Back to trending
April Story

April Story

Romance · Drama · 1998

In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.

Movie details

April Story

1998 Romance · Drama 1h 7m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over April Story?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Drama · 2021

An unexpected love triangle, a seduction trap, and a random encounter are the three episodes, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.

Love Letter

Love Letter

Romance · 1953

Five years after the end of the Second World War, Reikichi, a repatriated veteran, translates love letters for Japanese women to American GIs, while searching for his lost love, Michiko.

GO

GO

Drama · 2001

Sugihara, a Japanese-born, third-generation Korean teenager struggles to find a place in a society that will not accept him.

The Garden of Words

The Garden of Words

Animation · 2013

Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.

Dolls

Dolls

Drama · 2002

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

5 Centimeters per Second

5 Centimeters per Second

Animation · 2007

Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.

Blue Spring Ride

Blue Spring Ride

Romance · 2014

In middle school, Futaba Yoshioka was madly in love with Tanaka Kou but he moves away with his mother. She is reunited with him later in life but he is not the same person anymore.

Even If This Love Disappears Tonight

Even If This Love Disappears Tonight

Romance · 2022

A high school girl wakes up each day with no memory of the day before. When she agrees to date a shy classmate, Toru, he begins to fall for her—despite her rule against falling in love.

Your Lie in April

Your Lie in April

Drama · 2016

Arima Kousei won numerous piano competitions while under the strict watch of his mother. He was known as the human metronome during that time. Since the death of his mother, Kousei has been unable to hear the sound of his piano. He then meets Miyazono Kaori through childhood friend Sawabe Tsubaki. Kaori plays the violin and has a free sprit. Since meeting her, Kousei is able to face the piano again. Meanwhile, Kaori holds a secret.

We Made a Beautiful Bouquet

We Made a Beautiful Bouquet

Romance · 2021

Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Shunji Iwai

Written by

Shunji Iwai

Takako Matsu

Takako Matsu

Uzuki Nireno

Seiichi Tanabe

Seiichi Tanabe

Yamazaki

Kaori Fujii

Kaori Fujii

Teruko Kitao

R

Rumi

Saeko Sono

Kazuhiko Kato

Kazuhiko Kato

Kato

Ken Mitsuishi

Ken Mitsuishi

Salaryman

Matsumoto Hakuō II

Matsumoto Hakuō II

Father

Court is in session

Put April Story on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.