August in the Water 1995
Directed by
Genjiro Arato
Made by
Hill Villa
August in the Water Plot Summary
Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for August in the Water (1995). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.
August in the Water Timeline
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Izumi transfers to a new high school in Fukuoka
Izumi Hazuki transfers to a new high school in Fukuoka and quickly befriends two boys, Mao and Ukiya. The trio's budding friendship becomes the center of her social life, and both boys start courting her in different ways. Mao tries to be supportive while navigating his own growing feelings.
Ukiya seeks a fortune-telling sign
Ukiya consults his fortune-teller friend Miki to gauge his chances with Izumi. Miki bluntly tells him that their signs are not a good match. Mao hears about it but remains wary, watching Izumi's reactions.
Water festival foreshadows danger
During a water-throwing festival, Miki presents Ukiya with a new fortune predicting that Izumi will suffer a potentially fatal accident. Ukiya shows the warning to Mao, who is skeptical at first but notes the date aligns with Izumi's upcoming diving competition.
Drought, illness, and meteorites arrive
The city endures drought and a mysterious illness that petrifies internal organs, while two meteorites crash into the nearby mountains. Yo shares petrographs with Izumi and connects them to her husband’s research, suggesting a link to current events.
Izumi competes and suffers a deadly accident
On the day of the diving competition, Izumi's dive falters as the water seems to harden briefly. Mao dives in to rescue her and she is rushed to the hospital. Doctors inform her sister that she fell into a coma and may not survive.
Izumi awakens changed and introspective
Izumi regains consciousness but exhibits a heightened awareness of herself and her surroundings. She becomes preoccupied with the mountains and her sense of reality shifts. Her behavior marks a stark departure from who she was before.
Hiking to the mountains reveals the circle
Mao and Izumi secretly hike into the mountains and discover a hidden stone circle centered on a large boulder. Petrographs carved into the stone echo Yo's husband's drawings, suggesting a deep link between the symbols and Izumi's experiences. The moment hints at a larger mythic framework behind the events.
Izumi goes missing amid a meteorite chase
Mao receives a call from Yo that Izumi has vanished. Police search for a man believed to have stolen the second meteorite and killed a scientist. Izumi's disappearance deepens the mystery of the town's strange phenomena.
Found on the boulder: stone beings theory
Izumi and the man are found together on the central boulder, along with both meteorites. Izumi claims they belong to a tribe of stone beings aiming to petrify Earth, and she vows to stop them. A doctor cautions that her statements might reflect sudden schizophrenia triggered by the diving accident.
Public intrigue and ancient records surfaced
News spreads as magazines claim Izumi can communicate with dolphins and plants. Miki presents a historical record describing a drought and a 'stone disease' tied to meteorite appearances, noting that an ancient ceremony on a full moon ended the crisis.
Yo's collapse and a moonlit decision
Yo collapses from petrification illness, exposing the family’s vulnerability. Izumi insists she must act and, under the light of a full moon, travels to a river with Mao to perform a final psychic act and say her goodbyes. She disappears into the river as rain clouds gather.
Mao's amnesia and the drought ends
The next morning Mao is found unconscious atop the central boulder with amnesia about the previous night. Rain begins to fall and the drought ends as the petrifying illness subsides for many. Scholars begin to arrive to study the Hazuki Circle.
Years later, Izumi returns during rain
Mao becomes a researcher, studying special remains around the world and using Izumi's diary as a foundation. An elderly Mao returns to the Hazuki Circle, lies on the central boulder as rain falls, and Izumi reappears, unchanged by time. They embrace and then vanish together.
August in the Water Characters
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Izumi Hazuki (Rena Komine)
Izumi is a bright, impulsive high school student whose diving ambitions draw attention from Mao and Ukiya. After a near-fatal accident, she undergoes a profound shift in perception, developing a heightened awareness of her surroundings and an obsession with the mountains and the ancient petrographs. The story hints at psychic connections to nature, rumors that she can communicate with dolphins and plants. Her ultimate act of action leads to a disappearance, followed by a mysterious return of memory and the lingering question of balance.
Mao Kuwashima (Shinsuke Aoki)
Mao is Izumi's friend who shares a growing closeness with her and bravely dives into the pool to rescue her during the diving accident. After Izumi vanishes, he dedicates himself to studying the surrounding phenomena and becomes a researcher investigating special remains, guided by Izumi's diary. Years later, he ends up in the Hazuki Circle, where memory and fate intersect. His arc centers on loyalty, devotion, and the toll of memory.
Ukiya (Masaaki Takarai)
Ukiya is a fellow student and Izumi's rival in affection who seeks a future with her through a fortune-teller's guidance. He is pragmatic and anxious, quickly turning to Miki's predictions when signs appear. His actions push the plot toward the intersection of fate and catastrophe, and his involvement highlights the human tendency to search for control amid uncertainty.
Yo Hazuki (Naho Toda)
Yo is Izumi's older sister, a researcher who shares slides and petrographs that hint at a larger cosmic pattern. Her husband’s work and the scientific explanations ground the early part of the mystery, while Yo herself is later struck by petrification illness, underscoring the fragility of life. Her research provides the key link between the past and present events surrounding the meteorites and the stone circle.
Miki (Reiko Matsuo)
Miki is a fortune-teller whose curt readings plant the seeds of prophecy that drive Ukiya and others. She reveals a historical record connecting drought, the stone disease, and the meteorites, hinting at a ceremonial intervention that restored balance in the past. Her role anchors the mythic dimension of the story, linking present events to remembered history.
August in the Water Settings
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Location
Fukuoka, Japan, Mountains near Fukuoka
The story unfolds in Fukuoka, Japan, with Izumi transferring to a local high school and pursuing competitive diving. The surrounding mountains and a nearby river frame the narrative, as a hidden stone circle becomes central to the mystery. A water festival and the drought-stricken landscape deepen the contrast between urban life and the mythic natural backdrop.
August in the Water Themes
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Destiny
Fortune-telling and predictions drive key choices, foreshadowing Izumi's fate. The predicted accident aligns with Izumi's upcoming diving competition, weaving fate into everyday life. The meteorites, the stone circle, and the mythic beings imply a larger order at work beyond rational explanation. Izumi's ultimate decision to confront what is coming reframes fate as something that can be faced rather than controlled.
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Science vs Myth
Petrographs, Yo's husband's research, and the astrophysics lab anchor rational inquiry amid bizarre events. The stone circle and the appearance of stone beings juxtapose ancient mystery with modern science. The film probes the limits of scientific explanation when confronted with inexplicable phenomena. The interplay suggests that truth may require both skeptical analysis and openness to myth.
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Sacrifice
Izumi's arc centers on a selfless choice to take action in the face of disaster, culminating in a river sequence under a full moon. The events trigger a cascade of changes—drought ends, illness wanes, and memory and time loop back in surprising ways. Mao's memory loss and the eventual reunion in the Hazuki Circle underscore the theme that true balance may require personal sacrifice. The ending implies a lasting bond that transcends loss, even as both characters vanish together at the end.
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