Ozu0 - introduction

This is the story about one man. He was born into a wealthy family, and was on the basketball team in junior high school. He gave up basketball during high school, and later went on to graduate from one of Japan's top universities. After college, he got a job at a leading bank, got promoted, and got married and had a family. Life had been pretty good to him so far...

Nanpei Ozu (Masakazu Tamura). It was after Ozu passed 50, that he met his first major challenge in life. While working as the branch manager of his bank in New York, Ozu was given an order to do some deals that went over and above the law. He was later caught for being involved in those dealings, and was arrested.

After being released from prison, Ozu returned back to Japan to find that everything he worked for all his life had been lost: his job, his reputation, his family, and all of his possessions. All that he had left were expensive suits, and the label of being an ex-convict.

"I have plenty of ability, so I'm sure that there are lots of companies and banks that need a person like me."

As the difficulty of finding a new job faces him in the eye, Ozu tries to get a job again in his former company. Until that wish is granted however, he reluctantly takes a job in the meantime...as a teacher.

Ozu gets hired on to be a temporary teacher at a private high school in Tokyo. There is a major problem though...Ozu hates kids. Actually the problem is worse than that, he hates people. He has come to not be able to trust people anymore, so he doesn't even see them as people; which pretty much makes teaching anything to anyone out of the question. To make things worse, the kids at the school that he is now teaching at have lost all of their ambition.

"This is just a temporary job. I don't belong here, so the sooner I get out of here the better."

There is one young male teacher working at the school. Ken Kato (played by Yusuke Santamaria), whose nickname is "Katoken." Although not the model teacher, the students like him, which is probably due to the fact that he has the same mentality as the students. He is irresponsible, lacks morals, and his manners are just as bad as the kids he teaches. Ozu unexpectedly winds up staying at Ken's apartment for the time being, and even though he is a guest at Ken's house, Ozu behaves like he owns the place. This behavior turns out to be too much for Katoken to handle.

There is also a beautiful female teacher that works at the school, her name is Myu Ashikaga (played by Asaka Seto), and she is in-charge of the basketball team. Myu is a tom-boy that is very nosy, and she never gives up on her students, no matter how many times they let her down. Katoken has "the hots" for Myu.

One day, Ozu runs into the basketball team at the gym. They seem to have no motivation, and no goals in life. Even if they get beat during a game, they don't really care. Most of them play basketball because they like to sweat every once in a while, they think being on the team helps them to be more visible to the girls, and they like being with their friends. After practice, they just go into town and hang out because there is really nothing else to do. This doesn't seem to bother Ozu one way or the other though, because he could honestly care less. All Ozu wants to do is get a little closer to the good-looking Myu. He eventually also falls for Myu.

There are others that Ozu encounters while working at the school. One of them is the principal's only daughter, Manabi Shikamatsu (played by Naomi Nishida). Manabi is a super sensitive girl whose feelings are easily hurt. Then there is Hitoha Yokomori, yet another teacher that marches to the beat of a different drum. Hitoha seems to live in her own little dream world, and likes to escape from the real world by having guys make over her.

The students also have problems of their own: family problems, problems with friends, problems with boyfriends and girlfriends, and emotional disorders. Unfortunately though, Ozu isn't capable of helping to solve even just one of their problems. No matter how hard he yells or gives them lectures, there is just no getting through to these kids. It is the students that seem to find their own way of working things out for themselves. So it is actually Ozu that learns from the students over the course of his many confrontations with them. He learns about the choices they make in life, and eventually how to help them deal with their problems.

A teacher with a bad attitude, and students with a bad attitude go head-to-head. Eventually, the two minuses wind up making a very big plus. Not as adults and not as children, but just as equals, they go on to foster a warm relationship.

This teacher can't teach children, and he can't be taught.

This story is depicted with a comedic touch, as Ozu and the students go through some violent, yet funny times on the way to his learning some valuable lessons from them.

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