Discoveries from Japan World Cinema

Ibuki Arakuni is a high school student who is far from a model student. He has a childhood friend, Akabane Honeko, who attends the same high school as Ibuki Arakuni.

Based on a true story, Shodo Girls tells a tale of hope and community spirit where youth and vigour meet age and wisdom to overcome the towns struggle to remain on the map.

Takamachi Nanoha is a normal third-grader who feels a little useless and out-of-place with no purpose. Then one day, she saves a ferret, who turns out to be a mage from another planet who came to this planet to search for the jewel seeds. Nanoha agrees to help, but this task gets complicated when another girl arrives to steal them.

Akira Inugami is the only survivor of a clan of ancient werewolves who relies on his supernatural powers to solve mysterious crimes. After a series of bloody killings perpetrated by an unseen force, Inugami uncovers a conspiracy involving a murdered cabaret singer, corrupt politicians, and a plot by the J-CIA to harvest his blood in order to steal his lycanthropic powers.

The idols of 765 Production continue on their neverending journey—towards a new stage, towards a bright and shiny future! The girls and their producer have gone through thick and thin, and have stood face to face with all kinds of difficulties. It's time again for the girls to foster their friendship, and through great discipline, they step forward to their starry future.

Three conspirators steal a secret android. In their warehouse hideout, the android secretes a reality-altering substance, which casts them into a frightening nether-world of interconnected subjectivity.

Wakabayashi Ema is a temporary employee who works at a banquet hall where glamorous celebrities gather. But, she loses her job after protesting against her superior's sexual harassment towards a junior employee. Wandering, Ema visits a perfume shop run by a mysterious woman named Shirashi Yayoi, also known as the "witch." While helping in the shop, Ema realizes that she holds the key to shaping her future through the words and scents given to her by Yayoi. Ema moves to work for a fragrance company, where she reunites with Ren.

The evil magician Reichswar has killed the King to gain possession of a magic crystal; now he means to use its power to rule the whole Xanadu. The princess Rieru is kidnapped. One brave young warrior, wielding the magic blade Dragonslayer, goes to her rescue.

Offshore, shrouded in fog, there is a mysterious island that is said to be the home of a family of monsters. It is strictly forbidden to approach it. But one day a human child, Mushroom, it loses and coming face to face with the mysterious creatures that live there. The arrival of Mushroom, makes panic on the island because the monsters are actually terrified of living humans.

Ambitious insurance saleswoman Miyako is stalked by by the strange and supernatural after meeting the mysterious Mitsuru.

Two 17 year old teens are hospitalized for different reasons. Ezaki suffers from Hepatitis A, while Akiba is due to a weak heart. The relationship between these two hospital patients soon blossoms into romance.

Ueda employes Yamada to go a mysterious island in search of a girl (played by Maki Horikita) that disappeared 10 years ago. They discover the island is run by Kobako Sachiko, who can appear and disappear via boxes, among other strange powers.

In the early 21st century, an earthquake destroyed Tokyo. Japan lost its center of government and industry, and turned into a lawless territory. Looking for his sister, Takateru Suga learns that she was kidnapped by the powerful Koryukai gang. He decides to ally himself with a drag queen, two ex-mercenaries and a nun to destroy the crime organization and save his sister!

A love story woven by a loveless mistrust girl, Kaede Tamaki who works for a small video production company, and a mysterious young man Seishiro who is attracted by her . Satomi Oshima and Kentaro Hagiwara, who also teamed up for the currently released movie "30 Minutes to Sayonara", were responsible for the script and directing, respectively.

In the fourth film in this exciting series, and the first since losing his left eye, Yagyu Jubei is charged again with the task of protecting the Yagyu Secret Scrolls. The two scrolls are held in separate locations to assure their safety. Within them there is information other than the techniques of the Yagyu Shin-kage style. They contain a secret that could throw the country into turmoil. Clan founder Yagyu Sekishusai had split the scroll into two parts to prevent its contents from being known to the public. This is Jubei's toughest assignment yet as he puts his life on the line to save the nation!

A group of rank-and-file soldiers are jailed for crimes against humanity, themselves victims of a nation refusing to bear its burdens as a whole.

In the Edo period, at the remote village of Okitsu, the evil cult leader Koushirou uses ninjutsu to bewitch sharks and forces them to attack local pearl divers so the cult can steal the pearls from their mangled corpses. Desperate for help, the village chief hires Kotaro Shiozaki, a guard at a nearby temple, but Kotaro soon finds his path blocked by lady ninja Kikuma and a gigantic shark that doesn't seem like something from this world.

Mai is a grade-school girl who tries to understand her family better.

The first OVA of the anime series of Cardcaptor Sakura. This is a video of Tomoyo Daidouji previewing the making of the first opening video of Cardcaptor Sakura (the Catch You Catch Me video).

Shinzo Egi is an asthma sufferer who does not want to be place on life support. As a last request, Shinzo Egi asks his doctor Ayano Orii if she could follow his wish. Doctor Ayano Orii is then questioned in a criminal case because of her decision.

A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.

Bent on the destruction of the human race, the secret underground organization Shocker secretly planned to plunge the world into chaos. But they didn’t count on the revolt of both of their experimentally “reconstructed” human beings, the Kamen Riders. Two years after their first battle with Shocker, a 3rd Rider arises to confront them, known only as “Version 3.” The arrival of the third Kamen Rider will hurl the heroes into their most terrible battle yet and the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Minato is a university student and has a fear of germs. She isn't interested in looking pretty. She lives with her stepbrother Toru, who is her stepbrother from her mother's remarriage. Meanwhile, Toru is handsome and a player with the ladies. He doesn't resist women who come on to him and he doesn't stop women from leaving him either. Minato is uncomfortable with Toru and his ways with women. They are the same age and attend the same university. They have an agreement, where Toru will not approach Minato within 2 meters when they are outside. One day, due to her friend’s request, Minato puts on make-up and wears her friend’s high school uniform. While she is out walking in public, she happens to meet Toru. She unexpectedly lies to him about her identity and tells him that she is a high school student. Toru falls in love with her at first sight.

Businessmen competing for international building contracts in this globe-trotting comedy-adventure.

A live show that was performed across Japan in April and May of 2021, acting as a final farewell for the cast. It comprises two parts: a scripted show part, and a talk show with the cast. The Zenkaigers also appear.

Mei is not hired by any company after her graduation from a University. Introduced by her best friend Sari, Mei applies to be a home private tutor far away from her home. Every day, Mei needs to take a crowded train to her student’s home, but is always being indecent assault by an unknown “Train Man”. Later, Mei even discovers that the guy who sexually assaults her is actually her student. What will happen to the relationship between the two? Besides, this is also a revenge for Sari…

The troubled relationship between a writer and his ballet teacher wife, who has for years loved another man, finally leads to the breakup of the family.

At some point in the distant future, a massive, catastrophic earthquake strikes Tokyo, causing the temperature of the Pacific Ocean to rise meteorically and the largest typhoon in recorded Japanese history to sweep toward the city and inundate it with water. The Tokyo Fire Department and its team of crack rescuers swing into action, and shortly after they do, a distress call arises from an underground subway station - with repeated indications of the rescue code, 252 252, and the exclamation "We Have Survivors." It soon becomes apparent that the local rescue squad must attempt to save the survivors, doing so at the expense of their own lives and safety. Written by Nathan Southern

Prosecutor Komazuki Nao from the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office’s Minato Mirai branch and lawyer Tsutaya Madoka (Matsu Takako) from the law firm Yokohama Gold dated for seven years since the time they were in school. Even after they broke up, they have continued to be hopelessly linked to each other.

One day, when a vacancy opened up at the boarding house, an ostentatious move began. An elderly man arrived in a luxury car and directed the movers as fine items—luxurious bedding, a paulownia wood wardrobe, and other furniture—were hauled in. The new boarder turned out to be Ayamaro, the legitimate heir of the former noble Ura Komichi family. Perhaps due to his aristocratic upbringing, he just couldn’t quite match everyone else’s pace.

When hopeful Olympic triple-jump competitor injures both his Achilles tendons, he discovers an old manuscript about self-confidence to join the best company in Japan try to triple-jump his way to the top and marry the company model (Mie Hama) in the bargain. The second installment in the "Japan's No. 1" film series.

Naoki works as a not so popular host at the host club Akegarasu in Shinagawa, Tokyo. His repayment day is coming soon and he has prepared 10 million yen to pay off his debt. Naoki has a party with his co-workers to celebrate this event, but, when he wakes up the next night, he finds that his money is all gone. Naoki asks his co-workers at the club about his money, but all of them say they didn't see it. Did Naoki dream he had 10 million yen? If He doesn't get the money soon, he will be thrown into the bottom of Tokyo Bay. Naoki can't trust anyone.

The story, set in the heady post-war 50s into the early 60s , revolves around a love triangle between Tomoko, long playing the mistress to married older writer Shitto and the new stud who comes into her life, Ryota Kinoshita. Tomoko is sick and tired of her relationship with writer Shingo, who is married and has children. Shingo is a talented writer, but has yet to be recognized by the public. Tomoko then enters into a sexual relationship with younger man Ryota Kinoshita, but Tomoko is not satisfied.

Carefree Californians Noera and Marcia find themselves at the center of a massive government conspiracy when they discover a mysterious object in the wreckage of a military convoy. Their search for answers leads them all the way to the heart of Death Valley, where a secret of international proportions (or bigger) is just waiting to get out.

A young woman on the Tokyo subway who may be possessed.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' 18th-century epistolary novel 'Les Liaisons dangereuses' is adapted to a contemporary setting. An abominable and burning jealousy and an evil relationship between a man and a woman unfold in the nature of a game. Eventually, jealousy will deeply hurt the true love of a chaste married woman.

Tatsuo and his daughter Haru run Takano Tofu Store in Onomichi. They begin their work before dawn every day. They carefully select beans to make their tofu. While they have peaceful days, Tatsuo worries about his daughter being alone after his death.

This short film introduces Semira, a strange boy who comes to play with Ojaru and his chums and bears a marked resemblance to a boy of the same name who spent a summer with the village elders when they were boys, long ago.

A family comprised of a man, woman and their only son is torn apart when the father, who is a doctor with his own clinic, is to go off to war. Soon the wife and the son are left without an update of his status and whether he is alive or not. With the clinic lying dormant the doctor's wife rents the premises to her husband's underling. This is a man who does not accept payment from the poor. The woman, in the meantime, works at a restaurant whose owner being ill has given her additional duties. Her younger sister is an unmarried finance writer who also lives with them. It is both sisters, however, who receive marriage proposals.

In this outing, Shoji (Morishige) and his employees plan to build a hotel for Expo 70.

A former naval officer returns to Japan after the Second World War ends, encounters the former mistress who ratted him out, and reconnects with his daughter.

A sensual coming-of-age drama direct — It depicts a precarious relationship between a homosexual woman and a man who was picked up by her and ends up living with her

A Taiwanese high school baseball team travels to Japan in 1931 to compete in a national tournament.

Like a girl runaway, Tsuyu moves to Osaka to work as a bar hostess. She meets the owner of a model school, Yoko, and seriously thinks about becoming a fashion model. Yoko tells her that she can move in to Yoko’s house to take lessons, while making a living at the same time.

A film adaptation of Rikuo Honjo's novel "Ishikari River".

In the 21st century, multiple mysterious phenomenon began to occur as monsters who were initially thought to be a part of mythology had come to life. These phenomenons had also resulted from human activities that disrupted the nature of the ecosystem. Ultraman Max is the titular giant of his series. Originally a civilization observer sent from Nebula M78, the sacrifice of Kaito Touma changed his mind into bonding with with the youth and actively defending Earth from monsters and alien attacks. Arthouse Ultraman is a movie with four episodes edited together, theatrically released at Fantasia Festival 2006.

While on a work trip, 37-year-old Sakurai meets 19-year-old art student Yoichi in a quiet, charming house—sparking an unexpected connection across generations.

A quirky doctor and his frisky nurse operate the Ogenki clinic, helping patients solve their peculiar sexual problems. Their methods may be unconventional but the special techniques they use will have patients feeling good in no time.

This is a folk-tale-like adventure story of an active boy on a quest for the Water of Life. The boy sets out on this quest after learning that the Water of Life is needed to make his village happy. On the way, he meets gods, demons... Soon, he discovers that the evil snake has stolen the Water, and he heads for the snake's palace. Defeating the snake is not easy since it has the Water of Life to revive itself. This boy - Maegami Tarou - continues his courageous quest in cooperation with various creatures and the gods.

The M-1 Tag Team Grand Prix finally kicks off! The race will determine the top mermaid and winner of 10 million yen! Too bad there’s a big frog and a cyclone in the way.

Touch not the Outsiders, lest ye become an Outsider. But when two creatures belonging to opposite kinds - a lost little girl from the Inside and a demonic beast-looking Outsider - initiate an impossible coexistence on the same side of the forest, their bond seems to transcend their incompatible natures and the unnamed curse that has divided the world.

In the year 298 of the Divine Era, elementary school girls Washio Sumi, Nogi Sonoko, and Minowa Gin are tasked with an important mission. They are to become heroes and fight Vertex, a mysterious enemy that is attacking Shinju-sama, the god tree that protects Shikoku, the only area in the world that is still habitable. What they don't know, is that this fight will cost them more than they could have ever imagined.

A family who fell into a trash class because he could not pay taxes due to his father's death. My daughter Maria is sent to Girls Farm Adachi No. 4. It was a vocational training facility where girls competed to teach sex techniques and cultivate sex slaves. Every day being bullied by a rival classmate and made into a toy for instructors. The only way to get out of this hell is to be the property of a wealthy owner. One day, Maria receives a favorable contract story. However, a terrible secret was hidden behind it...

Centers on three childhood friends in a love triangle. Yori moved back to the countryside, and started wearing glasses and not being noticed by girls. Meanwhile, Shizuku entered the entertainment industry alongside Subaru, and both began working as a model and actor, respectively. But when Yori turns 16, he re-enters their lives.

The Rinkaiji family, by all appearances, is a well-to-do Japanese family. The father, Nariyuki, works in an elite corporation, which gives his wife Yoshiko status in their suburban neighborhood. But the daughter Sugina, who herself has secretly stopped going to school because she is being bullied. One day, they discover that Nariyuki has quit his job. As Nariyuki decides to find a new job along with Sugina, Yoshiko, a firm believer in a life based on the company, soon finds her world falling apart.

After a happily married couple running a hot spring resort are awakened to their sadomasochistic desires, their relationship will never be the same.

Dai grows up in a small town, interpreting for his loving deaf parents, until he moves to Tokyo in search of his own independent life.

After killing a detective in a botched robbery, Keiichi (Natsuki) is on the run as police stake out the homes of his sisters, mother, and girlfriend.