Hôhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun

Woman at wedding banquet:
Life, as they say, has its ups and downs. At times, the waves may taunt you, tossing you in their swells. But take heart. It's hard to stick with it and make it on your own. But even a couple of losers can survive most things if they're together. So listen, take some advice and have children as soon as you can. Children are the best reasons for riding out life's storms. Nowadays, people say child-rearing is challenging and difficult, but we've done it from time immemorial. Children grow even without parents. So hold them close to your heart as they crawl, then walk. They'll be fine.

[Grandma and Nonoko watch Mr and Mrs Yamada keep each other from the TV]

Nonoko Yamada:
Nobody can watch any show now...

Shige Yamano:
This is more entertaining!

[Nonoko went missing and has been found]

Haiku reader:
Joyful laughter breaks the silence of an autumn eve.

[Takashi takes a picture of his family without them noticing]

Haiku reader:
A lone figure / back turned / receding into the mist.

[the Yamada family meets Takashi on his way home and they return together]

Haiku reader:
A spring shower / dressed for rain / talking as they go.

Noboru Yamada:
The meal of the day is the same every day: cold noodles!

Matsuko Yamada:
And it will remain the same since there is lots of free ginger from the garden to go with it.

[Grandma goes to see a dying friend at the hospital]

Haiku reader:
No sign of Death's approach in the cicadas' voices.

Haiku reader:
Fleeting dreams / an octopus making its home in a trap / a summer moon.

[Noboru receives a call from a girlfriend]

Haiku reader:
The scent of plums / on a mountain path / suddenly dawn.

[Mr Yamada eats dinner while his wife watches TV]

Haiku reader:
Turn towards me / I'm lonely too / the Autumn dusk.

[Takashi imagines that he is a hero]

Haiku reader:
How cruel, / a grasshopper trapped / under a warrior's helmet.

[Mother discovers that Noboru brought home a book on F-1 racing]

Noboru Yamada:
It's your fault, for starting me with "Power Rangers" ABC when I was three...

Noboru Yamada:
The reason the Yamadas get along fine is because all three adults are nuts. If one of you were normal it would unbalance the rest.

[the Yamadas walk off into the sunset]

Haiku reader:
The ocean in spring / the gentle rolling of the waves / all day long.