Michiko Hada

At the end of the 19th century, Shanghai is divided into several foreign concessions. In the British concession, a number of luxurious “flower houses” are reserved for the male elite of the city. Since Chinese dignitaries are not allowed to frequent brothels, these establishments are the only ones that these men can visit. They form a self-contained world, with its own rites, traditions and even its own language. The men don’t only visit the houses to frequent the courtesans but also to dine, smoke opium, play mahjong and relax. The women working there are known as the “flowers of Shanghai”.

A hard-working section chief, fast approaching retirement and beset by stress from all directions, joins a jazz band and reignites his youthful passion for the music, giving him a chance to set things right in his life.

Infection takes place in a dark, isolated hospital, where one doctors mistake has led to dire consequences for a patient. In a hospital death is just a breath away.

Hyasaka Yukari only wants one thing: to enter the college that her mom wants. One day, she meets an extravagant group that loves fashion. They were searching for a model and Yukari fits their ideal model. From now Yukari will know the world of fashion and modeling, and what she really wants.

Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.

A young girl, Sayaka, develops a heartwarming friendship with an old man named Hasu. Based on an award-winning novel by Ijuin Shizu.

Hayato, a boy in the 6th grade, hides the secret that he can't swim. Every summer, he pretends to be sick, so he could avoid school swimming tournaments. But, as it is the last year in the elementary school, he can't escape from swimming practice and is forced to participate.

A genius and reckless poet and a hard working musician are asked by the CEO of a children literature magazine to write a war song to send children into the battlefield.

Based on the real-life story of American rower Tiff Wood (Colin Ferguson), an athlete determined to realize his goal of winning gold at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Wood's dream is shattered when the U.S. boycotts the games, and he must refocus his life towards making the team four years later, with the odds against him.

Hosted by veteran comedian Tamori, "Bizarre Tales 2008 Spring Special" presents five tales. 1. Sakki Yori mo Ii Hito - starring Ito Hideaki. 2. Kore……Mite…… - starring Toda Erika. 3. Hinodedori Shouten Machi Ikiiki Day - starring Funakoshi Eiichiro. 4. Sukitōtta Tsuitachi - starring Kitano Kie. 5. Flashback - starring Sakai Masato.

In June 1945 Yamauchi Fusako goes alone to Manchuria where her husband, Setsuo, a second lieutenant of the Kwantung Army, is based. At that time, 200,000 Japanese had settled in Manchuria, a Japanese occupied territory, as settler communities. Fujita Hideo’s family worked hard to clear the wilderness, but the Soviets are lying in wait for an invasion of Manchuria from the North. Fusako is safely reunited with her husband at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army’s Fifth Training Squadron in Manchuria’s Dahushan. Setsuo also takes good care of his beloved wife, but his position is an instructor to the young soldiers who will eventually carry out suicide attacks. He wonders if he should have summoned her and speaks of these mixed feelings to his commanding officer, Michiba Kazuo, a first lieutenant. Michiba is concerned about Setsuo’s attempts to cherish his wife before the coming showdown on homeland. Fusako learns about life in Manchuria from Michiba’s wife, Etsu.

Kintaro is a reformed delinquent, the former leader of a biker gang who has gone straight. Working at a construction company, his unorthodox tactics cause trouble with his colleagues. He is transferred to a tiny countryside branch, where he butts heads with his lazy superior until the two men discover a plot by the competition to put the construction company out of bussiness. With the help of his old biker friends, Kintaro prepares to confront the masterminds behind the scheme.

Suspicions fall on politician Tagane Seizo over the sale of nationally owned land to a social welfare service corporation back in 2010. Seizo Tagane is then given immunity for his testimony, but people become furious that he was not going to be prosecuted. A committee of prosecutors meets and concludes that Seizo Tagane should be prosecuted. An outstanding lawyer Yui Hitotsugi takes the prosecutor's position in the case with the help of the prosecutor Tachibana.

Based on the comic by Tatsu Kariya. Featuring journalist Shiro Yamaoka who works for Touzai Shimbun. He is a cynical food critic who is tasked by the newspaper's owner, along with the young Yuko Kurita, to provide recipes for the "ultimate menu".

Shinichi Tominaga is a prosecutor, newly appointed to the special investigation division for the Tokyo district prosecutors' office. He is currently busy with a case involving suspicious donations to powerful politician Yohei Tachibana. Shinichi then receives a mysterious message from his friend Samon Kondo. His friend is in charge of space development at The The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. The message talks about a scandal related to space development. Samon soon goes missing after sending the message. Shinichi begins to see a connection between the two cases.

The body of Shinsuke Maeda, a wealthy older man, is discovered in his garden. While at first glance it appears that he missed his step while exiting into the garden and hit his forehead on a flowerbed rock, it is established that a safe installed in the living room has been emptied. It seems that, the night before, Maeda left the hospital he was staying at of his own will and came home, and was robbed immediately after returning. His daughter Yumie Nagano insists that Chikako Inui, a woman her father had been seeing, must be the perpetrator. She says that Maeda was thinking of getting married to Chikako soon. However, Chikako finds Yumie and her husband suspicious. Troubled by debts incurred by opening their ramen store, they pestered Maeda and he pushed them away. She calmly points out that Maeda gave her a will in which he left all of the 50 million plus yen hidden in the safe to her, so she had no reason to steal from him.

A new documentary by Daniel Raim and Eugene Suen on the making of "Flowers of Shanghai," featuring behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Mark Lee Ping-bing, producer and editor Liao Ching-sung, production designer Hwarng Wern-ying, and sound recordist Tu Duu-chih.

A year after the celebrated cracking of “The Glorious Team Batista” case, the talented medical staff at Tojo University Hospital once again finds itself embroiled in a web of intrigue and scandal.The scandal occurs this time in the ER when a mysterious letter arrives for Dr. Kimiko Taguichi. The letter reads: “Chief Surgeon Hayami of the Emergency Center has a collusive relationship with a medical supplies maker. And the head nurse is in on it with him.” An unimaginable truth then awaits.

A journalist reporting on the 1997 Kobe earthquake recalls a boat trip he took as a boy after WWII to bury his brother's ashes, during which his family grapples with life in occupied Japan.

The suicide of a female teacher 15 years ago was actually a murder. A new investigation team, spearheaded by Mizorogi, is formed based on new information turned in to the police. Obsessed about cracking cases right up till the statute of limitation, Mizoguchi has a bitter thought about a 300 million yen case that has reached the statute of limitation... When he goes to investigate the male high school student(s) whom the woman had taught and other persons related to the deceased, he sees an unexpected connection with another case...

A boy from Tokyo moves to the countryside and has trouble adapting, falls in love.

This is a series of three short supernatural-themed movies. The first tells the story of a teen girl who dreams of haunted doll. In the second movie, a widowed mother brings her children to a house in the woods to help them forget the death of their father. While in the woods one of the children meets a ghost that wants more than just to be friends. The last movie tells the story of three teen-aged girls who go on vacation, only to find themselves at a haunted inn.

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.

The 17-year-old Yatabe Mineko grew up in a family of seven in a mountain village in northeastern Ibaraki Prefecture. Her father Minoru has gone to Tokyo to work in order to earn extra money. However, her life completely changes when her father does not come back for the New Year. Mineko asks her family to let her go to Tokyo to find him and promises to send money home. In the autumn of 1964, she and two childhood friends Tokiko and Mitsuo are hired to start working at a small factory in Tokyo’s working class neighborhood. After work each day, Mineko searches for her father and gets disheartened at times. Mineko overcomes challenges and starts to lay down roots in Tokyo as she experiences many meetings and farewells amid the laughter and tears with regulars, people of the shopping street, friends, and colleagues. But will she be able to find her father?

Former delinquent turned unconventional prosecutor Kohei Kuryu shakes up the legal world with his street-smart instincts and unorthodox style, clashing with ambitious colleague Maiko Amamiya while his relentless pursuit of justice gradually transforms those around him.

The members of this elite investigative team are unique individuals with their own personal troubles, but what unites them is their strong sense of justice. They each channel all their energy and skill to solve the most difficult cases.

A heartbroken high school senior falls for his sister’s boyfriend during a summer of tutoring, first love, and self-discovery.

Although 23 year old Yamada Naoko is a "super" magician, she is continously fired and constantly hounded by her landlady for the rent being late. After being fired once again, her boss shows her an ad of a physics professor, a non-believer of all things magical, offering money to anyone who can prove to him that magic is real. Desperately needing the money, Naoko accepts the challenge, which is how she comes to meet Professor Ueda. Falling prey to her simple magic tricks, Ueda is impressed, and enlists Naoko to help him uncover the tricks behind a local cult. Their hilarious antics, along with those of police officer Yabe, leads them onto further mysteries, all with tricks needing to be solved in sort of an "X-Files" meets "Scooby-Doo"...

The #9 investigation team has been disbanded and members of the #9 investigation team have been scattered around. One year later, the Chief of the National Police Agency, Sojiro Kandagawa, orders the creation of a special investigation team to cover from the initial investigation until it is sent to the prosecutor's office. Sojiro Kandagawa appoints Sakutaro Munakata as the leader of the special investigation team. Former #9 investigation team members join the special investigation team.

The story is set in 1914 in Breisford in Wisconsin, near Lake Koshgonong. One spring day the little Sterling finds in the forest a raccoon cub whose mother has just been killed by a hunter; He decides to treat him and keep him by giving him the name Rascal. The boy and the raccoon become inseparable friends from that day, although Sterling soon realizes, after a series of small disasters that Rascal causes in the gardens of neighbors, that cohabitation between men and wild animals can sometimes be very difficult . Thus began the last unforgettable year of Sterling childhood, punctuated by small and big adventures with its large Rascal friends, Oscar and Alice among the animals she loves so much, but marked by the death of the mother and the financial ruin of the father who lost almost all that he has to repay debts.

The Queen's Classroom is a live-action Japanese television drama about Maya Akutsu, a new teacher at Hanzaki Elementary School who strives for perfection and punishes her students in unorthodox manners. A 12 year old student, Kazumi Kanda, has been able to withstand her strange punishments so far but the other 23 students begin to fold under the pressure. A South Korean remake of the same title starring Go Hyun-jung in the lead role, was produced in 2013.

Kintaro Yajima comes to Tokyo and is hired by Yamato Construction Company when he saves the life of the company's CEO. A former leader of a motorcycle gang, Kintaro is known for his highly principled and forthright way of dealing with matters and is never afraid to tell his superiors exactly what he thinks. This has a tendency of irritating some; but when corruption from within the company begins to surface, he may be the only one who can stand up to it.

Kintarō Yajima used to be the leader of a feared and respected biker gang, but out of respect for his late wife he chooses to straighten himself out and work as a salaryman so that he can support his son.

An ordinary senior high school girl named Mika meets Hiro, a showy boy with dyed hair and pierced ears. It is a "pure love" story of the two going through many unimaginably sad incidents while nurturing their love single-mindedly. It not only depicts the first love of the senior high school couple but also weaves "a story of Mika and Hiro" through episodes probably familiar to anybody, such as warmth and affection of their family members supporting the two, importance of living, interactions with friends, and so on.

Mr. (Tamura) and Mrs. (Kuroki) Yamaguchi are an old-fashioned middle-aged couple with two children about to become independent. As they prepare for the daughter's (Kato) upcoming wedding to Mr. Yamaguchi's work underling (Omori), they find that the love they themselves experienced at the time of their marriage isn't really there anymore. The wedding planner (Hada), becomes smitten with Mr. Yamaguchi when he begins to meet her often for conversations, and she eventually seduces him into bed, creating a rift in the middle-aged couple. At the same time, their college-student son (Tsukamoto) falls in love himself with a nurse (Nishida) who is much older than he is and has a little daughter, to boot. They will have to fight for their love to be accepted by his parents... -DramaWiki

Fukutaro, the former president of a board game company, continues to show up at work even after handing over his position to his son-in-law. Fukutaro grabs anyone he can to repeatedly brag about the same past exploits, which irritates those around him. Triggered by an event, his daughter finally unleashes her unspoken true feelings about his toxic old-age behavior. Although Fukutaro seems sad and apologetic, he secretly plots a counterattack with his five elderly fellows.

A home drama about the clash between a former career woman and the madam of a distinguished Japanese inn.

Shino Kagiya, the daughter of a confectionery company president, is engaged to the perfect fiancé, Tachibana Hajime, but after three years, their relationship remains stagnant. When a new employee, Yui Hanazawa, joins the Sales department and grows close to Tachibana, Shino begins to question her feelings and the future of her engagement.

The Earth has descended into a new ice age of -45 degrees Celsius. At the evacuation center, dozens of people who have fled are living on the edge of their lives. In a world where civilization has collapsed, money and status have no meaning and every blanket and canned food is sought after, values have changed drastically. Humanity is faced with an extreme situation where only those with a strong desire to live will survive. Kimura Shoko, a genius con artist with two previous criminal convictions, is determined to do whatever it takes to survive in this new world. For some reason, the shelter she arrives at values family over everything. As the "mother" of a "masquerade family", she faces harsh days. Behind Shoko's explosive desire to survive is a desire to see her son again.

A string of mysterious deaths has occurred, leaving all of the victims with a purple butterfly-shaped bruise. According to investigators, the victims have all died from a hypnotic suggestion. The police bring in renowned psychiatrist Toshiya Saga, who specializes in hypnotic cures, to help with the investigation. He is determined to solve the mystery, but is caught off-guard when the woman he is attracted to becomes a suspect in the investigation.

Mikami, a journalist, and Mai, a rookie assistant director of a satellite broadcasting station, close in on the truth of the unsolved serial murders of five little girls which took place 27 years ago. At the time of the murders, DNA analysis dealt a decisive blow and a man was apprehended as the murderer. But there were several contradictory points surrounding this arrest. Mikami and Mai begin re-investigating the cases with doubts about his culpability. They are eventually faced with the chilling truth of false charges and enormous state power. However, they begin to expose the truth which was shrouded in darkness through true journalism.

Tomonaga Akiyuki and his wife Yu have been married seven years. Akiyuki is a graphic designer, and is quite happy in his work and private life. One day, he attends the wedding of his younger half-brother Ichinose Ryo. However, Ryo runs off with a young woman who appears at the wedding, leaving the bride Jumonji Azusa at the altar. Akiyuki bows his head and apologizes to Jumonji, and this is the prelude to a growing intimacy between them. Is it love, or is Jumonji after revenge? And what do Yu and Ryo think as they become aware of this relationship? Akiyuki and Yu, it seems, are headed for divorce. Further complications arise for Akiyuki and Yu when Akiyuki’s close friend Shunsuke and lawyer Reiko, advising on divorce, get involved.