Denden

In a small town in Japan, Kirie comes upon her boyfriend's father silently videotaping a snail. He seems unaware of her presence and she thinks no more of it. Later, the mans obsession with spirals becomes more and more bizarre, ending in his suicide in a washing machine which turn his body into a spiral. Soon other inhabitants become possesed with different forms of spirals, one student seems to be mutating into a snail, another's hair becomes strangely medusa-like. The entire town becomes possesed. (imdb)

Shiro's struggle with his father's cancer and impending death leads to a realization that he must communicate his love and admiration for him before it's too late. A series of flashbacks reveals their relationship over time, and the trouble Shiro faced connecting to his strict father who was also his teacher and soccer coach. With a consuming secret of his own, Shiro, now in his late twenties and about to get engaged, must eventually learn how to share it with his loved ones. (Japan Society)

Equal parts black humour and bloody dementia in this true crime portrait of a Japanese tropical fish dealer responsible for over forty murders. (imdb)

A young storyteller falls for a high school student.

Following a tip, Manabu Yazaki loses his last money betting on the older "banba" horse "Unryu." (imdb)

Asako, a comic book artist in her early forties, is devastated by the death of her precious cat, Saba, which kept her company for over 15 years, as her assistant Naomi watches on with concern. Naomi is a young woman in her early twenties, who has her set of worries about love and future. Then one day, Asako meets a new cat, Gu Gu, who brings new joy and vitality to her life. What is more, she finds potential for love in a man named Seiji. Like Asako, Naomi, too, embarks on a new life plan. (imdb)

At fifteen, Sumida (Shôta Sometani) is left alone to manage the family's languishing boat-rental business and fend off his drunk and penniless father's bouts of violence. Sumida sees his simple dream for an ordinary future rapidly evapo­rating before his eyes. Sharing similarly humble but fading dreams is his classmate Keiko Chazawa (Fumi Nikaidou), who also happens to have a major crush on him, even though Sumida seems deeply annoyed by her presence. (MUBI)

An unusual relationship develops between a student (Rin Takanashi), who works as prostitute on the side to pay for her studies, and a brilliant, elderly academic (Tadashi Okuno) who is one her clients. (mubi.com)

Using stark black-and-white imagery and a raw, digital aesthetic, Cut tells the story of Shuji (Hidetoshi Nishijima), an unknown filmmaker who craves great cinema like a junkie dying for a fix. The only problem, he figures, is that great films are dead -- unless he can find a way to make them himself.

Set within an animal shelter, where if the owner of an animal doesn't claim their pet in 7 days, the animal is put to sleep. Himawari, is a female dog and a mother. She tries to desperately save her baby dogs. (asianwiki.com)

The juvenile delinquent, Yoshiie Hirouki (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) transferred to Kitahosi Institute, the one and only school which is admit dropping out student entire country. In here, he not only met friends who lived on as same environment as he was in the past, but also the adults including the teacher, Atachi, who give him kind attention with sincerity. Because of them, this true outsider of society's mind start to changed and decided to have dream that he want to be a teacher like Atachi.

Nomura is an eerily handsome, sharply dressed, sociopathic serial killer who preys on the women of Tokyo. In Jakarta, a world-weary journalist named Bayu finds himself unexpectedly falling into vigilantism after brutally killing two sadistic robbers. When each posts videos of his violent sprees online, the pair find one another on the Internet and begin a toxic and competitive duel. While Bayu clings to the hope that he can resume a normal life, Nomura continues to spill blood without remorse. (Sundance)

Zen is the town crank, local kabuki star and proprietor of a venison restaurant in a rural mountain village. When his wife & best friend return to town after having eloped together years earlier, the ties between kabuki and real life are made evident.

Yakuza vampires battle it out to avenge the death of their boss at the hands of an international syndicate.

A doctor (Sho Sakurai) ponders his future while caring for a terminally ill patient (Mariko Kaga).

Inogashira Goro arrives in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture for the first time in eight years at the request of an old friend Kishimoto. The request this time is a job at Sea Pearl Pia Onagawa, a commercial facility in the town of Onagawa, where Kishimoto is running an event. Kishimoto would like people to lend a hand to revive it after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Goro is fully supportive. (mydramalist.com)

Born in a small town in Japan, a young girl named Ai is sent to a cult commune by her religious maniac mother and lives there for seven long years. After the cult is exposed by the police, Ai starts a new stage of life, going to a normal school for the first time, but she can't find her place to fit in there. Ai drops out from the school and society, spending her life living with a rock-bottom delinquent family full of gangsters and call girls. (letterboxd)

What is the only thing that can stand in the way of a ruthless warlord after total domination of a country? Ninjas. When ninja Mumon kills another fierce ninja in order to claim a reward the repercussions are severe and involve the advancing army and the band of stealth fighters. Politics, warfare and sinister plots. (imdb)

Ippei Akabane is an unpopular novelist. He barely makes ends meet writing serials novels under different pen names. Daigo Kurei is on death row. He killed four women twelve years ago. During his murdering spree, he sent pictures of his decapitated victims with flower decoration to the police. The murders and photos caused widespread panic in Japan. One day, Ippei is contacted by Daigo from prison. He asks Ippei if he wants to interview him and write his memoirs.

Matsumoto Mao is suppose to become the new medical examiner and visit the USA at the age of 10. While there she is to study advanced placement 3rd year Forensics. she has an IQ of over 150. Suddenly she becomes like an ordinary person confusing everybody, except Kyoko. A rush of bodies come in for autopsy. A middle aged man who apparently fell for a scaffolding at a construction site comes in. Mao begins the autopsy without a speck of the days exhaustion showing. (imdb)

Newspaper correspondent Kyoko Togakure (Haruka Igawa) visits a nursing home in the outskirts of Tokyo. She finds the dead body of a resident. It was an apparent suicide. He's holding a piece of paper with the mystifying word "Death Water" written on it. Nearby are blood-stained scissors, and his eyes are squashed. She has no idea that this death is just the beginning of a horrendous nightmare. (imdb)

In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there. (imdb)

A man inadvertently kills his uncle. A woman witnesses this act. These two people fall in love and flee to Tokyo. A detective investigates their past. (imdb)

A con man and a would-be filmmaking crew force themselves into the lives of two grief-scarred young women. But nothing is as it seems. (Netflix)

Nothing's as it seems when a charismatic conman and an aspiring film crew delve into the lives of two emotionally scarred women. (Netflix)

Trapped in her anemic career and love relationship, a 30-year-old TV commercial director returns to her countryside home in the company of a free-spirited friend. (themoviedb.org)

Kano (Itoh) looks after quarrelling call girls who work at an escort service in a multi-tenant building. Relationships start to fray when a young woman with model proportions joins the business. (JFDB)

Set on year after the fight between detectives Saya Toma , Takeru Sebumi and Satoshi Chii. More confrontations ensues between the detectives at the Unidentified Crimes Unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Takeru Sebumi (Ryo Kase) returns after taking a break due to his eye problems. Kenzo Ichiyanagi is appointed section chief, while Kotaro Nonomura is demoted. New member Shu Yoshikawa joins the team. (AsianWiki)

The appearance of a mysterious little boy interrupts the quiet, predictable life shared by an artist with autism and his caring older brother. (imdb)

One day a father with a young daughter is diagnosed as a sufferer of early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The father, Kinoshita Keisuke has been separated from his wife by death and has worked at the factory's dorm with his daughter ever since. A skilled craftsman at the metalworking factory, Keisuke is a man with a sunny disposition who is also the team coach for a boys' baseball team. Surrounded by his friends of the neighborhood, he has lived happily with his daughter up until today.

Kenta Mikami runs a unique business offering “rental” family members, relatives, and even friends to those in need. From delivering heartfelt congratulations at weddings to offering apologies on behalf of cheaters, Mikami steps into the roles of father, son, or even lover at his clients’ request. (letterboxd)