Chizuru Ikewaki

An outrageous collection of surreal, short attention span non-sequiturs largely revolving around Guitar Brother, his randy older sibling, and the pair's portly Caucasian brother.

One day a puppy comes to the house of Akari, who has just turned twelve, and was trying hard to act strong after her mother suddenly fell ill. She immediately falls in love with the puppy and names it "Socks" after the paws which looked like they had white socks on. Akari was together with Socks day and night. However, as Akari grows up, her feelings and interest moves away from Socks. Year by year, their distance grows, which also leads to her physical distance as she moves to a far off city, and must leave Socks behind to a childhood friend.One day Akari remembers the 10 promises that she had made with Socks and her deceased mother...

ER doctor Tsuyoshi Matsuoka receives a patient with a virus unlike anything he's seen before. His symptoms include high fever, convulsions, vomiting of blood and multiple organ failure. Could this be a new form of influenza or is it some other variety of virus? As the situation worsens and more cases begin arriving, a medical officer from the World Health Organization named Eiko Kobayashi is dispatched to the area. At the rate the virus is spreading, the entire city’s transportation system and infrastructure would be brought to a halt within 3 months. Within 6 months it could spread to tens of millions of people--reaching a death toll far worse than any war.

Once a promising musician, Hyeon-seok has been living as a commoner after he found the symptom of Meniere’s syndrome. He had to stop playing music because his ears distorted sounds into noise. To run away from reality and depression he heads to Japan. Arriving at Monbetsu, a small city in Hokkaido, Japan, he meets Megumi at the train station, the local travel guide. Staying at ‘Megumi Inn’, they get to share emotions through music, natural sounds and having meals together.

Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.

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 Josee.

A talented but troubled Edo Period swordsman, Kanemi Sanzaemon. Three years earlier, Kanemi killed a woman, Renko, the corrupt mistress of the powerful daimyo Tabu Ukyou. Unexpectedly, Kanemi received a lenient sentence for his crime and is allowed to return to his clan after only one year of imprisonment. Following his return, Kanemi is faced with the death of his wife, Mutsue. Thereafter, Kanemi lives with and cares for his wife's niece, Satoo, who has secret affections for Kanemi and expresses them by helping change his bleak outlook on life. Meanwhile, Kanemi's develops his unique "bird-catching" sword technique which he will soon put to test in battle for the first time against the fearsome swordsman, Hayatonosho Obiya.

There is a degree of realism when a professional in the field writes about his vocation and such is the case here. Adopted from a novel written by a doctor and set in Nagano, doctor Kuriharai is overwhelmed by the number and variety of patients he has to see due to a shortage of physicians where he practices. He aspires to work somewhere more convenient, specialize and see more of his wife, but faces a dilemma many other doctors experience.

Follows the ups and downs of four female friends in Tokyo looking for love and trying to cope with the responsibilities in their lives.

Amamiya Shu transfers to Moriwaki elementary filled with hope and ambition. But it doesn't take long before he gets picked on by the class bullies, and gets involved in a dare to play the mysterious piano in the forest.

Daikichi learns that his recently deceased grandfather has an illegitimate daughter with an unknown mother. The girl's name is Rin and she is just 6 years old. Everybody in Daikichi's family looks at the girl as an embarrassment and wants no part of her. Daikichi, annoyed by his family's attitude, decides to raise Rin by himself. Even though Daikichi himself has no experience raising a child and is still single.

Naoko returns home with her young daughter, where her mother Masako runs the only beauty parlor in town. The local women go there to pass the time lamenting their bad luck with men and laughing over dirty jokes. Unbeknownst to them, Naoko has been secretly seeing her former teacher, Kashima.

Hasami

The murder of a young girl leaves the inhabitants of a small Japanese village in shock. The body of Emili is found by four classmates with whom she was playing. The murder is never solved. Emili's mother, Asako, is torn by grief and puts a curse on the four girls when they claim not to remember the killer's face. Each of the girls, in their own way, will do penance for their silence.

Majime, an eccentric man in publishing company, who has unique ability of words, joins the team that will compile a new dictionary, The Great Passage. In the eclectic team, he becomes immersed in the world of dictionaries. But the team is overwhelmed with problems.

Seven friends gather at a party in Kyoto to celebrate Masamichi's entry to graduate school. Maki & her boyfriend Nakazawa join the party and get drunk easily after the friendship reunion. Kate has a crush on one of the cute guy who doesn't have any interests on her though. The cheerful and unforgettable night is full of joy while the whales and the thief incidents also attract the attention of them. Before the sunrise, seven friends meet again on the beach so as to witness the fade of youth days.

An elementary student named Junichi is having trouble returning an eraser he borrowed from his secret crush, Maeda. With the support and encouragement of rookie teacher Anna, Junichi gets over his shyness and starts a band with his classmates.

Kanna Seto lost her childhood friend Haruta in a car accident when she was a freshman in high school. Carrying the emotional pain from that incident throughout her life, Kanna is still wounded as an adult. Kanna then meets Roku Akazawa, who also carries a painful experience from his past. When Roku was an elementary school student, a girl who was with him got into an accident and died. Because of that incident, Roku carries a heavy sense of guilt. When they meet, time, frozen since that day, begins to tick again.

Young Wakana is the daughter of a husband and wife comedy act, who have worked together for 20 years without any big success. Wakana’s parents quarrel constantly, and her mother often threatens to leave. When one day her father disappears, Wakana sets out to find him.

Meet NIPPORI Ayumu, an 80 year-old man, who, due to a serious heart condition, has spent sixty years of his life confined to his house. One morning, he wakes up believing himself to be twenty again. In his mind, he has become the youthful young man that he once was. However, reality fails to keep up with his illusion, and everything around him seems to be quite different from what he is used to. So, he decides that he is simply dreaming. As his reality becomes his dream, his unhappy world turns into a life enriched with happiness and expectations for the future. Ayumu is now enjoying his life to the full again.

Portrait of the Wind centers on Tamio Murase, a world-traveling photographer who came home to take over the family business after his father’s fatal heart attack. One day at the family photo studio, he finds a kindred spirit in Ayako and the requisite sparks fly between them. The initial portions of the film deal with their budding romance, and it isn’t long before the two become a serious couple, and Ayako is pregnant with Tamio’s child.

Director Mitsutoshi Tanaka's adaptation of a manga by Shotaro Ishinomori was an official selection at the 5th Shanghai International Film Festival and won the award for Best Screenplay at the 14th Tokyo International Film Festival.

Dr. Ichito works at Honjo Hospital. His longtime friend Dr. Tatsuya Shindo, who comes from Tokyo, begins working at Honjo Hospital. In their university days, Tatsuya was referred to as "the conscience of the medical school". Ichito notices a difference in Tatsuya now, as he leaves work on time. Then, Ichito's senior colleague Dr. Nukita collapses.

A husband and wife, who have not had sex in three years, both fall into extra-marital affairs.

Tasuku Okano is a diligent young man who was raised by decent family. He works as a new teacher at an elementary school. Tasuko deals with his students the way his head teacher told taught him, but the situation in his classroom isn't very good. He notices that one of his students might be abused, but he tries to ignore it by reasoning that he is too busy to become involved. Tasuko though feels terrible about the situation and decides to help his abused student. Masami was raised by an abusive mother. She is now violent towards her own 3-year-old daughter Ayane. Masami can't help lashing out at her daughter since her daughter was 10-months-old. When she hangs around other mothers in the park, she tries to justify her abusive manners by thinking the other mothers treat their kids the same way.

A three-timing 29 year-old man loses part of his memory after taking a nasty fall at a skating rink. The man, who works as pharmaceutical salesman, then discovers an engagement ring in his briefcase. Later, he comes across three different women who all claim to be his girlfriend. To figure out which of the women he planned to marry, he sets up dates with each of them.

Death-row inmate Sudo sends a letter to magazine reporter Fujii. In his letter, he states that a man named Kimura, also known as "teacher," committed numerous murders for insurance money. While checking out the story, based on Sudo's tip, Fuji becomes convinced that the letter is correct. But, a lot of time has passed from the incidents and Sudo's testimony isn't clear. Due to the persistance of Sudo, who is a former yakuza, and Fuji, the police begin to move.

A man has thrown away love and a woman has given up on love. The two souls meet in a brief summer in the northern city of Hakodate.

Plain, timid and obsessed with jellyfish, Tsukimi is a far cry from her idea of a princess. Her tepid life as a jobless illustrator comes complete with roommates who harbor diehard hobbies that solidify their status as hopeless social rejects. These wallflowers run a tight, nun-like ship, but their no-men-allowed-not-no-one-not-no-how bubble is unwittingly burst after Tsukimi brings home a rescued sea jelly and a beauty queen... who's actually a guy. When the threat of losing their cozy convent inspires this glamour boy to turn the neurotic entourage into a portrait of success, will Tsukimi take her chance to bloom, or will she end up a hot mess?

Depicts the life of best-selling Japanese poet Toyo Shibata. Toyo Shibata first began writing poems at the age of 92 and published her first collection of poems "Kujikenaide" (″Don't lose heart″) in 2009, which sold over 1.5 million copies.

Kitahara Kazunori was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma in the fall of his second year in high school, and thereafter spent a year and 10 months battling the disease. Although he studied hard for the university examinations and was successfully admitted to his first choice, [the prestigious] Tokyo University, he only managed to visit it for a day before passing away. After that, last January [i.e. 2005], Kazunori's mother compiled the thoughts he had left behind and published it as a book, and it was adapted into this drama. Even as Kazunori had to fight his serious illness, he received support from his friends, school teachers and family members, and had warm relations with many people. This drama illustrates the 1 year and 10 months young Kazunori persevered together with the people around him.

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.

A man brutally murders a married couple and leaves the word “ikari” (“rage”) written with their blood. The killer undergoes plastic surgery and flees. At three different locations in Japan, a male stranger appears. People suspect that the stranger might be the murderer.

Ko, a man in his late 30s, lives in the countryside with his wife and teenage son. Mitsuhiko, who runs a local car dealership, also stayed in his hometown. One day, their mutual friend Eisuke returns from a long military operation and their reunification brings back both pleasant and painful memories.

Akemi is unable to get over the death of his girlfriend, but a book leads to his encounter with Akane, a woman with a wonderful smile. He gradually falls for Akane, who soothes him with her positive outlook and cheerful disposition, but Akane has a boyfriend who has a limited amount of time left to live.

Five short stories from five different directors set ten years in Japan's future.

Hibi tells about mother who does pottery and lives rather simple life, growing her children up. She does remarkable job in pottery, finding a new way to make natural pottery in her own tunnel kiln. Then, her son gets leukemia. And entire family has to fight hard to find a donor who has matching bone marrow.

Oka wo koete

The 50th film in Tora-san series, using the old footages and newly shot scenes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series. The adult Mitsuo, Tora-san’s nephew, who runs into Izumi, his first love, whom he had once promised to marry. The familiar faces of Kurumaya Cafe, which Tora-san’s family ran in Shibamata, also return. Catching up with old friends, it is always their dearest memories of Tora-san which everyone shares on such occasions…

Under the Nagasaki Sky

Based on an autobiography by Hiroshi Tamura, the film follows story of the author's experience of homelessness when this father suddenly decides to abandon his family. Hiroshi and his older siblings do all what they can to withstand the trouble they encounter along their way.

The Musical Note and the Seaweed

***Replay A man sees his dead girlfriend through his digital camcorder. ***Inochibi (Life Force) A nurse is able to save dying patients with her 'life force'. ***Ame no Houmonsha (The Visitor in the Rain) A woman visits her sister on a rainy night to celebrate her birthday, but finds a stranger in her house who may be a murderer at large... ***Okusanya-san (The Wife Seller) A man stumbles upon a shop selling perfect wives. ***Imakiyo-san (Mr. Imakiyo) A student finds a spirit called Imakiyo in his apartment, and he has to obey three rules or suffer the consequences...

Sarya lives between three worlds: Having fled from Turkey to Japan, her small family tries to maintain their Kurdish traditions. On the other hand, Sarya, who arrived when she was five, feels at home in Japan. But then, the family loses its refugee-status. Life becomes unpredictable and their days in Japan seem numbered. A haunting story about the balancing act of finding your place in the world.

The first special of the Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi drama series.

Hayakawa Ai commits a crime which lands her in a correction facility for juveniles. There she meets & becomes firm friends with four other delinquents & falls in love with one of the wardens, Ariake Yu, an artist with secrets.... (dramawiki)

The murder of a young girl shocks a small Japanese village, and the victim's mother is distraught when the classmates her daughter was playing with all claim not to remember the identity of the killer. In her anger, she puts a curse on them.

A love story between a young man who has been forced to grow up too quickly, and a young woman with an ailment that has placed restrictions on her life. Natsuo has been looking after his younger brother and sister since the death of their parents. He has also been running the family bicycle shop. Yuki becomes the only person in the world in whom he can confide. For Yuki, Natsuo becomes the catalyst that has her trying to break out of her cocoon.

ほんまもん

A drama about a rookie detective who teams up with a veteran detective and develops a good rapport while overcoming difficulties. Keigo starts his new post at a local police station where he partners up with Shoichi, a frigid, yet warm-hearted, detective on the verge of retirement. The drama features how the young detective builds up his career with the veteran and those who are connected with his cases.

Ritsu was abandoned by his mother Reiko when he was little, so now he belongs in the lower social strata. One day, Ritsu gets involved in a case and his head is severely injured, so he can die at anytime. Convinced she abandoned him due to poverty, Ritsu attempts to find his mother and be good to her before his death. But when he learns that she is leading a happy life instead, with her pianist son Satoru, he decides to take revenge on his mother. Ritsu then meets Rinka, a girl whom he happened to help in the past, and discovers she is Satoru’s childhood friend.

They were high school classmates, spent their youth together in the school choir and certainly had similar dreams. But one rainy night 20 years later, Furusawa Mizue suddenly shows up at the home of popular scriptwriter Makabe Suzune, with her young son. She has lost her job, money and even the home she lived in. Claiming that Suzune is the only one she can turn to, Mizue beseeches Suzune to let her stay for one night. However, this quickly becomes a promise to stay until she gets employment. Unable to cruelly thrust mother and child away, Suzune’s daily life and work get disrupted. Then, a series of strange incidents start to happen to Suzune’s surroundings. Through this reunion of two classmates who have led completely different lives, all sorts of dormant feelings erupt and memories that they were starting to be forgotten are resurrected. ~~ Based on the novel "Haburashi" by Fumie Kondo.

11 mysteries, 11 actors. Japan's favorite mystery author, the world of Higashino Keigo comes to life on screen through an assortment of short stories.

The 37th NHK Taiga Drama is Tokugawa Yoshinobu. The series focuses on the life of Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th and final ruler of the Tokugawa period. Born the seventh son of Lord Nariaki of Mito, Yoshinobu is named shogun when he is just 29 years old. With a wisdom and vision beyond his years, he tries to prolong the life of this 200-year-old dynasty which began with Ieyasu. However, he is unable to forestall the winds of revolution as clans in Choshu, Satsuma and Tosa, with the help of the Imperial Court, clamor for change.

40-year-old Usui Arata had worked as a salesperson for her dream company but right before her marriage, she is betrayed by her fiancée. Not only is her engagement broken off, she is demoted to work at the logistics warehouse in the name of restructuring. Arata’s future is bleak. She has no dream, savings or boyfriend and wonders whether her life will end just like this? This day is her 40th birthday but no one celebrates it with her. The only thing she receives are e-mails from online shopping sites. On her way to the workplace from the company dormitory on a typical dull morning, Arata notices an elderly woman crouching by the side of the road. There is no one in this corner of the city to help her. It feels as if she is seeing herself 40 years later and she instinctively extends a hand to the woman.

The mini-series revolves around the harem of a shogun in the Edo Period in Japan. The women jostle and compete with one another and with their lord and on occasion even wield more power than their master.

Dr. Shindo seems cold, but is a competent surgeon. He is also an ER doctor capable of accurate decisions and treatment, who always tries to see things from the patient’s side. Although once retired from his profession, he one day discovers someone in need of help, who he treats and rushes to the Kohoku Medical University Emergency Center. This incident encourages him to once again work as an ER doctor. Confrontation erupts between female doctor Tamaki, and Shindo, now a just-arrived ER doctor. While this human drama depicts the relationships among doctors and nurses, it appeals emotionally to viewers on the subject of life.

Detective Ukyo Sugishita confronts crime on the basis of his own convictions. He has a partner that works for him in the Special Task Unit. For the first 7 seasons, Ukyo’s first partner is Kaoru Kameyama. He is a good-natured, hot-tempered, straightforward and somewhat scattered detective. Beginning in Season 8, Takeru Kanbe replaces Kameyama. Contrary to his predecessor, Takeru is a lanky, cool, conceited and confident detective. From Season 11 to Season 13, Ukyo’s partner is a young detective Toru Kai. Toru is a son of Deputy Director-General of The National Police Agency. But he became a detective by his own effort. And starting with Season 14, Ukyo’s current partner is Wataru Kaburagi, an elite bureaucrat who came to the Metropolitan Police Department on temporary assignment. As the first partner without any career of a police officer, he will face challenging cases together with Ukyo.

Kyosuke, an excellent plastic surgeon, started living a very private life after his wife passed away, confining his main joys in life to cultivating his herb garden and spending time with his only daughter. One day, a woman enters his clinic and asks that her face be completely changed to whatever Kyosuke wishes. Kyosuke is very suspicious and refuses her request, but she begs him to reconsider and explains that she is trying to escape from her violent husband. Kyosuke finally agrees and alters her appearance to that of his late wife. Afterwards, a relationship begins to develop between the two of them, but things start to unravel when two police officers show up on his doorstep looking for the "missing" woman.

Shūichirō Kiriyama works at the Limitation Task Force, the place where the cases which have reached the statute of limitations are destroyed. Getting bored of his job, he decides to find a hobby, because it seems important to him to have a hobby. So he decides to puzzle out the unsolved cases on his free time, helped by his coworker Mikazuki, who seems to have a crush on him.

In the 1980s, a simple-minded fool named Hideaki meets comedy legend Sanma, changes his name to Jimmy and becomes a comedic superstar.

ほんとうにあった怖い話