Yu Aoi
An medical student unwillingly assists in human experiments on American POWs during WWII and gets sentenced to death in the Yokohama War Trials. His wife fights for a reduction of sentence.
In the 1940s, a Japanese merchant leaves his wife behind in order to travel to Manchuria, where he witnesses an act of barbarism.
The wandering swordsman will return for his final battle. Warner Brothers Japan announced that a two-part "Final Chapter" from the live-action film adaptation project based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's action jidaigeki manga series Rurouni Kenshin is set to be released in Japan in the summer of 2020.
It was a pre-destined love and marriage for Sonoko and Tetsuo. They tied the knot and became husband and wife no questions asked. All is well then. Well, perhaps not. Each holds a secret that even the binds of matrimony cannot untie. Sonoko does not know that Tetsuo makes sex dolls or Dutch wives. Sonoko has a secret too. She is about to tell Tetsuo what she has been hiding. Their marriage is already sexless. Will they make it?
Kenshin Himura goes up against mysterious weapons dealer Enishi. He controls the underworld of China. The secret of Kenshin Himura’s "Jujishou" is also revealed.
Following the manga series and the subsequent television serial of the same name, and featuring the same cast, a young and relatively inexperienced man comes across a woman during his working day and sparks fly.
A seventy-year-old retired school headmaster informs his wife and daughters that he has Alzheimer’s disease. They are all concerned, but react differently due to their individual situations. The family watches as the husband and father regresses due to the disease and loses his memory. Interestingly, there are sparkling moments of his life of which the man will not let go...
Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.
At the Hirata home, three generations of their family live together. A crisis ensues when one afternoon, housewife Fumie falls asleep and wakes up to find a thief has stolen her secret money she kept hidden in the refrigerator.
A fourth-grader investigates the mysterious reason behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his village, which is somehow related to a power from a young woman working at a dental clinic.
Set during the Edo period, "Zan" follows the life a ronin, Mokunoshin Tsuzuki (Sosuke Ikematsu), and those around him. Mokunoshin Tsuzuki spends time in a village helping farmers there. To keep his sword skills sharp, he spars daily with a farmer's son Ichisuke (Ryusei Maeda). His sister Yu (Yu Aoi) watches them. Meanwhile, the nation is about to undergo major unrest and potentially a civil war. A group of outlaw ronin led by Sezaemon Genda (Tatsuya Nakamura) enters the village.
A Tokyo college student is attacked by a ghoul, a super-powered human who feeds on human flesh. He survives, but has become part ghoul and becomes a fugitive on the run.
An unstable young woman pines for the ex boyfriend who nearly beat her to death - and who has mysteriously disappeared - in this gripping tale of lust, devotion and redemption.
To get revenge on her ex-boyfriend and to help revive her late mother's tennis table club, a table tennis prodigy decides to take part in a mixed doubles table tennis tournament.
Several years after Shuzo settled his wife’s birthday-surprise divorce proposal (What a Wonderful Family, 40th), the Hirata family faces new problems. Ignoring his family’s worry that he is too old to drive, Shuzo takes his old schoolmate for a spin after carousing. Soon, a new disturbance arises for the Hirata family. Veteran director Yamada Yoji continues his comedy about the “perfect“ Japanese family turned upside down in chaos, laughters and understanding. This time, with an additional taste of death.
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.
Detective Goro Nanase and his colleagues of "Akatsuka Detective Office" are based in Shimo-Akazuka of Itabashi-ku, Tokyo. The detectives take on a string of challenging cases that no one else wants to take on.
A husband and wife have been married for 50 years. For her birthday, the husband asks the wife what she wants for her birthday present. She replies that she wants a divorce. The wife's divorce announcement sends the entire family into chaos.
A recently divorced and traumatized man moves to Hakodate, Hokkaido and attends a vocational college to learn carpentry along with several other students who are in the same boat as he. When a couple of the guys go to a hostess club the man meets an unconventional girl who likes him and a relationship is born.
While a gang of high school girls randomly beats lone men at night, the photo of a young woman who has been declared missing is used to design a template which is painted on each wall of a small suburban town.
Mizuki’s husband Yusuke went missing for 3 years. He suddenly comes back home one day and asks Mizuki to go on a trip with him. Their trip consists of visiting the people that helped Yusuke on his previous travel. While travelling together, Misuki sees, touches and feels what Yusuke did for those 3 years.
Prequel to 2004 coming-of-age live-action film Hana & Alice. After her parents separate, 14 year-old Tetsuko (who will soon be nick-named Alice) moves with her mother to a new town in what she calls "The Boonies" and must enroll as a transfer student in a new middle school. She immediately finds herself bullied due being assigned the seat of "Judas" who is said to have been murdered over a year before. She is told that if anybody knows his fate it would be Hana, the recluse in the house next door, who has been unable to bring herself to attend class since "Judas" disappeared.
Shishio has set sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the Meiji government and return Japan to chaos, carrying Kaoru with him. In order to stop him in time, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.
Five siblings struggle to live together after their parents have passed away. Arguments are a norm, and each have their own problems with studying, finding a job, marriage, etc. But no matter how dysfunctional their family can be, blood is thicker than water and the ties that bind will keep them together through thick and thin.
Goemon Ishikawa steals a golden statue from Yukari Kukai with female thief Neko no Me Ogin, but Private Detective Shinkuro Akechi chases after Goemon Ishikawa and Neko no Me Ogin. Detective Shinkuro Akechi discovers that there is a code hidden within the golden statue. The code reveals the location where gold is hidden. Meanwhile, outlaws gather under Goemon Ishikawa.
Toru grew up in the Tateyama mountain ranges: alpine country. As a child, he resented the yearly trek up the mountain with his father to prepare their mountain hut for the summer season of climbers. When Toru grows up he leaves his hometown, entering the working world as a stock trader and becoming another office worker. But when Toru receives word that his father has passed away, he returns to Tateyama once again and becomes conscious of a new calling. But does Toru have what it takes to follow in his father footsteps?
An explosion take place in a street of Tokyo. Many people were killed or seriously injured. One casualty is Chihiro, the wife of Public Security chief inspector Kuraki Naotake. While trying to find why his wife was being implicated in the explosion case, Kuraki comes into contact with Public Security sergeant Akeboshi Miki and Metropolitan Police Department inspector Osugi Ryota who are also investigating this case.
Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.
In this film director Yoji Yamada bows down before his teacher and role model. Yamada was assistant director on Yazujirō Ozu’s Tōkyō monogatari, a moving family portrait set after the Second World War. In his remake, Yamada has made very few departures from Ozu’s masterpiece in order to update the story of ageing couple Shukichi and Tomiko to present day Japan. Once again, the pair decides to leave their quiet lives in the country to pay a visit to their children and grandchildren in Tokyo. Once there, they discover that neither their oldest son, a doctor named Koichi, nor their eldest daughter Shigeko - who runs a beauty parlour - has time for them: both are too busy attending to their everyday concerns. Even the youngest son went his own way. The old couple feel lonely and bewildered in the fast-paced metropolis.
Detective Seiichiro Watari is nearing retirement, but is still bothered by an unsolved case from seven years ago when the decomposed corpse of a female was found by a fisherman in the sea of Otaru. The body was never identified so the case was never solved. Three years after his retirement, Watari unexpectedly discovers a clue that may finally solve the case. However, at the same time, he learns he does not have long to live. Although he is no longer on the police force, he puts all his energy into reinvestigating the case, in a race to solve the mystery before he dies.
Space Pirate Captain Harlock and his fearless crew face off against the space invaders who seek to conquer the planet Earth.
Detective Seiichiro Watari is nearing retirement, but is still bothered by an unsolved case from seven years ago when the decomposed corpse of a female was found by a fisherman in the sea of Otaru. The body was never identified so the case was never solved. Three years after his retirement, Watari unexpectedly discovers a clue that may finally solve the case.
Former legendary assassin Kenshin Himura has now become a wandering samurai. Offering aid & protecting those in need as atonement for his past deeds. During this time Kenshin Himura comes across and aides Kaoru Kamiya (Emi Takei). Her father opened the Kamiya Kasshin-ryu, a kendo school located in Tokyo and Kaoru is now an instructor there. Kaoru then invites Kenshin to stay at her dojo. Their relationship develops further, but Kenshin is still haunted by his violent past...
A disillusioned Natsume arrives at Coin de Rue, a popular Tokyo pastry shop, begging for work. Aiming to become a high-calibre pastry chef, she is determined to overcome both her past and the challenges ahead. Pastry critic Tomura is a frequent visitor to Coin de Rue. Moved by Natsume's persistence, he slowly begins to confront his own painful past aided, of course, by mouthfuls of tasty pastries.
The main concept of the film is “tamatama,” which means “by chance.” Aoi plays a young woman who travels to Ireland, and the fantasy story depicts her life there as she encounters different people and places, resulting in occasional “miracles.” The film is the debut film from TV commercial director Komatsu Mayumi. The entire film was shot in the beautiful Irish, with sigur ros’ songs for its soundtrack.
Ginko’s younger brother Tetsuro, a failed comedian, is the oddball of the family. Embarrassing, loud and plain inappropriate at times causes Ginko to disown him. The two reunite when she discovers Tetsuro is terminally ill. Tetsuro’s impending death marks the beginning of love and toleration.
Nodame and Chiaki mutually decide that it would be for the best if they parted ways for a while so Nodame can practice for an upcoming competition. However, when things don’t go her way, she gets impatient and depressed. While Nodame is away, Chiaki’s former pianist Rui Son returns to take her place. To make matters worse, Rui and Chiaki are set to play the song Nodame dreams of playing with Chiaki herself: Ravel’s “Concerto in G Minor”.
"FLOWERS" covers the lives of six woman whose lives span a period of three generations (from the Show period all the way through to the present day). Starting in the 1930's, Rin (Yu Aoi) is worried about her arranged marriage that her parents setup. Eventually Rin has three daughters: Kaoru (Yuko Takeuchi) - who tragically loses her husband in a car accident, Midori (Rena Tanaka) - a career woman who becomes shaken by a marriage proposal, and youngest child Sato (Yukie Nakama). In the 1960's Sato gives birth to Kanna (Kyoka Suzuki) and Kei (Ryoko Hirosue). In the present day, Kanna is now worried about becoming a single mother. The lives of these woman are portrayed with beauty and grace.
Set during the Edo Period, a young man from a noble family meets a young woman under a special tree called "Raiou" (the tree was struck by lightning at one time with the broken part eventually sprouting out cherry blossoms). The young woman lived freely in the mountains after she was abducted as a young child. The couple soon fall in love under the Raiou tree, but become acutely aware of their different social positions & the ramifications it has on their relationship.
The most dangerous and exciting car race in the universe is held only once every five years. And that's tonight. The competitors are lined up at the starting block. In his vehicle, JP, the most daredevil driver on the circuit, is ready for the green light. Female driver Sonoshee, with whom he is secretly in love, is also on the starting line. She will stop at nothing to get on to that podium. In this race, not only is anything possible, but also anything is allowed. In fact, their adversaries have modified their vehicles to equip them with highly destructive weapons; with such participants, it is hardly surprising that Redline is forbidden by the authorities, who will try anything to halt the proceedings. These speed addicts have to put themselves in mortal danger to achieve their aim: eternal glory for those who finally mount the podium.
Leo, a young Japanese college student, travels to Hawaii and eventually falls in love with Maray, an older Japanese-Caucasion woman.
“Shaking Tokyo” is about an agoraphobic man, called hikikomori in Japanese. He sustains himself on pizza, living off of money left to him by his father. One day, he does the unthinkable: he makes eye contact with a pretty delivery girl — the first eyes he’s set upon in 10 years. At this moment, the earthquake occurs.
Handa Sen is the "okami" (proprietress) of a long-standing restaurant in one of the lower parts of Tokyo. Though she is normally airheaded and loves to drink, she has an impressive mastery of a wide range skills, from cooking to ceramics to calligraphy. While the drama follows various events surrounding the restaurant, one of the series' highlights is its illustration of Japanese food and culture.
The series consists of four 3-episode chapters, each handled by a different director. The directors were given freedom in their stories, but they all share a common theme: lies. --Tokyograph
Mirume (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) is a 19 year old college student who falls in love with Yuri (Hiromi Nagasaku), an almost 40 year old art teacher at his university. Yuri isn't your typical college professor, having a quirky sense of humor and unpredictable personality. When Yuri invites Murume to her studio, she playfully seduces the still naive 19 year old student. Things become more complicated when Mirume discovers that Yuri is married to a much older man ....
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
28 year old freelance writer Sakura Asuka (Yuki Uchida) wakes up tied in a white room. The white room is a protected room located in an isolated ward of a psychiatric hospital. Sakura first became unconscious because of heavy alcohol use and a druge overdose. She’s confined in the single room because of her high risk of committing suicide. Sakura tried to talk to the nurses and doctors but they didn’t listen to her. Under the circumstances another patient Miki (Yu Aoi), who suffers from an eating disorder, leads her to understand the unknown world. But, Sakura is looking for the way to get back to the real world as soon as possible.
After being deserted by her parents, 11-year old Miyori shuts her heart from the rest of the world and denies any form of human relationships. She was entrusted in the care of her grandmother who lives near a forest. Miyori will take a walk in the forest where she felt a strong sense of loneliness in the forest which seems to have nothing. However, she soon encounters unbelievable things...
Tomoya Kishida (Hayato Ichihara) is working as a staffer in a television studio when he hears about the death of his close friend, Aoi Sato (Juri Ueno). This sparks his recollection of the events in life they shared from meeting at a record store, shooting a short film as part of their university film club, to saying their last goodbyes. Though in love with each other, neither had the courage to confess their feelings before it was too late.
Mushi are beings in touch with the essence of life, far more basic and pure than normal living things. Most humans are incapable of perceiving Mushi and are oblivious to their existence, but there are a few who possess the ability to see and interact with Mushi. One such person is Ginko who travels from place to place to research Mushi and aid people suffering from problems caused by them.
Young women in a small Japanese town look to revive their home's declining fortunes by building a Hawaiian village tourist attraction.
Adapted from the popular manga of the same name, director Masahiro Takada's coming of age drama follows five Hama Art College students as they prepare to venture out into the real world on a great voyage of self-discovery.
Recently graduated from high school, 17-year-old Shiro (Yagira Yuya) decides to put off college and work at a gas station instead. Shy and introspective, Shiro understands he is at a turning point of his life, but is unsure of what lies ahead. Though his parents disapprove of his decision, he has the support of his flower child grandmother (Natsuki Mari) who declares that a gas station is a romantic place for life's drifters. Surely enough, soon a new co-worker, college student Noriko (Erika Sawajiri), drifts into Shiro's life. He falls headfirst into a bittersweet first love that ushers him into the world of adulthood.
When mysterious foreign entrepreneurs appear with the intention of tearing down Treasure Town and replacing it with an amusement park, Black and White face their greatest adversaries yet. It is up to the destructive Black to save the fate of the city and up to the gentle White to save Black from his own dark nature. On the street of an unnamed city, literally high-flying urchins Black and White look to protect their turf from invasion from other gangs. While he can be tough in a fight or wielding a weapon, White is an 11-year-old who can't even dress himself. Slightly older, Black is more worldly and treats his buddy with paternal love. Both look on their city as "our town." Also prone to seeing the city as his property is world-weary yakuza leader Suzuki, aka the Rat. Feeling the town has become too placid, Suzuki plots his return, much to the consternation of local police.
Suzume Katagura is an bored housewife, she spends her days doing chores and taking care of her husbands pet turtle. One day she sees an wanted ad for spies, hoping for some excitement she decides to give them a call.
Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."
Tetsumu, an introverted youth, realizes he has a natural ability of communicating with elephants. This prompts him to leave for Chiang Mai in Thailand to become Japan's first elephant trainer. Having found his place in the world, Tetsumu develops into a strong, confident young man. He returns to Japan with the dream of building a green "paradise" for his ivory-tusked friends. Meanwhile, he starts a career as an elephant trainer for touring shows. He meets Emi, a woman seven years his senior and falls in love.
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.
Fuki who lives with her grandfather Shoei in Taketomi Island, Okinawa, dreams of becoming a photographer. In her childhood, her mother Masami left Fuki to live in Tokyo. Although Masami has not come back, Fuki receives birthday cards from Masami every year on her birthday. On Fuki's fourteenth birthday, Masami promises to confess everything when Fuki becomes 20 years old. After her graduation from high school, Fuki moves to Tokyo to work as a camera assistant. Fuki starts off her hectic life in Tokyo, and soon, her nineteenth birthday comes. As usual, she receives a birthday card from Masami. A year later...
***Fushiawase wo Anata ni (We Bring You Misfortune) A woman sees a company called "Fushiawase wo Anata ni" (we bring you misfortune) promoting a new sales concept: giving its clients misfortune to motivate them to seek greater happiness. ***Kuuhaku no Hito (Blank Person) A woman wakes up in her bed every morning not remembering the events of the past night, and finding that someone has moved around the things in her room. ***Jigoku wa Manin (Hell Is Full) As there is no more room in hell, the evil/sinful find they cannot die. ***Kako kara no Nikki (Diary from the Past) A struggling author chances upon a diary which changes his life. ***Aketekure (Open Up!) A woman's husband dies in a car accident, but that same evening he is heard pounding on the door for someone to let him in.
Two teenage best pals attracted to the same boy end up scrambling his life after he walks into a door and is knocked unconscious.
A writer (Hidetoshi Nishijima) who has an artistic crisis purchases a stack of diaries written by a teenage girl (Yû Aoi) who is fatally ill. Living in different time lines both are able to communicate via writing diaries…
Tadao Kuramochi, an ordinary salaryman, decides one day to reach for his dreams and start his own wrestling federation. Tadao must succeed to save his family on the verge of collapsing.
After making a serious mistake in his work in Tokyo, talented surgeon Goto Kensuke is invited to take charge of the only clinic on the small island of Yonaguni, Okinawa. It is difficult to get competent doctors to serve on this remote island, and the islanders are now used to traveling for hours via boat for proper medical care. Despite seeming weak and unreliable (he gets very seasick, and does not have a driving license), he wins over the skeptical islanders with his skill and dedication. Some children of the island make a flag for his clinic, but get his name wrong. Thereafter he is known by all as Koto.
He can't control himself inside of him. Hidenori, a Japanese-Korean, hasn't seen his family in a few years. He doesn't want to go to school but just wander the streets. He always grins at a trifle. When he is caught stealing and he feels pain as his finger is cut off, he just smiles. He murmurs "Should I commit suicide?" in front of his dead sister. Yumi, an obsessive-compulsive girl, has a sticky finger. A boy who wanders the Sybuya. They join Hidenori's reckless plan by chance. They plan to stow away in order to show Korea to his sister, who has never seen the motherland. Three people who are out of this world and the dead go toward Hakata.
Hina, a student at Nikko High School, goes out one evening with her classmate Beniko. They get split up and Hina ends up in a strange meeting with a man named Ikumi in a game arcade. The next day, Ikumi turns up as the new teacher at her school. Ikumi doesn't seem to recognize Hina but the wheels of fate are slowly moving to reunite them in what is a passionate story of forbidden love.
Web/video series by Shunji Iwai. Commissioned by Nestle for breaktown.com. Later adapted into feature film
Yoko is aiming to become an actress in the city far away from her home. I lost my husband in an accident during autumn salmon fishing and tried to escape from my mother who had a hard time raising with one woman. One day, a phone call returns to the home where Yoko should have forgotten. “Mom fell ...” My mother, who met on a homecoming for the first time in five years, had a hard day as a mother while having a serious illness. The captain of the sightseeing boat, who was close to retirement, touched her mother and her mother-in-law who had been absent for a long time because of her father's absence. When Yoko found that her mother's illness was actually life-threatening, Yoko had to return to the city with a ticket that could make her dream come true. Yoko understands her feelings toward her mother's feelings as her true feelings while the scent of her hometown is loosing.
Uchiyama Kaede and Shiina Kasumi used to be best friends. Now in high school, Kasumi grew more popular than Kaede, which has led her to continually bully her ex-best friend. One day after school, Kaede meets Kishida Takumi, a bike thief who's especially talented in picking locks. She asks him for a favour: if he could possibly open the key to the school roof. Meanwhile, the arrival of a new teacher seems to bring changes to the school.
Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yuichi Hasumi and Shusuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yuichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of fictional pop star Lily Chou-Chou.
13-year-old Sachiko is about to encounter the most difficult moments in her young life. Her father abandons her and her mother attempts to commit suicide by slashing her wrist. Her teacher, whom she relies on heavily, leaves for northern Japan to take another job. Other students start to gossip about Sachiko and her former teacher. Sachiko then drops out of school and attempts to find herself.
Momoko is a 75 year-old widow living alone in the suburbs of Tokyo. She leaves the hometown in 1964, get married and raises two children as a housewife… 55 years have passed since she came up to Tokyo, and she is supposed to enjoy the rest of her life with her loving husband. But the life is not that simple. Her husband suddenly died and left Momoko alone. However, this turns into the beginning of her new life. She enjoys visiting library, reading books and taking notes about the 4.6 billion-year history of the earth, drinking tea at home... Her curiosity is aroused for everything, and "voices inside her heart" arise like a jazz session! Going and returning between past memories and present, her lonely life changes into the life with freedom and joy!
