Tetsuya Chiba
Kanjaki, a middle-aged man, goes to a quiet countryside village. He puts his helmet on a shrunken old woman whom he meets by chance in a shop. As soon as he presses the buttons on the helmet one by one, she suddenly remembers forgotten happy moments and is rejuvenated. This is just the beginning. Kanjaki goes on to make the village people recall their happy pasts, but his face is lined with worry and a sadness that deepens. What is the secret of this helmet? And what is he trying to do with it? Director Sabu’s Happiness suggests happiness and suffering are intertwined through the unusual scenario of a helmet reminding people of the happiest moments of their lives. Sabu convincingly portrays the notion that memory is the source of both happiness and suffering, and how memory affects our lives.
Set in the 1960's, Joe Yabuki (Tomohisa Yamashita) lives in a run-down low income ara. There, alcholic ex-boxer Danpei Tange (Teruyuki Kagawa) notices Joe Yabuki's talents as a boxer. But then, Joe gets into trouble and is sentenced into the youth detention center. In the youth detention center, Joe gets into a brawl and then is knocked out by Toru Rikiishi (Yusuke Iseya) who is a champion caliber professional boxer. While incarcerated, Joe gets special training from Danpei Tange through letters. Upon Joe's release, he quickly becomes an elite boxer and famous for a devastating cross counter. Meanwhile, Toru Rikiishi is also released from prison and quickly resumes his boxing career. Toru finally gets his shot at the world championship belt, but before that, Toru wants a match with Joe Yabuki. The two men enter the ring ...
Based on a short story written by Shuhei Fujisawa (who also wrote Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor), the film depicts the uneasy life of Noe Isomura (Rena Tanaka) with the difficult family she has married into after her former husband passed away. One day as she tries to brake off a branch of a cherry tree, she is aided by a samurai who she does not recognize but who recognizes her. He turns out to be a former suitor that she never met named Yaichiro Tezuka (Noriyuki Higashiyama) and who teaches swordsmanship to the local samurai. Meanwhile, the powerful new chief retainer of the village enacts land policies that threaten the survival of the local farmers.
Naive office girl Yuko supports her blithe big city lifestyle with a part-time job at a neighborhood cafe. Attracted to her manager there, the shallow but charming Yutaka, she willingly succumbs to his lascivious advances only to discover afterward that he already has a girlfriend by the name of Midori. Even so, Yuko's feelings for Yutaka continue to grow regardless of his aloofness. Before long she finds herself reluctantly cajoled into working as a hostess in a small karaoke bar. Fatalistically accepting his dalliances with flames old and new, she perseveres not so much in hope of a more substantial relationship, but rather out of fear of losing him. There are other men out there waiting for her -- kinder, more considerate and eagerly available. But for Yuko, there is only the non-committal, yet torridly magnetic Yutaka. Why him? Not even Yuko seems to know the answer.
It has been six months since the tragic accident in Joe and Rikiishi's fight. Joe believes he has overcomed Rikiishi's death and decides to make a comeback. Joe does make a successful comeback by scoring 5 KO's by body blows. Joe is then given a shot at the national title as a means by the boxing commission to put him down. The champion, Tiger Ozaki makes use of Joe's habits and ends up making Joe's corner throw in the towel. Joe is afraid to throw punches at the face because of what happened to Rikiishi. Youko, Joe's love interest and the owner of the gym where Rikiishi trained at recruits a world ranked boxer from Venezuela, Carlos Rivera, to get Joe back on his feet and pursue his boxing career to the regional and world ranks.
An abridged remake of the first Ashita no Joe TV series, released in 1980 to provide back-story for the second TV series to new fans who were not familiar with the first TV series or the manga.
Kumi Taguchi is a model who leaves her boxer boyfriend after he sustains an injury. She meets and quickly marries Hideo, the heir to a corporate empire. Hideo's father, Takehiko, lusts after Kumi. Takehiko sends his son away, ostensibly on a business trip, but actually so that he can be murdered by Takehiko's henchmen. Takehiko seduces Kumi, but is frustrated when she refuses to perform oral sex on him. Angered, Takehiko forces Kumi to undergo surgery in which her clitoris is transferred to her throat, thereby requiring that she engage in oral sex in order to have an orgasm. Hideo, the supposedly murdered son, returns having paid off his assassins. Hideo shoots and kills his father, but Kumi grabs the gun and kills Hideo so that she can inherit the family's fortune
TV pilot based on an original manga by Tetsuya Chiba, about a 10-year old girl named Yuki. An orphan who's being adopted by a family.
A comedy about a group of kids forming a school baseball team, with the leader being very stubborn and argumentative.
Joe Yabuki is a troubled youth, whose only solution to problems is throwing punches at them. What he lacks in manners and discipline, he makes up for with his self-taught fighting skills. One day, while wandering the slums of Doya, Joe gets into a fight with the local gang. Although greatly outnumbered, he effortlessly defeats them, drawing the attention of Danpei Tange—a former boxing coach turned alcoholic. Seeing his potential, he offers to train Joe into Japan's greatest boxer. At first, Joe dismisses Danpei as a hopeless drunk; but after the trainer saves his life, he agrees to live with him and learn the art of boxing. Unfortunately, Joe's personality makes him an unruly student, and he often falls back to his old ways. To survive the harsh world of his new career, Joe needs to trust his mentor and master the techniques taught to him. However, the road to becoming a professional boxer is rife with struggles that will test his mettle to the end.
When country girl Akane moves to Tokyo and enters a prestigious school, she is full of vitality and everyone likes her. Even the rich and arrogant Hidemarou likes her too. With everyones help, she solves problems that come their way.
