That concludes the performance from the Sou Drums Group.
Please enjoy the upcoming Bon dance.
Cheers!
There's something I wanna try out at our next gig...
Sorry guys, I've gotta head off.
What's the rush?
I have to be up early to get to Kitasenju tomorrow.
Good luck, Mr. Civil Engineer!
Thanks for coming!
You seem a little down, Aki.
Not at all.
You got work tomorrow?
Just the late shift.
In that case, let's keep drinking!
Excuse me! Can I get another draught beer?
Oh, shut up...
Yes, hello?
Miyagawa? Long time.
Who're you?
I guess you might've forgotten me... It's me, Yoshioka.
Yoshioka-sensei?!
You been keeping well?
Y-Yes...
I heard you've been doing a great job as a pro in Tokyo.
W-Well, I suppose...
Thing is, there's something I wanna talk to you about.
We're reviving Kariyama's Autumn Drum Festival.
A whole bunch of us are getting together. What's it been, 15 years now?
But, well, we don't really have anyone to do the coaching
and I've gotten a little rusty myself. What do you say, Miyagawa?
Do you reckon you could come back for a little while and teach these guys?
Even I knew that I was pathetic.
I may call myself a professional, but I'm still keeping a second job to make ends meet.
I had no plans or goals for the future.
Someone like me shouldn't be qualified to teach others.
You haven't changed a bit, Miyagawa.
Neither have you, Yoshioka-sensei.
The car's this way.
Oh, I'll take this for you.
That's right...
There's no way that we're still... the same as we were back then.
Kumamoto sure has changed.
The city's expanded all the way out to here.
All else aside, it is an ordinance-designated city.
Even our town combined with the neighbouring ones and became Mitomi Town.
I don't think I'll ever get used to that name.
Kariyama will always be Kariyama. Right, Sensei?
Oh, don't say that.
Thanks to that, we've got a lot more people taking part in the festivals now.
But you know, I'm relieved.
You're finally showing your Kumamoto dialect.
I was worried you'd changed.
I'll stop by to pick you up tomorrow.
Thank you very much.
I'm home!
Welcome home.
Welcome home, Aki.
I didn't know you'd be coming back too, Fumiko-nee-chan!
I heard you were coming back, so I thought I may as well show up too.
Come on, Haruna. Say hello.
You were so tiny the last time I saw you.
I guess you don't remember me.
Here you go. Share it around with everyone.
My, isn't that nice, Haruna-chan?
Yup!
Say thank you, now.
Thank you, onee-chan!
If you're looking for Dad, he's out in the yard.
I'm back, Grandma.
Welcome home, Aki. We were all waiting to see you.
Dad... I'm back.
I see.
You're probably tired from your trip. Wanna go visit the onsen before dinner, Aki?
You too, Haruna.
I wanna stay with Granpa!
My father and I barely ever spoke to each other since I moved to Tokyo.
Ah, this feels great!
I wonder how many years it's been since I had a bath with family.
But it's a good thing Dad's taking care of Haruna while we're here.
How's your husband doing?
Same as ever.
Always busy with work, and barely ever has time for us.
And Dad's still his old self too.
We haven't seen each other in so long, yet he still acts like that.
Well, it can't be helped. I'm the one who left to pursue Drumming as a profession after all.
But hey, you're doing well in Tokyo as a professional, aren't you?
I told my sister to head back home first, and stayed behind to wander around old Kariyama Town.
My old hometown, now called Mitomi Town.
I wonder why I came back.
It's a cute song, isn't it?
What is it, Aki?
Drums...
Oh, they're probably just practicing for the festival.
It's the week after next, isn't it?
I can't wait!
Wait, Aki?
I can't describe it very well, but that sound was special.
"This is drumming!" I thought.
Hey, Aki!
They were so cool!
I don't really get it, but whatever, they were so cool!
Mum! I'm gonna play in the Drums Festival!
Hello.
Heya.
Hello!
You're the new kid, right?
Umm...
Miyagawa Aki!
I'm Yoshioka. Nice to meet you, Aki-chan.
Nice to meet you, Yoshioka-sensei!
Come on, now, I'm still a university student.
Don't go calling me Sensei.
She called you 'Sensei'!
Oi, Naoto!
Ready, everyone? Now, slowly lift up your rutes.
You've got pretty good form. If I didn't know otherwise, I'd think you were already experienced.
But you're gripping your rutes a little too tightly, though.
Got it, Yoshioka-sensei!
Like I said, don't call me Sensei.
Get it right!
I was captivated by the drums.
Begin!
Next!
Beating the drums with everyone was really fun.
But above all, it was that feeling of being engulfed in the sound.
Next!
Will the festival be okay to go ahead?
They said the typhoon will pass by before tomorrow, so it should be fine.
It's getting a bit dangerous. Let's head back inside.
I was really worried for a bit there.
I'm sure glad the typhoon's gone.
Hey, Aki.
What is it?
Nevermind. It's nothing.
Thank you all for waiting. We will now begin the Drums Festival and ensuing tournament.
The group from Yamaguchi will be starting off.
Look out!
This is bad!
The festival was put on hold,
and our first stage performance ended as a dream.
It was decided that the Drums Festival would not take place the following year.
Or the next year, or the year after that.
It was as though the festival, and even the drums themselves,
was forgotten by the town.
We're already 13 years old.
You're the only one who's still a kid, Aki.
Cute as a button, isn't she?
"Kariyama Shrine"
Hm? What's wrong, Aki?
Uh... It's nothing.
"Kariyama Middle School Graduation Ceremony"
In the end, I never even ended up touching a set of drums all throughout middle shcool.
Miyagawa.
I heard you got in to Minami High. Good luck!
W-Woah, I'm impressed!
Who was it? Who'd you give it to?
What is it?
Nevermind. It's nothing.
"Staff Room"
I was really surprised to see that you became a school teacher!
I was surprised too! Suddenly seeing a familiar face like that.
But now I can call you "Yoshioka-sensei" for real!
Have you already joined a club?
Knowing you, you've probably joined the Drums Club, right?
The Drums Club? It wasn't an option on our orientation leaflet.
That's strange...
Wow, you're right. It's been registered as a club, but it's currently inactive.
But I suppose even drumming itself was discarded by everyone after that festival.
Sensei... I still want to play the drums!
Miyagawa...
Please become the supervisor for the Drums Club!
H-Hey, now, that's not really for me to decide.
I'll do something about gathering the members.
So please!
I don't see a problem with it, Yoshioka-sensei.
All of the drums are just gathering dust anyway.
I'll make some new orientation leaflets.
Thank you very much!
New Students' Orientation
Next up is the Drums Club's demonstration.
Did you see last night's show?
It's still not enough.
Just leave it to me!
Huh? Why should I have to play the drums?
Megumi...
More importantly, look at these nails!
Aren't they cute?
Take them off, and listen!
Starting today, you're a member of the Drums Club!
Drums?
Akane...
More importantly, have a look at this necklace.
It's a skull.
Take it off, and listen!
Starting today, you're a member of the Drums Club!
All right!
Begin!
That feeling that I'd forgotten began to stir in me once again.
It was as though my heartbeat was synchronised with the beating of the drums.
That's right. Long ago, this town resonated with the sound of drums.
I want to bring back that sound.
I want to revive the Autumn Drums Festival...
...through the Drums Club!
"Kari High Festival"
The sound of drums, which had not been heard in a long time,
was met with huge applause by those who watched on.
It was a lively performance, fitting of these high schoolers.
They interviewed me after that. Look!
The Kariyama Town Drums Festival has been on hold for 4 years,
and we want to bring it back!
We'll continue to do our best!
See?
Well, that's quite something.
Oh! I saw myself in there!
What do you think? What do you think?
Hmm?
You lot sure are trying very hard. Right, Dad?
That kind of crap
will never benefit you or anyone.
Aki!
In all of my 3 years of high school, my father never once came to watch us play in the Cultural Festivals.
And the Drums Festival was not revived.
After graduating from high school, I moved to Tokyo in order to
become a professional drummer.
Stay well.
My father wasn't there to see me off at that time either.
An express train will be arriving at the station shortly.
"I'll grab hold of my dreams,
no matter what anyone else may think!"
That's what I decided.
Did you sleep well?
Yes, very soundly.
Must've been nice to see your family after so long.
It sure was.
Wasn't it at the Community Hall?
We've had a lot more people join, so we had to shift to a new building.
Umm, I was under the impression that it would be full of kids...
I don't recall mentioning anything like that.
Are you Miyagawa-senpai?
Thank you for coming here all the way from Tokyo.
I'm Sudou Misono, a 2nd year, in the Kariyama High Drums Club.
I'm Yamakawa Yuzuki, 1st year.
There's something I wanted to let you know about.
It was actually our club who brought up the topic of reviving the Drums Festival.
You guys did?
That's right. As our last memories of this school.
Kariyama High is being closed down.
We'll be merging with Mitomi High at the end of the school year.
The name "Kariyama" will disappear from the school, and from the town.
But we were all born in Kariyama. We're all Kariyama people!
As testament to that...
As testament to that, we wanted to revive Kariyama Shrine's Autumn Drums Festival.
That's when we heard
that a past student had once tried to do the same thing.
That it was that same student who created our club in order to revive the festival.
That there was a student who tried so hard to make it happen!
Miyagawa-senpai.
Please take part in the festival with us.
Let's beat our drums together!
Please!
Together?
You're not thinking of turning them down, are you?
Don't worry, we taught these kids as much as we could.
Just the basics, though!
Megumi! Akane!
I'm the one who did most of the teaching.
Naoto! You too?
What do you mean "too"?
But hey, it's good to see you.
Alright! Let's do this!
I believe that I'm happy.
Happy that I came face-to-face with my dreams.
And happy that, even now, I'm continuing towards those dreams.
A small portion of my dreams have become a reality,
though it's not just happiness that I feel.
But I was afraid to let it go,
and I found myself unable to turn back.
But even so...
But even so, when I look ahead...
...my path is...!