Acting
Akira Emoto
Born November 3, 1948 · Chuo, Tokyo, Japan (age 77)
Old good "Emo-chan" of modern Japanese cinema. Emo's father was a close friend of legendary episode player Taji Tonoyama in elementary school days. His mother's grandfather ran a shamisen store in Ginza, Tokyo. Both parents like movies and theaters. After graduating from Machinery Department of Tokyo Industrial High School, Emoto got a job at a trading company. However, he became an actor and beca…
Known For
Owl · 2003Owl
★ 6.42003
MovieComedyDrama
A mother and daughter are stranded in small, isolated cabin, and are starving to death. In order to survive, they plan to entice men that happen to stray to their cabin with sex, and kill them. All goes well until a local cop shows up and, then, an old relation.
Shin Godzilla · 2016Shin Godzilla
★ 7.22016
MovieActionScience Fiction
When a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and tears through the city, the government scrambles to save its citizens. A rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster's weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side - the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.
Rental Family · 2025Rental Family
★ 7.72025
MovieComedyDrama
An American actor in Tokyo struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese 'rental family' agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients' worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality.
Shoplifters · 2018Shoplifters
★ 7.82018
MovieDramaCrime
In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.
Bedtime Eyes · 1987Bedtime Eyes
★ 4.71987
MovieDrama
Based on a polemic novel by Amy Yamada, Bedtime Eyes is about the intense love relationship between a second rate Japanese jazz singer and a black American GI on the margins of the law.
It Feels So Good · 2019It Feels So Good
★ 6.62019
MovieDramaRomance
When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.
Zatoichi · 2003Zatoichi
★ 7.22003
MovieAdventureDrama
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla · 1994Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
★ 6.71994
MovieActionAdventure
A mysterious extraterrestrial being resembling Godzilla rapidly approaches Earth. The monster, dubbed SpaceGodzilla, lands to challenge the King of the Monsters.
Movies
Owl · 2003Owl
★ 6.42003
MovieComedyDrama
A mother and daughter are stranded in small, isolated cabin, and are starving to death. In order to survive, they plan to entice men that happen to stray to their cabin with sex, and kill them. All goes well until a local cop shows up and, then, an old relation.
Shin Godzilla · 2016Shin Godzilla
★ 7.22016
MovieActionScience Fiction
When a massive, gilled monster emerges from the deep and tears through the city, the government scrambles to save its citizens. A rag-tag team of volunteers cuts through a web of red tape to uncover the monster's weakness and its mysterious ties to a foreign superpower. But time is not on their side - the greatest catastrophe to ever befall the world is about to evolve right before their very eyes.
Rental Family · 2025Rental Family
★ 7.72025
MovieComedyDrama
An American actor in Tokyo struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese 'rental family' agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients' worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality.
Shoplifters · 2018Shoplifters
★ 7.82018
MovieDramaCrime
In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.
Bedtime Eyes · 1987Bedtime Eyes
★ 4.71987
MovieDrama
Based on a polemic novel by Amy Yamada, Bedtime Eyes is about the intense love relationship between a second rate Japanese jazz singer and a black American GI on the margins of the law.
It Feels So Good · 2019It Feels So Good
★ 6.62019
MovieDramaRomance
When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.
Zatoichi · 2003Zatoichi
★ 7.22003
MovieAdventureDrama
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla · 1994Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
★ 6.71994
MovieActionAdventure
A mysterious extraterrestrial being resembling Godzilla rapidly approaches Earth. The monster, dubbed SpaceGodzilla, lands to challenge the King of the Monsters.
ICHI · 2008ICHI
★ 6.72008
MovieActionAdventure
Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.
Worst by Chance · 2003Worst by Chance
★ 9.02003
MovieDramaRomance
Hidenori is a Japanese-Korean man with no sense of belonging, destination or education. He drifts around and meanders through life until a death reminds him of his heritage and so begins a journey to South Korea.
Nagisa · 2000Nagisa
★ 7.22000
MovieDrama
Set in the late 60s in a small seaside town, this coming of age drama centres on a young girl named Nagisa. She spends her summer holidays working in a local seaside bar, searching for her lost cat, dancing to rock’n’roll and discovering first love.
Shall We Dance? · 1996Shall We Dance?
★ 7.51996
MovieMusicComedy
A bored accountant spots a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Memories of Matsuko · 2006Memories of Matsuko
★ 7.82006
MovieComedyDrama
While combing through the belongings of his recently deceased aunt, Matsuko, nephew Sho pieces together the crucial events that sank Matsuko's life into a despairing tragedy.
Samurai Fury · 2025Samurai Fury
★ 8.02025
MovieActionDrama
Set in war-torn 15th century Kyoto, on the eve of the Onin War, the movie centers on a band of outlaws led by Hyoe, a scoundrel whose lethal sword skills place him at the tip of the spear in a deadly uprising against the corrupt Shogunate and its army, led by former friend-turned-archrival Doken.
Wood Job! · 2014Wood Job!
★ 7.42014
MovieDramaComedy
After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he is sent to Kamusari Village for a year of work experience - where he becomes assimilated with the beauty of nature and the warm-hearted people of the village.
The Eel · 1997The Eel
★ 6.91997
MovieDramaCrime
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet · 2011Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet
★ 6.32011
MovieHistoryWar
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and US history it wouldn’t have happened if the Japanese government had listened to Yamamoto in 1939 and searched for a more peaceful way to end their war campaign, proving his many ominous presages of the outcomes of the attack to come true.
Villain · 2010Villain
★ 6.82010
MovieCrimeDrama
Shimizu Yuichi is a shy and lonely day laborer looking for love. He aimlessly spends time corresponding with girls via telephone dating services and going on random encounters with girls looking for spending cash. His world is shattered one day when he is involved in the murder of one of his former encounters, the sweet-faced Ishibashi Yoshino who, after being jilted by playboy Masuo Keijo, berates and mocks the troubled loner.
The Key · 1997The Key
★ 5.01997
MovieDrama
Ikuko is a mature, reserved Kyoto woman married for many years to a respectable, now-middle-aged man. The only problem in their relationship has been that her husband is dissatisfied with her lack of passion during lovemaking. All this changes after they meet the young Mr. Kimura
Double Bed · 1983Double Bed
★ 5.11983
MovieRomanceDrama
Kato is a small time TV producer. He has a wife Masako, and a young son Taro. Kato also has a friend Yamazaki who he knew since college. Yamazaki has a girl friend Riko who lives with her younger sister Yuko who's an actress. Yamazaki is a lyric writer/womanizer and he starts to have an affair with Masako, but he's still going out with Riko.
John Rabe · 2009John Rabe
★ 7.12009
MovieDramaHistory
A true-story account of a German businessman who saved more than 200,000 Chinese during the Nanjing massacre in 1937-38.
Maborosi · 1995Maborosi
★ 7.51995
MovieDrama
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
Umami · 2023Umami
★ 5.82023
MovieComedyDrama
Following a near-death experience France's leading chef throws himself into a quest seeking the flavor that has confounded his life since he was defeated by a Japanese chef's bowl of noodles as a young man.
They Say Nothing Stays the Same · 2019They Say Nothing Stays the Same
★ 6.82019
MovieDrama
Toichi is a boatman who ferries the villagers to a town on the other side of the river. Besides rowing a boat for the villagers all day long, he barely communicates with anyone except Genzo, a young neighbour. Upstream, a large bridge is being constructed. Everyone is excited, but Toichi has mixed feelings about it. One day, Toichi meets a mysterious girl. Having no family and no place to go, Toichi lets her stay with him, but this encounter starts to bring about changes to Toichi's life.
TV Shows
AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo · 2002AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo
★ 7.52002
SeriesDramaCrime
Detective Ukyo Sugishita confronts crime on the basis of his own convictions. He has a partner that works for him in the Special Task Unit. For the first 7 seasons, Ukyo’s first partner is Kaoru Kameyama. He is a good-natured, hot-tempered, straightforward and somewhat scattered detective. Beginning in Season 8, Takeru Kanbe replaces Kameyama. Contrary to his predecessor, Takeru is a lanky, cool, conceited and confident detective. From Season 11 to Season 13, Ukyo’s partner is a young detective Toru Kai. Toru is a son of Deputy Director-General of The National Police Agency. But he became a detective by his own effort. And starting with Season 14, Ukyo’s current partner is Wataru Kaburagi, an elite bureaucrat who came to the Metropolitan Police Department on temporary assignment. As the first partner without any career of a police officer, he will face challenging cases together with Ukyo.
Absolute Zero · 2010Absolute Zero
★ 8.02010
SeriesDramaCrime
Izumi Sakuragi is a new police sergeant with the Special Investigations Office, which was set up within the Metropolitan Police in November last year. The new investigation team uses DNA analysis and the latest in forensics science to investigate cold cases as well as cases suspected to involve missing persons.
Ten Count to the Future · 2022Ten Count to the Future
★ 7.52022
SeriesDrama
When Kirisawa Shogo was a high school student, he was a brilliant amateur boxer. He won 4 boxing tournaments and he seemed to have a bright future in the sport. During his university student days, he quit the sport of boxing. Life went on for Kirisawa Shogo. But, after his beloved wife died, his life has now become a total mess. He doesn't have any hope or desire to live. He just spends his days working part-time jobs to make a living. One day, his friend asks him to coach the boxing team at the high school where they attended. Kirisawa Shogo accepts the coaching position. Being around the young boxers, who work extremely hard, Kirisawa Shogo begins to feel alive once again.
Folktales from Japan · 2012Folktales from Japan
★ 9.02012
SeriesAnimationDrama
Hometown Rebuilding: Folktales from Japan is a Japanese anime television series that adapts various traditional stories from Japan. The narration and all character voices are provided by veteran Japanese film actors Akira Emoto and Yoneko Matsukane. An English-subtitled version began "simulcast" availability on the streaming service Crunchyroll March 12, 2012.
Hanzawa Naoki · 2013Hanzawa Naoki
★ 8.32013
SeriesDramaComedy
Hanzawa Naoki works as a loan manager at the Osaka Nishi branch of Tokyo Central Bank. One day, Hanzawa makes a loan contract for 500 million yen with Nishi Osaka Steel Company. Hanzawa didn't want to approve the loan, but he had to due to the branch manager's order. Nishi Osaka Steel Company seems financially stable, but the company actually hides massive amounts of debt through fraudulent accounts. The company is caught. Three months later, Nishi Osaka Steel Company goes bankrupt. The bank's branch manager is Asano. He is an ambitious man and tries to shift the blame to Hanzawa. Hanzawa then attends an inquiry about the loan failure at the bank's headquarters in Tokyo. Hanzawa denies fault and promises to retrieve the 500 million yen loan. He did this because it's the only way for Hanzawa to survive as a banker.
Segodon · 2018Segodon
★ 8.32018
SeriesDrama
Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.
Kumokiri Nizaemon · 2013Kumokiri Nizaemon
★ 9.02013
SeriesDramaMystery
During the Kyoho period in the reign of Tokugawa Yoshimune, there is a gang of thieves active not just in Edo but also the Tokaido and the Nakasendo, and all across the Kansai region, stealing large sums of money with skillful techniques. They only target the very wealthy and never kill or injure people. They appear with the clouds and disappear like the mist. On the night that the beautiful Ochiyo is to become the bride of a dry goods dealer, a large amount of money hidden inside the shop is stolen. The gang disappears without injuring anyone. It was a two-year plan to marry Ochiyo off so that she could bring them in. The leader of this gang is Kumokiri Nizaemon, the greatest bandit of all time. He keeps a rein on his highly-skilled and notorious followers Nanabake no Ochiyo, Kinezumi no Kichigoro, Subashiri no Kumagoro, Ingakozo Rokunosuke and others.
The Private Detective Mike · 2002The Private Detective Mike
★ 8.52002
SeriesCrime
Mike Hama, Private Detective, is a chain-smoking, wisecracking tough guy with a weakness for the ladies and a soft spot in his heart, especially for his kid sister Akane. Mike's so down on his luck he'll take any case, from finding a lost pet to spying on cheating spouses. But every now and then, along comes a client with dubious and dangerous case… and that's when Mike shows his stuff.
Clouds Over the Hill · 2009Clouds Over the Hill
★ 7.72009
SeriesDrama
Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa.
The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit · 2016Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
★ 7.72016
SeriesDrama
The heroine Balsa is a skilled bodyguard and a masterful spear-wielder. One day she rescues Prince Chagum who has fallen into a river. The prince is carrying a mysterious spirit egg in his body, and is in danger of being assassinated by his father, the Mikado, who fears this will damage his imperial prestige. Balsa embarks upon a perilous journey when she accepts the queen’s plead to protect her son from her husband.
The Secret Lives of Kyoto Folk · 2015The Secret Lives of Kyoto Folk
★ 8.82015
SeriesDramaDocumentary
The series depicts "Kyoto as Kyoto people love it" in dramas and documentaries.
Scandal Eve · 2025Scandal Eve
2025
SeriesMystery
The head of a talent agency races to stop an exposé that could end her client's career — pitting her against the reporter determined to break the story.
Water Boys · 2003Water Boys
★ 7.22003
SeriesComedyDrama
Water Boys is a Japanese television drama series aired in Japan on Fuji Television in 2003. There is a fairly large cast due to the amount of members in each team. There were 32 swimmers in this drama who were carefully chosen to fit their roles, but none of them had ever done synchronized swimming before.
Lost Man Found · 2022Lost Man Found
★ 8.12022
SeriesDramaComedy
Satoru Matsudo moves to Tokyo in hopes of becoming an actor. He has trouble breaking into the industry, but his luck begins to change when he finds an airplane ticket belonging to a talent agency CEO. Time passes, and Satoru makes a name for himself as an actor. He gets a call from America. Hoping it is a Hollywood offer, he instead hears about his estranged older brother.
Love and Glory · 2006Love and Glory
★ 7.02006
SeriesDrama
Kazutoyo lived during the end of the Sengoku period (1546-1605). He was the first feudal lord of the fief of Tosa on the island of Shikoku. He served Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Chiyo (1557-1617) was his wife, and was known in history for her dedication and devotion to her husband (like Matsu was to Toshiie in Toshiie to Matsu). She is the daughter of a samurai who served the feudal lord Asai.
Genroku Ryoran · 1999Genroku Ryoran
★ 7.81999
SeriesDrama
The 38th NHK Taiga Drama is Genroku Ryoran. The "Forty-seven Loyal Samurai" is one of the most enduring and best loved stories of Japan's history. Generations have grown up hearing the stirring tale of Oishi Kuranosuke, chief councillor of the Ako clan who leads his men through suffering and hardship to ultimately avenge their lord after he is unjustly forced to commit harakiri. NHK's 38th Taiga Drama "Genroku Ryoran" is the ambitious remake of this classic epic and boasts a cast that reads like a Who's Who in Japanese entertainment.
Get Ready! · 2023Get Ready!
★ 7.82023
SeriesDrama
This dark medical drama examines the meaning of human life, centring on a team of unidentified black-market doctors who undertake any kind of surgery with superhuman surgical skills and exorbitant medical expenses. Hazama Eisuke, also known as "Ace", is a genius surgeon who works as a patissier during the day. He has an operating room equipped with the latest equipment in the basement of his patisserie, where he performs surgeries on patients who have been abandoned by others. Shimoyamada Jo, also known as "Joker", is a brilliant international lawyer and a negotiator with patients.
Yanchakure · 1998Yanchakure
1998
SeriesDramaFamily
The 59th NHK Asadora Drama is Yanchakure. Location includes Osaka. In Osaka, "yanchakure" is a bit of an old word which is used to describe tomboyish or mischievous young girls. Mizushima Nagisa happens to be such a girl, that, no matter how well-intentioned her motives nor how hard she tries, Nagisa just seems to end up failing. In fact, she has failed at different things in her life so many times that she has come to see it as a source of personal strength, her philosophy being one of, "It's natural for a human being to fail many times in the course of their life and thanks to those failures we can become adults."
Good Doctor · 2018Good Doctor
★ 8.12018
SeriesDramaFamily
Minato Shindo has savant syndrome. His memory is amazing, but he has difficulty communicating with other people. When Minato was little, he dreamed of becoming a doctor. He met Doctor Akira Shiga and he wanted to become a pediatric surgeon. Akira was surprised by the 7-year-old's memory of the human organs and he decided to support Minato in achieving his dream. Eventually, Minato graduated from medical school and passed the national exam for medical practitioners. Now, Akira works as a director at a large hospital. He suggests to Minato to work in the pediatric surgery department at the hospital where he works.
Taiheiki · 1991Taiheiki
1991
SeriesDrama
The drama centers on Ashikaga Takauji's rise to power, overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate and eventually establishing the Ashikaga shogunate.
HUNTER - Women After Reward Money · 2011HUNTER - Women After Reward Money
★ 8.02011
SeriesMysteryDrama
On a return flight to Japan, cabin attendant Isaka Rei arrests a thief at Narita Airport’s International Terminal, and receives a reward of 1 million yen. However, she is half-forced to resign from her job as a cabin attendant because of this roundup. Furthermore, her younger sister, Akane, has made her a guarantor and disappeared, leaving her 10-year-old daughter, Haru behind. Rei starts to live with a reluctant Haru at ‘Shunkato’, the small eating house that Akane has been running. There is a firsthand account of Akane meeting a ‘Shunkato’ customer on the day she went missing. Rei brings the photograph of the man whom Akane met to Tsukishima Police Precinct, and learns that there is a 1 million yen bounty because he is a wanted criminal. The lack of motivation of the attending detective, Gondo Takeshi of the precinct’s Community Safety Division, spurs her to decide that she has to arrest this criminal who has some sort of connection to her sister. And so, Rei becomes a bounty hunter together with the ladies who gather at ‘Shunkato’.
Ties of Shooting Stars · 2008Ties of Shooting Stars
★ 7.62008
SeriesComedyFamily
Based on a novel by mystery writer Keigo Higashino, Ryūsei no Kizuna tells the story of three orphans, whose parents were murdered long ago. Together, the three vowed on a shooting star to one day avenge their parents. After many years, the two brothers have found the murderers, and are set to carry out their plan for vengeance when they realize they've made a serious miscalculation; you see, their sister...
Love That Makes You Cry · 2016Love That Makes You Cry
★ 8.12016
SeriesDrama
Follows the story of love, friendship and growth of six young men and women who move from countryside to the big city of Tokyo, each with their own dreams and aspirations. Among them is Sugihara Oto and Soda Ren. After her mother died, Oto was raised by adoptive parents in Hokkaido. Although she has given up on having any high hopes or big dreams for her future, she still remains positive and faces life with optimistic attitude. One day, she finds out the fact that her adoptive parents are planning to marry her to the wealthy man in town in order to solve their financial debt. Soda Ren was raised by his grandfather in Fukushima. Ren works hard on one job after another in order to earn the money to buy back his grandfather's land so that they can start farming again. By chance, Oto and Ren meet in Hokkaido and they decide to move to Tokyo to find new life to change their fate and future. However, as soon as they arrive Tokyo, they get separated in the crowds...
Shinjuku Field Hospital · 2024Shinjuku Field Hospital
★ 8.02024
SeriesDramaComedy
A gripping medical drama centered around a hospital in Kabukicho. Featuring a diverse cast of characters, including those from male host bars and street kids many with complicated backgrounds.