Top 100 Japanese live action movies from 2000 to 2009
Aftershocks of the 1990s economic downfall gave birth to some of the most original philosophical journeys into what it is to be human. Most prolific era of Japanese cinema since the 1960s. List formed out of the 148 japanese live action movies I've seen from 2000 to 2009.
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- DirectorShunji IwaiStarsHayato IchiharaShûgo OshinariAyumi ItoThe problematic lives of teenager students for whom the singer Lily Chou-Chou's dreamy music is the only way to escape an alienating, violent and insensitive society.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsHiroshi AbeYui NatsukawaYouA family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
- DirectorHideaki AnnoStarsShunji IwaiAyako FujitaniJun MurakamiA disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young girl who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera.
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsYûya YagiraAyu KitauraHiei KimuraIn 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.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsKohei FukungagaYuka HyyoudoNaomi KawaseThe Aso family live in the old town of Nara. One Day, Kei, one of the Aso's twin boys suddenly disappears. Five years later seventeen-year old Shun, the remaining twin, is an art student. He now has to move forward with his life, together with his childhood friend, Yu.
- DirectorAkihiko ShiotaStarsAoi MiyazakiSeiichi TanabeTetsu SawakiFollowing the divorce of her parents, her mother's suicide attempt, and the rumors of an affair with her teacher, a lonely 7th grader starts skipping school in an attempt to find herself.
- DirectorYôjirô TakitaStarsMasahiro MotokiRyôko HirosueTsutomu YamazakiSoon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.
- DirectorYûichi SatôStarsShun OguriYûsuke SantamariaKeisuke KoideFive devoted fans of a late idol gather for a commemorative meeting, only to uncover surprising revelations about her untimely death, leading them to question what they thought they knew.The best remake of 12 angry men with idols and japanese characteristics. 5/5
- DirectorKiyoshi KurosawaStarsTeruyuki KagawaKyôko KoizumiYû KoyanagiAn ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsHiroyuki SanadaRie MiyazawaNenji KobayashiAs the feudal Japan era draws to a close, a widower samurai experiences difficulty balancing clan loyalties, 2 young daughters, an aged mother, and the sudden reappearance of his childhood sweetheart.
- DirectorShinji AoyamaStarsKoji YakushoAoi MiyazakiMasaru MiyazakiThe traumatized survivors of a murderous bus hijacking come together and take a road trip to attempt to overcome their damaged selves. Meanwhile a serial killer is on the loose.
- DirectorKazuyoshi KumakiriStarsMegumi AsaokaMakiko EmotoKôji EnokidoYuichiro is a college student whose sister went missing 15 years ago. That traumatic event hangs over him as he wanders Japan's S&M clubs. But his younger brother claims to be able to sense their sister with his "antenna."
- DirectorMiwa NishikawaStarsTsurube ShôfukuteiEita NagayamaTeruyuki KagawaA young medical intern student is dismayed when he is assigned to work in a remote countryside village.
- DirectorRyûichi HirokiStarsShinobu TerajimaNao ÔmoriRiho MakiseAfter meeting a handsome truck driver (Nao Omori) in the midst of an urban mini-mart, a 30-something freelance writer (Shinobu Terajima) embarks on a life-changing emotional journey of sexual self-discovery.Good vibrations and some bad ones. 4,5/5
- DirectorJun IchikawaStarsIssei OgataRie MiyazawaShinohara TakahumiWhen technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.
- DirectorToshiaki ToyodaStarsKyôko KoizumiAnne SuzukiItsuji ItaoA family struggling to live together even with the outrageous behaviors from each family members.Disintegration of the japanese nuclear family. 4,5/5
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsBae DoonaAki MaedaYû KashiiA music group of girls need to learn to play a song before the school festival.The best japanese highschool film. 4,5/5
- DirectorToshiaki ToyodaStarsYoshio HaradaRyûhei MatsudaMichio AkiyamaNine convicts escape from prison; most are convicted murderers. They commandeer a van from a strip club.
- DirectorMasayuki SuôStarsRyô KaseAsaka SetoKôji YamamotoA young man is falsely accused of molesting a high-school girl on a train. He is arrested and charged, and goes through endless court sessions, all the while insisting that he is innocent.Innocent until proven innocent. 4,5/5
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsKeishi NagatsukaHiroshi YamamotoMachiko OnoTsuboi and Kinoshita have just arrived at a desolate town. Both of them are amateur filmmakers. Tsuboi is a screenwriter and Kinoshita a director. They have come to this town because Funaki, an actor, has tempted them to come here, but he has yet to arrive. Tsuboi and Kinoshita start wandering around the town and happen to meet a young woman, Atsuko. The three of them go on a journey together and become friends. But one day, Atsuko disappears.
- DirectorMiwa NishikawaStarsJoe OdagiriTeruyuki KagawaMasatô IbuOn the anniversary of the death of the mother of a hip and happening Tokyo-based photographer, the son returns to his hometown for the funeral. What follows is a return to the past that is more than just a trek home. Old relationships, love, conflicts and memories resurface and collide. Apparently, old perspectives don't wither.
- DirectorToshiaki ToyodaStarsRyûhei MatsudaHirofumi AraiSôsuke TakaokaA group of a run-down Tokyo high school students face the struggles of growing up, growing apart from their friends and worrying about their future, while living in a highly violent environment.
- DirectorShinji SômaiStarsKyôko KoizumiTadanobu AsanoKumiko AsôA government employee meets a hostess of a "pink club," and together they set out on a journey.
- DirectorJunji SakamotoStarsNaomi FujiyamaEtsushi ToyokawaMichiyo YasudaWith no parents left to keep the peace and order two sisters, who could not be any more different, allow their frustrations and animosity to come to a head.
- DirectorRyosuke HashiguchiStarsLily FrankyTae KimuraMasaaki AkahoriIn 1993 Kanao and Shoko are a Tokyo couple awaiting the arrival of their first child. Although both have studied art, Kanao works as a shoe repairman, which doesn't stretch his rather laid-back style, and Shoko works in a small publishing firm. Their home life is marked by some clashes between her attempts at regimentation, including scheduling their sex life on a calendar, and his flirting with other women. Kanao is offered work as a courtroom sketch artist and becomes a witness to the most sensational murder trials of Japan through the next eight years. He must cope with the ugliness and breakdown in civility he encounters. Shoko also re-discovers her artistic side as she confronts the dark side of life when struggling with depression over the loss of a child and the dysfunctional aspects of the lives of her mother and brother.
- DirectorKazuyoshi KumakiriStarsSusumu TerajimaRinko KikuchiBunmei TobayamaThe film tells the story of a Drive-In worker and a young tramp who has been left alone by her boyfriend somewhere in Hokkaido. Things seem to work out at the beginning but as time goes by the newly formed relationship between the tramp and the Drive-In worker starts to show the workers harmful will of possession, which finally leads to the somehow sad but also optimistically interpretable ending.
- DirectorIzuru KumasakaStarsChiharuYûji IshikawaSachi JinnoTsuyako turns the rooftop of her shabby love hotel into a park and opens it up to the lonely women of various ages who rent rooms.Human growth in lovehotel/park. 4/5
- DirectorHideo OnchiStarsEtsuko IchiharaMina ShimizuRenji IshibashiThat is the way it is. In a twist on the 'narayama' fable elders of the village are sent away to starve and die leaving room and nourishment for the young and more productive inhabitants. There is not a room to complain or grumble. Today's older villagers did the same to their parents. The old are fine with it, but what about all their experiences, memories and skills? Are those fine with it as well?Life, death and a granny snowballfight. 4/5
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsMasatoshi NagaseTakako MatsuHidetaka YoshiokaA 19th Century samurai, held in low esteem due to an action by his late father, must resolve his history with a maid and with his close friend.
- DirectorMiwa NishikawaStarsHiroyuki MiyasakoMiho TsumikiSei HiraizumiA portrait of an ordinary family that turns unstable when their frivolous son Shuji returns home after a long absence.Would you cross the line? 4/5
- DirectorMitsuo YanagimachiStarsShûji KashiwabaraHinano YoshikawaAi MaedaA group of eccentric students decide to make a movie. But, when their star suddenly quits, this witty ensemble cast begins to live the film, including murder, deception and true love. Japan. Japanese w/ Eng subtitles. Official Selection - Cannes Film Festival.The testament of Mitsuo Yanagimachi. 4/5
- DirectorKazuyoshi KumakiriStarsPistol TakeharaMasanobu AndôMaki SakaiHow to let go of your dreams. 4/5
- DirectorSabuStarsSusumu TerajimaNaomi NishidaAyako HiraiAfter losing his job at the factory Igarashi aimlessly wanders through Tokyo where he encounters various people and gains insight into their lives.One hell of a morning walk. 4/5
- DirectorIsao YukisadaStarsYôsuke KubozukaKô ShibasakiTarô YamamotoSugihara, born in Japan but with North Korean parents, falls in love with a Japanese girl after changing from a North Korean school to a Japanese school. His boxer dad teaches him boxing - skills used a lot.
- DirectorKazuhiro SôdaStarsSeiko HashimotoNobuteru IshiharaYoriko KawaguchiCan a candidate with no political experience and no charisma win an election if he is backed by the political giant Prime Minister Koizumi and his Liberal Democratic Party? This cinema-verite documentary closely follows a heated election campaign in Kawasaki, Japan, revealing the true nature of "democracy."
- DirectorGen TakahashiStarsShun SugataHarumi InoueTakayoshi AraiTakeda (Shun Sugata) is an honest police officer, father and husband, but after he's promoted to detective he quickly becomes embroiled in dirty back room dealings, blackmail, and corruption that goes right to the top of the force. Meanwhile renegade investigator Kusama (Junichi Kawamoto) must decide whether he should shake the foundations of Japanese law enforcement with the information that has come into his possession about the police. What will happen if both these men listen to their consciences?
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsKenji SawadaKeiko MatsuzakaShinji TakedaA family moves to the country to run a rustic mountain inn when, to their horror, the customers begin befalling sudden and unlikely fates.
- DirectorYusuke KinoshitaStarsAzusa HibinoAsuka KurosawaTomi NakahoA portrait of the relationship between Minako, a girl in junior high deserted by her mother when she was young, and Yu, Minako's younger half-sister who loves to ballet dance. On a whim, Minako takes Yu to the house of their late grandparents near the sea. As she spends time taking care and playing with her little sister, Minako takes on the role of a mother. She reminisces on her own happy childhood. Minako has reached the age when she feels more and more distant from her father, but holds a deeper resentment for her mother who eloped with another man, deserting Minako and her father. Making use of fixed long-shots and panning camera movements, director KINOSHITA Yusuke, effectively represents the changes within a young girl's mentality without depending solely on words. Though the late TERASHIMA Shuji had always been playing "mama's boys" in dramas, this film exceeds his previous works with the strongest point being his fully refined expressiveness. Working with veteran actors and staff, KINOSHITA created an impact unlike other new directors, conveying an uncommon ability in his purposeful direction. The sure-handed camera work poetically tracks the subtle changes in Minako's appearance without falling into sentimentality demonstrating a meticulous care for the material. The film will pull at the audience's heartstrings and leave an impression that a great, new talent has been encountered.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsGaku HamadaEita NagayamaMegumi SekiA university student finds himself wrapped up in the bizarre world of his next door neighbor, learning about his history and relationship with a girl who changed his life.
- DirectorKenji UchidaStarsYasuhi NakamuraReika KirishimaSo YamanakaSix months passed and Takeshi Miyata is still depressed after his girlfriend dumped him in a sudden way especially after he bought a big apartment for both of them but in one night after he just finished work his childhood friend.
- DirectorSuzuki MatsuoStarsYuki UchidaKankurô KudôYû AoiAsuka Sakura wakes up in the mental asylums quiet room, with no recollection of how she got there.
- DirectorYôichi SaiStarsTakeshi KitanoHirofumi AraiTomoko TabataIn 1923, the Korean teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in his poor Korean-Japanese community exploiting his employees. He makes fortune, abuses and destroys the lives of his wife and family, having many mistresses and children and showing no respect to anybody. Later he closes the factory, lending the money with high interests and becoming a loan shark. His hatred behavior remains until his last breath, alone in North Korea.
- DirectorMasahiro KobayashiStarsFusako UrabeNene ÔtsukaTakayuki KatôYuko volunteered to be an aid worker in Iraq and was taken hostage there. When freed she returned to Japan, but after being home six months she is still the ongoing object of harassment from her own countrymen. A co-worker finds many angry postings on the Internet denouncing her and spreads them very vocally, causing her boss let her go. He tells her that the atmosphere at the hotel where she works as a chambermaid has changed negatively as a result. Several anonymous phones are made daily to her at home where she lives with her father and stepmother, saying that she is an embarrassment and disgrace to Japan. She is even harassed by strangers on the street after buying soup at a local convenience store, ruining her dinner. Her boyfriend dumps her, calling her actions as a volunteer in a foreign country selfish, that she should have stayed in Japan and only helped her own community. Yuko's father supported her decision to go to the Middle East, and he defends her actions after her return, but his company is also receiving threatening phone calls over his daughter's actions. At the loss of her father, she dreams of returning to the only place where she felt her life had meaning, where children greeted her warmly as she gave them Japanese treats. She realizes that staying in Japan might cause her to become as cold as those around her, simply to survive.
- DirectorRyûichi HirokiStarsMami NakamuraKazuma SuzukiKô ShibasakiHaving a crush on someone, including a neighbour, may not be considered unusual, but there is a line that is crossed when the infatuation includes going through the loved one's trash. Miyuki has crossed the line and cannot stop herself. Her reality, at least, allows her to be more understanding and available when a stalker, in turn, craves her.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsGorô KishitaniRyôsuke MikiNarimi ArimoriA barkeeper saves a Yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However his fear of nothing soon causes problems.Descending into madness. 4/5
- DirectorYôichi SaiStarsTsutomu YamazakiTeruyuki KagawaTomorô TaguchiA man serving a sentence in a minimum-security prison. Life in the jail is rigid and organized, eventually leading all of the cell-mates to abandon their individuality.Slice of life inside japanese prison. 4/5
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsAtsushi ItôKiyohiko ShibukawaNoriko EguchiSeveral seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.The song that saved the world. 4/5
- DirectorHideaki AnnoStarsEriko SatôMikako IchikawaJun MurakamiThe adventure of Cutie Honey, a super heroine who can transform into anything using her necklace to switch on and say "Honey Flash!".
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsTaichi KokubunKarinaKintarô HaraThe movie revolves around Mitsuba, a teenage boy that studies traditional art of rakugo. Rakugo is a form of comical story telling, sometimes referred to as sit-down comedy. Even though Mitsuba is mediocre at best, he ends up teaching three students.Learning rakugo and then some. 3,75/5
- DirectorNaomi KawaseStarsShigeki UdaMachiko OnoKanako MasudaA care-giver at a small retirement home takes one of her patients for a drive to the country, but the two wind up stranded in a forest where they embark on an exhausting and enlightening two-day journey.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAki MaedaTarô YamamotoIn the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
- DirectorMasahiro KobayashiStarsBengalChinatsu EguchiTokio EmotoYuto Kobayashi stars as a down-on-his-luck 16-year-old named Ryo Kawai. Ryo grew up fatherless, and has been trying to make a living by working at a local convenience store ever since his mother was hospitalized with a prolonged illness. Unable to support himself on his meager earnings, he has to resort to sneaking money from the cash register and stealing rice balls to get by-a habit which eventually gets him fired. Just when it seems things can't get any worse, his mother dies and he's stuck with a hefty bill for the hospital and funeral expenses. Obviously unable to pay, but determined to send his mother off himself, Ryo steals her corpse and places it in a small rowboat. After the makeshift funeral ceremony, Ryo heads off to Tokyo on a journey to meet his absentee father.
- DirectorHideyuki HirayamaStarsRiho MakiseKankurô NakamuraAkira EmotoMaki is a young nursery teacher and talented copper plate printing artist. One day she's hit by a truck and awakes on a deck chair in her house in the empty city. She seems to have died and experiences the same day every 24 hours. One day the designer Yohei, who has bought the rights for one of her copperplate paintings for a book cover, calls Makis phone number and is able to talk to her. Is there a way to the afterlife?
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsTadanobu AsanoNao ÔmoriShin'ya TsukamotoAs sadomasochistic yakuza enforcer Kakihara searches for his missing boss he comes across Ichi, a repressed and psychotic killer who may be able to inflict levels of pain that Kakihara has only dreamed of achieving.
- DirectorIsao YukisadaStarsKumiko AsôAya KawamuraYoshihiko HakamadaThe story evolves around the main character and his childhood friends when they gather together to attend a girl's funeral.Anohana done right. 3,75/5
- DirectorTetsuo ShinoharaStarsKarinaShôsuke TaniharaHiroki NarimiyaBreathe in, Breathe Out is about six, later seven strangers from different walks of life who have gotten jobs harvesting sugarcane on a small Okinawa island. Each worker has their own unique personality as well as their own issues as they try to work and live together.
- DirectorSabuStarsShin'ichi TsutsumiRen ÔsugiKô ShibasakiA salaryman is hijacked by bank robbers.
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsJuri UenoYûta HiraokaShihori KanjiyaA tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up vitiating and replacing the schools brass band.
- DirectorNaoko OgigamiStarsSatomi KobayashiMikako IchikawaRyô KaseTaeko is a stressed career woman who leaves her life in the city for an island vacation. The vacation does not become what she expected as everyone on the island is strange.
- DirectorSabuStarsShin'ichi TsutsumiYasuko MatsuyukiRen ÔsugiA simple funeral turns a man's world topsy turvy.One hell of a monday. 3,75/5
- DirectorYuki TanadaStarsYû AoiMirai MoriyamaPierre TakiA 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.
- DirectorKatsuhito IshiiStarsMaya BannoTakahiro SatôTadanobu AsanoA spell of time of a rural family's slightly surreal life.
- DirectorSang-il LeeStarsYasuko MatsuyukiEtsushi ToyokawaYû AoiYoung women in a small Japanese town look to revive their home's declining fortunes by building a Hawaiian village tourist attraction.Lets save *insert word with *insert word. 3,5/5
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsKahoMasaki OkadaElisa YanagiWhen eighth grade cool guy Hiromi transfers from Tokyo to a small elementary/middle school with only six kids enrolled, wholesome and honest Soyo becomes enthralled with his sophisticated world.Growing up in the countryside. 3,5/5
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsMiki HayashidaEri IshidaYôichi SaiTwo kids, fourteen-year-old Eriko and her thirteen-year-old brother Daigo, suddenly find themselves trapped in a parallel universe. Most things are the same as in their own world, but their parents are missing from home and are only contactable when using one particular phonecard.Kids getiing stuck in another timeline/universe. 3,5/5
- DirectorKensaku WatanabeStarsMasatoshi NagaseAoi MiyazakiHirofumi AraiA story about a hitman named Hayamada who carries a distinctive red gun and his reason for his work, and how he came to be alone. His aim right now is to reach a destination, but he's late. Along the way, having injured himself in a vehicular accident, he runs into Miyuki, who as also become alone due to tragic events within her family. As Hayamada collapses from his injuries Miyuki takes him to a hospital.Almost Seijun Suzuki. 3,5/5
- DirectorMasahiro KobayashiStarsMasahiro KobayashiMakiko WatanabeCoincidence and the aftermath of violence. A man's middle-school daughter has been murdered. His wife is already deceased. He tells a counselor he wants to live in anonymity, working with his hands. He moves away and gets a job in a factory. The woman who is the mother of the killer wants to apologize to the father, although she knows it would change nothing. He refuses to meet. She moves back to her hometown. She works in the kitchen at an inn where the man now lives. No one speaks. He eats alone. He reads in his apartment. She walks to her home and has a sandwich. She keeps her eyes lowered. He drives to work. Does either want to connect? What bond can they establish?Learning to forgive or not. 3,5/5
- DirectorIsao YukisadaStarsTatsuya FujiwaraKarinaShihori KanjiyaFour youths share a two bedroom apartment in a corner of Tokyo. A series of assault cases occur in the same district. Eighteen year old Satoru, a male prostitute, joins them as a new house mate. Their daily life slowly starts to change.Relationships and murder mystery. 3,5/5
- DirectorSatoshi MikiStarsJoe OdagiriTomokazu MiuraKyôko KoizumiTakemura has no friends and no family. He's a law student but he doesn't have any particular ambitions. A thug offers to pay Takemura's considerable gambling debt if the student accompanies him on a trip across Tokyo.The long walk in unexpected company. 3,5/5
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsHiroshi YamamotoTomoko KoteraYûko HosoeA budding capitalist and his girlfriend abandon their failure in the big city and return to his isolated hometown to try their hand again at launching a health product. The problem is that the man has no sales ability, the product has no marketing appeal and the locals here are even more conservative than the entrepreneurs realized.The original japanese title says it all. 3,5/5
- DirectorShinji AoyamaStarsTadanobu AsanoKaori FujimitsuEri IshidaKenji, abandoned by his mother, scrapes out a meager existence doing odd jobs including driving bar hostesses and their customers home. Besides this he takes care of the sister of an old friend in jail and a young illegal immigrant. But his life reaches a turning point when he happens to meet Chiyoko, his long lost mother. She is now married to Mamiya, the owner of an express package delivery service. They also have a teenage son, Yusuke. Subdued feelings of alarm, discomfort and resentment between Chiyoko, Kenji, and his half brother Yusuke hide underneath and are seemingly caused by the inseparable blood ties that seem to wield control over everyone's destiny. Is blood that powerful? What exactly defines a mother or a father? While Kenji struggles with these questions and attempts to escape his fate, Chiyoko seems content to let these issues unfold and find a solution. Where will it ultimately lead them?
- DirectorYôji YamadaStarsTakuya KimuraRei DanMitsugorô BandôA look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
- DirectorDaihachi YoshidaStarsEriko SatôAimi SatsukawaHiromi NagasakuTraumatic incidents, conflicts, and bloody quarrels awaits the Wago family members who return home to bury their parents.
- DirectorNaoko OgigamiStarsSatomi KobayashiHairi KatagiriMasako MotaiWhere are we welcome? On a quiet street in Helsinki, Sachie has opened a diner featuring rice balls. For a month she has no customers. Then, in short order, she has her first customer, meets Midori, a gangly Japanese tourist, and invites her to stay with her, and meets Masako, a formal and ethereal middle-aged woman whose luggage has gone missing. The three women work in the diner, interact, and serve customers. A somewhat brusque man teaches Sachie to make delicious coffee, then he returns under other circumstances. Three neighborhood women inspect the empty diner every day; will anything bring them inside? We learn why Sachie serves rice balls; but why Finland?
- DirectorYosuke FujitaStarsYoshiyoshi ArakawaYoshino KimuraYoshinori OkadaA tragicomedy about two listless friends who fall for the same girl and try to find out what they want from their life.Existential crisis. 3,5/5
- DirectorYukio NinagawaStarsKazunari NinomiyaAya MatsuuraKumiko AkiyoshiA 17 y.o. Japanese secondary school student is living happily with his mom and sister but one day his stepdad returns, drunk much of the time and cruel to his mom and sister. Is there such a thing as the perfect murder?
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsMasato SakaiMakoto AyukawaMiki MizunoA son quits his job and is persuaded by his father to head off to a cottage in the remote mountains. Together, the two of them manage to get through their days while wearing old jerseys left by a deceased grandmother. The following summer, the two once again leave the stifling heat of Tokyo, as if escaping to the mountain cottage. However, the next summer is very different.
- DirectorTakashi KoizumiStarsAkira TeraoKanako HiguchiShoji AranoAn urban Japanese couple decide to move to the country.
- DirectorShôtarô KobayashiStarsMasahiro HisanoYôko AkinoJakujaku KatsuraKenji Shimamura (Masahiro Hisano) has trouble being intimate with his girlfriend Noriko (Mitsuki Tanimura) after a lifetime of watching his parents bicker over his fathers infidelity. After he spurns her advances, causing her to storm off in an offended rage, he decides its time to seek psychological help. Unfortunately that costs money and the best way to earn some quick cash in his family is to spy on his dad for his mother. He quickly discovers his dad has a young girlfriend named Yukari (Chisun). Figuring the best way to deal with this gracefully is to come clean with Yukari he tells her all about their family and the real estate business his parents run together. Unfortunately, however, his plan backfires. Instead of being scared off Yukari applies for a job at the family business and befriends Kenjis mother, setting up a chain of events that makes things awkward for everyone involved.Osaka familydramacomedy with dickjokes. 3,5/5
- DirectorRyûichi HirokiStarsShinobu TerajimaEtsushi ToyokawaAkira EmotoYuko is 35 years old, single, out of work, and on medication from her psychiatrist to combat her manic depression. Living in Kamata Town, Yuko divides her time between a variety of men friends, each with his own peculiarities. Her university classmate, Homma, suffers from impotence. "K", whom she meets on the net, is a self-confessed pervert. Then, there is a young gangster, Yasuda, who is a fellow manic depressive. Her cousin, Shoichi, is also on the scene, having left his family to pursue his mistress, only to be given the cold shoulder by her, too. Yuko seems to create a different persona depending on whom she is talking to at the time. Human contact is just as important for her as for anyone else, but sometimes her condition makes it difficult for others to relate to her for as long as she would like.The girl who cried wolf. 3,5/5
- DirectorKôki MitaniStarsToshiaki KarasawaKunie TanakaNaoki TanakaIt is old against new and modern against tradition when a couple builds their dream house. The wife's father is in the construction business so he would be the natural choice to take the lead, but his daughter is bent on having a modern house and retains a younger man to complete the job. The father's help being still required things devolve into a clash of styles, wills and old Japan with the new. This is the film to make you enjoy or detest the choice of tiles.Clashing of old and new ways of thought and how to compromise. 3,5/5
- DirectorNobuhiro YamashitaStarsTamae AndôHirofumi AraiHyôe EnokiSome hapless losers are introduced to the results of their stupidity.
- DirectorFumihiko SoriStarsYôsuke KubozukaArata IuraSam LeeAs a child, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco came by and chased all of them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wing and teaches him how to play the game of ping pong. From there, a lifelong best friend relationship comes into existence between these two polar opposite kids. Fast forward a decade later, and Smile and Peco are now about to compete in a high-stakes regional ping pong tournament. While Peco has always wanted to be the best ping pong player in the world, he has never had the drive to fully devote himself to the game. Rather than finding him practicing in the high school gym, you would more often than not find Peco hustling other kids out of money at the local ping pong parlor. This is in contrast with Smile, who has the god-given talents to actually become the worlds best ping pong player but is too humble to destroy his opponents. More often than not, he allows his opponents to win points and even entire games out of sympathy for them. Now these two best friends try to deal with their own inner turmoils as they move further and further into the regional ping pong tournament. Peco has to overcome a knee injury while trying to rediscover the fun aspects of the game of Ping Pong. Meanwhile, Smile now seems to have gained the killer instinct by going through a rigorous training regiment instilled by his high school coach. As the tournament progresses, it becomes more likely that these two best friends will face off against each other in the final match.Great manga adaptation. 3/5
- DirectorHajime IshimineStarsHideaki AnnoRyô KaseShunichirô MikiRecord shop clerk and aspiring DJ Tsutomu searches for his masculinity when challenged to a kendo duel.Learning how to be a man. That Anno cameo. 3/5
- DirectorAkira OgataStarsDen FujitaKeisuke HoribeTeruyuki KagawaA 50-year-old unmarried milkwoman Minako one day delivers milk to the house of her first love Takanashi, who is now married and whose wife is terminally ill. This meeting will bring unexpected changes into their lives.
- DirectorShûichi OkitaStarsKengo KôraMasato SakaiKôsuke ToyoharaNishimura has a passion for cooking, but never would he have imagined the task before him now: He is unexpectedly assigned to a south polar mission to serve as head chef at the Dome Fuji station. Leaving wife and daughter behind for a year, he and the other crew members experience one existential crisis after another in the icy cold. And then they run out of Ramen!Ramen and comradery in the south pole. 3,5/5
- DirectorHiroshi OkuharaStarsArata IuraAoi MiyazakiKumiko AsôDJ Richio wears sunglasses to hide a scar around his eyes. He is also haunted by nightmares of a childhood accident that led to his scar. Richio also dates Akemi. Meanwhile, Richio notices his girlfriend's younger sister Konomi taking an interest in him.
- DirectorKunitoshi MandaStarsShunsuke MatsuokaYôko MoriguchiTôru NakamuraMitsuko, a thirty-something Japanese secretary, lives a very simple life devoid of ambition. She has an affair with Eiji, a rich, arrogant and newly divorced businessman who is intrigued by her retiring personnality but she quickly breaks up as he repeatedly tries to make her change her lifestyle and values. While Eiji ponders the reasons of the breakup, Mitsuko falls for one of her neighbours, a young slacker who has the same approach to life as her. But Mitsuko's new lover is fascinated by Eiji's power and social status... A triangle that will inevitably leave one of the characters "unloved".Life choises. 3/5
- DirectorSabuStarsYûya TegoshiHanae KanMiki NakataniShuji and his older brother Shuichi live in a sad resort town that has a virtual wall in its middle. Looking to rise him above his surroundings Shuji meets and interacts with a priest with a past, a pretty hostess, a troubled girl, a thug and more. Looking for the girl who has moved with his family to Tokyo the boy meets trouble and is sinking quickly.Good consept and characters but too much senseless suffering towards the end. 3,5/5
- DirectorShinobu YaguchiStarsSatoshi TsumabukiHiroshi TamakiAkifumi MiuraIn a Japanese high school, a class of adolescent geeks joins the new synchronized swimming teacher and takes up the challenge to take part in the competition, in spite of the mockeries of the "real sportsmen".
- DirectorSabuStarsMasayuki SakamotoHiroshi NaganoYoshihiko InoharaThe story of three pairs of characters involved one way or the other with the yakuza and a rigged boxing match and fleeing the thugs one way or the other. Filmed as a showcase of the Japanese boy band V6 (to be followed by another by the director), Hard Luck Hero has food, drink, cars, kickboxing, debt, shooting, theft, blackmail and music.
- DirectorKôji ShiraishiStarsJin MurakiRio KannoTomono KugaA documentary filmmaker explores seemingly unrelated paranormal incidents connected by the legend of an ancient demon called the "kagutaba."The best japanese horror film from the 2000s. 3/5
- DirectorYukihiko TsutsumiStarsMaho NonamiEiko KoikeMaki TsujimuraTwo actresses who have auditioned for one part, sharing the same apartment with opposite personalities equals a night which either neither of them will forget - if they survive!Catfight. 3/5
- DirectorToshiaki ToyodaStarsUnchain KajiChihara JuniaDocumentary on the Japanese boxer Unchain Kaji, who retired from the ring at the age of 30 with an eye injury and a losing record. He then tries to start a new life as a civilian.Fighting against all odds. 3/5
- DirectorTakashi MinamotoStarsHiroki NarimiyaYû YamadaShûgo OshinariSet in Tokyo's otaku mecca Akihabara, "Akihabara@DEEP" tells the story of five otaku who drop out of society and end up founding their own successful IT venture called Crook. But Nakagomi, president of an influential electronics company called Digital Capital, will do anything to get his hands on Crook.Entertainment. Early 2000s Akihabara is the best 3/5
- DirectorIsao YukisadaStarsUrara AwataHiroyuki IkeuchiRyô KaseRealizing the realities of life. 3/5
- DirectorHiroshi IshikawaStarsYuka ItayaHaruka IgawaShôzô EndôSix women attempt to make it in current day Tokyo, living their everyday lives the best and worst they can. For them, every little moment becomes a ritual of the ordinary and the exciting, a balancing act for their dreams and hopes as the days perpetually tug on their heartstrings.The purest form of fictional realism. 3/5
- DirectorNaoto KumazawaStarsHayato IchiharaJuri UenoYû AoiIncompetent film set gopher Tomoya finds out that the girl he loved has died in a plane crash, after he e-mails a picture of a rainbow to her. While her family sets off to retrieve a body, he recalls the love affair they never really had.Love, loss and filmmaking. 3/5
- DirectorNaoto KumazawaStarsYû AoiManami HigaYûta KanaiFuki who lives with her grandfather Shoei in Taketomi Island, Okinawa, dreams of becoming a cameraman. In her childhood, her mother Masami left Fuki to live in Tokyo. Although Masami has not come back, Fuki receives birthday cards from Masami every year on her birthday. On Fuki's fourteenth birthday, Masami promises to confess everything when Fuki becomes 20 years old. After her graduation from high school, Fuki moves to Tokyo to work as a cameraman assistant. Fuki starts off her hectic life in Tokyo, and soon, her nineteenth birthday comes. As usual, she receives a birthday card from Masami. A year later...Yu Aoi being cute. 3/5