The Chrysanthemum and the Guillotine

Questioning the meaning of people's lives, the multiple stories include the work of a manga artist, old men get involved in a fight and a murder, a bus incident which affects those who survive it, fishing, cherry-blossom viewing and more

ER doctor Tsuyoshi Matsuoka receives a patient with a virus unlike anything he's seen before. His symptoms include high fever, convulsions, vomiting of blood and multiple organ failure. Could this be a new form of influenza or is it some other variety of virus? As the situation worsens and more cases begin arriving, a medical officer from the World Health Organization named Eiko Kobayashi is dispatched to the area. At the rate the virus is spreading, the entire city’s transportation system and infrastructure would be brought to a halt within 3 months. Within 6 months it could spread to tens of millions of people--reaching a death toll far worse than any war.

Based on a 2016 novel by Mana Sakura, “The Lowlife” shows the stories of three women who work in Japan’s adult video industry .

Japanese pink film.

No Good Men follows Kumiko, a young and attractive woman that works at a travel agency, and moonlights as an insatiable, sex-hungry mistress.

Hisashi and Mai are a happy couple in their 20s who are engaged to be married. But three months before their wedding, Mai becomes seriously ill. Her heart stops momentarily, and she falls into a deep coma. Hisashi visits Mai at the hospital every day before work. With no idea if or when she will ever awake, Mai’s parents encourage Hisashi to find someone else, but he refuses to give up and continues to pray for her recovery. As if his prayers are answered, Mai begins to regain consciousness several years later, and even utters a few words. But tragically, she has suffered brain damage and has no memory of Hisashi.

What lasts longer, the time before birth or the time after death? In the 1990's, Kenjo (Ishikawa Yuichi) dies in a terrorist gas attack. His girlfriend Haruka (Sasaki Yumeka) is killed by a man she meets as a street prostitute. In 2002, Kenji and Haruka who should already be dead, meet again and a new story begins.

Schoolgirls on the verge of adulthood know that boys can be feckless and girls treacherous. Three friends gather around a Ouija board to call forth the spirit of Kokkuri. Masami has a boyfriend, Akira; Hiroko, who is nervous about the séance, wonders if she should take the plunge into sex; Mio is haunted by her mother's suicide. She also has a secret life as the voice of a midnight talk show host, the sexually-charged Midori. Mio must explore her past and her new feelings. Can she hold off the power and predictions of Kokkuri to enter adulthood, or will the destructive and romantic side of teen spirit be too powerful?

A convicted rapist, Ikuo is released from prison and goes in pursuit of the woman he raped, Mieko. So obsessed is he with revenge he sees her in every woman he meets. After carrying out vicious attacks on a prostitute and a young girl he finally comes face to face with her.

An entry in a series focused on "love" and "erotica," in which six creators from multiple fields -- from film and TV to direct-to-video and manga -- compete. Director Zeze Takahisa, known for his bold undertakings, including Heaven's Story, presents an unabashed depiction of the tormented heart of a woman who lives in the countryside. Yuko (Ezawa Midori) meets the man (Kawai Ryunosuke) suspected of leaking inappropriate pictures of her younger sister having an affair onto the Internet. She agrees to let him take nude photos of her on the condition that he stays away from her sister.