The story begins in Hokkaido, where high school students Sae and Kouhei meet and fall in love. Their relationship faces immediate challenges as Sae pursues her academic dreams at a university in Tokyo, leading to a long-distance relationship that eventually results in them drifting apart. JFDB - 日本映画データベース Over the course of

Director Doi is no stranger to melodrama (he directed Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu ). He knows exactly when to hold the shot on a single tear rolling down a cheek and when to flood the speakers with Yo Hitoto’s iconic theme song. Does it manipulate your emotions? Absolutely. Does it work? For the most part, yes. The Hokkaido landscapes are breathtakingly melancholic, and the visual motif of the dogwood (a flower that represents a "return of love" in the Japanese "hanakotoba") is woven in with delicate precision.