Hoshi no Kyoushitsu

With Hiyori Sakurada

January 2001. Sayaka Uruma, who works at a video rental store in a working-class neighborhood of Osaka, is asked by her store manager to submit a resume—an event that leads her to enroll in the night classes at a nearby junior high school. Sayaka had stopped attending school during junior high due to bullying; she chose not to graduate, effectively dropping out, and had since reached adulthood. What she witnessed at the night school was a group of students of various ages and nationalities, singing happily as they gazed up at the night sky in the schoolyard. Realizing she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t been able to attend school, Sayaka decided to enroll in the night school and, supported by her teachers and classmates, began walking a new path.