All About Lily Chou-Chou follows the lives of two boys, Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, from the start of junior high school into their second year. The film follows a
nonlinear narrative structure, beginning midway through the story just after the second term of junior high school begins, then flashing back to the first term, then summer vacation, and then returning to the present as it covers the rest of the second term. Fourteen-year-old Yuichi Hasumi runs a
fansite and message board dedicated to Lily Chou-Chou, his favorite singer. Posting under the alias "Philia," he befriends other users, including a pervasive one named "Blue Cat." A shy and socially outcast teenager, Yuichi is viciously bullied by his older classmate Shusuke Hoshino along with members of his gang, who beat Yuichi and force him to masturbate in front of them. The film flashes back to the previous year, where Shusuke is introduced as the academically gifted class president who meets Yuichi at the school's
kendo club. The pair become close friends, and Shusuke invites Yuichi to stay over at his house, introducing him to Lily Chou-Chou's music. Yuichi is moved by her music, joining her cult following. Back at school, he develops a crush on his classmate, Yōko Kuno. On summer vacation, Shusuke, Yuichi, and their friends decide to take a trip to
Okinawa. Once there, Shusuke has a traumatic
near-death experience from almost drowning, and his personality changes from good-natured to dangerous and manipulative. Returning to school in September, he takes his place as a class bully and shows his newfound power by ruining the lives of his classmates. An alternative voice, that of the character Sumika Kanzaki, attributes Shusuke's personality change to the collapse of his family's business and his parents' divorce. Yuichi finds himself sucked into his now-tormentor's gang. He is ridiculed and coerced into doing Shusuke's dirty work and finds solace only in the ethereal music of Lily Chou-Chou and chatting with his online friends on his fan website. Things become far worse for everyone when Yuichi is assigned to supervise Shiori Tsuda, whom Shusuke has blackmailed into
enjo kōsai. Yoko is raped by Shusuke's lackeys after unwittingly offending the school's girl gang. She cuts off her hair to avoid the same fate as Shiori. A guilt-ridden Yuichi lends Shiori his copy of Lily Chou-Chou's album; she later dies by suicide. Yuichi, grieving over Shiori's death, is talked out of suicide by Blue Cat in a series of online messages. Yuichi heads to Tokyo to see a Lily Chou-Chou concert, where he and "Blue Cat" have also arranged to meet in person. Yuichi runs into Shusuke, who coercively throws away Yuichi's ticket, and realizes that Shusuke was Blue Cat. Yuichi watches the concert outside on a screen, encountering Shusuke again once the concert ends. When Shusuke turns to leave, Yuichi creates a commotion in the crowd, then stabs Shusuke to death amid the chaos. At home, Yuichi begins his life again, reconciling with his schoolteacher and dyeing his hair. He shares a moment with Yoko as she plays piano. The movie's final scene shows Yuichi, Shusuke, and Shiori standing alone in a field, listening to the music of Lily Chou-Chou. == Cast ==