Hiroshi Nagai

Matsuri

A junior high school teacher named Sachie has been living alone. She is not respected by her students and also has trouble fitting into her workspace. One of her students, Hagiwara, has been winning one writing contest after another due to his eloquence. But, he starts to lose sight of himself after a transfer student from the city joins his class. Sachie, on the other hand has started attending a Japanese Taiko (drum) class offered at a nearby community center to get away from her empty life. Their frustrations collide at the school's festival.

The Town of Whales

Machi, Tomohiko and Hotaru attend the same high school. Machi misses her older brother, who disappeared six years earlier. The trio takes up his trail, which leads them first to Tokyo and then across the sea.