Akiko

High school student Kasumi Ogino is a member of the school choir and after years of praise for her singing voice thinks she is the absolute bee’s knees. When the object of her desires, classmate and photographer Junichi Makimura, asks Kasumi is he can photograph her singing she accepts, thinking this means she is beautiful as well. However the end result is a comical shot of Kasumi with her mouth wide open, which Makimura likes to a hungry salmon! Distraught by the ensuing humiliation, Kasumi quits the choir, until she is encouraged to return by an unlikely counsel - the brutish leader of thuggish rival all male choir, Hiroshi Gondo.

Akiko (Mai Fukagawa) is a former idol, but now lives an ordinary life. She works at a company and keeps reminding herself that she is happy and to have a fulfilling day. One day, she walks to work and falls down. She becomes stuck and unable to move. Akiko breaks down mentally and decides to quit her job. Now, Akiko doesn't have a job, a boyfriend, and only 100,000 yen (~$700 USD) in her bank account. Her friend then tells her that she should move in with 56 year old salaryman Sasapon (Arata Iura), who lives alone in his house in Tokyo. When she visits Sasapon, he invites her to stay at his house on the condition that she can live there until his retirement. Their strange living arrangement begins.

Maki finds out that she is pregnant. She enjoys a gentle pregnancy, but one day, as the due date approaches, Maki is hospitalized. She undergoes a prenatal diagnosis to confirm the safety of her child and the results are negative. Maki is relieved, but when the time comes to give birth, the baby is born with an incurable disease.

Makoto is a promising oarsman at a University regatta team. One day, he loses his best friend by a tragic accident which he believes and blames himself for the very cause. Although he once leaves the team out of tremendous sense of responsibility, he finally decides to return by the encouragement of Misao and his teammates, and moreover, for the love and passion of regatta. He is determined than ever to become a top class oarsman and struggles to fulfill his dream to participate in the Olympic games. Through the severe practices and competitions of regatta, Makoto learns the bitterness and difficulties of life. Rivalry with teammates, agonies of love and friendship.