Naoyuki Morita
When good-for-nothing employee Daichi, who has a crush on his senior associate Nozomi, is attending to a backlog of work with colleagues, a frightening game of tag targeting people with blood type B begins.
In 2011, a journalist arrives in Nagaoka, a Japanese village that underwent destruction during both World War 2 and the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake, and is now notable for the fireworks it launches annually in memory of the victims of war. She is there for two reasons: firstly, to learn about the experiences of Nagaoka's inhabitants, and secondly, to watch a stage play written by an enigmatic student of her ex-boyfriend, which depicts the bombing of the city during WWII.
Set in the year 3000 in New Tokyo where this time round, human beings with blood type B are being targeted.
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.
While researching a story on a school for problem children, Nakahara meets Emi, a college volunteer with a compelling tale of her own. After overcoming her initial reluctance to open up to the writer, Emi talks about her busted leg and her childhood friendship with the chronically ill Yuka.
A film about family life in Osaka. Following the death of their father, three boys struggle to find their own identity with the help of their outgoing mother and weak-willed uncle.
After his parent's divorce, Kazuo Saito moves with his mother from Onomichi and must leave his girlfriend behind. At his new school, Kazuo is surprised to reunite with his childhood friend Kazumi. "Remember I kissed you, saying I'll marry you when we're grown ups?" He feels embarrassed around Kazumi, who talks about their early childhood stories without any reserve. Kazuo is annoyed with Hiroshi's attitude, but with Kazumi, they naturally start to get comfortable with each other again just like old times. Kazumi's family runs a long-standing soba noodle restaurant. One day, Kazumi invites Kazuo to her house. After talking about old times, they walk to a place from their childhood called the "Lonely Watering Place". "Kazuo, the water here is very good. That's why our soba noodles also taste so good." Kazuni tries to scoop up some water with a dipper and the two accidentally fall into the water. They quickly crawl out, but suddenly realize that they have switched bodies!
Sakai's Happiness is a humorous and bittersweet portrayal of an ordinary family dealing with the challenges of everyday life.
Seigo Yoshioka (Kenji Sakaguchi) is a teacher that became mute after a kendo accident. He feels lost after the accident and eventually decides to teach again on a small island where his mother was born. The children there on the island quickly name him "Kikansha Sensei" (Teacher Locomotive) after learning he is mute. The parents on the island are mostly hostile to Seigo Yoshioka, believing he is incapable of teaching their children. But with Seigo Yoshioka's determination and kindness, a strong bond develops between the students and the mute teacher, which then changes the parents' opinions of Seigo Yoshioka. Suddenly, tragedy then strikes ...
In 1923, the young Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island (South Korea), to Osaka (Japan). Through the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko (processed seafood products) in his poor Korean-Japanese community exploiting his employees. He makes a fortune, abuses and destroys the lives of his wife and family, has many mistresses and children and shows no respect to anyone. Later he closes the factory, lending out the money with high interest and becomes a loan shark. His hateful behavior remains unchanged to his last breath, alone in North Korea. The film is told from the perspective of Masao, his legitimate son by his abused and degraded wife, who knows nothing about his father other than to fear him.
