Blue Spring (2001)

A group of a run-down Tokyo high school students face the struggles of growing up, growing apart from their friends and worrying about their future, while living in a highly violent environment.

Director:

Toshiaki Toyoda

Writers:

Toshiaki Toyoda, Taiyô Matsumoto (comic strip)

Stars:

Ryûhei Matsuda, Hirofumi Arai, Sôsuke Takaoka

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ryûhei Matsuda	...	Kujo
Hirofumi Arai	...	Aoki
Sôsuke Takaoka	...	Yukio
Yûsuke Ohshiba	...	Kimura
Yuta Yamazaki	...	Ota
Shûgo Oshinari	...	Yoshimura
Takashi Tsukamoto	...	Freshman in Baseball Club
Eita	...	Obake (Ghost)
Onimaru	...	Suzuki
Kiyohiko Shibukawa	...	Leader of Rival School Gang (as Kee)
Kyôko Koizumi	...	Kiosk Woman
Mame Yamada	...	Hanada-sensei
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Genta Dairaku	...	Guidance Counselor
Erena	...	High-school girl
Hiroyuki Kobayashi

Storyline

A group of a run-down Tokyo high school students face the struggles of growing up, growing apart from their friends and worrying about their future, while living in a highly violent environment.

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Plot Keywords:

high school | based on manga | based on comic | 

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Taglines:

No regrets for my youth

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site, trailers, clips, pics (Japanese)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

29 June 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Blue Spring

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filmmakers, Omega Micott Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Yoshimura: Where's Ota?
Yukio: Killed him.
Yoshimura: That's not cool.

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Connections

Version of Revolver - Aoi haru (2003)

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Soundtracks

Boogie
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant

User Reviews

subtitles or no subtitles you must watch this film.

I watched this film for the first time a few nights ago, and it was still in my mind as i took my hour's long morning walk to work.it was still not enough time to properly reflect on what i'd just watched. it really touched me deep, it effected me as much as Battle Royale. even though i couldn't get subtitles on my computer the story was easy to pick up and i didn't realise i wasn't reading them. if i could strongly recommend any film other than 'Battle Royale', 'All about Lily Chou-Chou' and 'moonlight jellyfish', it would most definitely be this one.its quite a powerful film. there's more to the story than just whats on the surface and we get to see some of our most lovable Japanese actors play totally new roles. one of which is the lovely 'Sosuke Takaoka' who plays the slightly psychotic 'Yukio', who gives 'Kazuo Kiriyama' a run for his psycho-status.even though he goes out too early he is the one who sticks strongly in my mind,he can change such a simple little tune into one that is quite haunting.all the characters add something special to the film.in my opinion its too short.i love long films and would have liked to get to know a little more of each character,especially 'Yoshimura' ('Shugo Oshinari') 'Yukio' ('Sosuke Takaoka') and 'Takashi Tsukamoto's' character.the violence is strong but none the less kept realistic and believable right up until the breath-holding end,which kind of pulls on the heart-strings but doesn't disappoint in the quality of the ending, only for the fact that we're left with feeling of sadness for 'Aoki', one of the main characters.this film ends in totally the right way to be true to the film.this film was done with pure excellence and is capable of showing beauty through the darkest of violence.many people forget what its like for young kids growing up and the situations, challenges and decisions they have to face. this film can really bring you back down with a truthful slam to the ground.this is one story that will stay firmly set in my mind for a very long time and one that should be acknowledged,all the actors really pull of this film with the highest quality.other than the above mentioned Japanese films, you really will be hard pushed to find such a powerful film to beat this one,you will not be disappointed, guaranteed. Lisa Sawyer(21)