Kanji Furutachi

The anime industry of Japan is enormous, with 200 new TV shows and two trillion yen in revenue each year. For seven years, soft-spoken yet strong-willed Hitomi Saito has climbed the ranks, and is set to direct a series for the first time. At the same moment, the difficult but undeniably brilliant director Chiharu Oji is set to make his big comeback after almost a decade. The hit series that made Oji famous is what inspired Saito to jump into the anime field, and her goal is to match, and even surpass, his success and relevance. Her chance has arrived. Their two programs are both scheduled to debut in the same prime-time Saturday slot, and after Saito challenges her rival on stage at an anime convention, the two production teams each set out to outdo one another, because there can only be one number-one!

It was "just" a summer day spent with someone she didn't know, who was drunk and had lost her memory.

It depicts two high school girls trying to change the atmosphere of the world with their ideas by setting up a camera in the town and transmitting the footage via SNS.

Between competitive swim team practice and cramming for classes the anime Buffalo Kotek is Minami’s only respit from her hectic life. So it feels a lot like kismet when she discovers that her classmate Shohei, and aspiring manga artist, shares her obsession—and that his brother is an amateur detective. It seems as though Minami’s finally formed the perfect team to help her unravel a big mystery of her own, following a recent trail of clues that just might lead to her long lost father. The timing couldn’t be better when an out-of-town swim competition presents itself as the perfect alibi, and she sneaks off to the Japanese coast to discover a whole new side of herself in this bold and charming story of anime, friendship, family, and the life aquatic.

The story of Henry, a stand-up comedian with a fierce sense of humour and Ann, a singer of international renown. In the spotlight, they are the perfect couple, healthy, happy, and glamourous. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will change their lives.

Mikuri and Hiramasa both work and share housework duties. They have peaceful days together. One day, Mikuri learns that she is pregnant. They decide to marry, but they soon face problems. Mikuri suffers from pregnancy sickness and Hiramasa decides to take a paternity leave before an important project is finished. The couple experience unfamiliar situations involving childbirth and rearing. They go through difficult times.

Yasuko Matsuyuki heads the cast of this drama about a 40-something woman who is happy with her single life but nevertheless starts dating a man who is 24 years her junior.

Eiji Akutsu is a newspaper reporter. He is working on unsolved case that took place 30 years ago.The case involved a group of people extorting several companies for money. The group sent cassette tapes to the companies. Eiji Akutsu comes across a mysterious cassette tape. Meanwhile, Toshiya Sone lives in Kyoto and runs a tailor shop. He discovers a cassette tape among his late father's possessions. He plays the cassette tape and hears his voice from his childhood days.

At midnight, in a residential area of Osaka, a middle aged man is murdered. The person who killed the man is a high school student. En is a 2nd grade high school student. She spends her boring days with her friend Kotoko, who tends to change boyfriends frequently. Kotoko falls in love with Narihira at first sight. Narihira is a soccer player at their high school. Since then, the relationship between En and Kotoko changes.

Hinako comes across the novel “Tamaran Hill” and immediately starts reading it with delight, as “tamaran” (intolerable) happens to be her father’s favorite swear word. She soon imagines herself inside the book’s story, which also deals with someone intrigued with that particular word, and even meets the real-life author Senji Kuroi there.

A young bioarchaeologist Yukisuke is attracted to a girl Koyomi, who runs a small stand of taiyaki pastry that he often buys. Koyomi is hospitalized, however, by a car accident on a rainy day after they go out together, and wakes up with short term memory loss, where she cannot remember anything beyond the present day. Yukisuke tries to live close to her as before but the lack of collective memory starts to stagger him.

Following the comic 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.

Saeki works with death-row convicts as a prison chaplain. He tries to instill the prisoners with a sense of morality and help them become a better person. He is a good communicator with the death-row convicts assigned to solitary cells. Saeki agonizes over whether his words really touches the prisoners and whether he is doing the right thing. Saeki also faces his past which he wants to forget. --asianwiki

An ex-journalist Masuda whose article caused a scandalous fatality now works at a small factory. He learns that his colleague Suzuki is a former convict who killed some children back in middle school. Trying to get back his old job, Masuda secretly starts to write a piece on Suzuki while befriending him. The more he learns about his colleague, however, the more Masuda remembers his younger self, a boy who triggered his classmate's suicide.

There were man and women who were supposed to think each other from a place far away. On a winter day, they got on the train to meet. On the journey, he unexpectedly received a E-mail from her, and she was lost all the time.

Yoshika has had a crush on Ichimiya, whom she calls "the One" since she was in middle school. Now, a 24-year-old salarywoman, her all-consuming fixation has prevented her from even considering another candidate for boyfriend until an office colleague asks her out.

Hisashi and Mai are a happy couple in their 20s who are engaged to be married. But three months before their wedding, Mai becomes seriously ill. Her heart stops momentarily, and she falls into a deep coma. Hisashi visits Mai at the hospital every day before work. With no idea if or when she will ever awake, Mai’s parents encourage Hisashi to find someone else, but he refuses to give up and continues to pray for her recovery. As if his prayers are answered, Mai begins to regain consciousness several years later, and even utters a few words. But tragically, she has suffered brain damage and has no memory of Hisashi.

Three American tourists follow a mysterious map deep into the jungles of Japan searching for an ancient temple. When spirits entrap them, their adventure quickly becomes a horrific nightmare.

Urumi Kenji is a scoundrel who tricks women with his handsome looks and charm into a marriage yarn and swindles them out of their money. He is not a one-man show however. He works with Sengoku Ruriko. They use plotting, scheming, tricking, engagement rings, gourmet and sex to succeed.

Acclaimed director of Summer of Chirusoku, Half a Confession and Yunagi City, Sakura Country Kiyoshi Sasabe casts Rin Takanashi and Takumi Saitoh as members of the farming industry. The Sowing Traveller 3 tells a universal story of the cherished act of growing fruit. Ayane is conflicted about coming back home because she feels it’s a setback. Filming took place in Akaiwa, Okayama prefecture, a peach growing area with lots of sun and fertile soil. Along with the harmony of daily life that the local people have with nature, an important feature of the film is its beautiful landscapes.

Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.

Ryota is an unpopular writer although he won a literary award 15 years ago. Now, Ryota works as a private detective. He is divorced from his ex-wife Kyoko and he has an 11-year-old son Shingo. His mother Yoshiko lives alone at her apartment. One day, Ryota, his ex-wife Kyoko, and son Shingo gather at Yoshiko's apartment. A typhoon passes and the family must stay there all night long.

The story is set in the early 21st century with the population decimated by bio terror. Two kinds of humans now exist. One is the Nokusu who were infected with a virus but survived and consequently they carry an antibody. Most are young, healthy and have high intelligence, but they have a high sensitivity to ultraviolet rays and are active mostly during the night. The other group are the Kyurio. They survived by never having the virus. The Nokusu discriminates against the Kyurio. Tetsuhiko Okudera is a Kyurio. He was born in a poor village. He isn't happy with being a Kyurio and wishes he could be a Nokusu. Yui Ikuta is Tetsuhiko’s childhood friend. She tries to revive the poor village.

Izumi Hoshi (Kanna Hashimoto) is senior in high school, but she led a small yakuza group in her past. After killing her uncle's murderer with a machine gun, her yakuza group disbanded. Izumi now lives an ordinary life as a high school student and works as a manager at a cafe. A dangerous situation soon awaits for Izumi.

After dying in a bus crash and falling to hell, high schooler Daisuke joins a demonic rock band so he can be reincarnated back into the mortal world.

A 21-year-old university student lost her boyfriend in a sudden accident and she can't get over him, but she begins to change thanks to her family and her friend Takumi, who shares a very similar past with her.

Tetsuo (Kiyohiko Shibukawa) is a lowlife. A film director with a small indie hit many years back, yet he has never gotten any further as he refuses to go against his 'artistic integrity'.

Hiroshi has given up on his dreams of becoming a painter and works part-time cleaning office windows. He learns that he has only 3 months left to live. During his last summer, high school student Mai appears. Hiroshi becomes attracted to her.

Due to the economic recession, the orchestra is shut down. The members hear later that the orchestra will be reformed. Only some of the members, who have not yet been rehired, gather for the orchestra. For the first time since they disbanded the orchestra plays together, but they sound horrible. At that time, the conductor Tetsusaburo Tendou appears in front of them.

When Kanako, a model daughter and a brilliant student, disappears, her mother asks her ex-husband, a violent former policeman, to find her. As his investigation progresses, his idealized image of Kanako cracks: the girl hides a dark life that her father can not even imagine.

A singular deadpan comedy, The Passion tells a story of a young woman raised in a convent named Frances-ko (Mayuko Iwasa), after Saint Francesco. Distressed by not knowing about love and sex, she calls out for a sign from above, but instead hears a voice from below. A human-faced growth speaks to her from between her legs, constantly berating her, calling out "Woman, you are worthless!" Mr. Koga, as she names it, continues the verbal abuse, yet Frances-ko somehow adapts, forming an adversarial yet symbiotic relationship. This bizarre film, based on Kaoruko Himeno's acclaimed 1997 novel of the same name, is skillfully directed by Ryoko Yoshida, lensed by veteran cinematographer Akiko Ashizawa, grounded by Iwasa's show-stopping performance and enlivened by the hilarious Kanji Furutachi, who lends his voice to the chauvinistic Koga. The soundtrack boasts an unmissable eclectic score by legendary experimental musician and composer Otomo Yoshihide.

After failing her university entrance exam, Sakuko is invited by her aunt Mikie to spend summer vacation in a beautiful seaside town. Sakuko gets to know the people of the town, including Takashi, a shy relative of her childhood friend.

A strange phenomenon takes place. A beautiful flower blooms on a selected woman's body and that flower is called the "Shanidar". When the Shanidar is in full bloom, the flower produces a substance which is then sold at a high cost to develop new drugs. Kenji Otaki works as a researcher at the facility where the Shanidar is grown.

Kentaro is an unsocial 35-year-old who lives with his parents and has never dated a woman. When Kentaro’s parents set up an arranged marriage interview with a girl named Nahoko and her parents, he falls in love for the first time in his life. However, the pair soon run into unexpected obstacles. Nahoko is vision impaired and can’t seem to break free of her doting parents. Meanwhile, Kentaro has no idea how to deal with the surge of new emotions he’s feeling.

All seniors at a high school stay together at a camp, including student Chinatsu. On their first day, the home room teacher announces that all the students must play the card game "Old Maid". In order to reverse the declining academic abilities of its younger generation, the Japanese government planned this camping program. In this card game, the students that lose will meet their deaths.

Saeko and Yukako live together in a small apartment complex in Tokyo. After the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, both live in a state of unease. Saeko, who is in a divorce, is worried that her daughter is exposed to radiation. Yukako is also afraid of radiation and tries to convince her husband to move. The two become friends after Yukako tries to save Saeko after a suicide attempt.

Oriza Hirata is Japan's leading playwright and director, who runs his own theatrical company, Seinendan. Theatre 2 (Observational Film Series #4) examines the dynamic relationship between theatre and the society through depicting Hirata's activities. In order for his art and his not-so-commercial company to survive this highly capitalistic modern society, what kind of strategy does Hirata have and practice?

Theatre 1 (Observational Film Series #3) is a feature length documentary, which closely depicts the world of Oriza Hirata, Japan's leading playwright and director, and his theatrical company, Seinendan. By depicting them, the film leads the audience to revisit fundamental but timely questions: What is theatre? Why do human beings act?

Dan Mitsu stars as Kana, a female employee at a publishing company who strikes up a sexual relationship with a younger co-worker. He soon discovers that Kana's fetishes extend to sadomasochistic tendencies, involving a mysterious man only known as "Sensei". This discovery will push his relationship with Kana to a new, dangerous level that he may not be ready for.

A troubled teenager only lives through her camera and the Internet. Fascinated by science, she experiments on various animals, and her own mother, poisoning her with thallium and documenting the results.

After losing their restaurant in a fire, a husband and wife come up with a strange plan to rebuild their shattered finances: marrying the husband off to a series of lonely women and defrauding them.

Mirai Suzuki (Yuko Oshima) becomes responsible for her mother's debt which is owed to loan shark Kaoru Ushijima (Takayuki Yamada). To begin paying off her mother's debt, Mirai begins working at a dating cafe. Meanwhile, Jun (Kento Hayashi) is the ambitious and greedy company president for an event group. To borrow money, Jun visits Kaukau Finance owned by Kaoru Ushijima.

A middle school student named Kozue finds a red balloon with an SD card attached to it. On the SD card is an invitation to the wedding of two complete strangers. In order to escape her daily doldrums, Kozue decides to go to the wedding with her classmate, Kikuchi. However, along the way they cross paths with a pair of suspicious men, a mysterious girl, and a strange cop. When they finally make it to wedding, they get drawn into the fray of yet another unexpected situation.

A widowed lumberjack's life is turned upside down when a film crew shooting a zombie movie asks for his help and increasingly starts to rely on him.

In 1969, Sawada is filled with idealism that permeated that era and starts working as a gonzo journalist for a weekly magazine. Two years later, Sawada interviews activist Umeyama with senior reporter Nakahira. Umeyama boasts that his group will steal arms and take action in April. Sawada doubts Umeyama's claims but is attracted to his personality. An incident occurs... Sawada hears news that a man was killed at a army post...

In this black comedy the lives of a timid small-time printer and his young wife are turned inside out by the arrival of a stranger who moves in and takes over their world. Set in a village-like outpost in the heart of Tokyo, this is a wry commentary on Japanese xenophobia. Kiki Sugino heads a spritely ensemble cast.

Set in the early 1990's, after The Persian Gulf War began, a 30 year old man passes himself off as Captain Kuhio a pilot for an American Special Unit. He also boasts that he is the offspring of Kamehameha I and a distant relative of Queen Elizabeth of England. In actuality, the man is a marriage swindler looking for his next big score.

Jun Kanai is a lecturer at the University of Tokyo who despite being in his thirties is still a virgin. One day he reunites with an old student of his and decides that she will be the one to take his virginity but finds out that she will soon be studying abroad.

When eight men are assigned to live 14,000 kilometers from home in inhumanly cold conditions, food becomes their new existence.

'Human Comedy in Tokyo', describes ordinary everyday lives without any significant incidents. Various dialogues are elaborately woven to bring tiny splits in human relationships to light, and through the three episodes the characters have their moments of realizing that they are actually in solitude.

Compilation film featuring short works from directors Hitoshi Yasaki ("Short Cakes"), Yuki Tanada (scriptwriter "Sakuran," "Tsuki to Cherry"), Hiroyuki Nakano ("Stereo Future," "Samurai Fiction"), Masahiko Nagasawa ("Yoru no Picnic"), Masaya Kakehi ("Bijokan), and more for a total of 18 shorts. This time around the theme is "24 hours," where filming for each work must have been completed in 24 hours in order to appear in this film.

High school student, Ryoichi, hasn't gone to school since he injured a classmate. He kills time playing videogames alone everyday. One day, Uncle Kiyoshi comes to the house to recover after having tried to kill himself. During the daytime, only Ryoichi and Kiyoshi are in the house. Ryoichi can't stand his uncle’s eccentric behavior; however, he gradually starts to enjoy Kiyoshi's company. From their conversations, Ryoichi learns that perhaps there are second chances in life...

When a television producer visits the home of a brother and sister to interview them for his series on paranormal phenomena, what first appears to be a simple case of psychopathology turns into a full-blown epidemic of demonic manifestation. To his horror he realizes that he is not only a witness to the blossoming insanity, filming each scream and horrific expression, but that he and his technology have been intricately tied to the cause and conduit of its spread…

Five young men participate in an experiment drug test, which is known as a short-term, high-paying part-time job.

Led by the country's first ever female, non-Caucasian president, the United States of America launches a Green Card video contest to attract new immigrants. Four applicants, from Japan, China and the Philippines, each desperate for a change of scenery, pour their hearts out in front of a video camera on the eve of the contest deadline.