A Story of Yonosuke

In 1987, as Japan nears the height of its economic boom, eighteen-year-old Yonosuke Yokomichi leaves Nagasaki for Tokyo to begin university. He is unremarkable in almost every respect, living in a suburb far from the city's bustle and commuting to classes in the center. Around him gather fellow students and new acquaintances, among them Shōko, a young woman he meets at a driving school, the eccentric Chiharu, and friends such as Ippei and Yusuke. The film follows this circle through student life and the relationships that form within it, with time shifting forward to show how the friends look back on Yonosuke years later.

Shuichi Okita directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Shiro Maeda, working from Yoshida Shuichi's novel. Released in 2013, it came before Okita's later features The Fish Tale and Satoko Always. The large ensemble, credited at twenty-three performers, is led by Kengo Kora as Yonosuke, with Yuriko Yoshitaka as Shōko, Sosuke Ikematsu, Ayumi Ito, Go Ayano and Aki Asakura in supporting roles. It is a long film at 160 minutes, mixing comedy, drama and romance.

Audiences respond warmly to it: on IMDb it holds 7.6 out of 10 from more than 2,500 votes, and on TMDB 7.2 out of 10 from a smaller number of users. The similarity across both suggests a widely shared, favorable view rather than a polarizing one.