TV ad
School year
A school year in Japan;
- starts in April when cherry blossoms fully bloom in many cities across Japan.
- finishes in March which is the end of winter and people are ready for spring.
End of year exam
- This is for getting into a university.
- You can apply for multiple universities if you want.
Exam season
- Most exams take place in February which is winter in Japan.
- Students work really hard in December and January when they have a lot of snowy days.
Exam fee
- You need to pay exam fee for each university exam.
Each of them could be around 30000 yen.
Students for exams
Students who are going to take external exams at the end of high school are called 受験生（じゅけんせい／jukensei）in Japanese.
Students usually get more serious about the end of year exam after summer holidays, which start after the middle of July to the end of August.
Cram school (Juku)
- Cram schools are called 塾（じゅく／juku）in Japanese.
- They focus on getting 受験生（じゅけんせい／jukensei）to study as hard as possible.
- A classroom at a big cram school can contain more than 200 students.
A cram school class is often so crowded. There are many students who are eager to achieve their goal.
Study stress
Working hard through Grade 12 to pass the exam can be quite stressful.
The video shows how the behavior of a girl changes through the year.
April, May, June (spring, early summer)
- She studies with little stress.
- She may like to study with friends at a cafe.
- She still has smile and fun with friends!
- She may feel a bit worried about her future when she is alone at home.
- So do her friends.
July, August (summer)
Many cram schools offer intensive summer courses for Grade 12 students during summer holidays.
- She takes the summer course.
- She gets more serious about studying as exams are gradually approaching.
- She may start to feel more unsettled and anxious. Resilience matters!
- She studies even on a train to go to school or return home.
- She finds boys on a train studying hard too.
- She works hard whereas her friend enjoys being with her boyfriend.
September, October (autumn)
September can be the month when quite a lot of typhoons come to Japan.
- She continues to work hard at school, cram school and home.
- She is more nervous and sensitive because exams are in a few months.
She is not the only one who struggles.
In the video, you can see a boy sitting just outside a convenience store at night and a girl who looks very worried to talk with her teacher.
It is normal to get worried. Decide what you need to focus on and move forward!
- She argues with her mother.
- She doesn’t want her to come into her room.
- She feels bad after all.
January, February (winter)
There are many cold and snowy days.
- Students including her study very hard because exams are just around the corner.
- She goes to the venue for the exam with many other students.
- She sits and waits for the exam to start, singing the cheer up song.
Cheer up word
- がんばれ！（ganbare）means ‘Try you best!’ or ‘Good luck!’
You hear this word at the end of the video. More than 600 students yell the word together.
Lyric
The lyric after 1:00 in the video is really important to understand the whole story in this ad.
- ぼくが → I
- いってやる → say
- でっかいこえで → loudly
- いってやる → say
- がんばれ → Good luck
- って、 → n/a
- いってやる → say
- きこえるかい → Can you hear me?
- がんばれ → Good luck
Food
Some busy people including 受験生（じゅけんせい／jukensei）prefer to have a quick and well balanced meal such as nutritional energy bars.
カロリーメイト is one of the most popular ones in Japan. It was released in early 1980s.
You can find different types of カロリーメイト such as block (bar), jelly and can.
You may eat them if you get hungry while you are studying till midnight.
School uniform
- April and May (spring): winter uniform
- June to September (summer): summer uniform
- October to March (autumn and winter): winter uniform