The festival was wonderful!
Say, Nishimi-san, I'd love to hear you play the piano again!
Let me hear it, too!
Would you like a persimmon?
Uh...
I'm with the photography club! Let me get a shot!
Stand next to each other, you two!
This is the birth of the legendary duo of East High!
Could you stand closer to each other?
Like this?
Yes!
Hey, when did you two become friends?
Where do you practice?
How do you play in such perfect unison?
Sen... Let's get out of here. When I count to five, run left.
You don't have to hide anything from us!
Tell us!
5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
They're escaping again!
Ri-chan!
Aw, come on! Where are you going?!
Shit. The girls were supposed to be chasing after us...
Right now, those guys are just like the Beatles!
I've learned from them.
Forget about next year's festival...
I'm looking even further ahead.
I'll go so far that they'll never be able to catch up.
What should I do?
I forget what I was like before I met you
The wind caresses my cheek
♪Lullaby of Birdland♪
Kick my heels going down the slope
As my worthless shadow grows
It's like an endless summer vacation
Feels like sneakin' into the swimming pool
Hey, let's swim with our clothes on, jump in!!
A shocking seductive spiral
This beat that pierces my heart is strange
(It flares up, then vanishes)
Every miserable day is swell,
dress it up
A high-speed swing surrounds us
(What's this dance called? I can't stop)
Don't you go, it's twined around my ears
and won't leave me ever again
This melody...
...is like love
Pops! Sorry I haven't been coming recently...
Huh? He's not here. Maybe in the basement?
Sen... What's wrong?
Richie... Would you check to see if Brother Jun's down there?
What are you talking about?
It's not summer vacation, so why would Brother Jun...
Oh, a lot's happened while you boys weren't around.
But he's not here now. He left last week.
Anyway, I haven't seen you in a long time.
I'm sorry...
I've been waiting for you, Richie-rich.
My piano trio is finally together again!
Junichi was disowned by his father right after he came back this summer.
Disowned?
Well, first he went against his parents' wishes by going to college in Tokyo,
but then stopped going to school,
instead becoming wrapped up in political activism.
When the prodigal son wandered back home,
it's no wonder his dad was furious.
Junichi wasn't allowed to set foot in his family's house...
...and soon after, I ran into him at the bar, three sheets to the wind,
so I let him take refuge here.
Pops...
Is it my fault Brother Jun left here?
No, no. He happened to find a cheap room to rent.
It's not your fault.
But I...
Sentaro!
Do not mope your life away!
Playing one good session will drive away those blues... right?
N-Never mind! Forget I did that!
I get it, Mr. Bill Evans, I get it!
Alright! What do you say we play a session so I can work off this gloominess?!
Junichi-san?
What are you doing here?
Wait!
Don't ignore me!
What made him change this much?
That one winter day, in the basement... What was that?
Did he just do it on a whim?
Even if I knock, he may not open the door...
Or would he look at me again with those vacant eyes?
Sorry, but that doesn't suit you.
You win. That angry face of yours is my Achilles heel.
You had that same expression when we first met.
I remember it well.
What are you gonna do? Just go home? Or...
Mukae-senpai!
Excuse me... Would you give this to Nishimi-senpai?
Um, wouldn't it be better if you gave it to him yourself...?
Oh, I couldn't! I'd be too nervous! So, please!
You did it!
For me...?
It's been a while since the festival, but your popularity hasn't waned, Kaoru-san.
Thanks.
What am I staring at?
What, am I jealous? It has nothing to do with me...
Ri-chan!
Hey, which scarf design do you think is better?
Actually, lately there's this guy I kind of like
and I'm thinking about making one for him...
Who is it?
I can't say yet...
But how about you, Ri-chan? Isn't there someone that you wanna knit for?
Come on, let's knit together!
But I don't have anyone to give it to...
Oh, be honest with yourself, Ri-chan.
Just now, you were staring at a certain someone...
It's not what you think. Don't get the wrong idea...
Yeah, yeah. Nishimi-san is just a friend, right?
Sorry! I'll be back!
What a beautiful color...
I bet Kaoru-san would look good in this...
Huh? Wait a second...
What's wrong with me? Why is my heart beating so fast?
That day in the basement?
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot about that...
You wanna know why I did it?
Was it a little too stimulating for you?
Sorry. I was just feeling kind of mischievous at the time.
N-No!
What's wrong?
Didn't you come in here because you wanted me to do this?
What were you hoping for? A declaration of love?
Sorry to disappoint you, young lady.
But this is the kind of guy I am.
You've stopped fighting back... Are you resigned to it already?
Yes.
"If I act like this, she'll probably run off."
Is that what you're thinking?
I'm not afraid of you.
You can do what you want with me.
Dammit!
Go home, and don't ever come back here.
I'm not the same person I was before.
I dropped out of college and got disowned from my family.
Society gave me the boot and there's no way for me to get back.
Get close to me and your life will be ruined, too.
If you understand what I'm sayin', get the hell out of here.
What are you doing...?
I'm sick of you calling me "young lady"...
...so I thought I'd get rid of the image you have of me as a young lady.
If you're not the same person you once were...
...then I can become a new person, too.
Katsuragi, I'm gonna become a new me.
Don't!
Don't go throwing away something precious for someone like me...
So you're the Katsuragi-kun I've heard so much about...
How about saying something to mark the occasion?
Me?
I'm just passing through,
but I'd like to share my opinion on what a college should be like.
Katsuragi... You inspired me.
Muroi...
Listening to your speech made me feel ashamed of myself
for doing nothing but study for exams and play music.
The Decline of a False System
Strike Against Rising Tuition
All Students on Strike
Hey, Katsuragi, in the next battle, if something were to happen to me,
would you take over for me, even just for a little while?
Arita-san, I...
Japan Communist Youth Union
Hey, Muroi. Come over once in a while to play the sax.
Katsuragi! Arita-san's been arrested!
The bones are shattered,
so the doc told me my fingers won't be able to move like they used to.
W-What about the sax...?
I can't play anymore.
Don't look so glum, Katsuragi.
Now I can dump everything I don't need and just focus on the movement.
I'm gonna become a new me.
What am I doing?
Katsuragi?
Hey... Wait!
Where are you going?!
I don't wanna see any more people get hurt because of me...
I don't know what happened to you, and I don't intend to ask about it.
But I can see that you're hurt deeply.
Can't I support you?
Am I being too pushy?
Yeah.
You're a pushy woman.
Maybe I better stop takin' naps on the roof...
Hey, wasn't that Yurika?
Was she called in by the teacher again?
Yeah. Yurika's been acting weird these days.
She's totally changed...
What happened to that innocence she used to have?
Maybe something happened to her?
I asked her that, but she wouldn't answer...
Well, since she cut her hair like that, could it mean...
...she's got a broken heart?
What the hell happened?
What'd he do to her?
So you're Sentaro, huh?
Do you like jazz?
Ever since I first met Brother Jun, he's been like a big brother to me.
I wanted to get good at jazz like him...
Be strong like him...
Become cool like him...
I tried to follow in his footsteps every step of the way...
...thinking I'd catch up someday.
Hey, Sen-boy...
Your woman forgot something.
If Brother Jun would just talk to me, maybe I'd understand...
But if he did something to her, I'll...
B-Brother Jun!
I need to talk to...
Son of a...
...bitch!
Shit. He's the one person I didn't want to find out about this.
But what else could you do?
He was bound to find out sooner or later.
I knew it...
I knew she was beyond my reach from the start...
I knew it... Or I thought I did, but...
I don't understand myself...
Definitely, when I'm with Kaoru-san,
I can really feel at ease and have a good time...
No. I decided long ago on the person that I like...
Hi, Ri-chan.
Is Sen here?
Yeah, I think so.
Knitting? Why would she bother hiding that?
Wha...?!
Hey! Sen!
Sen! What happened?!
What do you mean?
You're obviously acting strangely today. Tell me about it.
I saw 'em.
Saw who?
When I went to Brother Jun's apartment... she was there.
Y-You're sure you saw her?
Yeah.
And of all people, it had to be Brother Jun...
That's what hurts the most.
Anyway, it's done.
There's nothin' I can do.
You've still got it good.
Even though you were jilted, you've still got someone who cares for you.
It's like they say, you can't see the forest for the trees.
And those trees are so tall, you must not be able to see a damn thing.
Why don't you try looking more carefully?
Isn't it high time you realized it?
W-What are you talkin' about?
Figure it out for yourself.
I told him...
Kaoru-san?
You just got here... and you're leaving already?
Yeah. I've got something to do.
Are you done knitting for today?
Sorry. I couldn't help glancing at it before...
I'm sure he'll like it.
Ri-chan, you're blushing! Was I right on the money?
Well, see you tomorrow.
Wait a min...
I'm sure this is for the best...
Don't have a relapse! This doesn't hurt at all!
I won't have it!
You and this man from God knows where...
Yurika, you're being tricked.
What do you know, Father?
Shut your mouth! I'll bring home a suitable partner for you before long.
So don't meet with this man again, Yurika. Do you understand?
Yurika, your father is just talking to you like that
because he's worried about you!
You're a girl, so you have to take better care of yourself.
Just in case, keep next Saturday open, okay?
I made an appointment for you at the gynecologist.
Are you eating properly? A letter came for you, so I'm forwarding it on. Love, Mom
To My Comrade, from Isao Arita
Richie, that rat... Throws out hints, then goes home...
Someone who cares for me? Like my family?
Is that what he meant?
So you're gonna be the Virgin Mary
in the Christmas Nativity play, huh, Sa-chan?
Yeah. But I'm nervous about it...
Hashiguchi-kun will be there to see you too,
so you have to do your best, right?
D-Don't mention him! I don't care if he...
Sis, you're the one that said you're gonna marry him when you grow up!
What?! That was a long time ago!
Um, Sentaro, I...
When I grow up, I wanna get married...
Isn't it high time you realized it?
I waited for you on that slope
For our after school promise
There was a 'goodbye' blurred far away
I was so weak, so awkward, and so fragile back then
But you gave me a small pair of wings
In the twilight hour of the sky,
I'm searching for a gleam of light
If only I could have said that I love you…
The note that I wrote in the corner of my textbook
has never been delivered to this day