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Cozy romance is a subgenre that's growing in popularity. They focus on love stories with sweet emotional moments, and they tend to have low stakes. Even if the world they take place in is dangerous, there's a reassuring tone in the love story as it unfolds. The love interests are generally kind to each other, but there's still plenty of tension as their feelings develop.

Cozy romances can take place in cozy settings, too. They are often fantastical worlds full of magical gardens and whimsical side characters. With cozy romance anime, the audience may not know what to expect at every turn, but they can be reassured that everything leads to a happily ever after.

Related 10 Romance Anime with Incredibly High Stakes

Sometimes there's more at stake in a romance anime than just a broken heart.

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When he is not dealing with samurais in various approaches (from realistic dramas to comedies), Katsuhide Motoki seems to focus on various aspects of corruption and the people dealing with it, as he did in the excellent “Recall”. This time his work deals with a series of actual incidents that took place in a Toyama fishing village 103 years ago, in 1918. A number of “ordinary” women raised their voices against the unreasonable government policies, with their actions getting picked up the press, and eventually evolving to “Rice Riots”, a nation-wide movement.

“Angry Rice Wives” is screening at Toronto Japanese Film Festival

The protagonist, Ito, a farmer’s daughter who was married in the village and is one of the few literate women there, lives in the aforementioned area with her husband, three children and mother-in-law. During July and August, the men in the village find work in big boats away from the area,...

Director Yoji Yamada originally planned to begin principal photography of Tokyo Kazoku, an homage to Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story, on the first of this month. However, the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami which occurred on March 11 caused Shochiku to halt the production and has forced Yamada to seriously consider altering the script to reflect post-3/11 Japan.

After planning the project for over a year and assembling a cast which includes Bunta Sugawara, Etsuko Ichihara, Masahiko Nishimura, Shigeru Muroi, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Yui Natsukawa, Shozo Hayashiya, and Yu Aoi, Yamada made the admittedly agonizing choice to push production back further after consulting with Shochiku.

The director suggested going ahead with the current script might be “feigning ignorance”, considering the possibility that the hearts and minds of the Japanese people may be changed by the events of 3/11. For that reason, the current plan is to monitor the state of the nation through the end of this year,...

Back in December, it was announced that director Yoji Yamada was working on a contemporary take on Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 film “Tokyo Story” called Tokyo Kazoku. Earlier today, the cast was revealed by Shochiku.

Bunta Sugawara (77) will star as Shukichi Hirayama and Etsuko Ichihara (75) will play his wife Tomiko. Sugawara has not appeared in a film since “Battery” in 2007 and his last starring role was in 2003’s “Watashi no Grandpa”.

Masahiko Nishimura (50) will play their eldest son Koichi, who works as the administrator of a hospital. Yui Natsukawa (42) will play his wife Fumiko.

Shigeru Muroi (52) will play their eldest daughter Shigeko, who manages a beauty parlor, and Shozo Hayashiya (48) will play her husband Kurazo.

Finally, Satoshi Tsumabuki (30) will play the younger son, with Yu Aoi (25) playing his girlfriend.

Filming wil take place from April 1 to late June, with a theatrical release planned for winter 2011.

Sources: Tokyograph, Eiga.com...