Nene Otsuka

Eriko is a Junior high school teacher, who is reluctant to go to school. She struggles to be independent, and her room looks like a child's room. Meanwhile, Chika, a bright student, who doesn't go to school, even though she has a lot of friends. They connect with each other through social media anonymously; this is like two people finding a place they can belong. They have become good friend and they try to step out of their trapped places and they try to face their problems. However, as they delve deeper into their struggles, unexpected challenges arise. Living here is difficult, but we are not alone.

A twin secretly replaces his deceased brother to stay with his lover, hiding the truth while falling for her and navigating suspicions and her hidden secret.

In their first year of high school, a girl named Mizumura and a boy named Sakahira fell into a swimming pool and mysteriously switched bodies. They live out each other's lives for 15 years, all through high school, college and beyond, and frequently exchange information about what's going on in their lives. Then, all of a sudden, Mizumura tells Sakahira that she might have found a way for them to switch back. But do they even want to do that at that point?

The Suzuki family faced the problem of inheritence division when their mother died. Different views on rights, obligations and affection for the mother have divided key family members. Will mother's love, filial piety and family ties heal the separation between them?

With only a year left to live, 17-year-old Akito finds new meaning in life by bringing joy to a terminally ill girl who has just six months remaining.

In this drama set on Shikina Island, a far-flung island of the Japanese archipelago located more than six hours from the Japanese main islands, the young physician Kensuke Goto arrives at the island and has to deal with the island's inhabitants, not eager to accept him, at a clinic lacking sufficient medical equipment. Here's a human drama showing how Dr. Coto values the dignity of human life while unflinchingly facing disease with a serious attitude.

Kaisei Sakamoto is a 16 year old boy who is inclined to settle everything with his fists. He grew up in a town where you can see both Nagazaki and Gunkanjima, living with his father. His father, Genkai Sakamoto, runs a small ramen shop. The father-son duo has just recently had a large fight. The story showcases fragments of one's youth and the questions that crop up while growing up.

"Kiyo Matsumoto" who was the founder of "Drugstore Matsumotokiyoshi" and the mayor of Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture With his way of life that has overcome adversity with unconventional ideas. The story of people who inherited that intention and continued to stick to the number one.

The owner of an established photo studio, collapses from illness. His son Shinta, who was raised by his divorced wife, comes home. One day, an elderly woman named shows up at the studio and beckons Shinta to come with her. They arrive at a grassy field where Shinta finds about the secret of the "singing voice" that keeps echoing in his memory and about his father's feelings.

Shibuya Haruko is a high school student living in Tokyo. One night, she is instantly smitten by Kanagawa Kenichi, who is lying prone on a bridge. But Kenichi becomes far more interested in a girl he impulsively hits on, Mayumi, over the high-spirited Haruko.

Two women are flat-mates and friends in Tokyo. One is an event manager and the other works in the world of fashion marketing. The result shows that one is pregnant one day. The woman decides to give birth out of wedlock. It is a major decision, which is the harbinger of not just a change in their lives, but also their relationship.

Haruka is a promising athlete, but she gets into an accident and is left paralyzed from the waist down. Haruka becomes frustrated with her situation and closes her mind to others. By meeting people who view disabilities as individuality traits, she attains a new dream in the sport of paracanoe.

The story takes place after the TV drama series Ossan's Love (2018). It's been a year since Haruta and Maki pledged their undying love. Haruta has now come back and receives a warm welcome from familiar faces, his boss Musashi Kurosawa and other colleagues. Justice Yamada, a recruit who has been recently assigned to this branch, welcomes him too. One day, completely out of the blue, the headquarter-based project team "Genius 7" shows up at the Second Sales Branch. Project leader Jin Mamiana orders the Sales team to support them in their big project. Maki, who had been transferred and works now at the head office, is among the project team members with Mamiana. Haruta and Maki grow apart, and Haruta teams up with Justice. Then Kurosawa gets involved in an accident and loses his memory, but the loss of his memory is selective and he has forgotten only Haruta. However, when Kurosawa sees Haruta, he falls in love again.. Hilarious and heartwarming, the final battle of Ossan's Love begins.

Maverick pediatric surgeon Mikoto Saijo agrees to work under his mentor, but only if he's allowed to care for a teenager with a risky pregnancy.

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...

Aoi studies photography at a school in Tokyo. She undergoes a heart transplant operation and goes to the island of Okinawa to recover. Her uncle lives on the island. There, she holds a camera and walks along the island. Aoi hears the sound of a trumpet. She looks up and sees a young man playing the trumpet. His name is Zio.

Restaurant owner Kenji Nagata has been stabbed to death. When the police begin an investigation, a bag of human bones is discovered in Nagata's car and Detective Kajikawa asks anthropologist Kumiko Misaki to perform an examination. She discovers that the deceased was a man in his mid-twenties and that he died more than 15 years ago. Meanwhile, suspicion for Nagata's murder falls on his apprentice chef Ryohei Miyamura due to the murder weapon being a kitchen knife. Afterwards, Miyamura breaks into Kumiko's lab, but manages to escape...

Kiira seems like an ordinary young girl, who likes to talk with her friends and to dress up. Her ultimate goal is to become the world's best baker, but what differentiates her from others is that she is a vampire. She has never told anyone her secret, including her childhood friend Tetsu, whom she played with everyday and liked as a child. After her parents died when Kiira was only 12-years-old, she had to go live with her relatives and lost contact with Tetsu. Now, 8 years later, Tetsu appears at the bakery where Kiira is working part-time. Kiira is ecstatic to see her first love again. Soon, they are dating and Kiira dreams of having a family with Tetsu. Kiira also becomes filled with worries because she is vampire.

Six love stories following the love lives of ten different people.

After Satoru Watarai graduated from elementary school, he dropped out of school and decided to live within his apartment complex, never to venture outside. Satoru Watari then meets his old friends as they are coming back from their middle school classes. Satoru has now gotten a job at a cake shop within the apartment complex and eventually gets engaged to one of his friends. Satoru, still lives within the apartment complex only, but, as time passes, more of his friends leave ..

Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.

This story takes place 100 days before Kudo Shinichi became Edogawa Conan. Kudo Shinichi, a high school detective, arrives in Jugoya Town with Mori Ran and others. In this town a legend exists, claiming that a gigantic bull-headed shrike attacks the townspeople and kills them. The town was about to hold a festival in 3 days to put the giant bird's spirit to rest. While being led on a tour of the bull-headed shrike Shrine by Sonoko's parent's friend, Mr. Wakura, a crime related to the legend occurs. Starting with Kosaka, member of the Wakura family are slowly murdered in the same way...

A young woman named Izumi suffers the loss of her boyfriend Junichi, who died from a fatal motorcycle accident. The shock from her boyfriend's sudden death causes Izumi to lose her memory from the time of the accident. A lawyer named Makiko then helps Izumi to remember the final moments of her boyfriend's life.

"Saigo no Yakusoku" is described as a human suspense story involving the hijack of a major building. The members of Arashi play five young men who happen to be inside, and the story depicts their attempt to escape and their interactions with the other people caught up in the incident.

A man arrives in the city upon news of a potential terrorist strike in Italy. He is Japanese foreign diplomat, Kosaku Kuroda, and he’s here under orders of his supervisor at the Foreign Ministry, Hiroshi Kataoka (Kiichi Nakai), to aid in the safeguarding of Japanese citizens. Kuroda’s main contacts at the Japanese embassy consist of Ambassador Kikuhara, Counselor Nishino, and fellow diplomatic envoys Haba and Tanimoto. All are busy preparing for the visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Kawagoe due to arrive for the high-profile G8 foreign minister’s meeting. Meanwhile, somewhere on the festively-lit streets of the city, a young Japanese girl has suddenly gone missing. Is it an abduction simply for ransom? Or could it be a prelude to terror?

The second Anmitsu Hime TV-movie.

Tatsumura Yusuke, Toho Advertising's deputy sales manager was a childhood friend of Akiko and Katsuya. In fact, there is a secret that cannot be divulged about the relationship between Akiko and her father and the truth behind his death between these three people. They don't contact each other after they grow up but 25 years later, that secret comes back to Akiko in an extortion letter. Meanwhile, Tatsumura's division suddenly competes in a big project with a budget of 1.8 billion yen. Tatsumura works towards a successful pitch with Tachibana, Hirano, and Totsuka but interference within the company from envious parties and a heated contest with a rival firm remains. Then Tatsumura learns that there is a link between this project and that secret from his past...

The prison guards working in penitentiaries where death row inmates are locked up are forced to spend their daily lives constantly facing death.

After six years away, D.A. Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) returns to his former Josai branch of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, just in time for a brewing storm. Kohei's first case starts out simple enough. The suspect, a blonde-haired security guard, had already confessed to manslaughter, but he suddenly retracts his confession and takes things to court with big-shot defense attorney Gamo (Matsumoto Koshiro). It turns out that the security guard is a key alibi witness in a high-profile political corruption case, and the results of his case will directly affect the next. With the media, politicians, and a special investigative team breathing down his back, Kohei must handle the case with care (and flair) to find out the truth.

A university student finds himself wrapped up in the bizarre world of his next door neighbor, learning about his history and relationship with a girl who changed his life.

There are no heroines, there are no heroes. The six girls in this film are victims of their own excess and lack of worth. The film is set in a Drug Rehabilitation Centre. The girls are rehearsing the play 'Death of Domomata' for the annual Christmas Eve recital. On the morning before the recital, Tobe, who plays the leading role, dies suddenly. How do the girls left behind manage to go on with the show and how do they cope with Tobe's death?

Five years have passed since Kuryu Kohei's transfer from Tokyo to Ishigaki, and then to Sapporo. He ends up in a small town of Nijigaura in Yamaguchi Prefecture. There, he investigates a murder case involving a local enterprise, Kamoi Group, and the people related to it. Everyone in town thinks he's innocent except Kuryu, whose unorthodox investigation methods perplex not only the townspeople, but his colleagues as well.

Yuko is a Japanese girl who was taken hostage in Iraq while volunteering there as an aid worker. Finally released and back in her hometown, Yuko finds herself ostracized as a national disgrace by society that sees her helping a country other than Japan, and the embarrassment of getting captured but not killed, as things of which to be brutally ashamed.

A small team of Coast Guard divers, including Daisuke, rappels onto the ship from a helicopter and begins to evacuate the panicked passengers. Then Daisuke finds a familiar face - Kanna. They had a tiff the night before about their wedding plans - Kanna had already made her dress, while Daisuke was still reluctant to propose - and she left for Tokyo, feeling like a fool. Now she see Daisuke in a different, more heroic light - but before they can properly reconcile, she has to evacuate, while Daisuke searches for stray passengers.

When a new, smart and sweet Tokyo girl, Rumiko, starts at a rural elementary school, Akira finds himself smitten, like every other male pupil. Newcomer's popularity is contrasted with the less-tolerant treatment of scruffy Hideko, who, thanks to the arrival of a carnival freak-show in town, is nicknamed the Wolf Girl. Teachers and parents snootily consider the carny off-limits, but Akira is determined to find out whether Hideko really is a wolf girl.

'Female' is comprised of five short films adapted from five novels by female authors. Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto, Tetsuo Shinohara, Ryuichi Hiroki, Miwa Nishikawa, and Suzuki Matsuo.

Kazuo Murata is a detective who has lost his wife and eventually the meaning of his existence.

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 ...

Mio Sasaoka hears of a middle school student that was a victim of bullying and then committed suicide. Mio thinks the girl should have confronted her tormentors rather than committing suicide. Mio herself is the leader of a group of students at her school. She is a bully. Her main target is Maria Shiozaki who is weak. Mio pushes her into the swimming pool and scribbles on her book, justifying her actions because Maria is disagreeable.

LIFE IS JOURNEY is an anthology of four stories about people who live in solitude, but who yearn for togetherness. Each day brings chance meetings and reluctant partings, joy and pain. The first vignette, "Life", portrays half of a woman's life in one-scene, one-cut, nine-minute sequence. "N" is a comical take on a man abandoned by his lover. "Ya" explores the bond of female friendship as one woman consoles a brokenhearted girlfriend. In "Nowhere", a man and a woman roam the streets of a foreign land in search of lost time.

Hosted by veteran comedian Tamori, "Bizarre Tales 2003 Spring Special" presents five tales. 1. Kao wo Nusumareta (My Face was Stolen) - starring Inagaki Goro 2. Rental Love - starring Iijima Naoko 3. Oikaketai (I want to Chase [Him/Her]) - starring Kyono Kotomi 4. Chozeikin Taisaku Satsujin Jiken (Countering Excessive Taxation Murder Case) - starring Nishimura Masahiko 5. Kage no Kuni (The Country of Shadows) - starring Sakurai Sachiko

Private detective Mike takes on an assignment to return a girl, who is set to marry into a prestigious family, from a mysterious commune in the forest.

A young-at-heart widower leads an independent life in a quiet fishing town in northern Japan. He eases his loneliness by walking in the snow and studying the growth of fish at a breeding center.

A woman has a fine life with rewarding work, a nice house, and a serious boyfriend in the lowlands of Japan. In walks her long lost husband who years ago disappeared and abandoned her. The wife allows her lost husband to secretly live in her house. More specifically, he lives in the wife's closet. The closet has a peep hole, so he does nothing day and night but watch his wife live her life.

A mysterious woman approaches a salaried man who leads a peaceful family life and tells him, "Your wife is having an affair with my husband." From this mysterious woman's words, the gears of a man's destiny begin to go mad.

The ever-prolific Takashi Miike directs this wild and woolly prison drama, reportedly based on real-life cases of Japanese imprisoned abroad.

The movie is absurd, and a thoroughly original take on the morale in Japanese society. The images are beautiful, and the people are as cold as the snow that surrounds them. The take on Melville's "Samoraï" from -67 is obvious, but Kobayashi turns the image around and portrays the killer as the weakest person in the movie - haunted by his demanding wife and the moaning contractor, who is one of the most mysterious characters ever portrayed in a movie.

Based on the comic by Hiroshi Motomiya

Making-of documentary for Swallowtail Butterfly

The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.

Set in an elementary school and centered on a boy named Takuya and a new transfer student named Saeko. Takuya's classmates think that Saeko has been possessed by Hanako, the ghost that lives in the bathroom. The rumor is especially encouraged by a girl who has a crush on Takuya and is jealous since Takuya likes Saeko.

In Harari-cho, a small and quiet bayside town by the sea, the firemen have not seen a fire for nearly twenty years. Each day passes eventlessly... until one day. The monotony of their daily lives is interrupted by the appearance of a beautiful female college student, Momoko, who comes to visit her aunt. After catching a glimpse of Momoko, both Tatsuya and Nobuyuki can't stop thinking about her. Since then, the small town is not so quiet anymore…