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Happyend

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  • Status: Released
  • 23-01-2025
  • Runtime: 113 min
  • Score: 6.5
  • Vote count: 22

In a near-future Japanese city bracing for a devastating earthquake, a group of teenage friends navigate personal struggles and fractured bonds amid rising tension.

Hayato Kurihara

Yūta

Yukito Hidaka

Yuta Hayashi

Ata-chan

Shina Peng

Ming

ARAZI

Tomu

Kilala Inori

Fumi

Ayumu Nakajima

Okada

Masaru Yahagi

Taira

PUSHIM

Fukuko

Makiko Watanabe

Yoko

Shiro Sano

Principal Nagai

Yiqing Yan

Club Organizer

Tatsuya Obo

Angry Club Goer (voice)

Taiju Nakane

Club Staff

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DJ Yukimatsu

Neo Sora

Cop (voice)

Eriko Matsuda

Foreign Guest

Keiji Fukuhiro

Young Officer A

Toshihisa Kato

Young Officer B

Naoki Misumizono

Detective

Kouichi Kawasaki

Guard

Motomasa Okui

Shio-chan

Yoshi Kuremura

Kanaya

Saki Miyagawa

Kinoshita

Ruriko Takahashi

News Anchor (voice)

Shunsaku Yajima

Prime Minister Kito

Yuka Sasaki

Class President

Daisuke Ishihara

Security Guard 1

Junshin Soga

Security Guard 2

Tetsuichirô Tsuta

Journalist

Takeshi Fukunaga

Nervous Teacher

Masato Nakanishi

Annoyed Teacher

Hidetoshi Wakabayashi

Right-wing Orator

Sousuke Hirano

Barista

Kosuke Tanaka

Takuro

Ayaru Nakano

Suzuko

Tomohiro Kumagai

Minoru

Toru Hashiguchi

Izakaya Customer

Akinobu Kohno

Janitor

Kota Goto

Kitazawa

Mikio Yoshioka

Kissing Student 1

Erina Uenishi

Kissing Student 2

Eigi Kodaka

Instrument Shop Manager

Yuta Koga

Yusaku

Ryuhei Higashiyama

Riot Police

Hiromu

Protester

Mayumi Hoshi

Fumi's Mother

Naoyo Ichinose

Teacher A

Shinya Yoshinaga

Teacher B

Takuto Hirano

Captain Tsuchiya

Ryoji Kuwahara

Older Officer

Shinsuke Itô

Police Officer 1

Yumi Koretsune

Police Officer 2

Shinmaru

Soldier

Yo Aizawa

Tao

Lisa Joy Hawes

Hanna

Shyunsuke Mori

Alvin

Emmanuel Yuto

Angelo

Akito Kishida

Hiroki

Suzuki Miai Mwendwa

Julie

Hiromi Kuwahata

Sayuri

Hiroaki Nobori

Journalist

Naofumi Ariyoshi

Photographer

Hiroyuki Taniyama

Kubota

Aiko Masubuchi

City Announcer (voice)

Kanon Kudamatsuya

High School Student 1

Yoshino Ogata

High School Student 2

Rikiya Takano

Soccer Reporter (voice)

Mimiko Goldstein

Soccer Fan

Ichika Okatsu

Tomu's Mother

CinemaSerf

There’s something quite Orwellian about this futuristic drama set in a Japan living under the threat of a once-in-a-century earthquake that could devastate the place. First to capitalise on this paranoia is the Prime Minister who passes a series of decrees that limit the movement and freedoms of most of the population. This proves especially troublesome for a group of high school students who, after pulling a prank on the principal, find themselves very much in his firing line. Initially their mischief, and their love of music, keeps the group together but when “Yuta” (Hayato Kurihara) and best pal “Kou” (Yukito Hidaka) start to drift apart, the dynamic of the group starts to change. “Yuta” is associating more with the focussed “Fumi” (Kilala Inori) and other students determined to rebel against the increasingly authoritarian regime whilst his pals are enjoying what’s left of their final year. Things come to an head when some of the students stage a sit-in in the principal’s office and the original group of happy-go-lucky mischief makers realise that adulthood is beckoning and there is no going back. The film itself is really nothing much to write home about, but what it attempts to deal with is more interesting: the State relying on a combination of fear and apathy by the general public; professionals who have to play the political game to keep their jobs and improve their school and the gradual realisation amongst hitherto joined-at-the-hip teenagers that they may have to go their separate ways. That’s proving quite a wrench for not just the two boys here, but for some of the others whose hormones are rather uncertainly making their presence felt. The acting and writing is all adequate, nothing really more, but there are some fun scenes to compensate - usually from the kilt-clad “Ata-Chan” (Yûta Hayashi) and some of the expressions on the face of their head teacher (Shirô Sano) raise a smile too. Logistically, I’m not at all sure just how they could ever have carried out their mischief in the first place, but this isn’t really a film that stands too much scrutiny. It’s more of an introductory guide to life when things start to become a little more grown up.