Daytime Shooting Star

Daytime Shooting Star (Hirunaka no Ryuusei), directed by Takehiko Shinjo, is a Japanese film adapted from Mika Yamamori's shoujo manga of the same name, about fifteen year old Suzume, who moves from the countryside to Tokyo and discovers that the mysterious man who has been helping her is actually her teacher at her new high school. The source manga sold more than 2.2 million copies. The film grossed roughly 9.5 million dollars worldwide, most of it in Japan, with a limited release in South Korea as well. Manga fans noted that the film compresses the story by cutting some characters and scenes, but it was generally well received as a typical shoujo manga adaptation. Who it's for: anyone curious about a coming of age story built on the familiar manga premise of a mysterious helper who turns out to be the heroine's own teacher. Who it's not for: those wanting a scene for scene faithful adaptation of the source manga, since the film drops some characters and scenes to fit its runtime.