Hakusen Nagashi 19 no Haru (1997)

"You really change in college"

It has been a year since the memorable moment when Sonoko and the rest of her friends performed hakusen nagashi on the river that lead to a nostalgic moment. As she finally gives herself a year off due to a circumstance and finally starts college at the age of 19, she starts her new life that I'm sure many of us have gone through which is starting our first year in college. And the great thing about it is that not everyone has followed the traditional college route and chose to live off their own paths such as Fuyumi trying to pursue acting. As you already get to know who each of their characters are from the first show, you can tell Sonoko has alot to overcome, knowing she's always been the reserved type where she fits in her comfort zone. She goes through phases that many go through in college, especially if you are the type who is shy and isnt comfortable coming out of their shell. She realizes that being in a new environment all alone and independent is challenging and tends to isolate herself in her first couple months. Throughout the movie, it seems everyone is going through a difficult phase in their first year after high school graduation. Fuyumi has difficulty in trying to perform a role, Madoka has been yelled at for performing poorly as a nursing student in a college hospital, and Hasebe is depressed, using gambling and not attending school to cope with his thoughts, yet he's the studious one out of all of them, ironically. The others, in the other hand ,such as Wataru, Shinji, and Kayano, are actually not living their lives poorly, especially Kayano. She really has grown mature and lead herself to the right path ever since the crime she almost committed from the first show. There is no romance involved in this which is expected, but there are moments between Hasebe and Kayano I actually admired. Unfortunately, Hasebe hasn't been living himself right which lead to Kayano to break up with him. But in my personal opinion, they really do look better as a couple than with who they used to like which was Wataru and Sonoko back in high school. But with Sonoko, she is a very shy first year student but eventually she gets to have confidence in herself with her new friends ever since she joined a club. That is very relatable as to how college is. But we also know that you get to explore new things which may either make or break you. At the end, Sonoko feels like she has not accomplished anything and feels out of place since the rest of her friends have progressed, including Wataru. He has not been contacting consistently back to Sonoko, and the more she feels scared and lonely in her new life, the more she feels she needs him. I must say Shinji has been the most rational and well behaved character out of all of them. He is the best friend everyone deserves, since he encourages Sonoko to talk to Wataru because he knows she needs it. Even with Hasebe, he is very mature on keeping his feelings and moving on from the past of liking Sonoko. What I really adore about this entire story is that even though Wataru and Sonoko may have dated but then broken up, they still remain friends to be out there for each other. It may seem unrealistic and you might end up not even reuniting your ex again in real life, but I think Sonoko and Wataru's friendship is stronger and more important than being in a relationship. So if I were to give my opinion on how the movie is, I would say it was great because I personally like stories that we can really relate to. Nothing intense happens throughout this movie, although there is a slight scene that involves being physical (let's just say, it involved someone without her consent....) so there are slightly dark moments that happens in college too. Other than that, I truly enjoyed this film especially I want to see how each of their character's overcome their obstacles throughout their life until the last film.

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