From Up on Poppy Hill

From Up on Poppy Hill is an animated film that was released in Japan in 2011. It was directed by Goro Miyazaki, and it was written by Hayao Miyazaki. The film stars Masami Nagasawa as Umi Matsuzaki, and Junichi Okada as Shun Kazama. The supporting cast consists of Keiko Takeshita, Yuriko Ishida, Jun Fubuki, Takashi Naito, Shunsuke Kazama, Nao Omori, and Teruyuki Kagawa. The film received a PG rating for some depiction mild suggestive content.

The story begins by introducing us to Umi, a high school student that lives in a boarding house in Japan. Umi's mother works out of the country, and so it is up to her to take care of the house, her sibling, and even her grandmother. The house they live in is overlooking a port, and every day Umi puts up a flag that says she prays for safe voyages. One day, a poem is made about her flags. It is published in the school newspapers, and Umi then meets the author. Shun is the author, and he was inspired when he saw the flag from the ocean.

When Umi first meets Shun, she does not like him at all. This begins to change when she joins the school newspaper, because he happens to work there too. This predicament gives them more time to get to know each other. As their relationship furthers, Umi develops feelings for Shun. The problem is that Shun figures out that they may actually be related. Thus, Umi suppresses any romantic feelings she has for him. They continue to be friends and work together to prevent a building from being destroyed. After they save the building, Umi reveals she loves Shun. Shun feels the same way, and at this time they actually find out they are not related at all.