Japanese productions: worthwhile

The heartwarming tale of Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who transcended from her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.

A woman who used to be a contender for the Olympic Judo Team had to give up on her dream due to an injury. She ends up working at manga magazine when the publishing industry is going through a turbulent time.

After death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.

In 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.

Gokusen is the story of Kumiko Yamaguchi, aka. Yankumi, a fourth generation crime syndicate member. She's gone straight and wants to be a teacher though, but she's one you don't want to mess with.

The story follows Kumiko Yamaguchi, the granddaughter of a yakuza boss and teacher at an all-male private school.

A young teacher is given the toughest classroom in the school. Based on the TV series.

This is a romantic comedy in which a young man who missed a chance to confess his love, is given a second chance and struggles to undo the past and win the heart of the woman on the day she is getting married to someone else.

On a subtropical island, a teenage couple deal with the interwoven cycle of life, death and love.

Burdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

Jiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.

Right after the war, Tsuneko launches a lifestyle magazine created for the sake of females together with sisters Mariko and Yoshiko in a devastated Tokyo.

Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.

Anna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to be.

A compelling story in which orphaned Remi gets hired out to a traveling street entertainer Vitalis when her foster parents fall on hard times.

This is an animated adaptation of the classic story of Nils Holgerson, a naughty boy who is transformed to a very little dwarf and goes through many adventures, flying with a band of wild geese.

A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.

Akira is thirty-years-old and a good employee. People like her. She is pretty. Kosei is thirty-three-years old and also popular at work and personally. He is hard to get. The two meet at a bar and hit it off.

A slice of life comedy where Kanji Furutachi and Kenichi Takito play poor brothers Ichiro and Jiro respectively. Ichiro, the older one, is very serious while Jiro, the younger one, is trying to start rental father/uncle service and they have to deal with issues from their clients.

Moriyama Mikuri had graduated from university and got no job offers. She became a temporary employee but was even laid off. Now, she works as a housekeeper for bachelor Tsuzaki Hiramasa by chance and he proposes a contract marriage to her.

Mikuri learns that she is pregnant and Hiramasa decides to take paternity leave before an important project is finished. The couple experience unfamiliar situations involving childbirth and rearing.

Nanase Sakura met Doctor Kairi Tendo and fell in love with him. She then studied hard to became a nurse and finally meets Kairi Tendo again. But she realizes that he has a totally different personality than what she imagined.