An Encyclopedia of Unconventional Women
This is an omnibus of six short films by six different directors, whose lead characters are unconventional women. They are "Hijoshi," females who live true to themselves and their desires.
Takashi Shimizu
Renpei Tsukamoto
Kôji Kawano
Yudai Yamaguchi
Yoshihiro Fukagawa
Yûka Ohsumi
Keisuke Toyoshima
Casts & Crew
Rika Adachi
Jiji Bû
Tomoharu Hasegawa
Yutaka Izumihara
Kazushige Komatsu
Kyôko Ochiai
Riku Ohtomo
Jiro Sato
Kotaro Tanaka
Miyuki Torii
Sarara Tsukifune
Riisa Naka
Also Directed by Takashi Shimizu
Horror, gag, entertainment by Keisuke Toyoshima of "Heller master Shimizu Takashi ×" "Kaidan New Ear Bag Nobuhiro" !! "Kaidanui watching me ..." and "My alien" are included.
One of Takashi Shimizu's two short films made for horror portmanteau Gakkô no kaidan G.
Sam, a young boy in vacation on a cozy cruise with his mother, is tormented by the cursed spirit of a dead woman armed with a giant pair of scissors. Nightmare visions bring him to discover the real nature of this terrifying presence, a sacrifice ritual and a true death menace on aboard the cruise.
Flight 7500 departs Los Angeles International Airport bound for Tokyo. As the overnight flight makes its way over the Pacific Ocean during its ten-hour course, the passengers encounter what appears to be a supernatural force in the cabin.
To his mute sister's dismay, a young boy puts a dying rabbit out of its misery with a brick -- and soon the siblings end up in a world of nightmares.
A young woman encounters a malevolent supernatural force while searching for her missing sister in Tokyo, a mean high school prank goes horribly wrong, and strange things begin happening in a Chicago apartment building.
The third movie in the “Horror Village” series by Takashi Shimizu, following “Howling Village” and “Suicide Forest Village”.
A two-part feature directed separately by Shimizu and his colleague Keisuke Toyoshima. Unrelated to each other, both have a common goal: to bring ghosts and aliens together in pure, referential and absurdistic delirium, including neo-Nazi specters, zombie yakuzas, and nasty aliens.
Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.
Many horror stories exist about Inunaki Village. The village is now completely deserted. Kanae is a clinical psychologist, who can see spirits. Her older brother Yuma and Yuma’s girlfriend Akina go to Inunaki Village. Due to that, Kanae becomes involved in a mysterious case.
Also Directed by Renpei Tsukamoto
Yoshino Nao is a girl who fails the entrance exams of her target high school. She winds up enrolling in a technical high school called Kenritsu Asuka Kougyou Koukou, also known by the nickname "Asuko." Out of the 148 entering freshmen, only three are girls, and Nao is the only one in her class.
Kei Maneki works as a model. He has bad luck with murder cases taking place when he works. Kei Maneki becomes an important witness in these murder cases. To clear his name, Kei Maneki and his model friends Itsuki Suo and Toma Shimon attempt to solve the murder cases.
A short film tie-in for One Missed Call 2 by the film's director Renpai Tsukamoto
Keito is a reporter for a weekly magazine. The magazine covers everything from corruption by politicians to entertainers' scandals. She watches out for the next big scoop. Keito is also rich and enjoys her work, as well as her love life. One day, Keito's mother suddenly dies. Anna was a single mother who raised Keito alone. She worked as a movie critic. Right before her death, Anna mentioned something about Keito's father. The name she mentioned is that of a Hollywood star.
Kaori (Ryoko Shinohara) is a single mother and she raises her high-school age daughter Futaba (Kyoko Yoshine). Her daughter is in a rebellious phase and ignores her mother. Kaori decides to take measures to communicate with her daughter and also get some revenge. Kaori creates messages in her daughter's bento meals.
Madoka Tsutsumi is a university student. He rarely expresses his feelings and he has never done an impulsive act in his life. One night, he sees an old man and a pink rabbit struggling physically. The pink rabbit seems surprised and asks Madoka if he can see them. The pink rabbit then introduces itself as the Angel of Death and says the old man is a ghost who died yesterday.
The series follow the story of a high school boy who lives in Tokyo, and his childhood friend, Hakatano Donko-chan, who is from Hakata and really talks in Hakata dialect! People around her sometimes get confused because of it, but her dialect makes them smile!
Shingo Okazaki is a young man devoted to his mother to a degree that's rare in Japan. He's a young fellow who treats his mother with respect, but his tendency to overdo it makes his filial devotion look more like a little fault to those around him. Then, a young woman falls in love with him. She finds it very admirable that he takes such good care of his mother, but is also a bit confused by this fellow who seems to care more for his mother than for his girlfriend.
The series follow the story of a high school boy who lives in Tokyo, and his childhood friend, Hakatano Donko-chan, who is from Hakata and really talks in Hakata dialect! People around her sometimes get confused because of it, but her dialect makes them smile!
Also Directed by Kôji Kawano
A boy from Tokyo moves to the countryside and has trouble adapting, falls in love.
A psycho scientist sent in to inoculate the luscious young student bodies against a new virus makes a little error in judgment, resulting in a not-so-little flesh-eating zombie problem. Now, with most of the school and all of the teachers running amuck, eating each other, having rabid sex and juggling, it's up to Aki and her new found allies on the Girls Swim Team to take care of business.
A youth drama based on the first Yankee novel by Fuyuki Shindo, starring Hiromi Sakimoto, who is popular as a member of the Hexagon family. Aiming to be the strongest in the school, the passionate life of high school students who are quarreling is depicted.
Year is 2099. Japan is controlled by the Mabutachi gang. Mysterious woman Mihiro wanders the world searching for the mabutachi gang. What is going to happen to Japan?
Yuki is introverted and not very good with love. She has a crush on somebody, but he already has a girlfriend. Kou is in the same art club as Yuki and has feelings for her.
Junya whose famous cyclist father died in an accident a year ago, meets up by chance with Shintaro. First, he meets Shintaro while he's on his message carrier job, and Shintaro looks like he's about to jump off a building, and Junya rushes to the top of the building to stop him. But the first time they officially meet, Junya plows into him on his bicycle and minorly cracks a bone, so he's got a month off work for him to get closer to Shintaro, who feels really guilty about the whole affair.
Soon after meeting a spectral child in the endless corridors of a modern hospital, a woman returns home to find a mysterious e-mail waiting in her inbox. Upon opening the message, the woman is transported into a paranormal universe unlike anything she has ever experienced. Once there, she quickly discovers that the only way home is to solve the mystery surrounding the death of an innocent young boy.
Ever since bike messenger Junya lost his pro cyclist father in a traffic accident one year ago, he's spent his days in lethargy. While out on a delivery, he spots a man, Shintarou, considering jumping from the roof of a building. By chance, the two meet later on after an accident caused by Shintarou sends Junya to the hospital. From there starts the story of their ill-fated friendship.
Ai (Sorami Imura), who attends a girls' school in Tokyo, spends her student life with her classmates from middle school, Fuyumi, Chiharu, Akiko and Yoko. One day, a chain mail called "murder net" arrives on Ai's mobile phone. According to rumors, "You can kill someone by including the name of the person you want to kill and sending it to them." Ai didn't believe the rumors at all, but Fuyumi tells Ai to put her name on and send it, and Ai reluctantly sends her the name of Fuyumi. Immediately after that, Fuyumi jumps from the roof and commits suicide. After Fuyumi's death, a mysterious accident occurrs one after another, and the teacher dies... Did Fuyumi die due to the "murder net" sent by Ai?
Ichiko and Eri are two beautiful Japanese university students who are in a lesbian relationship. Ichiko comes out to her father who tells her he is also gay and her mother was a lesbian. Her best friend is gay too, though he has a female who is after him. Their liaison is very intense, but Eri suggests a temporary separation so she can concentrate on her law studies. The break from their affair is difficult for Ichiko to deal with. But Eri soon sorts out her priorities.
Also Directed by Yudai Yamaguchi
The Amamiya Brothers, Masaki (Takahiro) and Hiroto (Hiroomi Tosaka), keep looking for their older brother Takeru (Takumi Saito) who disappeared one year ago. The three Amamiya brothers lost their parents when they were young. Since then, they relied only on each other. On the anniversary of their parents' death, Masaki and Hiroto expect Takeru to appear. Instead, they meet a person who has a clue on Takeru's whereabouts. [idmoviebox.com]
Baseball prodigy Jubeh Yakyu is the most feared and dangerous juvenile delinquent in all of Japan. After accidentally causing the death of his father with a super-powered, deadly fireball pitch, Jubeh swore off baseball and became a criminal and now, at 17, has been sent to the Pterodactyl Juvenile Reformatory for hardened criminals. Headmistress Ishihara, the granddaughter of a World War II Nazi collaborator, runs the institution with an iron fist and the enthusiastic help of her sadistic assistant, Ilsa. After arriving at the hellhole, Jubeh soon learns from governor Mifune that his long-lost, younger brother Musashi had also done time there after a murder spree, but had since died mysteriously…
Based on the manga by Man Gataro.
Battlefield Baseball is a tough game--it doesn't end until all the members on the opposing team are dead. In this game the Gedo High team is composed of blue-faced zombies, and their opponents on the Seido High team know they don't have a chance at beating them unless they can bring back a star pitcher who has a lethal pitch called the Super Tornado, but who has hung up his cleats and has no desire to return to the game.
Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.
A bunch of happy students enjoying themselves at a Christmas party until a sadistic Santa Claus comes and interrupts the festivities. Spruce Green becomes blood red when the plot is different from the naughty children they please.
Action movie by Yudai Yamaguchi, starring Tak Sakaguchi. So far there's no information about the story.
From prominent Japanese filmmaker Yudai Yamaguchi comes this off-the-wall anthology of three experimental vignettes showcasing the style and wit that are the director's stock-in-trade. Recorded on digital video, these genre-bending short films -- starring then up-and-comer Tak Sakaguchi -- are awash with farce, Yamaguchi's pubescent sense of humor and electrifying rock 'n' roll.
An ambitious anthology film featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world's leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children's educational ABC books, the film comprises 26 individual chapters, each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death.
When a good student named Kamiyama gets placed in a high school filled with disobedient kids, he steps up to the plate and takes a position of leadership. Urging the young slackers and rebels to clean up their act, Kamiyama is in store for a lot of resistance.
Also Directed by Yoshihiro Fukagawa
"Girls" follows four beautiful women and depicts the troubles found in their love lives and work place. Yukiko Takigawa (Karina) works at a big advertising firm and has a good looking boyfriend. Seiko Takeda is married and has no children. She works at a large real estate company. Yoko Kosaka is a single woman working at a historic stationary company. Takako Hirai is a single mother who works for a car manufacturer.
Dr. Ichito works at Honjo Hospital. His longtime friend Dr. Tatsuya Shindo, who comes from Tokyo, begins working at Honjo Hospital. In their university days, Tatsuya was referred to as "the conscience of the medical school". Ichito notices a difference in Tatsuya now, as he leaves work on time. Then, Ichito's senior colleague Dr. Nukita collapses.
In the town of Sakurada, where about half of the residents have special abilities, Kei Asai (Shuhei Nomura) is a high school student and is able to remember everything. Misora Haruki (Yuina Kuroshima) is also a high school student and she has the power to reset the world by 3 days. If they use both of their powers together, they can go back in time by 3 days and retain their memory. They are watched by the administrative bureau.
A disillusioned Natsume arrives at Coin de Rue, a popular Tokyo pastry shop, begging for work. Aiming to become a high-calibre pastry chef, she is determined to overcome both her past and the challenges ahead. Pastry critic Tomura is a frequent visitor to Coin de Rue. Moved by Natsume's persistence, he slowly begins to confront his own painful past aided, of course, by mouthfuls of tasty pastries.
Two 17 year old teens are hospitalized for different reasons. Ezaki suffers from Hepatitis A, while Akiba is due to a weak heart. The relationship between these two hospital patients soon blossoms into romance.
Wataru, his woman Kotoe and daughter Shiori are ranchers and dairy farmers in Hokkaido in northern Japan. He is following in his father's footsteps. A visiting chef cooks an unforgettable meal with his ingredients, which prompts the family to open their own restaurant and reproduce the magic.
Too shy to speak out the word of appreciation, too busy to show that you care... Many excuses lie between each and every couple, when they look back the distance created during the long years in which they took each other for granted... Love Letters sent from husbands to wives and from wives to husbands, quietly voice their unspoken appreciation for each other over the years that they have shared. The original idea comes from the postcard project "Love Letters at Sixty" which has brought a wave of sympathy to the precious emotions shared by many married couples.
In the town of Sakurada, where about half of the residents have special abilities, Kei Asai (Shuhei Nomura) is a high school student and is able to remember everything. Misora Haruki (Yuina Kuroshima) is also a high school student and she has the power to reset the world by 3 days. If they use both of their powers together, they can go back in time by 3 days and retain their memory. They are watched by the administrative bureau.
Fifteen-year-old Masaharu (Yanagisawa Daisuke) lives on the small island of Aogashima, which has a population of 197. On the island, life is simple and facilities are spare. As there are no high schools on the island, Masaharu, in his final year of junior high, will be leaving for Tokyo after he graduates. He is the editor of Blue Island Times, the local newspaper he started with a friend, who has hit on hard times in Tokyo. One day, Yuki (Naka Riisa) transfers from the city to his island school, and Masaharu is immediately smitten. As the two grow closer, Masaharu discovers his new friend's secret...
Also Directed by Keisuke Toyoshima
Horror, gag, entertainment by Keisuke Toyoshima of "Heller master Shimizu Takashi ×" "Kaidan New Ear Bag Nobuhiro" !! "Kaidanui watching me ..." and "My alien" are included.
Japan around 1860: popular courtesan Asagiri will be freed soon from her service, yet she cannot imagine any other existence. Until one day at a local festival, Asagiri meets the young artisan Hanjiro by chance – an encounter that changes her destiny. With a strong performance by leading actress Yumi ADACHI and exquisite camerawork and production design, A COURTESAN WITH FLOWERED SKIN succeeds in recalling the golden age of Japanese erotic film.
8 short stories comprise this anthology movie, based on the Tales of Terror TV series.
Kiyotaka Sato (Shuhei Nomura) is a university student. He is sociable, but he looks like he doesn't have interest in those around him. During his summer vacation, Kiyotaka Sato plans to get his driver's license to impress schoolmate Matsuda (Yukino Kishii). At this time, a yakuza boss (Ken Mitsuishi) orders Todoroki (Kento Kaku) to get his driver’s license. Todoroki doesn't show his feelings outwardly. Later, Todoroki drives a car without a driver’s license and he hits Kiyotaka Sato. To cover up the accident, Kiyotaka Sato is placed in a car and taken to away. He arrives at an unofficial driving school. The driving school is run by the Uehara family. There, Kiyotaka Sato and Todoroki learn that they graduated from the same high school. They spend their summer at the driving school.
Mio Meguro (Fuka Koshiba) is a timid person. She is afraid of being hated by others and this causes her to refrain from saying what she really wants to say. She doesn't have any specific things she wants to do. She got a job and eventually dated a man from her workplace work. Mio Meguro wanted to marry the man, but he turns out to be a bad guy. Because of him, she becomes penniless and unemployed. Her life descends into a bottomless pit. Mio Meguro then happens to get a sharehouse, where the mysterious creatures known as yokai live. The yokai try to solve her problems in radical ways.
Nobuhiro is convinced that, in order to honor his mother's death by suicide, he needs to find the reincarnation of his mother and die with her, together, under the spell of love. A young model tries to discover the truth behind one of his paintings which depicts the horrific death of a woman and her lover.
My brother took my brother. A woman, always frustrated, forces him to pick pockets and rob people just for the thrill of it. A man who resists but continues to be an accomplice with infinite tolerance. Is it the man or the woman who is desperate to keep his partner in line? It is the woman's brother who comes between the frustration and tolerance that seems to swell endlessly. But as he makes her apologise at the graveside of her parents, he also commits the sin of lying in order to keep his love alive. There is very little expository dialogue. There is very little exposition in the film, but it is enough to convey the feelings and circumstances of each character. The structure, the script and the acting are the foundations of a film that succeeds in depicting the birth of a new love triangle in a cool and realistic way.
A two-part feature directed separately by Shimizu and his colleague Keisuke Toyoshima. Unrelated to each other, both have a common goal: to bring ghosts and aliens together in pure, referential and absurdistic delirium, including neo-Nazi specters, zombie yakuzas, and nasty aliens.
One morning, students find their homeroom teacher Tokuyama Daigoro’s body on the floor of the classroom. A strange school life begins as the students work hard to hide the presence of their teacher's corpse in their classroom. Other teachers from the Academy, their homeroom teacher's wife, his mistress, police, and reporters... One-by-one they visit the classroom and the students face the risk of being discovered. Is it possible to continue to hide it?! And who was it who killed him?!
Based on renowned Japanese writer Natsume Soseki's same-titled short story collection, Ten Nights of Dreams brings ten fantastical dream sequences to film with great visual and psychological panache. Representing the combined efforts of eleven directors, this outstanding anthology delves into the surreal subconscious with ten madly imaginative, reality-subverting visions that range from wonderfully wacky to nightmarishly unsettling.