Sentimental Journey (1998)

High school freshman Hotaru Hinase has a vibrant life full of family and friendship, but not much luck in romance. That all changes when she makes a warm gesture to her handsome and heartbroken classmate, Hananoi, leading to him asking her out and her becoming flustered. Witness a girl who grapples with the enigma of love and a boy who is heavy handed with it.

Kotarou Azumi and Akane Mizuno became third year students at junior high school and are classmates for the first time. These two, along with fellow classmates, Chinatsu Nishio and Takumi Hira, relate to their peers through mutual understandings and feelings. As their final year at junior high school progresses, the group overcome their challenges to mature and become aware of changes in themselves.

Alya is a transfer student enjoying popularity at her new high school, often sporting a cold shoulder while earning high marks in class. She ignores her nerdy classmate, Kuze Masachika, except for when she blurts out a flirtatious line to him in Russian. Little does she know, Kuze understands Russian, though he pretends not to. Let’s see where this wacky love story takes them!

Socially awkward Aharen-san has personal boundary issues, either getting too close or too far from her classmates. When fellow student Raido picks up an eraser she drops, Aharen-san decides they’re now best friends. Whether studying, playing the arcade, or just eating lunch—she’s along for the ride. What follows is an impromptu bonding that shows affection can blossom in the unlikeliest of places!

Kyotaro Ichikawa, a boy barely clinging to the bottom rung of his school's social ladder, secretly believes he’s the tortured lead in some psychological thriller. He spends his days dreaming up ways to disrupt his classmates' peaceful lives and pining after Anna Yamada, the class idol. But Kyotaro's not nearly the troubled teen he pretends to be…and it turns out Anna's a bit odd herself!

Seventeen-year-old Mugi Awaya and Hanabi Yasuraoka appear to be the ideal couple. They are both pretty popular, and they seem to suit each other well. However, outsiders don't know of the secret they share. Both Mugi and Hanabi have hopeless crushes on someone else, and they are only dating each other to soothe their loneliness. Mugi is in love with Akane Minagawa, a young teacher who used to be his home tutor. Hanabi is also in love with a teacher, a young man who has been a family friend since she was little. In each other, they find a place where they can grieve for the ones they cannot have, and they share physical intimacy driven by loneliness. Will things stay like this for them forever?

Kisaragi Amatsuyu is invited out alone by the cool beauty upperclassman Cosmos and his childhood friend Himawari. Expecting to hear their confessions, he triumphantly goes to meet each of them in turn. But Cosmos and Himawari both instead confess to Amatsuyu that they like his friend. Amatsuyu fights this lonely battle, but there is another girl who is looking at him. She is a gloomy girl with glasses and braids. Amatsuyu finds that he hates her, because she's always turning her sharp tongue only on him and finding enjoyment in his troubles. But it turns out that she's the only one who actually does like him.

Tsutsui Hikari (a.k.a "Tsuttsun") is a high school student who is content with his virtual life of anime and video games. One day, he gets stuck cleaning the pool with Iroha, a real live girl who is stylish, sassy and known to be easy with boys ... and she aggressively approaches him! Tsuttsun, who has few friends and lives in his own world, finds himself smitten by the confident and wild Iroha ... and his whole world is turned upside down!! It's the awkward and pure love story of a boy who experiences relationship for the first time.

Tomozaki is one of the best gamers in Japan, and in his opinion, the game of real life is one of the worst. No clear-cut rules for success, horribly balanced, and nothing makes sense. But then he meets a gamer who’s just as good as him, and she offers to teach him a few exploits…

Shikimori seems like the perfect girlfriend: cute, fun to be around, sweet when she wants to be… but she has a cool dark side that comes out under the right circumstances. And her boyfriend Izumi loves to be around when that happens!