April Story

April Story follows Uzuki Nireno, a shy young woman who leaves her home on Hokkaido to begin university studies in Tokyo in the spring. She settles into a city she does not yet know, makes friends among her new classmates, takes up fly fishing, spends much of her time reading, and gradually grows closer to a reserved neighbour. At the same time, her interest in a long-haired young man who works in a bookshop draws her back to the same shop again and again, though she is too timid to approach him. When a teacher asks her why she chose this particular university, it becomes clear that her move to Tokyo had a reason she has kept to herself.

The film is a 67-minute drama directed and written by Shunji Iwai, his fifth feature in a career of sixteen directing credits, arriving between Picnic and All About Lily Chou-Chou. It was produced by Hidemi Satani through Rockwell Eyes. Takako Matsu plays Uzuki, with Seiichi Tanabe, Kaori Fujii, Rumi, Kazuhiko Kato and Ken Mitsuishi in supporting roles.

Released in Japan in March 1998, the film holds a rating of 7.1 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 4,800 votes, and the same average on TMDB from a much smaller base of about 140 votes. The two audiences agree closely, though the far larger IMDb sample gives that score more weight.