January 16, 1995. Tsuyoshi Takahashi, a young student at Shiokaze elementary, is driven solely to get excellent grades. Because of this he often ignores those around him in his pursuit of perfection. Miho, a young girl in his class that wishes he would appreciate the people around him. Kazu a sickly and bed ridden classmate that lives near him. January 17, the 1995 Kobe / Hyogoken-Nanbu Earthquake strikes killing more than 6000 people and leaving 300 000 more homeless. Measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, it was the largest Earthquake to hit Japan since the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. In the aftermath of the quake, Tsuyoshi's finds his priorities changing. Dealing with the death of one friend while helping another to cope with a very personal loss, Tsuyoshi is forced to mature into someone who can no longer ignore the suffering around him.
Direction
Goto's restrained devastation, no melodrama needed
Writing
quiet transformation of a boy who only cared about grades
Director
Toshio Goto
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made just two years after the actual 1995 Kobe earthquake, this captures raw Japanese collective memory—no distance, no healing yet.
The 6.9 magnitude wasn't the horror; it was the 20 seconds of shaking that collapsed concrete structures built for a 6.0 world.
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