I Are You, You Am Me

Tenkōsei
Tenkōsei
	Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji	転校生
Literal meaning	Transfer student(s)
Revised Hepburn
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn	Tenkōsei
Directed by	Nobuhiko Obayashi
Written by	Wataru Kenmotsu
Starring	Satomi Kobayashi; Toshinori Omi
Production; companies	Art Theatre Guild; Nippon Television
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	April 17, 1982;
Running time	112 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

I Are You, You Am Me (Japanese: 転校生, Hepburn: Tenkōsei), also known as Exchange Students, is a 1982 Japanese fantasy film directed by Nobuhiko Obayashi. Obayashi himself directed and co-wrote a second film based on the same novel, premiered in 2007 and titled Switching: Goodbye Me (転校生－さよならあなた－, Tenkōsei: Sayonara Anata).^[1]

Plot

I Are You, You Am Me tells the story of two junior high school students, Kazuo and Kazumi, who accidentally fall down a flight of stairs and inexplicably switch bodies. As they navigate their new lives in each other's bodies, they experience the world from a different perspective, leading to humorous and poignant moments. The film explores themes of identity, adolescence, and empathy, providing a unique take on the body-swap genre.

Switching: Goodbye Me, the 2007 remake, retains the core plot of the original while updating the setting and characters for a new generation. It follows the same premise of two teenagers swapping bodies but incorporates modern elements and sensibilities. Both films are based on the novel by Hisashi Yamanaka and showcase Obayashi's distinctive directorial style, blending whimsical fantasy with heartfelt drama.

Cast

Toshinori Omi as Kazuo Saitō
Satomi Kobayashi as Kazumi Saitō
Makoto Satō as Akio Saitō (father of Kazuo)
Kirin Kiki as Naoko Saitō (mother of Kazuo)
Jō Shishido as Kouzou Saitō (father of Kazumi)
Wakaba Irie as Chie Saitō (Mother of Kazumi)
Masuno Takahashi as Masuno Saitō (Grandma)
Munenori Iwamoto as Masaaki Kaneko
Daisuke Ohyama as Kenji Sakui
Etsuko Shihomi as Mitsuko Ono

Goodbye Me Cast

Misako Renbutsu as Kazumi Saito
Misa Shimizu as Naoko Saito
Tomorowo Taguchi as Kozo Saito
Joe Shishido as Yoshinojo Yoshida
Hiroshi Inuzuka as Konosuke Saito
Hiroyuki Nagato as Masao Imada

Awards

4th Yokohama Film Festival^[2]

Won: Best Film
Won: Best Screenplay – Wataru Kenmochi
Won: Best Newcomer – Satomi Kobayashi

References

^ "JFDB – Switching –Goodbye Me–". UniJapan. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
^ 第４回ヨコハマ映画祭１９８２年日本映画個人賞 (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-09.

External links

I Are You, You Am Me at IMDb
転校生 at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)

This article related to a Japanese film of the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[JFDB-1] "JFDB – Switching –Goodbye Me–". UniJapan. Retrieved April 24, 2019.

[2] 第４回ヨコハマ映画祭１９８２年日本映画個人賞 (in Japanese). Yokohama Film Festival. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-01-09.

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