Naoki Matayoshi

A boy meeting his girlfriend's father for the first time. Visiting a hospitalized high school classmate. The last drink between a failed entertainer and his manager. Combat that ends up in a rap battle. A conversation between sisters at their mother's funeral. An encounter between two random time travelers.

Celebrating twenty years since her debut, Hikaru Utada takes the stage at Makuhari Messe for the final performance of her Laughter in the Dark Tour.

A man finds himself on the seashore of a deserted island. He finds a copy of the tabloid weekly "Shukan Taishu" next to him. He decides to wait for help while reading the "Shukan Taishu." While reading the tabloid weekly, his mind wanders into delusions. It so happens, that man's greatest skill is the power of his delusions. As time passes, help does not arrive. His mind drifts into his past where he was always waiting.

Tokunaga is an unpopular comedian. He meets a senior comedian, Kamiya, who holds a strong faith in comedy. They struggle to move forward as comedians.

Botchan (Kazunari Ninomiya) has sense of strong justice and does not lie. He is offered a teaching job at a middle in a small village far away from his hometown of Tokyo. Botchan accepts the position and begins to work as a math teacher. The assistant principle there wields absolute power. Botchan has a hard time dealing with his fellow teachers and the students.

This mystery special consists of three thrilling stories by three notable writers.

For this 16th Anniversary Special, Inagaki Goro is our host once again for 6 spooky tales based on tales from real people and performed here by an all-star cast. A young man who returns to his family's home after leaving Tokyo finds something else may have followed after him; a young girl dreams of darkness and a small shrine that draws ever closer; a woman with a failed business makes a go at it with a company with a bizarre dormitory, one with a past secret; a police officer receives a call from what appears to be a dead woman who wants his help; a woman taking documents to a food company finds time slipping away without her noticing; a single man who runs a restaurant sees an unusual family living down the hallway from him.

Kashiopea no Endo Roru A murder takes place on a luxury overnight train which runs from Sapporo to Ueno, Tokyo. The victim is a film director. The suspects are 4 women. Nokosareta Senritsu After a pianist concludes her best performance to date, she dies mysteriously in the waiting room. The cause of her death is potassium cyanide that was laced in her coffee. Kuroi Pan Teru A man works as a supervisor for a construction company. 30 years ago, he was a popular actor who played a hero character on TV. Now, he has a wife and a 20-year-old daughter. One day, the man learns that his daughter is kidnapped. Daiyamondo Dasuto A cold wave hits Tokyo. Two men, working for the same company, are unable to avoid overtime work that night. The snow storm then causes electrical outages. The two men must face difficult life or death decisions.

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. Will ‘The Great Passage’ ever be completed?