Plot

Over 6,000 people die when the 1995 'Kobe' earthquake hits Japan. In the aftermath of the tragedy a young student turns his attention outward to deal with death, console a friend and confront reality. Here is the story of one young man forced to deal with the world from a new perspective.—aghaemi

Twelve-year-old Tsuyoshi Takahashi lives in Kobe and attends the Shiokaze primary school. His ambition to enter a private middle school neglects, among others, his friends Kazuyuki Kato (called Kazu), who has been depressed since the death of his mother and leaves home less and less, and Miho Sugamoto, a friend of his youth, into whom he even lives something has a crush. When she asks him to help her with a speech for the graduation, this pushes her away only to pursue his own goals.

A few days later, at 5:46 am on January 17, 1995, the city is shaken by a devastating magnitude 7.2 earthquake. Tsuyoshi and his brother Jun are still sleeping at this time. Many buildings deemed safe collapse, including the Takahashi's house. Tsuyoshi is recovered a few hours later - uninjured, like everyone in his family.

As the Takahashis march through the severely devastated and burning city to the emergency shelter, they meet Kazu, who asks her for help as his father is buried. Tsuyoshi's father follows him while the family goes to the overcrowded shelter (Tsuyoshi's school). Due to the collapse of the water supply, there is neither drinking nor extinguishing water. The food is running out. And since it's winter, everyone is freezing. When Tsuyoshi visits his father at the hospital, he finds out that Kazu's father did not make it. Kazu falls into even deeper depression.

During the next few days the situation remains critical. Fires are still raging and there is still not enough water. Sensei, the class teacher of Tsuyoshi and Kazu, drives through the ruined city to look for his students. When he finds Kazu, he brings him against his will to the emergency shelter. Tsuyoshi wants to see for his grandparents who live in the Hagata district. During his arduous journey through ruined Kobe, he witnesses several people being rescued from the rubble. Impressed, he starts to learn that he has to take care of other people as well. When he wants to apologize to Miho, he is horrified to find that she and her entire family were killed in the quake.

In the following weeks, more and more people are leaving school to move into proper shelters. At the same time, Tsuyoshi and his classmates meet Hana, a senior woman who tells them about the war and teaches them that what has been lost can also be rebuilt. Hana, who refuses to leave school because she would otherwise be alone in the shelter, receives the promise from the children that they will visit her regularly.

When Kazu is picked up by his aunt, he refuses to leave Kobe to be close to his father. The aunt agrees to take him only after graduation. Tsuyoshi visits Kazu at the ruins of his house and tries to cheer him up. Kazu struggles, but Tsuyoshi tries to persuade him to attend the graduation party anyway. Kazu initially refuses, but then agrees, because it would make his father proud.

At the celebration on March 24 (two months after the quake), the children who have ripened in the aftermath of the earthquake commemorate the dead. As Kazu his name, in the context of the ceremony to pronounce loudly, he hesitates first. When he remembers how proud his father would be, he loudly shouts his name and receives thunderous applause. Tsuyoshi again meets the man who saved him from the rubble and finally thanks him.

As Kazu wants to go by train to his aunt, he says goodbye to Tsuyoshi. He decided to go to a normal middle school and later stay in Kobe. Impressed by the helpers, he decided later on to become like this and help other people. While Kazu is sitting in the train, he surprisingly sees his classmates walking along the beach and beckoning to him. Happy, but not alone, he waves back while his train goes to sunset.

(All credit from this synopsis goes to Wikipedia Deutsche, I used Google Translate for the English detail of the anime film)