Yoshiyoshi Arakawa
The members of the Miyama Family who have been living separately decide to live together again. Although bothersome, living together somehow makes everyone feel loved.
A paranormal researcher searches obsessively for a cursed home where something terrible happened to a mother and her child long ago. Can the people haunted by this house escape from its curse? And what kind of grim incident occurred in this cursed house in the past?
The stabbed corpse of IT company president Kinji Shiroyama (Yuichi Haba) is found in the Gulf warehouse at Hinode Pier. Unemployed Satoru Oki (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) who ran away from the scene of the incident is arrested as the murderer. Fujiko Kajiwara (Yuki Matsushita), who was asked to be a duty lawyer meets him, but Ooki denies the charges makes repeats vague statements and refuses to tell the truth.
A cat who dreams of reuniting with its owner & works as a housekeeper to save money.
A paranormal researcher searches obsessively for a cursed home where something terrible happened to a mother and her child long ago.
Takuminokami Asano is a handshu (lord) and he is ordered to kill himself due to a scheme by Kozukenosuke Kira. Having no time to mourn his lord’s death, Kuranosuke Oishi (Shinichi Tsutsumi) decides to take revenge on Kozukenosuke Kira. Kuranosuke Oishi plans an attack with the help of accountant Chosuke Yato (Takashi Okamura), but they don't have enough in their budget.
Dumped by a cheating fiancé and unemployed, 29-year-old Sayaka takes a job offer on the condition that she gets married in six months!
Hardcore is about the life story of a treasure hunter who lives in the countryside of Gunma in Japan. He is pure and kind, but has no communication skills and has a mind of his own. His sole friend is his co-worker. This man has never had sex. The friends find a robot one day. The robot wants to stay with the men. A bond is formed. The men resolve to change their lives.
Takanashi Shoko is a former lawyer. She was disbarred from the law profession due to an incident. Later, she persuades a university professor, who is accredited as a lawyer, to open a law firm. Takanashi Shoko hires a lawyer and assistants to work at the law firm. The team goes after legal victory. They go up against a large firm in a civil suit. While working on the suit, the team experiences difficult situations.
A police detective Shoukokuji Ryuuya from the first section of Metropolitan Police Department is tasked to investigate the murder case of a woman which takes place at a grand party held by a big-time actress but faces the hurdle of finding the true culprit among the large pool of suspects.
10 men and women are called to Natural Island Hotel on the isolated island Heitaijima off Yachijojima by the owner Nanao Shin. They take the dinner that has been prepared while filled with a mix of expectation and anxiety about what is going to happen and why they have been invited to this island. Then they suddenly start to hear a mysterious voice reveal their past crimes. As the 10 of them go through past incidents in their mind, one of the invited guests is murdered before their eyes. That seems to be the catalyst for the murder of another guest and then yet another. Several days after the invited guests came to Heitaijima, police head over to the island following the report of murders. They discover 10 murdered bodies on this big “locked room”. Who is the murderer and why did these 10 people have to be gathered and killed? ~ Based on the novel "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie, published in 1943.
Rosuke Narumi works at a trading company and he is pretty good at his job. He dates Satoko Matsubara. The trading company has a business relationship with a private high school experiencing some difficulties. One day, Rosuke Narumi is appointed as the principle of the private high school. Rosuke Narumi soon discovers how different the work environment is from his previous job. So the school can run in the black, Rosuke Narumi implements cost cutting measures. School staff members including Chihiro Mashiba oppose his plan.
Jun is a girl whose words have been sealed away so that she cannot hurt anyone with them. But, one day, she is nominated to become an executive member of the "community outreach council." On top of that, Jun is also appointed to play the main lead in their musical...
Kokoro Kurosawa used to be a contender for the Olympic Judo Team, but she had to give up on her dream due to an injury. In the end, she ends up working at weekly manga magazine "Vibes." The publishing industry is going through a turbulent time due to ebooks. Members of the editorial department struggle to come up with ways to sell more manga books. She learns about editing from her senior editors and becomes fascinated with the edition world, interacting with manga writers, and discovering new manga artists. But what surprises her the most is that in a competitive world such as manga publishing, not all dreams come true, and even when they do, they come with a price...
Hoshino Mitsuko is the talented three-star chef of famous French restaurant, La Cuisine de La reine, in Ginza, Tokyo. She has drawn attention not just from Japan but also the world for the new recipes she continuously conceives with her delicate palate and unrivalled creativity. Gourmands around the world visit the restaurant for her cuisine and there is a three-year wait for reservations. Mitsuko has absolute confidence that there is no onein this world who will not finish her food. But one day, trouble occurs between Mitsuko and the restaurant owner Shinoda Shogo and she is fired. She has difficulty finding a new restaurant due to Shinoda’s interference and her over-inflated pride, and ends up creating school lunches for a popular variety programme by the hotshot producer Yaguchi Saki. It was believed to be something easy for Mitsuko, but she meets many obstacles and keeps failing. Moreover, this is aired on TV and made known to the world. Even so, Mitsuko does not give up and starts to create school lunches in order to hear children say her food is delicious and also regain her lost stars.
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.
In June 1945 Yamauchi Fusako goes alone to Manchuria where her husband, Setsuo, a second lieutenant of the Kwantung Army, is based. At that time, 200,000 Japanese had settled in Manchuria, a Japanese occupied territory, as settler communities. Fujita Hideo’s family worked hard to clear the wilderness, but the Soviets are lying in wait for an invasion of Manchuria from the North. Fusako is safely reunited with her husband at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army’s Fifth Training Squadron in Manchuria’s Dahushan. Setsuo also takes good care of his beloved wife, but his position is an instructor to the young soldiers who will eventually carry out suicide attacks. He wonders if he should have summoned her and speaks of these mixed feelings to his commanding officer, Michiba Kazuo, a first lieutenant. Michiba is concerned about Setsuo’s attempts to cherish his wife before the coming showdown on homeland. Fusako learns about life in Manchuria from Michiba’s wife, Etsu.
The cyber crime investigation division at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department finds a video on website "YOURTUBE." In the video, a man covered by a newspaper, warns that a fire will be set at a food processing company. More crime notices are soon found involving violent crimes. Geitsu is the main guy behind the group "Shinbunshi," which has posted the videos. He used to work as a temporary employee at an IT company, but was unfairly dismissed. He then begins doing manual labor work and meets the other members of "Shinbushi."
Takeharu Takami (Ryuhei Matsuda) is a bank teller, but he becomes allergic to money. He decides not to use money at all. Takeharu decides to move to a small village in the Tohoku region. There, he encounters residents who are not so easy.
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.
Sezaki Kota is a young doctor who runs a boat clinic, Kaishinmaru, that plies the Seto Inland Sea islands. Kota is a very capable doctor, but he has one big flaw... he falls for women easily. He romances each island's madonna when they come to him seeking treatment. However, his efforts at romancing them seem to fail each time, and thus with tears streaming, he sets off for the next island; Ever in search of a true love.
Ryoro Kurojima (Sadao Abe) is the director of a Tokyo apology center. His job is to teach others how to apologize. Ryoro Kurojima solves problems by using his apology techniques on anything from simple arbitration to a national crisis.
Amachan is the 88th 2013 NHK asadora written by Kankuro Kudo (Tiger and Dragon, Unobore Deka). It's about Amano Aki (Nounen Rena), a 16 year old girl from Tokyo who goes to her mother's former home in Sodegahama, a fishing village in Kitasanriku, Iwate prefecture for the summer break. She falls in love with the sea and its people, and decides to stay on to become an Ama (women divers who fetch clams and sea urchins for tourists) just like her grandmother, Natsu (Miyamoto Nobuko). Her decision is welcomed wholeheartedly by Natsu and the other locals. However, her mother Haruko (Koizumi Kyoko) does not like the idea at first. She has a strained relationship with Natsu, and her extreme dislike of the sea, diving and the countryside is one of the reasons why she left her hometown 24 years ago. Eventually, she decides to stay in Sodegahama with Aki, considering that she is contemplating on getting a divorce anyway and does not want to go back to her husband in Tokyo. She also notices that it might be good for Aki for she seems livelier and happier in Kitasanriku than in Tokyo. The road towards becoming a full-fledged Ama-san is tough for Aki as she encounters tests and hurdles. One day, a video of her as an Ama gets uploaded in the city's tourism website, transforming an ordinary high school girl into an overnight Internet sensation. Suddenly she is called upon to use this opportunity to attract tourists to a city suffering from depopulation.
Unemployed 35 year old Sakurai aspired to become an actor, but failed miserably. He decides to end his own life, but first he goes to purify himself at a public bathhouse. While there, he meets the very prosperous Kondo, who subsequently suffers a fall, erasing his memory. On a whim, Sakurai switches locker keys, steals the man's belongings, and decides to pass himself off as Kondo. What Sakurai does not know is that Kondo runs an illegal business, which brings him into contact with ornery Yakuza members. Meanwhile, Kondo has been convinced that he is actually the failed actor Sakurai and he faces the dismal reality of that life with increasing bewilderment. Fortunately, at the hospital he meets the lovely Kanae who, while yearning for marriage, goes out of her way to help "Sakurai" pull himself together. Eventually Kondo regains his memory, but before he can make a new life with Kanae, he has to solve the many problems caused by the theft of his identity.
Patients are brought in one after the other. Being put in an environment where there is a race against time to save lives, all they can do is stand there doing nothing. Though they still have a lot to grow as a doctor and as individuals, will they be able to overcome adversity and one day be able to proudly identify themselves as being a doctor?
A series of short stories explore the connection of love between dogs and people.
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.
Devoted to becoming an international lawyer, Ayukawa Wakaba is full of ambition. Her hard work pays off when she lands a job at an international law firm, but to her disappointment, the first prestigious assignment that is given to her is to babysit the boss' 5 year old daughter, Hinata. Wakaba loathes kids and nursing, but unwillingly takes on the job as she is fixated on wealth and success. One day when she goes to a preschool to pick up Hinata, she meets a man named Yamada Sota. Sota is a man without higher education, wealth, or a future goal, someone that Wakaba absolutely cannot stand, the complete opposite of her ideals. Once again, contrary to her will, she ends up looking after Hinata and a few other kids along with Sota. Despite being exhausted from all the first-time experiences in child care, Wakaba begins to realize what is truly important to her.
The movie consists of 4 stories each telling how people survive on life-death choice. The story titles are: Cheering Girls, Boy? meets girl., Claim Night! and The House Full Of 'Abandoned' Businessmen.
Upon return from Paris, Sasakura Ryu spends some time wandering amiss, but after some time he decides to start anew by becoming a bartender. On a daily basis as a bartender, he helps solve the various problems burdening his customers, including work and love and family troubles, one cocktail at a time. Furthermore, what will happen to the romantic relationship between Ryu, who seeks the best cocktail, and Kurushima Miwa, who ispertinent to his growth as a person. Also in the drama you'll see the fateful showdown between Kuzuhara Ryuichi, referred to as Mr. Perfect, and Master Kase Goro. -- TV Asahi
In Liar game: Final Stage, Players are encouraged to trust each other to win the tournament. However, a mysterious player named X is secretly plotting to sabotage everyone of their chances to win the LGT.
The story is about a group of university students who inevitably gets involved in playing a game of "Horumo" - a combat match where each person manipulates 100 spirits (referred to as "oni") to fight the opponent. Akira Abe, a freshman at Kyoto University student falls for his classmate Kyoko, and soon ends up at a mysterious club called “Kyoto University Azure Dragon” which turns out to be one of the Horumo teams, playing the mysterious (and somewhat absurd) game which started over 1,000 years ago in the Heian period.The heat rises as you see the 2,000 CGI created spirits wage fierce battles against the backdrop of breathtaking beautiful city of Kyoto. Let the battle begin!
1944, in the depths of World War II. Toyomatsu Shimizu is a completely typical barber from a remote sea-side town who lives frugally but happily with his wife Fusae and their five-year-old son. Eventually, though, the army beckons and he is drafted. One day an officer on the battle-field orders him to kill a captive U.S. soldier. Although Toyomatsu lacks the spirit to kill the man, and only wounds him in the arm, the victorious U.S. soldiers will not accept this, and Toyomatsu is arrested and tried as a war-criminal. And he receives the cruelest sentence possible...
It may sound cliché, but Japanese people really do love their fish. If Japan has the best and freshest fish in the world, then Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market is where you're most likely to find them. It's the home of Japan's biggest daily fish auction, and it's a place of fierce competition between fish merchants that have been in the business for generations. Based on a comic series, The Taste of Fish follows businessman Shuntaro, who has a successful career in a trading company and is in a steady relationship with girlfriend Asuka. One day, Shuntaro has to help out at the fish wholesaler store run by Asuka's father, and he immediately falls in love with the world of Tsukiji Fish Market. Soon, Shuntaro quits his job and devotes all of his time to running the business while learning about the market's fascinating set of long-standing traditions. However, he must first also learn to distinguish the tastes of different fishes before he can survive in the competitive world of Tsukiji.
Adapted from the manga of the same name, Liar Game centers around Nao Kanzaki, a student who was blackmailed into joining a "Liar Game" and ended up losing 100 million yen. In order to repay the debt, she enlists the help of Shinichi Akiyama, a genius swindler who was only recently released from jail for bankrupting one of Japan's largest scam companies in Japan.
Teruko, a third year university student, comes across as a forthright and sunny girl but is in truth a rather timid person. She's also the sort who easily gets carried away and does things impetuously only to regret her actions later. Influenced by her older brother who has taken to wandering the world, Teruko too hopes to make her own journey one day but she lacks the courage, content to live the life of a normal university student ... However, she's also plagued with the insecurity of having done nothing she can be proud of in her lifetime, and mustering all her courage embarks on a solo trip to India ... While in India, she meets a fellow backpacker, Shingo. Teruko first regards Shingo as a frivolous person but as his encouraging words clear her hesitation and touches her, she falls in love with him. Then, Teruko plans to head to Bodh Gaya to see India's biggest festival but Shingo..(Dramawiki)
Former Yakuza underling Kiryu Kazuma, who has recently been released from prison after a lengthy incarceration, and is trying to piece his life together and distance himself from his Yakuza past. Unfortunately Kiryu's problems slowly escalate as he is pursued by a former associate, the baseball bat-wielding psycho Majima Goro who has a grudge to settle with Kiryu.
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered.
Set in Tokyo's otaku mecca Akihabara, "Akihabara@DEEP" tells the story of five otaku who drop out of society and end up founding their own successful IT venture called Crook. But Nakagomi, president of an influential electronics company called Digital Capital, will do anything to get his hands on Crook.
While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko's life into a despairing tragedy.
Asahiyama Zoo, in Hokkaido, is facing a financial crisis and the zoo director and keepers try everything to save the zoo from closing down.
A re-imagining of the classic Japanese comedy "Yaji and Kita's Travel Journey", this is the story of two samurai in Edo period Japan who are in love. One is married, the other is a drug addict. They decide to go on a trip to Ise Sanctuary, where it is presumed everything will be made right. What happens once they get on the road is as wild and wacky as anything your likely to see.
Toraji is a stereo-typical yakuza who is hoping to become a rakugo (comic) storyteller. Ryuji is a designer who has terrible taste, but owns a fashion shop in Ura-Harajuku, a shopping district famous for its avant-garde clothing. The story develops around the relationships Toraji and Ryuji have with the offbeat and comical characters around them. This fast-paced comedy is a collection of one-off stories which blends the modern and traditional by basing each episode on a classic rakugo storyline.
A man continually trying and failing to get his wife to stay dead; a self-absorbed ad agency creative director who comes up with one unworkably inane idea after another; a British hitman who only wants to know everyone's function in life; and an unfortunate office worker and father whose brain is left scrambled after a stage hypnotist is murdered in mid-performance.
Momoko is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life. Ordinary, that is, if you define ordinary as wearing elaborate lolita dresses from the Rococo period in 18th Century France. However, when punk girl and self-styled 'Yanki' Ichiko comes calling, her days as 'ordinary' are most certainly numbered...
Pharmaceutical student, Keiko witnesses her boyfriend having an affair. Shocked and disappointed, she jumps on a train ("destination anywhere, east or west, she don't care") and ends up in a town named Masao in Tokyo's remote suburbs. There, she gets a part-time job at a newly opened drugstore. What do ya know.. The local shopping district's middle-aged men all fall for the young girl's charms, and they start practicing lacrosse once they have found out that that's her favourite sport.
Bizarre love triangle about a girl, Yuki who transforms into a tentacled creature that feasts on human blood. She manipulates the guilt-ridden Fumio to do her bidding, only for a strange romance to blossom between them.
Tsuneo is a university student working part-time in a mah-jong parlour. Lately the customers have been talking about an old lady who pushes a baby carriage through the streets. They say she is carrying something for a crime syndicate, and they wonder what it is she has in the carriage... Money? Drugs? One day, the owner of the mah-jong parlour sends Tsuneo out to walk his dog. A baby carriage comes rolling down a hill and crashes into a guard rail. The old lady asks him to look into the carriage, where he finds a young woman clutching a knife. This is how Tsuneo first meets the girl who calls herself Josée.
Satomi is aimlessly attending a vocational school and becomes a member of the robot club by chance. There are two robot clubs at her school. The first club's members are handpicked elite and have regularly participated in the robot contest. The other one, which Satomi belongs to, is full of hacks and the club is about to close down. The second club participates in a local contest, but can't even pass the first stage. However, their unique idea is praised and they are invited to attend the National Robot Contest. Satomi, who hates losing, burns with passion for the contest in order not to be disgraced in public.
Hosted by veteran comedian Tamori, "Bizarre Tales 2002 Spring Special" presents five tales. 1. Mushi Game (Ignore the Game) - starring Uchiyama Rina 2. Okashina Machi (Funny Town) - starring Yanagiba Toshiro 3. Tokage no Shippo (Lizard's Tail) - starring Kashiwabara Takashi 4. Yogisha no Otoko (Man's Night Train) - starring Osugi Ren 5. Manhole - starring Kagawa Teruyuki
Due to the effect of the prolonged great depression, finally even the police have to introduce a part-time job system for its employees. Although his main job is a steeplejack, one man is also employed as a day-laborer detective. He spends his days waiting for an incident to occur so he will be called in to investigate. On the other hand, Yasu is not only a graduate of The University of Tokyo with a successful IT business, he is also member of the Nagasaka yakuza clan. Moreover, he is a favorite of the clan leader.
Sentaro Sakuragi (Tsuyoshi Domoto) moves to Tokyo from Osaka. He works now as an substitute elementary school teacher, in place of another teacher on maternity leave. Sentaro hopes to turn his class into the best class in all of Japan. Meanwhile, Sentaro lives in a ramen shop owned by Choichiro Asakura (Chosuke Ikariya). Choichiro is a conservative person but kind. One day Choichiro's second daughter Motoko (Yuko Takeuchi) rides the subway and notices a rude female high school student. The girl sits near a pregnant and doesn't offer to give her seat to her. Motoko then asks the female student to her seat to the pregnant woman...
A mother is accused of murdering her daughter but when she tells her tale, things don't seem to make sense. Her husband says they have no daughter, there's a psychic that can trace phone calls, a blonde who sings the US anthem, a house with no bathroom, some Lynchian dream sequences, aliens, breeding experiments, very quirky FBI agents, and some other random events.
A pair of hard-boiled Tokyo cops are investigating a gruesome murder: after killing the victim, the murderer cut his skull open and cooked his brain in a stew. As they try to track down the killer, they discover that, quite literally, everybody is a suspect. Will they bring the terror to an end, or will they become part of it themselves?
