Atsuro Watabe
Hashiba Takeru is the leader of Global Operation Service (GOS), a secret spy organization housed within the Public Security Investigation Bureau which is tasked with eradicating criminals who are targeting Japan for various reasons.
Serial killer vs newspaper reporter. A shocking mystery depicting an unprecedented theatrical crime! Can the reporter played by Hiroshi Tamaki stop the assault of serial killers with "words"???
The Mikumo family attempts their biggest heist to date For that heist, the family travels abroad.
Hana comes from a family that has been thieves for generations. Hana refuses to become a thief and she wants to live a normal life. She currently works as a librarian and she is dating Kazuma, who works as a public officer. She hears that Kazuma's family are all public officers. One day, Hana visits Kazuma's family. She discovers that Kazuma's family, including Kazuma, are actually all police officers. Hana gets involved in a case and falls into trouble.
Three murder cases take place in Tokyo. Numbers are left at the murder scenes, possibly hinting at where the next murder will take place. An investigation begins of the serial killer and Detective Kosuke Nitta (Takuya Kimura) works on the case. He believes the next murder will take place at Hotel Koruteshia Tokyo. To catch the killer, Kosuke Nitta goes undercover and begins working at the front desk of the hotel. Naomi Yamagishi (Masami Nagasawa) works at the front desk of Hotel Koruteshia Tokyo. She is selected to train Kosuke Nitta for his front desk job, but they can't get along. Kosuke Nitta is focused on catching the killer, but Naomi Yamagishi prioritizes the safety of the guests. As they begin to understand each others differences, they also begin to build a trust between each other. Who is the murderer? --asianwiki
20-year-old university student Anri is chased out of her house when her mother has a new boyfriend. While spending every night at different Internet cafes, Anri comes to know about "papakatsu" and subsequently meets a 45-year-old university lecturer Wataru. Anri then moves into the apartment which Wataru rents for her before finding out about a secret which he has been hiding from her.
Tomozo Sudo is a detective. Due to an incident, he is excluded from investigative work. He is then assigned to work in a division responsible for taking care of animals whose owners are suspects or missing. Keiko Usuki is a police constable and works in the same division. She loves animals more than humans. Keiko develops inferences from clues from animals left behind at crime scenes. Tomozo and Keiko work together to solve cases.
Troubled 17-year-old Yu (Nishijima Takahiro) is the son of a widowed priest (Watabe Atsuro) who's in an illicit relationship with a parishioner (Watanabe Makiko). Beleaguered by his father's hypocritical religious zeal, Yu takes his own sin - taking upskirt panty shots of schoolgirls - very seriously, so much so it becomes a job. Yu is saving his first time for the ideal girl, and he finally meets her in the form of Yoko (Mitsushima Hikari), a sassy man-hating schoolgirl who beats up guys for the heck of it. Yu falls hard for Yoko, but courting her is no easy matter, especially when fanatical cult recruiter Aya (Ando Sakura) also has her eyes on Yoko.
Muto Takashi is a former police detective who uses illegal methods to solve cases which are difficult to handle by the police. Kaburagi Wataru is a police detective and Muto's buddy, and Tamaki takes charge of the special missions given to Muto. While exploring the lives of these men, the topic of whether revenge is right or wrong is discussed in this drama.
The Tokyo police receives a bomb threat from what appears to be Lupin III. This proves to be a distraction and a priceless painting was stolen from the nearby Tokyo Empire Museum, leaving a guard dead. Enter Inspector Zenigata who is convinced this wasn't Lupin III at all. In his own unique way he goes about proving this only to attract the attention of a real bomber calling himself Mr. Question. Will his riddles defeat Zenigata and his team or will they persevere and save Tokyo?
Hinako Todo (Haru) is a first-year detective who graduated from the police academy at the top of her class. She always carries with herself a bottle of shichimi chili peppers which was left by her late mother and sprinkles shichimi over everything she eats. Despite her a bit quirky/cheerful demeanor, she holds dark secrets locked deep within her heart… Hinako became a detective, because she wants to find the line between people who kill and those who don't. Once her "crime-solving switch" is on, nothing can stop Hinako from tackling even the most bizarre crime cases. Armed with her overwhelming memory and unstoppable curiously, will Hinako be able to find answers to her question through seeking to solve various crimes?
Daidoji Tamotsu is a 51-years-old man. He decides to marry his girlfriend that is 28 years younger than him. One day, his girlfriend, Hanazawa Miran bring him home to meet her dad, Hanazawa Kiichiro. Tamotsu and Kiichiro are shocked when they found out that they are the same age.
Makita Hikari is a police officer. She has a pure personality and doesn't question people’s motives. Due to her personality, she is constantly deceived by suspects and finds herself relegated to a trivial job in the cold case resource room. One day, a mysterious man, Chajima Ryunosuke appears. Through Chajima, Hikari begins works in the newly formed Cold Case Anonymous Investigation Unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. The department tackles unsolved cases by offering leniency to suspects for information on the main culprits. Ryunosuke Chajima is himself a devious attorney. Why he takes part in the Cold Case Anonymous Investigation Unit is unknown.
A major newspaper has informally decided to employ a female university student. However, shock ripples within the newspaper because of a weekly magazine’s scoop that she is the daughter of the criminal in a serious case. This was the kidnapping of a newborn baby at a big hospital 20 years ago. The criminal demanded a ransom from the director of the hospital instead of the parents. But after the criminal had the large sum of money in hand, he died in an accident while being pursued by the police. The baby was never found. Kaji Hidekazu, a former hotshot journalist who has become deadwood in the wake of an incident, is ordered by the newspaper to re-investigate the kidnapping case. He finds out the shocking, tragic truth which had been kept under wraps.
The ST team at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department consists of eccentric members. Some members do not cooperate with others and others do not reveal themselves in front of others. With Samon as the leader of the ST team and young Inspector Tomohisa tasked with managing the team, the ST (Scientific Task Force) attempt to solve the most difficult of cases.
Hiroshi Chikamori is a famous doctor in physical engineering. His one week old daughter Nozomi is abducted at the hospital. Yuri Hayami (Meisa Kuroki) is a detective in a special investigation team. She is also 8 months pregnant. Inspector Himura (Satoshi Jinbo) suddenly summons Yuri and assigns her to observe Nozomi’s mother Yuko (Yumi Adachi) at the hospital. Yuri Hayami goes undercover at the hospital and works with Detective Fukuske Dobashi (Daichi Watanabe) who takes the identity of her husband. Doctor Susami (Atsuro Watabe) doesn't have an alibi for the time period when the baby was kidnapped. Yuri suspects Doctor Susami. Meanwhile, the kidnapper calls and reveals a ransom demand.~ Based on the novel "Dizaina Beibi" by Takashi Okai
The ST is a group of outcasts though each highly talented in their realm of specialty. Besides Akagi, the team includes a female profiler with a boyish appearance and a phobia of "orderly" things who is never afraid to speak out, a female physicist with a superhuman hearing ability that can pick up sounds afar and a constant fear of being "constrained," a combat-skilled chemist with an acute sense of smell and an aversion to pointy objects, and a monk who would have won the Nobel prize in chemistry if he had chosen the path to do so. In short, the "ST" is a menagerie of odd people which makes Yurine question whether his promotion was just a one-way ticket off of the career track...But gradually, the ST team begins to grow on Yurine, as he does everything he can to sustain the team. Can the ST prove themselves worthy of their badge and prevent their disintegration, and will Akagi and Yurine's partnership somehow find common ground to overcome their differences?
Eiko Yagami (Ryoko Yonekura) is a "Marubo", a unit of Ueno Central Police Station's Organized Crime Division which deals directly with organized gangs to try and keep the peace. However, Eiko has some sidelines: she's a moneylender to her fellow police officers without charging interest in return for information and is also willing to do the odd side job for those on the criminal side for the money. One day, Kasumi (Riho Takada), who is the daughter of Senma-gumi gang's leader (Toshiyuki Nishida), is found stabbed to death. As this threatens to pit gang against gang, Eiko and the police have to hurry and find her killer.
A rookie detective assigned to the Ginza Police Station finds himself partnered with his estranged father. Together with the rest of the team, they solve crimes as an old adversary plots to take revenge on father and son.
Jaded journalist Sonoko gets a tip-off about a possible terrorist-related revenge attack. While pursuing the story, she uncovers a deeper conspiracy. A foreign terrorist attack. Local girls poisoned by pollutants. As a journalist and a woman, she must uncover the truth.
Detective Keita Kurokouchi (Tomoya Nagase) continues to extort money from politicians whom Keita Kurokouchi has information on. By using his information he is able to crack unsolved cases. Rookie Detective Mayo Seike (Ayame Gouriki) is excellent with her job and also a bit naive. She conducts an internal investigation on Detective Keita Kurokouchi, but they become partners and work on cases together..
The story is set in the 70s where Ishihara plays Fumiko, an university student, who gets involved romantically with her assistant professor Katase Shintaro (Iura Arata) and his wife Hinako (Tanaka Rena). However, on 28 February 1972, the police finds Shintaro seriously injured and a young man working in a electronics store (Saito Takumi) dead in a bungalow at Karuizawawhile Fumiko and Hinako are also present at the scene. The truth behind the case is not known and the case is quickly classified as a crime of passion which leads to Fumiko being sent to prison. 40 years later, a report writer Torigai Mitsuhiko (Watabe Atsuro) comes to know about this case and goes to interview the elderly Fumiko (Harada Mieko) in prison which leads him to find out what really happened at the bungalow.
A friend of the detective has been is murdered. During the investigation, he comes across a source which tells him that his friend was murdered for involvement with the dark side of the political world. On top of that, a woman approaches the detective with a request.
At a companywide meeting, Bunsaku Akiba sees Toshie, an old girlfriend who is now the secretary and lover of Nishijima, the chairman who has control over the entire group. Although Akiba is married, the love affair between him and Toshie flares up again. Akiba uses Toshie to approach the chairman, but as Toshie gets more possessive of him, Akiba starts to have murderous thoughts.
Tetsuro Yamasaki returns to his hometown to find that it is in financial crisis. He quits his job and settles in his hometown to help the town get out of this crisis.
In 2011, top-secret data on nuclear power is stolen from a university facility. At the same time, leaked information comes in about enriched uranium from the Korean peninsula. Sumimoto of the external affairs fourth division suspects that a conspiracy has been hatched to rock Japan-Korean relations.
The film stars Oguri Shun as an experienced mountain climber and rescue team volunteer named Shimazaki Sanpo. Sanpo loves the mountains and wants as many people as possible to experience everything they have to offer—so much so that he never holds a grudge against anyone for causing an accident due to their own negligence. Even if a fellow rescuer dies, he's the kind of man who can look toward the corpse and say "You did your best." One spring, newcomer Shiina Kumi (Nagasawa Masami) is assigned to the Nagano prefecture mountain rescue team where she experiences growth thanks to Sanpo's guidance and the seemingly harsh training methods of the team's captain, Noda (Sasaki Kuranosuke). However, she becomes depressed when she's unable to translate her skills to a real-life situation. As her confidence wanes, multiple accidents occur simultaneously due to a mountain blizzard, forcing the entire team into action.
A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Writer-director Gu Su-yeon's new film draws on his own semiautobiographical account of growing up as a delinquent zainichi Korean (Japanese-born, but of Korean ancestry) in the seaside city of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, a working-class hellhole overflowing with sex and fury. Day after day, (fictional) Gu finds fresh foes and makes the local hoodlums want to kick his ass. While working multiple dead-end part-time jobs, he cruises around town on his scooter in search of gangland trouble: leaping across rooftops with irate hordes of punks in hot pursuit, running off with a fetching belle in a sailor suit, rescuing a schoolgirl from being gang-raped at a glue-sniffing orgy…
A sudden encounter between a gracefully attractive but mysterious woman, Saki, and an ordinary housewife, Eriko, who has a happy family, causes Eriko's serene daily life to fall apart. Eriko's husband, Shinji becomes the target of Saki's advances and finds himself caught between her and his wife.
There are four episodes based on short stories by mystery novelist Yokoyama Hideo. Each episode depicts a stand-alone murder mystery.
Diving to save a camera from a fall down a flight of stairs, high school junior Naomi Sukuse wakes with no memory of the last four years. Naomi must remember who she was and figure out who she wants to be in this story of love and second chances.
Based on a true story, "Sunshine Ahead" tells the story of environmentalist Koji Kinjo & his wife who embarks on a ambitious plan to create coral reefs in the sea. Although it takes the couple 10 years to finally succeed, they are able to persevere and become the first persons to ever spawn coral reefs.
Spinning off from the popular Professor Layton puzzle games, this movie brings Layton and his trusty assistant Luke to the big screen to allow fans to enjoy more of the same. At the beginning of the film Layton receives a letter from the famed opera singer, Jenice Kaitly, inviting them to see her newest performance. She also asks Layton, Luke, and Remi for assistance in a mystery, saying her friend Melina went missing one year ago but returned later as a seven year old girl saying she had found the secret of eternal life. Naturally, the case fascinates Layton and his apprentices, so they head to the Crown Petone opera house. When they arrive, something is very strange: the pianist, Ozro Vislar talks of a game, and the winner will win the "eternal life." It is up to Layton, Luke, and Remi to solve the mystery of the Eternal Diva before it is too late.
The story of a teenage boy named Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an "up-skirt" photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing - which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian - dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that's a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.
Gaiji Keisatsu is a Japanese television drama mini-series that aired on NHK from 14 November 2009 to 19 December 2009. It is based on the novel of the same name written and released in Japan by Aso Iku. The TV show follow a female police officer who was recruited into the Tokyo Metropolitan Police's anti-terrorist black ops unit known "publicly" as the Fourth Foreign Affairs Section, created after the 9/11 events in the United States. Its purpose is to tackle espionage and terrorism cases happening in Japan. The franchise consists of the novel, the TV series and an upcoming 2012 movie.
Futakotamagawa High School had a Baseball Club, but because of a fight during one of their games, they were suspended for a year from all games. Composed of student delinquents, Futakotamagawa High's new Literature teacher Kawato Koichi inspires the Baseball Club to believe in a dream goal once again. For them, it is to play at the Koshien - Japan's National High School Baseball Championship. But, Kawato Koichi and the newly reformed baseball team run into plenty of obstacles along the way...
On the outset, the Okunos seem like a normal happy family with father Tadashi and his two bright sons, genetics researcher Izumi and artsy Haru. When a series of arson attacks strike the neighborhood, clues left at the crime scenes seem to be somehow related to the Okunos. Izumi and Haru try to get to the bottom of mystery, slowly unveiling a tragic family secret that has come back to haunt them.
In a small town of Hokkaido, Yunni, Fusako Kurokawa (Saki Takaoka), lives a quiet life with her father. Life here is very simple, but it is good enough and she is happy enough. Days go on as usual. with some coincidence, she meets this man one day, Wataru Kadokura (Atsuro Watabe) a man who cannot speak. A very peaceful "time" now becomes part of her daily life as this strong emotion suddenly takes place in her simple quiet life.
Newspaper correspondent Kyoko Togakure (Haruka Igawa) visits a nursing home in the outskirts of Tokyo. She finds the dead body of a resident. It was an apparent suicide. He's holding a piece of paper with the mystifying word "Death Water" written on it. Nearby are blood-stained scissors, and his eyes are squashed. She has no idea that this death is just the beginning of a horrendous nightmare.
"Satomi Hakkenden" tells the tale of eight samurai brothers and their adventures, with themes of loyalty and family honor, as well as Confucianism, bushido and Buddhist philosophy. "Satomi Hakkenden" is based off a 19th century 106 volume epic novel written by Kyokutei Bakin. The novel was written over a period of 30 years. Kyokutei Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, consequently, dictating the final portions to his daughter-in-law Michi.
What happens with two children commit two different muders in order to protect each other? Does salvation exist for them? In order to walk beneath the sun once more, Ryouji and Yukiho find themselves in a twisted web from which neither can escape without abandoning the other. Having no one but each other, this drama follows the events the follow that fateful day… 14 years ago.
Based on the award-winning novel by Shiba Ryotaro, the drama is set in Japan several centuries back in the Sengoku period. It depicts the struggles of three historical warriors, Saito Dosan, Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide.
Set in the traditional city of Kyoto, Japan, this deeply poetic story revolves around Chieko who becomes bewildered and troubled as she discovers the true facets of her past. With the harmony and time-honored customs of a Japanese backdrop, the story becomes poignant as Chieko’s longing and confusion develops.
Adapted from the successful play, the film takes place in the 19th Japan where a war between demons and their slayers is fought. Izumo, an Kabuki actor with a demon-slaying past, meets and falls in love with Tsubaki. However, something is not right as mysterious marks appear on her body as time progresses. At the same time, it is announced that Ashura, the queen of all demons, will be resurrected and bring destruction to the universe.
“Three” is an anthology of three horror shorts from three different Asian countries.In "Dumplings" an aging actress wishing to reclaim her youth goes to a woman who makes dumplings that supposedly have regenerative properties; however, they contain a gruesome secret ingredient. In "Box" a soft spoken young woman has a bizarre recurring nightmare about being buried in a box in the snow. Searching for her long lost sister, she realizes her dreams and reality may possibly be connected. In "The Cut" a successful film director and his wife are kidnapped by an extra, who forces the director to play his sadistic games. If he fails, his wife’s fingers will be chopped off one by one every five minutes
Hosted by veteran comedian Tamori, "Bizarre Tales 2004 Spring Special" presents five tales. 1. Koroshiya desu no yo (It's a Hitman, You Know) - starring Mizuki Alisa. 2. Jibun-counsellor (Self-counsellor) - starring Inohara Yoshihiko. 3. Be Silent - starring Watabe Atsuro. 4. Sasoimizu (Pump-priming) - starring Harada Taizo. 5. Saigo no Hitotoki (The Last Moment) - starring Nagasaku Hiromi.
Being a failure as a teacher and a familyman, Shinichi tries to escape everyday live by dressing up as "Zebraman", the superhero. Although the TV series whas canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He get's more then he could ever wish for, when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.
A Japanese salaryman in Shanghai falls in love with two women, one of whom is terminally ill.
The husband leaves home, leaving behind his wife and child and his job as a middle school teacher. He leaves all this to live with a former girlfriend so that he can nurse her as she battles with terminal illness. He has decided to nurse her until the end. This sudden take-charge approach from a man she thought of as indecisive causes the wife to look at her husband in a completely different way. To top it off, the husband asks her to drop in on the ex-girlfriend from time to time to keep her company. Despite herself, she agrees to her husband's request. She thought that cursing her husband and celebrating the ex-girlfriend's suffering would make her feel better but instead she finds herself even more attracted to him. She even finds herself growing closer to the ex-girlfriend, creating a curious bond between the two women. In the midst of all this, the relationship between the husband and wife continues to change.
Kasumi is shocked to discover that her older sister's fiance is the man she first fell in love with five years ago in high school. At the time, he was her high school teacher and ultimately quit his job racked with guilt over their relationship. Kasumi was deeply hurt and struggled for a long time to overcome her sadness. Now the two of them must come to terms with their secret past before the ones they care about in the present are hurt.
Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.
A story that examines the relationships and bonds that seven random people share with one another and how that bond develops over the course of the series. Beginning with a meeting of six of them. The seven main characters are named after the colours of the rainbow.
The story opens with Yukiko and her business partner in Moscow searching for Russian items for their store in Tokyo. There they meet a Russian translator, Nicholai, played by Sergei Nakariakov - a trumpeter from Russia. Some months later after they have returned, Nicholai and Yukiko meet again while he is auditioning for the Tokyo orchestra where seeds of romance begin. Yukiko's father, however, is diagnosed with a terminal case of cancer. Yukiko returns home to be with him in his final months as he decides not to go through therapy and let the disease run its course. Coming into contact with a childhood friend while at home Yukiko is left to choose between her old friend and Nicholai, all while having to face the emotional struggle of dealing with her father's impending death.
The 40th NHK Taiga Drama is Hojo Tokimune. It tells the dramatic and turbulent life of young shikken Hojo Tokimune, and his successful defense of Japan from invasion by Mongolia in the 1200's. It is a tragic story of betrayal and clan wars and Hojo Tokimune is at the center of it all. The main focus of the story is Hojo Tokiyori's older sons, their relationship, and their views and actions concerning Kublai Khan's attempted invasion. The two brothers, Tokimune and Tokisuke, are torn apart by politics.
Kyoko, a young woman with an unhindered spirit despite being physically bound to a wheelchair due to illness, and Shuji, a stylish and popular fashion magazine hairstylist, are brought together in a fateful traffic incident. Despite their confrontational meeting, they soon find themselves falling in love, with Shuji drawn to her courage and enthusiasm and Kyoko attracted to his ability to look beyond her physical limitations and into her heart. However, Kyoko's protective older brother and her worsening condition begin to test the bounds of their love for each other and threaten to end their beautiful life together.
Keizoku is a Japanese mystery thriller created first as a TV drama and later as a film. It is about Detective Jun Shibata, who handles unsolved cases with her hardened partner Tōru Mayama. The television series was broadcast in eleven episodes between 8 January and 19 March 1999. A two-hour "special drama" was then broadcast on 24 December 1999. The series has been called "epoch-making" in the police procedural genre on Japanese television.
A genius doctor named Yuichiro Nozaki comes to a hospital to know the reason of his sister's death. The doctor is wondering if someone of the hospital killed her. Finally, Yuichiro finds doctor Katsuhiko Sonobe is a suspect of the murder, but notices Katsuhiko's wife loves Yuichiro.
After the events of the series, Shibata has lost her memories and is reassigned. Meanwhile, a strange case regarding a cursed tree that kills whoever's name is written on its trunk surfaces among mysterious deaths. Following different leads, Shibata and the Unsolved Cases unit will meet again as they investigate. Asakura, it seems, is also plotting behind the scenes...
Hot-selling artist Sosuke Natsume suddenly declares filmmaking on the final day of his concert. Although the staff at his music agency are panicking because of his sudden declaration, Natsume keeps preparing for it with the help of his old friend, cameraman Tamura. The film production finally starts after the staff agreed to his declaration. However, many obstacles, such as the severe public eyes on "cross-industry filmmakers," stand one after another in front of him...
"Falling into the Evening" tells the story of a young woman’s confusion when her boyfriend starts a relationship with another. Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It’s been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo’s good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this event weighs heavily on Rica’s conscience. One night Kengo tells Rica that he has fallen in love with a charming but „inscrutable“ woman named Hanako.
While working in the leisurely atmosphere at a food company's factory, Futaro is asked to return to their corporate headquarters by his good friend. Unfortunately, he finds himself assistant to Izumi, a highly demanding expert on Italian food culture. Futaro gets off to a rocky start with his new female boss, and always seems to be saying or doing the wrong thing. He also doesn't seem to be particularly suited to his new position on the Italian Restaurant Project, considering he doesn't even like tomatoes! But Futaro may still have a few tricks left up his sleeve that he can use to win over Izumi and find success in his new job.
Mitsu works in a factory and has a crush on Tsutomu, a young man she met on the Tokyo streets. One day the two go out, and after some deception, Tsutomu manages to have his way with her. Coming from a broken home, he is frightened by love, so he cruelly allows her to wake up alone. A month passes and a more grown-up Tsutomu returns. The lovers joyously reunite and move in together. All is blissful until both notice a strange sore on Mitsu's arm. The doctors diagnose it as leprosy. Without telling Tsutomu, Mitsu checks into a leper sanitarium. Hanging out with society's pariahs gives her much insight. She discovers the old lepers to be wonderful people. In turn, Mitsu becomes their source of joy and renewed hope. Still, she misses her Tsutomu. One day, the doctors inform her that they erred and that the sore is not leprosy. Happily she heads back to her true love until she realizes with a guilty pang that to return to him would mean unhappiness for her newfound friends
Heat After Dark is director Ryuhei Kitamura's first theatrical release. This 50 minute film is predominantly a character study within an intense action drama. Those familiar with Kitamura's later works, perhaps especially Versus will realize this is the beginning of his characetristic modus operandi. Here, the well defined characters consist of the innocent (the cop), the relatively good (Atsuro Watabe), the relatively bad (Shinichi Suzuki), and the absolutely bad (Shigeru Izumiya ), and a few other Yakuza hoodlums thrown in for entertainment.
Swallowtail Butterfly takes place in an alternate Japan, in a ghetto where immigrants from all over the world have come to live and make their fortune. The city is called Yentown, and it is much like Tokyo. Sixteen-year-old Ageha (Ito), a young girl whose mother has just died, is passed on from person to person until a prostitute named Glico (Chara) finally takes pity on her. Under Glico's care, Ageha has many experiences with the other poverty-stricken immigrants in Yentown. Eventually, due to a sudden twist in fate, the immigrants are given a chance to realize their dreams. But in doing so, they destroy their solidarity, and have to face their problems separately.
Melodrama about the life of a mentally handicapped young man and his devoted sister after their famous novelist father and housewife mother go to Australia on a business trip.
The series tells The story of the 1609 invasion of Ryûkyû by forces from the Japanese domain of Satsuma, an event which changed the course of Ryukyuan history dramatically.
Set in Edo-era Kyoto, this drama depicts the adolescent battles and the love between parents and children who are born and raised in the same tenement house.
A widow and her two sons, Seitaro and Koji, live in the small town of Komori, where Buraku people are forced to reside. The two boys are continuously harassed by their teachers and classmates through their childhood as a result of their Buraku heritage. In the midst of the 1918 Great Rice Riots in Osaka, Seitaro meets with Asako, the daughter of a rice shop owner, and falls in love with her. She too is of Buraku descent. At the same period, Hideaki, an old friend of the brothers returns to Komori, and he along with Koji and the townspeople create "Zenkoku Suiheisha", the National Levelers Association, an organization pledged to build a bridge over the river of discrimination, making all people equal in every way.
