The Kirishima Thing is at its strongest when portraying how the order and structure of Japanese society impacts the high school. The uniform clad students endure long days of arriving pre-sunrise to departing in the dark of night. The sports teams practice and play on both Saturday and Sunday determined to earn honour and recognition for their school. There is great respect for one’s elders as the students bow to their teachers when greeting and departing. Director Daihachi Yoshida astutely highlights how tradition still plays an important role even in the insular version of society that high school creates.

Yoshida constructs a film that is both visually appealing and very well written. The opening sequence, titled Friday, is shot from four different perspectives which helps to emphasize how each group interprets their place in the hierarchy. This allows Yoshida to use different camera angles, framing and even alter the content to accentuate the current perspective of a particular scene. Yoshida manages the drama by evoking a sense of a contained atmosphere. Many of the school arrivals are shot from above to make the school feel small and overcrowded.

The Kirishima Thing is a superior presentation of high school life that takes a different path from typical conventions. The characters move in and out of the preconceived notions that one would normally associate with their roles. As a result, Yoshida captures the structure of Japanese school life in a robust and enjoyable way. The Kirishmia Thing is a film that I can definitely recommend.