Shizue Tanaka

時は中世。姫君は、城の高い塔のてっぺんの小部屋に閉じこもり、その顔を人々の前に見せることはない。やがて婿となる男性の現れる日まで、無垢な身でいつづけることがその使命なのだ。だが、彼女──アリーテ姫は、塔の窓から見下ろす城下の町に生きる人々の姿を見ては、生きることの意味を考えていた。ある日、古文書を読み解いて秘密の抜け穴を探り当てた彼女は、城を抜け出し町へ出る。城下町は職人たちの世界。そのひとつひとつの手が意味ある物を生み出していくさまは、まるで魔法を見るかのよう。人の手にはこれ程の可能性がある。だったら、私の手にだってできる何かが…。

Based on a manga by Chuusonji Yutsuko, it tells the story of OL (office lady) extraordinaire and golf fanatic Oyamada Non. She is 23 and works at Major Products in Tokyo's commercial district, Marunouchi. Between bossing her bosses and managing her managers, she finds time to golf, shop, party, and pursue the important things in life, i.e., marriageable men.

Foxes Ken and Chin become the proud parents of cubs, Koro and Kan, who enjoy a carefree life on the northern Japanese island of Chironup. They befriend a fisherman and his wife but are forced to run for their lives when soldiers on a military exercise decide to take home some fox pelts as souvenirs. A sweet little film that obliquely symbolizes the plight of Japan's aboriginal Ainu people and the northern islands that have been contested with Russia since they were occupied by Stalin's soldiers in 1945.