Movie: The Graduates
Romaji: Lemon no koro
Japanese: 檸檬のころ
Director: Yuki Iwata
Writer: Yuki Iwata, Miho Toshima
Producer: Mizuki Kurotani, Koichi Kusakabe
Cinematography: Shigeru Komatsubara
Release Date: March 31, 2007
Runtime: 115 min.
Studio: There's Enterprise
Distributor: There's Enterprise
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan
Plot
Kayoko Akimoto, a senior student in high school, adept at practically anything she does and makes good grades. She has her mind set on entering a university in Tokyo. Takumi Nishi, who is a member of the baseball team, can’t keep his eyes off her. He is unable to get over his feelings for her that he has harbored since junior high school. One day after school, the ace pitcher of the baseball team, Tomizo Sasaki, says to Takumi in a joking way, “I like Kayoko.” Takumi’s feelings for Kayoko are unrequited, and the distance between her and Tomizo becomes closer.
Meanwhile, Kei Shirata is always listening to music in the corner of the classroom. Her dream is to someday become a writer specializing in music. One day, she becomes aware of Kazuya Tsujimoto’s presence, a boy in her class who plays in a rock band at school. She senses a similar vibe from him as herself, of someone who “feels” the music. By chance, they end up spending some time together, and have a great time chatting about their favorite music. “I’ve never hit it off so well with someone,” says Kazuya, and suddenly, the world looks like a much brighter and more vivid place for Kei. Their final school festival is coming up. Kazuya asks Kei to write the lyrics for a song that he has written for the first time, and this triggers various dramas in the seniors’ lives.
The seasons change as the feelings of these five seniors intersect each other. Their graduation day, the day they say good-bye, is drawing near.
Cast
Nana Eikura - Kayoko Akimoto
Mitsuki Tanimura - Megumi Shirata
Naojiro Hayashi - Kazuya Tsujimoto
Tasuku Emoto - Tomizo Sasaki
Hoshi Ishida - Takumi Nishi
Yasuo Daichi - Megumi's father
Takashi Hamazaki - Mr. Tanba
Masanori Ishii - Shinpei Kaneko
Mami Nakamura - Sakiko
Junkichi Orimoto - Kaneko
Yumika Tajima
Ruria Nakamura