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For students all around the world, the day of a big test is one of the most nerve-racking of the entire school year. And when you’re sitting for your university exam in Japan, it’s like the final step of a long journey after months of solo studying, endless reading and many sleepless nights.

The student’s journey to the final exam has now been beautifully captured in a unique two-minute commercial that features the most fitting of canvases: the humble school blackboard. While students around the country have shown us their amazing talent for creating chalk-based works of art on classroom blackboards, this commercial brings chalkboard art to life with a moving animation that will simply blow you away.

Produced for Calorie Mate—a brand of nutritional energy bar that provides dietary support for busy people on the go—this commercial took an incredible 2,632 hours to make and used 6,328 chalkboard art images to tell the story of one high school girl’s energy-sapping year as she works up to taking her university entrance exam. If you’ve ever had the chance to study or teach at a Japanese high school, the moments captured in the chalkboard animation will take you on a trip down a beautiful, cherry-blossom-lined memory lane.

The underlying strength of a student can be found in the support she receives from family, friends and teachers in the lead-up to the final test day. With a little help from the nutritional energy bar she keeps in her schoolbag, of course. Let’s take a closer look at some of the Japanese school moments that make this commercial so beautiful.

▼ Our hardworking student sits alone in the classroom after school, with only the billowing curtains and empty desks for company.

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High school students in their third and final year of high school forgo their usual after-school club activities in order to devote all their time to studying. There’s no more time to have fun with classmates after school when you’ve got that final exam to think about!

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▼ There is, however, always time to let out a girly squeal when your handsome crush walks by.

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▼ The stress of rote-learning can often lead to angry outbursts at innocent family members.

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▼ But a visit to the shrine and a few prayers for good luck is a great way for students to de-stress.

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As an added bonus, the producers of the commercial have released a special behind-the-scenes video that reveals the process of making the chalk art designs and the artists who helped to create them.

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The animated product was created with the help of projected images, a number of chalkboards and a whole lot of chalk.

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To check out all the hard work that went into the project, take a look at the video below.

The beautiful images and nostalgic scenes almost make us want to go back to our teenage years and relive those special moments again!

Source: ITmedia
Top Image: YouTube/Otsuka Pharmaceutical Official Channel
Insert Images: YouTube/Otsuka Pharmaceutical Official Channel, YouTube/Otsuka Pharmaceutical Official Channel