice to be absolutely certain that I did not misjudge its main protagonist. Initially, I genuinely wanted to like him. However, the more I tried, the more reasons I discovered to dislike him.

He is in his early twenties and a free-spirited biker who constantly reflects on different experiences -- some from his past, some very recent, and some imaginary. A few of these experiences feature a young and beautiful girl (Noriko Watanabe) who loves him and wants to have a permanent spot in his life. The biker loves her, too, so together they seem like a perfect couple. But in other experiences, the biker begins drifting away from her, and the more he does, the clearer it becomes that the bond he has with his motorbike is stronger than the bond he has with her. The girl realizes that it is so, and eventually, without creating any unnecessary drama, urges him to choose their future. He hesitates, so she steps aside, and he quickly picks a different path forward, without her.

In a different set of experiences that the biker reflects on, he is seen traveling through the countryside, meeting a second beautiful girl (Kiwako Harada), and instantly falling in love with her. A big reason why is that she shares his passion and also thinks that life could be a giant road adventure. He teaches her how to ride a motorbike and, as their love grows stronger, the two go on the road. Then, while it all seems perfect, tragedy strikes.

Director Nobuhiko Obayashi arranges the biker’s experiences in a big and fluid mosaic that makes it quite difficult to tell what their correct chronological order is. However, most of the time it does not matter. It is because the two crucial events that reset his life -- his decision to walk away from his first girlfriend, and the emergence of the country girl -- overshadow everything else. They also make it very easy to grasp the true significance of the bond between him and his motorbike.

This bond is what invalidates all of the good reasons I could find to like the biker.

Despite recognizing how the two girls feel about him, and responding appropriately to their feelings, he does not allow them to replace his true partner, which is his motorbike. Both girls remain additions to his relationship with his motorbike -- one of them just turns out more flexible and in sync with his seemingly inexorable desire to spend as much time as possible with it on the road. I found this unusual romance very problematic because it revealed to me an egoistical chameleon.

However, I am unconvinced that it is how Obayashi intended for him to be seen. Several of the experiences the biker reflects on also reveal that he wants a soulmate, not just a traveling partner. The two girls can tell, and it is why they fail to detect the presence of the egoistical chameleon.

The visual style of His Motorbike, Her Island is very easy to praise. A lot of the countryside locations are terrific, and the intimate material is wonderfully lensed. However, the complete film leaves the impression that something crucial, something that makes everything align properly, is missing from it.

His Motorbike, Her Island Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, His Motorbike, Her Island arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics.

The entire film looks very healthy, so it is easy to speculate that it has been remastered. However, various parts of it, and especially darker ones, tend to look quite soft, and not because of the stylization work that provides it with its identity. The dynamic range of the visuals can fluctuate quite a bit as well. The good news is that there are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. It is why even the softest material still retains a pleasing organic appearance. Color balance is stable. Most of the film looks good, but I also sense that different parts of it are graded warmer than they need to be, which currently is a very popular practice in remastering and restoration projects completed in Japan. (For what it's worth, I suspect that this is probably why the dynamic range of some visuals is not as good as it needs to be. You will be able to tell because the effects that emerge there are essentially gamma issues). Image stability is excellent. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

His Motorbike, Her Island Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and Japanese LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I chose to view the entire film with the Japanese LPCM 2.0 track. It is a solid track that does not reveal any obvious age-related weakness. It has a modest range of nuanced dynamics, but the film does not have any large-scale action material that would have been able to impress with more. All exchanges are clear and easy to follow. The English translation is excellent, but I would have like to see slightly bigger subtitles.

His Motorbike, Her Island Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critic Samm Deighan. Some of the more interesting comments address the film's visual style, its identity, and Nobuhiko Ôbayashi's body of work, as well as Japanese biker culture.

• Becoming the Wind: His Motorbike, Her Island, and the Biker Movie - this new video essay was created by critic Esher Rosenfield. In English, not subtitled. (26 min).

• Her Island: Onomichi Part One - this new video essay was created by Alex Pratt. In English, not subtitled. (22 min).

• Nobuhiko Obayashi - in this archival program, Nobuhiko Obayashi discusses some key differences between A and B-films and some misconceptions about them, the identity of His Motorbike, Her Island, and the key themes in it. In Japanese, with English subtitles. (16 min).

• Trailers -
  
  1. His Motorbike, Her Island
  2. School in the Crosshairs
  3. The Island Closest to Heaven
  4. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

• Booklet - a reproduction of a 24-page Japanese booklet.

• Cover - a reversible cover with vintage Japanese poster art for His Motorbike, Her Island.

His Motorbike, Her Island Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It feels like His Motorbike, Her Island attempts to channel too many intimate feelings and emotions through a simple story that unintentionally becomes too complex and then perplexing. I am fairly certain that the young biker channels a lot of Nobuhiko Ôbayashi as well, which makes everything even more complicated because this character quickly becomes incredibly difficult to like. I viewed His Motorbike, Her Island twice because on paper it sounded great, but in the end, I found it underwhelming. Cult Epics' release offers a decent presentation of it with a good selection of bonus features.