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Timeline

My Teacher (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2017 · 113 mins · Japanese
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Directed by
Takahiro Miki
Starring
Suzu Hirose, Tomoya Nakamura, Leo Morimoto, Toma Ikuta, Ryo Ryusei, Kentaro Ito

Hibiki Shimada, a seventeen-year-old high school student, hasn't experienced love despite being surrounded by those who claim to be experts. Her perspective changes when she develops feelings for her attractive and kind twenty-six-year-old teacher, Itō. Determined to express her emotions, she embarks on a journey to help him understand how she feels.

On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (15)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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15 events in order · contains spoilers

My Teacher Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of My Teacher (2017) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Hibiki's Introduction

    We meet Hibiki Shimada, a second-year high school student with a passion for archery. Despite her skills, she has never experienced romantic love, setting the stage for her personal journey.

    Where
    High School
  2. Friendships Formed

    Hibiki befriends Megumi Chigusa and Kosuke Kawai, two classmates who openly express their affections for their teachers. This dynamic highlights Hibiki's contrasting feelings towards love.

    Where
    High School
  3. The Mixed-Up Letter

    In a comical twist, Hibiki mistakenly sends Chigusa's love letter for their mathematics teacher, Sekiya, to her secret crush, world history teacher Kosaku Ito. This mishap propels Hibiki deeper into feelings she hasn't fully understood.

    Where
    High School
  4. Unexpected Kindness

    After the letter incident, Hibiki finds herself drawn to Ito's unexpected kindness. He helps her when she is in a precarious situation and proves to be a compassionate figure, deepening her infatuation.

    Where
    School Grounds
  5. Chigusa's Change of Heart

    Chigusa learns that Sekiya returns Nakajima's affections, leading her to quietly withdraw from her pursuit. This revelation shifts the focus back to Hibiki and her evolving feelings for Ito.

    Where
    High School
  6. Confessions Overheard

    While eavesdropping, Hibiki and Kosuke hear Nakajima confess her love to Ito, who rejects her. This moment reaffirms Hibiki's resolve to pursue her feelings, despite the complications.

    Where
    School Hallway
  7. The Challenge

    Hibiki boldly professes her love to Ito, proposing a deal: she will interpret a score over 90 on her history test as his acceptance of her feelings. This adds a competitive edge to her emotions.

    Where
    Classroom
  8. Encouragement from Fujioka

    As Hibiki faces discouragement from Nakajima and Ito, archery peer Yusuke Fujioka offers her a motivational pep talk. His support revitalizes her spirit and determination to succeed.

    Where
    Archery Practice
  9. Cultural Festival Proposal

    During the cultural festival, Hibiki dresses in a wedding gown costume, expressing her unwavering love for Ito. He responds unexpectedly with a hug and a kiss, marking a pivotal moment in their relationship.

    Where
    Cultural Festival
  10. Consequences of the Kiss

    The kiss quickly becomes gossip throughout the school. As a result of their actions, Hibiki faces suspension, and Ito is called for disciplinary actions, complicating their already tumultuous feelings.

    Where
    High School
  11. Ito's Reluctance

    In a private meeting, Ito discourages Hibiki from pursuing their relationship any further. This rejection leaves her heartbroken and confused about her feelings and the future.

    Where
    School Office
  12. Fujioka's Affection

    As Hibiki walks home dejectedly, she finds comfort in Fujioka's presence. He confesses his feelings for her, adding another layer of complexity to her emotions as she navigates her heart.

    Where
    On the Streets
  13. Ito's Transfer Decision

    The outcome of Ito's disciplinary meeting reveals that he will transfer to another school. Hibiki, still in suspension, remains unaware of this significant change until Chigusa informs her of the situation.

    Where
    High School
  14. The Final Meeting

    Desperate to see Ito one last time, Hibiki rushes to meet him after learning about his transfer. In a heartfelt confession, Ito expresses his love for her and asks her to wait until she is of age for a future together.

    Where
    Park
  15. Graduation and New Beginnings

    A year and a half later, Hibiki graduates, and life has unfolded for her friends. As she exits the school grounds, she shares a moment with Ito, expressing her wish to hold hands, culminating in their first kiss.

    Where
    High School Grounds

Last updated: September 18, 2026 at 08:59

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Timeline questions answered

My Teacher Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of My Teacher (2017): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why did Ito reject Nakajima's confession?

In My Teacher, Ito rejected Nakajima because his feelings simply did not extend toward her as a romantic interest, even though she was a fellow adult colleague. When Hibiki and Kosuke overhear the confession in the school hallway, they discover that his heart was never engaged with Nakajima, despite her open affection for him. The rejection is not motivated by professional caution in that moment, but by the absence of reciprocal feelings, which is what makes his later emotional openness to Hibiki stand out so starkly.

Foreshadowing: Ito's quiet, repeated kindness toward Hibiki, hospital visits, late assignments, rides home, signals long before the festival that his emotional attention is fixed on her, not Nakajima.

  • ito
  • nakajima
  • rejection
  • confession
  • hallway
  • reciprocation
Q2

Why did Hibiki set a 90-point test score as the condition for Ito's reciprocation?

Hibiki invents the 90-point bet to give her confession a symbolic anchor so she could express her feelings without demanding an immediate answer. By tying her love to a measurable academic goal, she transformed her bold declaration into a challenge she could pursue on her own, leaving room for Ito to respond through action rather than forced words. The deal also lets her keep hoping even when Ito and Nakajima actively discourage her, because the test becomes something she can control.

Foreshadowing: Hibiki's passion for archery, a sport built on discipline and target scores, establishes her instinct to express emotional stakes through measurable achievements.

  • hibiki
  • history test
  • 90 points
  • bet
  • challenge
  • confession
Q3

How did the accidental love letter deepen Hibiki's crush on Ito?

The mistaken letter meant for Chigusa forced Hibiki into repeated contact with Ito as she tried to retrieve it, and each encounter revealed a side of him she had not seen in class. When he rushed her to the hospital after the accident, helped her with assignments outside school hours, and offered her rides home, the stern world history teacher became associated with safety and care. These unexpected acts of kindness turned what had been a quiet admiration into a deeper emotional attachment in My Teacher.

Foreshadowing: Ito's stern classroom demeanor early in the film makes every gentle act outside of school feel like a deliberate revelation rather than a casual gesture.

  • hibiki
  • ito
  • love letter
  • accident
  • kindness
  • hospital
Q4

Why did Ito kiss Hibiki at the cultural festival despite the risks?

At the cultural festival, Hibiki dressed in a wedding gown costume and publicly declared her everlasting love, making her feelings impossible to ignore. Ito's embrace and kiss were his reciprocal answer to that committed, vulnerable moment rather than a calculated choice. The act was impulsive and emotional, which is why the consequences, school gossip, Hibiki's suspension, and Ito's disciplinary meeting, surge so quickly afterward in the story.

Foreshadowing: Hibiki's escalating boldness throughout the film, culminating in her willingness to face discouragement from Nakajima and Ito himself, sets up her decision to make the festival declaration in costume.

  • ito
  • hibiki
  • cultural festival
  • wedding gown
  • kiss
  • declaration
Q5

Why did Ito discourage Hibiki from pursuing the relationship after the kiss?

Once the kiss became public school gossip and triggered a disciplinary review, Ito actively pushed Hibiki away to protect her from the institutional fallout. As her teacher, he understood that continuing the romance would only deepen the consequences for her academic life, even though she had already been suspended. His discouragement reads as cold in that scene, but it functions as a shield, attempting to draw a line he himself was unable to draw at the festival.

Foreshadowing: Ito's repeated offers to help Hibiki outside of school hint at a teacher who quietly prioritizes her well-being over his own comfort.

  • ito
  • hibiki
  • suspension
  • gossip
  • discouragement
  • protection
Q6

Why did Ito decide to transfer to another school?

Ito's transfer was the administrative result of his disciplinary meeting following the public festival kiss. Because he was the adult and the teacher in the relationship, the school placed the bulk of the institutional responsibility on him, and reassignment was the formal remedy. Hibiki, who was still serving her suspension, only learns about the transfer when Chigusa brings the news to her home, which is why the revelation hits her with such force.

Foreshadowing: The school's immediate response to the kiss, including Hibiki's suspension, foreshadows that institutional consequences for Ito were never optional.

  • ito
  • transfer
  • disciplinary meeting
  • suspension
  • school
  • reassignment
Q7

What role does Fujioka play in Hibiki's emotional journey?

Yusuke Fujioka functions as both Hibiki's motivator and her alternate romantic possibility. As an archery peer from another school, he gives her a critical pep talk when Nakajima and Ito's discouragement threaten to extinguish her resolve, allowing her to push through toward her test goal. His later street confession adds another layer to her emotional conflict, presenting her with a complication she must weigh before choosing to wait for Ito in My Teacher.

Foreshadowing: Fujioka's early appearance at archery practice establishes him as someone who understands Hibiki's competitive, goal-driven nature before he ever confesses.

  • fujioka
  • hibiki
  • archery
  • pep talk
  • confession
  • motivation
Q8

How did the school find out about the kiss between Hibiki and Ito?

The kiss happened in the open at the cultural festival, in front of attendees who recognized both Hibiki and Ito as members of the school community. Because Hibiki had just delivered her declaration in a wedding gown costume, the moment was visually unmistakable. Gossip traveled through the school that same day, which is how the disciplinary process was triggered almost immediately, without any private betrayal or hidden report.

Foreshadowing: The cultural festival's public, costume-driven atmosphere sets the stage for a moment that could never have remained private.

  • kiss
  • cultural festival
  • gossip
  • wedding gown
  • school
  • witnesses
Q9

Why did Ito ask Hibiki to wait until she comes of age?

When Ito and Hibiki finally meet before his transfer, he reciprocates her feelings but asks her to wait until she is legally an adult. The request acknowledges the age gap and the student-teacher dynamic that hangs over their relationship in My Teacher. By asking her to wait, he signals that his feelings are real while also planning to begin their romance on equal, legal footing once the power imbalance is no longer an issue.

Foreshadowing: Ito's post-festival discouragement already hinted that his hesitation came from institutional and ethical concerns, not from a lack of feeling.

  • ito
  • hibiki
  • wait
  • age
  • transfer
  • legal adult
Q10

What triggered Kosuke's angry confrontation with Ito before the final meeting?

Kosuke, who was himself pursuing a teacher, exploded at Ito for transferring and seemingly abandoning Hibiki right after appearing to accept her feelings. His anger was rooted in loyalty to his friend and frustration at watching a romance he had encouraged collapse under administrative pressure. That confrontation was the emotional spark that pushed Hibiki to race toward Ito one last time, turning Kosuke's outrage into the catalyst for their park meeting.

Foreshadowing: Kosuke's role throughout the film as the boldest pursuer of a teacher establishes him as the character most likely to challenge Ito's decision publicly.

  • kosuke
  • ito
  • anger
  • park
  • confrontation
  • transfer
Q11

Why did Chigusa withdraw her pursuit of Sekiya?

Chigusa stepped back from Sekiya once she realized his romantic interest belonged to Nakajima. Rather than continue a one-sided pursuit that would damage friendships within their shared circle, she chose to withdraw quietly. Her graceful exit removes a parallel subplot from the foreground and refocuses the story on Hibiki's increasingly complicated feelings for Ito.

Foreshadowing: Chigusa's friendship with both Nakajima and Sekiya makes her eventual awareness of their mutual affection a natural development rather than a sudden reversal.

  • chigusa
  • sekiya
  • nakajima
  • withdrawal
  • love triangle
  • friendship
Q12

How did Ito's unexpected kindness change Hibiki's perception of him?

Before the letter mix-up, Hibiki saw Ito as a strict, intimidating world history teacher kept at a professional distance. His decision to rush her to the hospital after the accident, help her with assignments outside school hours, and offer her rides home rewrote that image with warmth and care. Each small act compounded the others, turning a secret crush into a genuine romantic attachment that ultimately drives the entire central arc of My Teacher.

Foreshadowing: Ito's stern classroom persona early in the film contrasts so sharply with his later private kindness that the change registers as a deliberate emotional reveal for Hibiki.

  • ito
  • hibiki
  • kindness
  • perception
  • accident
  • hospital

Movie threads

More Movies Like My Teacher, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes My Teacher tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Forbidden student-teacher romance movies like My Teacher

Love stories that cross lines of age, authority, or convention and must survive the consequences. Movies like My Teacher where tender love blooms across forbidden lines. These student-teacher romances and taboo relationships explore the ache of wanting someone the world says you cannot have, balancing youthful longing with the weight of crossing boundaries and the quiet hope that love can survive the consequences.

  • forbidden
  • yearning
  • taboo
  • secret love
  • tender
  • guilt
  • Tone: bittersweet, yearning
  • Pacing: steady, building
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Forbidden romances usually open with a chance meeting or a small accident that sparks an unexpected attraction. A secret courtship develops, often through small gestures and stolen moments, until an external crisis, like discovery, discipline, or moral reckoning, forces the couple apart. The middle act stretches across a long separation where both characters grow and quietly preserve the memory of what they shared. The resolution arrives years later, when maturity, distance, or changed circumstances allow the relationship to be reclaimed, and the audience is rewarded with a tender reunion rather than a dramatic confession.

Why they belong together: These films share a forbidden dynamic with an age gap or power imbalance, a steady pace that lets longing build, a bittersweet tone mixing shame and sweetness, and a happy ending earned through patient waiting. The mood is consistently tender, wistful, and quietly hopeful rather than scandalous or scandalized.

Tender patient romance movies like My Teacher

Romances where love survives long separations, slow burn devotion, and the quiet test of time. If you liked My Teacher, you'll love these tender romances where love endures years of separation and quiet longing. These patient love stories follow characters through high school into adulthood, building emotional devotion across time and rewarding viewers with a warm, hopeful reunion after long waits and gentle heartbreak.

  • patient
  • wistful
  • hopeful
  • tender
  • reunion
  • coming of age
  • Tone: bittersweet, hopeful, tender
  • Pacing: steady, slow build across years
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Patient love stories tend to begin in youth, when a protagonist recognizes something real in another person and decides to wait for it. A separation, often triggered by family, discipline, geography, or social pressure, splits the couple apart for years. The narrative gently tracks the protagonist's growth while holding the original attachment intact through small rituals, memories, or unfinished promises. The final act reunites them at a moment of mutual readiness, and the resolution feels less like a new beginning than the completion of a vow that was always quietly being kept.

Why they belong together: These films share a coming-of-age romantic core, a steady chronological pace, a bittersweet tone that leans hopeful, and a happy ending built on years of separation rather than a grand gesture. The pacing is reflective, the mood tender and wistful, and the emotional weight sits at a medium level that earns its tears without becoming tragic.

Every angle

My Teacher (2017) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

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