Denden
Sou Makimoto works in the "send-off" department at the city hall. The department's main responsibility is to hold funerals for people who die alone and bury them at a cemetery. Makimoto doesn't like to socialise with his colleagues or listen to them. By doing his job, he meets various people and slowly begins to change his life.
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.
Based on Satoshi Kawasaki's encyclopedia which illustrates what it would be like if the human body acquired the bodily mechanics of various animals.
Nayuta is a young genius video game developer who works independently. His anonymity had gained him the moniker “the Banksy of video games,” until a certain incident caused him to shy away from games and live quietly. Meanwhile, the long-standing toy company Atom decides to delve into the video game industry in order to overcome their financial crisis. With no funds or experience, the people at Atom make a desperate attempt to contact Nayuta, the Banksy of video games, but will they succeed? Can they write a new chapter in the cut-throat world of video games
After Nanase's father drops death due to a drug that causes temporal death for 2 days. She is named the president of her dad's Pharmaceutical company. Nanase endeavors to prevent her father's enemies from prematurely cremating his body before the drug can wear off and allow him to revive.
Nothing's as it seems when a charismatic conman and an aspiring film crew delve into the lives of two emotionally scarred women.
Aoi Midori is a pharmacist and in the 8-year span of her career, she has worked according to her strong belief that "One must know the patient well in order to prescribe the correct medication as medicine is the bond that connects the patient's today to his/her daily life henceforth". Due to that, Aoi usually takes a long time in her consultations with the patients, and this causes her to be complained by her colleagues for being too inefficient in her work. Aoi shrugs off the complaints as her goal is to help the patients regain the daily life that they once took for granted.
A young bioarchaeologist Yukisuke is attracted to a girl Koyomi, who runs a small stand of taiyaki pastry that he often buys. Koyomi is hospitalized, however, by a car accident on a rainy day after they go out together, and wakes up with short term memory loss, where she cannot remember anything beyond the present day. Yukisuke tries to live close to her as before but the lack of collective memory starts to stagger him.
A con man and a would-be filmmaking crew force themselves into the lives of two grief-scarred young women. But nothing is as it seems.
Takahata Isao’s animated artistry in Only Yesterday (1991) comes to life in Hakota Yuko’s delicate story of a woman’s mnemonic journey. Trapped in her anemic career and love relationship, a 30-year-old TV commercial director returns to her countryside home in the company of a free-spirited friend. In a bittersweet reunion with an alienated family, her childhood memories of freedom and yearnings creep in the dreamlike blue hour, transcending into a lyricism of self-realization – at once whimsical, agonizing and yet hopeful.
“Black School Rules” Sora is a high school student who is basically invisible at school. He is friends with Chuya who is an upredictable character that often surprises those around him. Sora and Chuya both have feelings for the same classmate, Kio Machida. Machida girl refuses to come to class, because she doesn't want to dye her naturally brown hair black. Their school has unreasonable school rules, especially about uniforms which including requiring all students to have black hair. Sora and Chuya decide to stand up to change their school's black school rules so that Machida won’t have to repeat a year of school from missing too many classes.
Dangerous hacker group “Phantom 20” is known internationally. They begin an attack on Hikari Bank in Japan. Kenjiro Namikoshi (Teruyuki Kagawa) is the chief of the criminal investigation section at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He leads the investigation into the group. Kenjiro Namikoshi thinks of Kogoro Akechi (Hidetoshi Nishijima) who holds vast knowledge on hacking and leads BD team hacker group. To ask him for advisor help on the investigation, Kenjiro Namikoshi sends Yoshio Kobayashi (Atsushi Ito).
This is a film about female escorts who are living life as best they can. Kana Yamada makes her feature directorial debut, adapting her own stage play. Sairi Ito stars as the protagonist, Kanou.
Three years after Tozai Ikusa (mahjong tournament), Hiroyuki Igawa receives a letter that Shigeru Akagi’s funeral ceremony will be held. Hiroyuki Igawa attends the funeral, but he is surprised when Shigeru Akagi appears at his own funeral ceremony. Shigeru Akagi states that he is ready to die in a few hours. He then faces the people, including Takashi Ten, whom he played at Tozai Ikusa.
High school junior Hagi (17) quits school and is spending a lot of time at home when his father reveals that he has another house with a mistress. His father wants to end the relationship and asks Hagi to get the woman to move out. Hagi gets to know his father's mistress, and grows up in the process-
When older man Tsukakoshi asks Unokichi to paint it is of his mistress, the geisha Fumiko. Tsukakoshi loves the feet and legs part of Fumiko's anatomy. The fetishism gives the art student a commission to put his talent to use.
Fujiko is running as fast as she can, being chased after by a creepy masked man called Mad Dog. They meet a talented pianist on the way.
While investigating a murder case, Kamiki Kyoko finds out the truth behind the death of her father who was a police officer which leads her to the dark secrets within the police force. In order to solve the case and take revenge for her father, Kamiki and her supervisor Orihara must battle the odds against the strong forces trying to cover up the truth.
Set in the near future around Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinji got out from a youth detention center. Barikan suffers from stuttering and extreme shyness. These two men meet in a boxing gym. Shinji and Barikan become friends and pursue boxing under a hopeless situation.
In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there.
Set in the near future around Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinji got out from a youth detention center. Barikan suffers from stuttering and extreme shyness. These two men meet in a boxing gym. Shinji and Barikan become friends and pursue boxing under a hopeless situation.
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.
Ueki Hitoshi to Nobosemon is based on the autobiographical novel Nobosemonyaken by actor Komatsu Masao.
Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon (Satoshi Ohno, of idol group Arashi) is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s (Satomi Ishihara of Shin Godzilla, Attack on Titan) demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation. A longtime JAPAN CUTS favorite known for his offbeat dramas, Yoshihiro Nakamura (Fish Story, Golden Slumber) takes on the jidaigeki epic with his signature sense of play featuring a jazzy soundtrack and fantastical ninja tricks. -JAPAN CUTS: Festival of New Japanese Film
Detective Ryoko Kozuki receives a demotion after having an affair with a superior. She succeeds in arresting a rapist in an undercover operation that puts her at risk. Her achievement immediately becomes the talk of the precinct, but no one approaches her because of her past. Ryoko is determined to bring criminals to justice. She takes on “The Prime Ministerial Candidate Snipe Case” which took place 15 years earlier.
Taira is a disaffected youth from a seaside town reveling in violence. Enamored by his strength, Yuya joins his crusade in attacking strangers. Meanwhile, Taira's brother looks for him.
Master Shinkome asks Shinden to find a former disciple, Shintoto, from his rakugoka (comic storytelling) family. Shinden visits ex-disciples in his search for Shintoto.
An illegal biological weapon K-55 is stolen from a university lab. The university lab can't even call the police because the secret nature of the weapon. The school lab then receives a message stating that the entire country is now being held hostage and they must pay a ransom of 300 million yen.
Akira (Hayato Ichihara) admires Genyo Kamiura, the most powerful yakuza. Genyo Kamiura has been targeted numerous times, but he has never been killed. He is called the invincible person. Because of Genyo Kamiura, Akira enters the world of the yakuza. His yakuza colleagues treat him like an idiot, and Akira can't even get tattoos because of his sensitive skin. An assassin is sent to take out Genyo Kamiura. The killers know that Genyo Kamiura is a vampire. Thus begins the apocalypse.
Tetsuo (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) is a lowlife. A film director with a small indie hit many years back, yet he has never gotten any further as he refuses to go against his 'artistic integrity'.
Detective Yoichiro arrives at a crime scene involving the brutal murder of three family members to find a young five-year-old boy hiding in the closet. The discovery of the young boy takes Detective Yoichiro back to his own tragic childhood when his parents were killed in a fire. Without any real clues, the murder investigation continues unsolved. That is, until another murder takes place one year later, this time with a mother and son as the victims. And evidence found at the scene links the killer to the murder that took place a year ago.
Different people and five different families are acting out various scenarios, scripts and what-ifs. First there is the four Suzuki family members, who are not, sitting around a table in isolation. Then there is the unveiling of a will and what happens when it is read out, there are the sisters who are at it against each other, then there is the funeral that does not go according to plan and more.
A young, mentally retarded boy is wrongfully accused of murder, but his family lacks the means to hire an attorney to defend him. The boy’s sister, Kiriko, pleads with an accomplished attorney named Otsuka to defend her brother pro bono. But because of Otsuka’s busy schedule and other priorities, he refuses to take the case. Lacking a proper defense, Kiriko’s brother is eventually convicted of murder, and dies in prison. From that point on, Kiriko is determined to take revenge against Otuska.
Maou Matsumoto is a new forensic medical examiner who returns in Japan after studying in USA. Mao only interest is her work and the autopsies she performs.
Saburo is a high school student good in sports, but not very good with his studies. One day, Saburo travels back in time and arrives in the Sengoku period of 1549. There, Saburo meets Nobunaga Oda who looks and sounds just like Saburo. Nobunaga Oda is the son of a warlord and magistrate of the lower Owari Province. Nobunaga Oda though is physically weak and he asks Saburo to take his place. Then, Saburo as Nobunaga Oda attempts to unify the country of Japan.
Yukiko Makabe takes a transfer to a special interrogation team "Kintori".
In this unauthorized adaptation of the novel "The Long Goodbye" by Raymond Chandler set in Tokyo during the 1950s, Tamotsu is suspected of murdering his actress wife Shizuka Harada. He flees to Taiwan and commits suicide. Tamotsu's friend Banji Masuzawa, a private detective, has doubts about Tamotsu's death, but the case is covered up by powerful media mogul Heizo Harada. Banji is then involved in another case involving the neighbors of the Harada family. He encounters drunk novelist Joji Kamiido, a publishing house editor and a beautiful woman Aiko who holds the key to case. As it looks like Banji has solved the case, something unexpected occurs...
Mr. Nomura is an eerily handsome, sharply dressed, sociopathic serial killer who preys on the women of Tokyo. In Jakarta, a world-weary journalist named Bayu finds himself unexpectedly falling into vigilantism after brutally killing two sadistic robbers. When each posts videos of their violent sprees online, the pair find one another on the Internet and begin a toxic and competitive duel. While Bayu clings to the hope that he can resume a normal life, Nomura continues to spill blood without remorse. Killing, advises Nomura, is something everyone ought to consider.
A major advertising festival is held each year to determine the best television commercial in the world. A rookie ad man at a big advertising company named Otan is selected as a judge on the festival jury. Meanwhile, a coworker also named Ota (although the Japanese characters are slightly different) poses as his wife so that he can attend an open party which is held nightly. Knowing that he’ll get fired if his company doesn’t win the Grand Prix, he’s forced to resort to a variety of desperate tactics.
In an alternate Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. The simmering tension between them is about to boil over into all-out war.
The wife of a wealthy man hires memory erasing agents to erase the memory of the young lover with whom he is having an affair, but soon realizes that the young lover will stop at nothing to keep the man's love for her alive.
After the forced suicide of Nobunaga Oda at the Incident at Honnō-ji, powerful figures Katsuie Shibata (Koji Yakusho), Hideyoshi Toyotomi (Yo Oizumi), Nagahide Niwa (Fumiyo Kohinata) and Tsuneoki Ikeda (Koichi Sato) meet to decide on a successor. The conference would become Japan's first group made political decision. The meeting was known as the Kiyosu Kaigi. --AsianWiki
An artist named Jiajia promised to show her girl friend Wei Ling around in Japan but eventually fails to show up for no reason. After Wei Ling goes and gets accommodated in a family-run hot spring hotel of Shimizu, Jiajia's Japanese boyfriend, she begins her endless weird experience as if she's haunted, and the hotel even sinks into a series of horrible homicides, in which the victims are all family members of the Shimizu's without exception. Every clue found is connected to Jiajia.
In Japan, gonzo filmmakers hatch a three-pronged plan to save an actress's career, end a yakuza war and make a hit movie.
Up till 20 years ago, together with his father and 3 other people, Homura Masayoshi was part of the legendary group of thieves that called themselves 「TAKE FIVE」. This group stole from the rich who had acquired their wealth through immoral means. Due to an incident, Masayoshi decided to retire from the group, and settled into his life as a professor of Psychology at a reputable university. One day, he runs into a mysterious homeless woman, who passes him a picture of a Leonardo Da Vinci's painting, which prompts him to re-enter the world of thievery and resurrect 「TAKE FIVE」. Sasahara Rui joined the Burglary Division in the footsteps of her father, who had died in an accident involving a burglary heist. She wows to take down 「TAKE FIVE」 and stop them from stealing again. What was the real reason for the disbanding of 「TAKE FIVE」 20 years ago? Who is the mysterious homeless woman and what is the significance of the Da Vinci picture she had given to Masayoshi? How did Rui's father really died?
One evening, Princess Sakura (Kyoko Hinami) is attacked by a man. At that time, the Princess could not see his face. and only sees a tattoo on his body. Because of that that night, Princess Sakura falls in love with the man. In order to find the man she gives up everything and gets the same identical tattoo. The princess then works as a prostitute. Meanwhile Gonsuke (Munetaka Aoki) is the man who attacked Princess Sakura. He also stole a scroll and, because of that, he is chased by assassins.
Set within an animal shelter, where if the owner of an animal doesn't claim their pet in 7 days, the animal is put to sleep. Himawari, is a female dog and a mother. She tries to desperately save her baby dogs.
Teacher Akira Suzuki breaks away from long-held customs and norms at his school. He tries hard to have the ideal classroom by using his own "Suzuki method". The new semester begins. His homeroom 2-A class is about to have a student council election and preparations for a school festival. A man then takes a female student hostage...
Told from the viewpoint of the father Morio (Yutaka Mizutani), "A Boy Called H" follows a young boy named Hajime Senoh, nicknamed "H". His father, Morio runs a tailor shop. With the onset of World War II, their family must endure difficult times. Nevertheless, H is filled with curiosity and a sense of justice. Based on the autobiographical novel "Shonen H" by Kappa Senoh (published by Kodansha, July 9, 1999).
Ippei Akabane (Takaya Kamikawa) is an unpopular novelist. He barely makes ends meet writing serials novels under different pen names. Daigo Kurei (Shinji Takeda) is on death row. He killed four women twelve years ago. During his murdering spree, he sent pictures of his decapitated victims with flower decoration to the police. The murders and photos caused widespread panic in Japan. One day, Ippei is contacted by Daigo from prison. He asks Ippei if he wants to interview him and write his memoirs. Soon, more women are killed in the same grisly manner as the serial murders from twelve years ago. Now, Ippei becomes the prime suspect of the police and Ippei must quickly find the real murderer. Based on the novel "The Serialist" by David Gordon (published by Simon & Schuster; Original edition on March 9, 2010).
An old man and a young woman meet in Tokyo. She knows nothing about him, he thinks he knows her. He welcomes her into his home, she offers him her body. But the web that is woven between them in the space of twenty four hours bears no relation to the circumstances of their encounter.
Five years after a hit-and-run accident kills his wife, a distraught metalworker comes face to face with the man behind the steering wheel.
Saya Toma (Erika Toda) is a female detective with an IQ of 201. Takeru Sebumi (Ryo Kase) is a career detective with a distinguished background. They work on cases by postulating the "SPEC" of the unknown criminals and then deduce the criminal's unknown "SPEC" to make arrests. A mystery occurs when bodies are found on a cruiser in the ocean. Saya Toma and Ryo Kase of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department are brought in to solve the case.
A young daughter (Mana Ashida) supports her father (Etsushi Toyokawa) who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
It’s not often that a coming-of-age story revolves around a 29-year-old chronic masturbator who still lives with his mom, but that’s just one example of the many ways Daisuke Miura's Boys on the Run is refreshingly atypical. The film is based on a manga by Kengo Hanazawa which was originally serialized in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Spirits from 2005-2008, and although the adaptation is fairly loyal visually, the overall tone has been changed both in how the characters behave and how the story arc is presented.
An old couple, their only son, the son's wife, a young man and his lover live peacefully in a village. Then, a terrifying earthquake strikes that causes a nearby nuclear station to explode. The residents must evacuate, but the family lives on a farm, with only half of the area designated as an evacuation area...
Set after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, all 14-year-old Sumida Yuichi wants to become is a regular boy and live a decent life. His environment though repeatedly drags him into the mud. He runs his parent's rental boat business, which is located next to a nondescript lake. His mother frequently comes home with different men and soon she leaves him entirely. His father only comes around looking for money. Chazawa Keiko is a classmate of Sumida Yuichi. She harbors a severe crush on Yuichi. Keiko's home life isn't much better than Yuichi's. Her mother builds a gallows with a noose in place for Keiko to take her own life. Her mother believes her life would be better off without Keiko. Under these circumstances, Keiko pays a visit to Yuichi's home. A group of people are lingering nearby who live in makeshift tents on the property. Keiko tries to befriend Yuichi, but she is berated and even physically assaulted. She doesn't get deterred though and sticks around.
Shuji is an uncompromising young filmmaker at odds with Japanese society. One day he learns that his loan shark brother, who had helped to finance his films, has been executed by his own yakuza gang for failing to repay his debts. Described as a love poem to Japanese films of the past, as well as a protest at the present, CUT is an exploration of one man’s obsessive relationship with cinema.
Although Nobuyoshi and Saki just got married and moved into a new apartment, their relationship still lacks spark. Things start to change as they meet a weird fortune-teller who also happens to operate tours to hell. Without further ado the young couple books a honeymoon trip which takes them to the most bizarre, colorful and fun vision of hell you could ever dream of.
A terminally ill woman and her husband make a journey around Japan before her death.
Shamoto runs a small tropical fish shop. When his daughter Mitsuko is caught shoplifting at a grocery store a man named Murata steps in to settle things between the girl and the store manager. Murata also runs a tropical fish shop and he and Shamoto soon become friendly. However Murata hides many dark secrets behind his friendly face.
Dr Toma, a skilled surgeon, starts work at a regional hospital in Japan. After performing an operation to remove a patient’s liver cancer, something that normally would not be done at this hospital, he quickly gains a very good reputation amongst the town’s people. Some of his colleagues become so jealous they are resentful and waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to crucify him. Soon they get their chance as Dr Toma considers performing a controversial operation…
On board at the boat Kanikosen, where fish and crabs preserves, forced workers to work under miserable conditions, with minimum wages. Some can not cope with conditions and even death from malnutrition, and is also the supervisor of the more vicious variety. Shinjo, one of the employees, trying to convince the others that they will get good luck and fortune in his next life, and persuades them because they commit suicide to get there faster. It ends, however, in a single major failure. Rather than flee Shinjo being picked up by a Russian ship. Once there, he is overwhelmed by the social conditions that are completely different from those he has just left and decided therefore to return to Kanikosen to save their employees.
Shiro’s struggle with his father’s cancer and impending death leads to a realization that he must communicate his love and admiration for him before it’s too late. A series of flashbacks reveals their relationship over time, and the trouble Shiro faced connecting to his strict father who was also his teacher and soccer coach. With a consuming secret of his own, Shiro, now in his late twenties and about to get engaged, must eventually learn how to share the pain of it with his loved ones.
Set in Tokyo in 1940, the peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father, Shigeru, is arrested and accused of being a Communist. His wife Kayo works frantically from morning to night to maintain the household and bring up her two daughters with the support of Shigeru's sister Hisako and Shigeru's ex-student Yamazaki, but her husband does not return. WWII breaks out and casts dark shadows on the entire country, but Kayo still tries to keep her cheerful determination, and sustain the family with her love. This is an emotional drama of a mother and an eternal message for peace.
Chief Iizuka (Kaoru Kobayashi), who works at the Cultural Center, misunderstands two chorus groups with similar names and double-books the concert hall on New Year's Eve. Although they talk to each other, neither of them gives up a step and develops into a big problem.Iizuka, who has lived his life with a "no-nonsense" attitude, finds himself in the middle of two groups and at a loss for words.
Middle-aged farmer Noda Masao (Daichi Yasuo) is a good, honest man, but his attempts for marriage have all met with failure. Through a friend, Masao meets Liberty (Ruby Moreno), a Filipino woman working in Japan. When they decide to get married, Masao borrows money from his Agricultural Association and travels to the Philippines for the wedding - only to discover that it was all a scam. Stranded in Manila with no money, Masao ends up staying to work. One day he meets a beautiful farmer's daughter, Christina (Alice Dixson), reawakening not only his chances for love, but also his love for farming.
Sequel to the 2002 film Pika*nchi Life Is Hard Dakedo Happy, starring members of boy band Arashi.
Hiromi works in a posh French restaurant. One day, he meets an ordinary-looking old man who has a discerning palate. He is no ordinary cook, and can pinpoint the exact problems with Hiromi's dishes. His name is Tatematsu Ippei, a legendary chef renowned for his work in France once upon a time. After a food poisoning mishap, his fiance Sophie had left him and he cut himself off from the culinary world. Hiromi is engrossed with Ippei's cuisine and asks for lessons. Meanwhile, Sophie, now the wife of the director of a top tableware manufacturer, comes to Japan. Ippei cooks a banquet for her using Hiromi's restaurant as a front. Sophie notices that the food is made by Ippei, her former lover. The two meet and enjoy a short-lived reunion, but go on to live their own separate lives.
When corporate executives are blackmailed into public displays of nudity on the busy streets of Shinjuku, the big guns are called out to locate "Oboreru Sakana". The "big guns" are a misfit duo of ethically questionable characters who must infiltrate a gay nightclub and "fit in" while they search for clues. What ensues is both hilarious and action-packed. Oboreru Sakana is a rather ambitious and often hilarious contemporary crime thriller. Its narrative swings from the grisly to the humorous and pulls in as many pop culture elements as it can manage.
Jealous of his wifes' love for another man, a teacher from her high school, a man brutally kills his wife and young son. Searching for the son who has missed a lot of school, the teacher enters their house, only to find the dead ghost of his mother, and consequently has a heart attack and becomes a ghost himself. The story goes on to tell of the new tenants of the house and what they experience, and an investigation by two police officers into why so many people are disappearing.
On his request, the sensitive sister of a real estate agent visits a house he intends to put on sell, only to cross paths with its resident curse.
A wave of gruesome murders is sweeping Tokyo. The only connection is a bloody X carved into the neck of each of the victims. In each case, the murderer is found near the victim and remembers nothing of the crime. Detective Takabe and psychologist Sakuma are called in to figure out the connection, but their investigation goes nowhere...
A story about the activities of Southeast Asian Mafia gangs in Shinjuku. Ryosuke Kano is an ex French Foreign Legion soldier and is now a cocaine smuggler and dealer. He is acquainted with Larry, a Japanese American, but he turned out to be an undercover cop from New York.
The story of an unconventional teacher facing up to his unruly and apathetic class.
A woman is being attacked by the yakuza of the Mitsuyoshi group ... A man with a pistol appears dashingly and shoots the yakuza without question now the yakuza want him dead
"Taiheiki" is the the 29 Taiga drama by NHK, broadcast from January 6 to December 8, 1991, 49 episodes in total. It centers on Ashikaga Takauji's rise to power, overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate and eventually establishing the Ashikaga shogunate. The protagonist Ashikaga Takauji is played by Hiroyuki Sanada.
Something Like It (の・ようなもの No Yōna Mono) is a 1981 Japanese film directed by Yoshimitsu Morita.
