japanese watch list

Four women, who have their own different sorrows, embark on a road trip. They look back at their past and restart their lives.

A 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.

Nine men and women gather at a house party. The men are disappointed with a woman's appearance. People try to lighten the mood, but there is an awkwardness. The house party ends. Dates among the nine men and women begin.

Ito is a young woman, but is not just a pretty face. She wields a sword better than a samurai; better than any man. That is until one day she finally finds someone who is her match on the sword. She is smitten, but is not available any longer. She can, however, become involved in investigating an ensuing crime. Her talent will come in handy.

In this update of Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story", a retired schoolteacher and his wife visit their three working children in modern-day Tokyo.

Follows the routines of those employed at Studio Ghibli, including filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki as they work to release two films simultaneously, The Wind Rises and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.

Ichiko lived in a big city, but goes back to her small hometown Komori, located on a mountain in the Tohoku region. She is self-sufficient. Ichiko gains energy living among nature and eating foods she makes from seasonal ingredients.

Seizo Fukumoto has reportedly died 50,000 times in a career that has spanned half a century. His work catches the eye of Satsuki, who requests that he mentor her into becoming as good a fighter as he.

Yuri Kashiwagi was once known as a genius pianist. One day, she returns to her hometown in Goto Islands from Tokyo. There, she begins to work as a temporary teacher at a middle school and an adviser of the school chorus. The chorus aims to take part at a competition. Yuri gives the chorus members an assignment - to write a letter with the title of "To myself 15 years later" upon a song that they will sing at the competition.

A high school girl engages in compensated dating in order to buy an expensive ring before the day ends.

A jaded Japanese woman discovers a hidden copy of Fargo (1996) on VHS, believing it to be a treasure map indicating the location of a large case of money.

After the collapse of their relationship, Kiwako abducts the 6-month old child of a man she was having an affair with. Raising the child as her own, it is four years before the authorities catch up with her and the young child.

An angst-ridden teen dealing with his dysfunctional family hits the streets. The story is inter-cut with various psychedelic, energetic vignettes.

A mellow drama following the moral decline of a housewife turned bank employee who embezzles a fortune from her customers and indulges in an affair with a younger man. Set in 1994, shortly after the burst of Japan's economic bubble.

One would not read travel guides written by an author who has not actually visited the destination like someone would not vote for a politician who has not been in the situation or position he or she wants to manage. Here, however, a woman who writes guides about Hawaii without ever setting foot on the island is finally given the chance to visit it when one her friends has a wedding party there. Simultaneously, another woman who attends parties to meet men are introduced to one another by the bride. The habitual party attendee has an ex-boyfriend who wants her back, but the travel guide's advice is for him to retreat and in the name of love find his ex another man.

Picking up from where the TV series left off, when a new student joins the class at the school a schoolgirl notices how the boy resembles a prince who was in her dream. The boy soon became popular in class.

Spending their summer on an exotic beach, two brothers fall for the same beautiful girl, whose charm and looks may hide more than they they bargained for.

Young college student Shizuka is given the opportunity to act in a stage play with professionals. Shizuka is willing to go to great lengths to master this role of a lifetime, but as the plot unfolds, she realizes that real life events are beginning to parallel events in the play.

Yuugo, who grew up in the city, finds himself in an unfamiliar environment at Ooejo Agricultural High School, surrounded by nature and animals. Yuugo is also the only one who doesn't know what type of career he wants to pursue. He goes through struggles everyday, but he begins to grow as a person.

A family in ruins recovers through their encounter with a "Zasikiwarashi", the japanese spirit.

In a fit of despair, Muraki decides to kill himself and a prostitute he has picked up. However, he loses his nerve and doesn't go through with it. Two years later he runs into her again.

Nine convicts escape from prison; most are convicted murderers. They commandeer a van from a strip club.

Just after WW2, a romance between an innkeeper and a man with tuberculosis unravels near a thermal spring.

Jiro Sawada is a sophomore in high school when a false accusation drives him out his hometown: a small village in Fukushima Prefecture. The entire village is abandoned after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, but Jiro returns there to live. Before long, members of his family come and join him.

Over one day at this love hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo - where guests have the choice of staying for a short time or overnight - the dreams and desires of these characters intersect while aspiring for something greater.