April Story (J-Movie) (1998)

Following up on the phenomenal success of his Love Letter and Swallowtail Butterfly, Shunji Iwai spins this sweet tale about a young lass’ first steps in the bustle of the big city. Uzuki Nireno is leaving her rural home in the snowy north of Hokkaido for college in Western Tokyo. Her transition to big city life isn’t easy; she muffed her self-introduction in class and she had an unfortunate incident in a movie theater with an overly solicitous pervert. In spite of this, she starts to feel settled after she unpacks and after she explores her neighborhood. She also befriends tough-talking Saeko who invites her to join the school’s fishing club. Though she initially has no interest in the pursuit, she soon is practicing her cast in a parking lot as upper classmen lavish her with attention. Uzuki, however, is not interested. When she was in high school, she fell for a hunky classmate who just so happens to be working in a local bookshop. Will she summon the courage to say “hi?”