Umami

If Frankenstein's Monster is to the dark side of science, King Kong is to the Great Depression, Alien Invaders (like The Blob and The Thing) is to the Communist Threat, Godzilla is to the bomb, and The Milpitas Monster and Hedorah the Smog Monster are to pollution. Now, this robotic dinosaur made of various technological devices from Japan is to Japanese consumerism and possibly globalization!

A disgraced White House chef finds himself many years later working in a maximum-security prison cooking last meals for inmates on death row.

A dreamlike short with a switch in tone making it a surreal and uneasy experience.

Mari and Humi learn from their mother that their father has dementia on his 70th birthday. They help prepare their mother for his farewell and prepare themselves for the emotions to follow.

Follows the globe-trotting adventures of mob members Khonjin, Gino, and Gay Spaghetti Chef.

Flo must make pasta for her family in this ridiculous short story.

Gavin Serves

Half a year has passed since the official approval of TOKYO MER. Kitami is racking his brains over the issue of a second doctor to replace Otowa, who has left the team in order to expand MER to ordinance-designated cities nationwide. Some members of the team want Hina to be promoted, but Otowa asserts that Hina should pursue her path of cardiovascular surgery. She felt the pressure that Hina could take Otowa's place, and she was troubled.

Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.

Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.

After years of overproduction, the Reagan administration unloads over 500 million pounds of surplus cheese on the American public in the 1980s. The pungent dairy product comes to be known as 'Government Cheese.'

Anzukko (Little Peach) is the daughter of a successful writer. She turns down each one of her suitors, until she marries a beginning writer named Ryokichi. Their life quickly sinks into despair.

When a sous-chef discovers his girlfriend is snacking from a supermarket hummus instead of his own home-made variety, he seeks to find out what makes the supermarket brand tastier, with disastrous results.

A quiet teen's life is shaken up when she's forced to be her arrogant neighbor's slave. He loves her, but they both have a lot to learn about trust.

The four turtles travel back in time to the days of the legendary and deadly samurai in ancient Japan, where they train to perfect the art of becoming one. The turtles also assist a small village in an uprising.

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

Remy, a resident of Paris, appreciates good food and has quite a sophisticated palate. He would love to become a chef so he can create and enjoy culinary masterpieces to his heart's delight. The only problem is, Remy is a rat. When he winds up in the sewer beneath one of Paris' finest restaurants, the rodent gourmet finds himself ideally placed to realize his dream.

The individuals that comprise the Tokyo MER team rush to on-site disasters and accidents, performing life-saving treatment thanks to the OR equipped within their vehicle. Their one mission is simple: leave no one dead. But conflicts arise when an unprecedented event rocks Yokohama after a bomb explodes in Landmark Tower, leaving thousands fighting to escape. Although the chief doctor Kitami believes they should not wait and presses for a quick dispatch, the more level-headed Chief Kamoi of the elite Yokohama MER thinks otherwise — they need to wait until the area is safe to enter, or they won’t be able to save anyone.

Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.