Rebellion is one of the key elements of teen movies, and for teen movies set in classrooms, rebellion against the repressive educational system and conservative elders are two key elements. Toshiyaki Toyoda′s Blue Spring seems to follow the patterns of a typical teen movie, but in this film the emphasis is on friendship rather than rebellion. A high school somewhere in Tokyo: Kujo, now in third grade, is crowned the boss of the school and Aoki, a friend of Kujo, looks up to him. Suddenly Kujo starts to lose interest in everything, including Aoki. A shocked Aoki starts to become violent and begins to play a dangerous game that Kujo used to play. Aoki starts to clap his hands while hanging on the school fence. His sole purpose is to win Kujo. The world that Kujo and Aoki are living in may be a violent one, but they seem to depend on each other in order to survive. Amid the violence, rage and despair, Aoki hopelessly seeks friendship. Toshiyaki paradoxically portrays the loneliness and isolation inside the minds of energetic but violent youth. (Kim Ji-Seok)