{ "id": "ep2jb15fsa", "slug": "always-sunset-on-third-street-2", "title": "Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries", "label": "Action, thriller, and crime series film entries", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2000s", "label": "Entries released in the 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2000s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2000s.yr-2005-2009", "label": "Released 2005 to 2009", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2000s.yr-2005-2009" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series", "label": "Franchise and series entries as standalone works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日) is a 2007 Japanese drama by Takashi Yamazaki, sequel to the 2005 hit, set in 1959 Tokyo; it drew 3.7 million viewers and won Japan Academy Best Actor for Hidetaka Yoshioka.", "snippet": "Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日) is a 2007 Japanese drama by Takashi Yamazaki, sequel to the 2005 hit, set in 1959 Tokyo; it drew 3.7 million viewers and won Japan Academy Best Actor for Hidetaka Yoshioka.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.franchise-series.franchise-series.action-thriller-series-entries.entries-released-in-the-2000s.yr-2005-2009", "markdown": "# Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日)\n\n**Always: Sunset on Third Street 2** (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日, *Ōruweizu Zoku San-chōme no Yūhi*) is a 2007 Japanese drama film directed, co-written, and VFX-supervised by Takashi Yamazaki, the sequel to his 2005 hit *Always: Sunset on Third Street*. It adapts Ryōhei Saigan's long-running manga *Sanchōme no Yūhi* and follows the residents of a working-class Tokyo neighborhood in the spring of 1959, four months after the events of the first film.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/34056/) • [2](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/675) • [3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | November 3, 2007, distributed by Toho; 146 minutes, color, 35 mm[4](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=38637) • [2](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/675) |\n| Director and writers | Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who also handled VFX; screenplay by Yamazaki and Ryōta Kosawa; based on the manga by Ryōhei Saigan[2](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/675) |\n| Setting | Spring of Shōwa 34 (1959) in the fictional Yūhichō Third Street of downtown Tokyo, the year the Tokyo Olympics were awarded and Japan entered its period of high economic growth[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) |\n| Principal cast | Hidetaka Yoshioka (Chagawa), Shinichi Tsutsumi (Suzuki), Koyuki (Hiromi), Hiroko Yakushimaru (Tomoe), Maki Horikita (Mutsuko), Kenta Suga (Junnosuke)[5](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/022472/001) |\n| Box office | Attendance passed 3.7 million, well above the first film's 2.84 million; one database lists revenue of $46,790,160[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [6](https://bingebase.com/movies/always-sunset-on-third-street-2-2007) |\n| Awards | 12 Excellence Awards (13 people) at the 31st Japan Academy Prizes, including Best Actor for Hidetaka Yoshioka[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) |\n| Theme song | \"Hana no Na\" by BUMP OF CHICKEN[7](https://filmarks.com/movies/34915) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe story begins four months after the first film, in the spring of 1959. The struggling writer Ryunosuke Chagawa lives with the boy Junnosuke while continuing to long for Hiromi, who left without a word. When Junnosuke's real father, Kawabuchi, arrives to take the boy back, Chagawa agrees to a condition that he provide a respectable standard of living; to prove himself, he resumes writing serious literature and takes up the [Akutagawa Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/akutagawa-prize), which he had once abandoned, hoping to secure a stable life and show Hiromi the man he has become.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [1](https://eiga.com/movie/34056/)\n\nMeanwhile, at the Suzuki auto repair shop, the apprentice Mutsuko has become a capable mechanic and the business is gaining clients. When a relative of Norifumi Suzuki fails in business, his daughter Mika, a seven-year-old accustomed to a wealthier lifestyle, comes to stay with the Suzuki family and initially clashes with their son Ippei.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [10](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/always-sunset-on-third-street-2/2000272283/) Hiromi, meanwhile, has found success again as the exotic dancer \"Betty,\" a secret career that complicates her relationship with Chagawa.[10](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/always-sunset-on-third-street-2/2000272283/) • [11](https://flixpatrol.com/title/always-sunset-on-third-street-2/)\n\n## Background and production\n\nThe 2005 first film, an adaptation of Saigan's manga about life in 1958 Tokyo as [Tokyo Tower](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-tower) rose over the skyline, was a long-running hit that won numerous awards including the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and helped spark a \"Shōwa\" nostalgia boom.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [8](https://entertainment.ie/movies/where-to-watch/always-sunset-on-third-street-7934/) The sequel was made in response to calls for a continuation, and it reunited the director and cast of the original: Yamazaki again served as director, screenwriter, and VFX supervisor, with Ryōta Kosawa co-writing the screenplay.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [2](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/675)\n\n**Period recreation.** As in the first film, the production rebuilt the Shōwa-era downtown with detailed period research, large location sets, and upgraded visual effects. The sequel's VFX recreated [Tokyo Station](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-station), Haneda Airport, Nihonbashi, and the newly introduced *Kodama* limited-express train of the time.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [9](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0005630) The production committee included Nippon Television, ROBOT, Shogakukan, VAP, Toho, Dentsu, Yomiuri Telecasting, the [Yomiuri Shimbun](https://www.edgepedia.org/yomiuri-shimbun), Shirogumi, and IMAGICA.[4](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=38637)\n\n## Cast\n\nThe film brings back the principal cast of the first installment:[5](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/022472/001)\n\n- Hidetaka Yoshioka as Ryunosuke Chagawa, the candy-shop owner and aspiring novelist\n- Shinichi Tsutsumi as Norifumi Suzuki, owner of the auto shop Suzuki Auto\n- Koyuki as Hiromi Ishizaki\n- [Hiroko Yakushimaru](https://www.edgepedia.org/hiroko-yakushimaru) as Tomoe Suzuki\n- Maki Horikita as Mutsuko Hoshino, the shop's apprentice mechanic\n- Kenta Suga as Junnosuke Furuyuki, the boy in Chagawa's care\n- Kazuki Koshimizu as Ippei Suzuki\n- Fumiyo Kohinata as Yasunari Kawabuchi, Junnosuke's father\n- Tomokazu Miura as Takuma\n- Masako Motai as Kin Ohta\n\n## Reception and awards\n\nThe sequel outperformed its predecessor at the box office, passing 3.7 million admissions against the first film's 2.84 million.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) At the 31st Japan Academy Prizes (2008), it received twelve Excellence Awards across thirteen people, including Excellence Awards for Picture, Director (Yamazaki), and [Screenplay](https://www.edgepedia.org/screenplay) (Yamazaki and Kosawa), and the Outstanding Prize for Best Actor, won by Hidetaka Yoshioka for the second consecutive film in the series, described by the distributor as a first in Japan Academy history.[3](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/) • [1](https://eiga.com/movie/34056/) The film was also nominated for the Japan Academy Best Film, and received Asian Film Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Tsutsumi), Best Supporting Actress (Yakushimaru), and Best Visual Effects (Yamazaki).[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0953981/awards) Tomokazu Miura won the 2008 Kinema Junpo Award for Best Supporting Actor for this film and two others.[12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0953981/awards)\n\nThe series continued with *[Always: Sunset on Third Street '64](https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-64)* (2012), for which the VFX studio Shirogumi introduced a color management system to the production pipeline.[13](https://www.eizo.co.jp/solutions/solution/creative/SHIROGUMI_INC.pdf)\n\n## References\n\n1. [ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日 : 解説・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/34056/)\n2. [ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日, Japanese Film Database (JFDB)](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/675)\n3. [作品情報 | ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日, VAP](https://www.vap.co.jp/always2/intro/)\n4. [ＡＬＷＡＹＳ 続・三丁目の夕日, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=38637)\n5. [ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/022472/001)\n6. [Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007), Bingebase](https://bingebase.com/movies/always-sunset-on-third-street-2-2007)\n7. [ALWAYS続・三丁目の夕日, Filmarks映画](https://filmarks.com/movies/34915)\n8. [Always - Sunset on Third Street, Entertainment.ie](https://entertainment.ie/movies/where-to-watch/always-sunset-on-third-street-7934/)\n9. [ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日 (2007), シネマトゥデイ](https://www.cinematoday.jp/movie/T0005630)\n10. [Always: Sunset on Third Street 2, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/always-sunset-on-third-street-2/2000272283/)\n11. [Always: Sunset on Third Street 2, FlixPatrol](https://flixpatrol.com/title/always-sunset-on-third-street-2/)\n12. [Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0953981/awards)\n13. [白組『ALWAYS 三丁目の夕日'64』制作チームが認めた, 映像新聞](https://www.eizo.co.jp/solutions/solution/creative/SHIROGUMI_INC.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s › Released 2005 to 2009*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日)](https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2](https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (ALWAYS 続・三丁目の夕日)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/always-sunset-on-third-street-2. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 is a 2007 Japanese drama by Takashi Yamazaki, sequel to the 2005 hit, set in 1959 Tokyo; it drew 3.7 million viewers and won Japan Academy Best Actor for Hidetaka Yoshioka." }