Kie Kitano

When the creator of the world, Arceus, comes to pass judgement on humanity for the theft of the legendary Jewel of Life, Ash and his friends are sent back in time to possibly reverse the events that led to Arceus' vendetta.

Young women disappear one after another in drizzling rain. They all hear the “cursed song” of the Cage Song before they vanish into thin air. Kitaro and his friends investigate these mysterious cases when they meet Kaede Hiramoto, a high school girl who finds herself involved in this mystery. With the help from the librarian of Yokai Library, they find out that the curse was caused by an evil Yokai that was released from 1,000 years of sealing. To save Kaede, they are to gather the 5 ancient musical instruments and perform the ritual to seal the evil Yokai again, which has to be done within 48 hours!

Set in the 1990s during Japan's "band boom" era, the film tells the tale of a girl in high school, Asako, who goes to a concert and meets Natsu, vocalist of the new band LANDS. Asako ends up being the band manager, but as the band's popularity starts to soar, the band's friendship begins to suffer.

Crocodile Gena works in a zoo - a crocodile. Every evening he returns home to his lonely apartment. Finally he tired of playing with himself in chess, and Gene decides to make friends. On the ads pasted around the city, responding animals and people. First comes a girl with a homeless puppy Gal, followed by the Cheburashka...

Following the death of his wife professor Kyoichi leads a solitary life by the sea. A stray cat called Mii, who was being fed by his wife, not only continues to drop by, but also seems to be visiting the altar Kyoichi has set up for his deceased wife. While uncomfortable with the cat and its visits, he nonetheless takes up a search when Mii goes missing. The endeavour connects him with the town's folk and reveals that he is not alone.

Film adaptation of an original story from Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum Director and Akutagawa Prize winner Yuichi Seirai, directed by Taro Hyugaji, who made the live-action version of Grave of the Fireflies. Depicts the fateful encounter between a daughter whose mother has died and a mother whose daughter has died. Jazz pianist Makoto Ozone makes his debut as a film composer. University student Kiyomi (Kie Kitano) is wracked by guilt after her mother dies of a heart attack the night they have an argument. Meanwhile, Saori (Izumi Inamori) finds out she is pregnant, but her daughter died a year before, and she is terrified of losing another child.

Akira Mochizuki survived a kidnapping as a child. Now, she's a detective, and there are signs that the kidnapper may be back again after 20 years.

In this high school romance Hiro is dismayed to learn her new love Shu will be going away to college in Tokyo. She asks him not to go.

In 1905, in the village of Asotsu, Fukui prefecture. Gozaemon Masunaga was struggling to establish industry in the area. At that time, his younger brother, Kohachi, proposed manufacturing eyeglass frames in the village. Amid fierce opposition from the villagers, the two begin a difficult journey together. This is the story of two brothers who changed the world with their glasses.

25-year-old Nanami is managing an amateur band. She is broke, cannot pay her rent, and the singer has run off. Yoshinori is 65. His wife dies the day before his retirement. Having suddenly lost everything, he becomes desperate. After the two accidentally meet, Nanami moves into Yoshinori's place and invites a few other people to become their flatmates – the beginning of an extraordinary life together.

Nobuko Sawaguchi is a surly, unattractive housekeeper in her mid-thirties. However, in actuality, she is a beautiful woman, but she hides this fact using her makeup because of a traumatic past experience. One day Nobuko is sent to housekeep for the Uehara family, known for its tremendous wealth. In the Uehara family, there is a massive quarrel over each member’s future succession and inheritance. In the middle of this hectic situation, Nobuko is asked by the daughter called Akemi to protect her.

Detectives in the special investigation team in Kanagawa go after criminal organization "Red Venius," based out of Yokohama. While pursuing the gang, the detectives turn into children due to exposure to a special gas. Dekachou (Fuku Suzuki) and the other detectives continue their investigation via an order from the National Police Agency. "Red Venius" then gives notice that they will they will assassinate the President of Tadzhikistan in Japan.

A new female detective joins the special investigations team and dives into some of their hardest cases in this follow-up to the series 'Unfair.' The team investigates a grisly video circulating online that asks viewers to answer 'yes' or 'no' questions with potentially deadly outcomes.

Revisit the first music videos of Beat Crusaders' major-era from 2004-2005.

A new female detective joins the special investigations team and dives into some of their hardest cases in this follow-up to the series 'Unfair.' Just as a girl asks the team for help finding her missing father, a man calls to say he has four hostages and makes a cryptic request.

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.

Having lost her parents at a young age, Osumi was taken in by her uncle, who ran a shoe shop, and grew up without ever experiencing happiness or a sense of joy. Against her will, she was betrothed to a rough-mannered clog maker named Katsuzo, and she lived a gloomy life. Then one night, a stranger named Shinshichi suddenly bursts into her home, where she lives alone, and begs her to hide him. As she reluctantly takes in this man with a mysterious past, Osumi gradually begins to feel a flutter in her heart.

During a fierce battle in Japan's Warring States era, a young swordswoman named Yui is suddenly transported 500 years into the future by the mysterious blade Muramasa. Lost in modern-day Japan, Yui finds refuge at a traditional brewery in Usuki, Oita. While struggling to understand this unfamiliar world, she discovers something she has never seen before: KENDO, the modern martial art descended from the swordsmanship she devoted her life to mastering. The brewery's KENDO club, once proud and successful, is on the verge of collapse. Determined to protect what she believes is worth preserving, Yui helps revive the team alongside Masato Fujii, the brewery's young president and a former national champion who abandoned KENDO after inheriting the family business. As the team prepares for an impossible challenge against their long-time rivals, Yui and Masato grow closer. Yet the possibility that Yui may someday return to her own time threatens the future they are beginning to imagine together.

A series of short stories explore the connection of love between dogs and people.

Master thief Kinosuke arrives in Edo to pull off one final heist for a tea-server who resembles his long-lost love, while Hasegawa Heizo’s spy Kumehachi tries to stop him, only to be exposed and trapped alongside the thief by Kinosuke's own crew.

Second year high school student Kodaka Hasegawa has transferred to his new school about a month ago, but he still hasn't made any friends. Kodaka Hasegawa was born from a Japanese father and a British mother. Because of his appearance, people think Kodaka Hasegawa is a troubled kid. One day, Kodaka Hasegawa sees classmate Yozora Mikazuki pleasantly talking to herself. Kodaka Hasegawa talks with her about how to make friends. To make friends, Yozora Mikazuki decides to form the Neighbor's Club and forces Kodaka to enroll in the club.

The talented Korean tenor, Bae, who penetrate the audience's hears through his delicate and powerful singing, is on the rise to stardom at the European opera scene. Sawada, a Japanese music producer, is searching for a new tenor for an upcoming performance. He watches a performance of Bae and invites him to Japan, which marks the beginning of friendship. But, the thyroid cancer strikes Bae. During an operation, the nerves of his vocal cords has be cut due to the widely spread cancer. Unfortunately, Ba ends up losing his voice at the peak of his career. Sawada cant's stand to watch Bae's miserable so he starts to look for a solution.

Natsumi (Kie Kitano), an art college student, has been living a listless life without going to university for a few days after her boyfriend Kakeru (Jingi Irie) suddenly goes abroad to study. Then one day, alone in her apartment, she picks up a sketchbook, it was something she received from her grandmother's belongings when she was little. She starts drawing without thinking, and to her surprise, it's a magical sketchbook where what she draws comes to life...

After her mother took the blame for a tragic fire 13 years ago, Anzu plots revenge by working as a housekeeper under a pseudonym for her icy stepmother.

Dr. Shindo seems cold, but is a competent surgeon. He is also an ER doctor capable of accurate decisions and treatment, who always tries to see things from the patient’s side. Although once retired from his profession, he one day discovers someone in need of help, who he treats and rushes to the Kohoku Medical University Emergency Center. This incident encourages him to once again work as an ER doctor. Confrontation erupts between female doctor Tamaki, and Shindo, now a just-arrived ER doctor. While this human drama depicts the relationships among doctors and nurses, it appeals emotionally to viewers on the subject of life.

Okuhara Natsu was born in Tokyo in 1937. In 1945, she loses both parents to war and becomes an orphan, but her father’s comrade, Shibata Takeo, takes her in and moves to Tokachi in Hokkaido. In an unfamiliar land surrounded by unfamiliar people, Natsu feels lost at first, but surrounded by Tokachi’s vast nature and its strong, yet compassionate people, she grows up to be a strong girl. When Natsu enters elementary school, she meets Yamada Tenyo who draws lovely pictures of horses. Tenyo tells her that in America, animation in which pictures move is becoming popular, Natsu’s curiosity is piqued. Upon graduating high school, Natsu goes to Tokyo to look up her brother, and takes a jump into the world of animation.

The 74th NHK Asadora Drama is Junjo Kirari, which means something along the lines of "pure-hearted Kirari." The story is set in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture in the era around the Second World War. When the story opens in 1928, the heroine, Sakurako, is a very active seven-year-old girl. Indeed, even in the first episode she exhibits her confidence and enthusiasm. But above all else, Sakurako is interested in becoming a jazz pianist, and music features extensively in the plot.

Adapted from Keiko Suenobu's manga "LIFE," this drama delves into the dark side of high school life. The story focuses mainly on bullying, but the manga also touches on subjects such as self-mutilation, suicide, and rape. Kitano Kii stars as Ayumu Shiiba, one of the students bullied by a group of classmates led by Ayumu's former friend, Manami Anzai (Fukuda Saki).

Miki Ichinose is a 14-year-old schoolgirl who is very outgoing and cheerful. She lives with her parents and younger brother. She is in a romantic relationship with Satoshi Kirino who is 15 years old. They keep their relationship a secret from their parents because Miki is young and Satoshi is expected to excel in school and get into a university so he can take over the family business by his overbearing mother. One night, after a date, they sneak into a treehouse and consummate their relationship. Soon after, Miki suspects that she is pregnant and steals a pregnancy test, which her mother later finds. She is taken to a doctor who confirms her pregnancy. Initially upset, Miki's parents promise they will support her. Miki tells Satoshi of the pregnancy and he takes the news well. However, his mother is furious when she learns of it and forbids the two from seeing each other.

A 38 years-old single woman Mugimaki Satoko’s life has completely changed after being diagnosed with a "lifelong" illness. She is forced to quit her job and finds an old housing complex with a monthly rent of 50,000 yen. With her landlord living next door and a sketchy cook, Satoko encounters "medicinal cuisine," a way of eating seasonal food to maintain bodily functions. A story that will warm you from the bottom of your stomach, just like a bowl of rice porridge, is about to begin!

A transgender bar owner and a troubled housewife uncover buried regrets and get caught in a murder mystery in Osaka, where literature and intuition guide them toward the truth.

Based on the manga by Ritsu Miyako, this unique drama pairs a penniless detective with a razor-sharp eye for detail with a mysterious woman who can detect lies...?! Together, they unravel complex cases where truth and deception intertwine like threads in a delicate web, all set against the backdrop of a retro-modern cityscape.

Takenouchi plays an aquarium employee named Kengo, who seems ordinary at first glance but actually possesses a secret that he would sacrifice everything in order to protect. Meanwhile, Ueto plays Risa, a young woman working in the sex trade in order to pay off her brother's debt, though her situation has led her to contemplate suicide. These two characters, both full of despair, meet each other and end up entering a contract marriage purely for its benefits. However, as they overcome various troubles, their relationship begins turning into true love.

Okita’s older sister, Mitsuba, visits the quarters of the Shinsengumi to announce her marriage to the trader Kuraba Toma. The two siblings spend time together. Mitsuba worries that her brother has no friends and in order to assure her, he introduces Sakata Gintoki, who happened to pass by, as his best friend. Meanwhile, there are reports of strange boats going in and out of Edo. Hijikata Toshiro investigates this and it turns out that the incident has an unexpected link to Mitsuba.

A private high school by the sea... All of the senior students devote themselves only to their studies for college entrance exams from the end of the summer. One day, an unconventional teacher gets posted at this high academia-oriented school. His name is Sakurai Sakutaro. His background is a mystery. Nobody gets what he's talking about. He's pushy and bold. The students are reluctant to open up to him who sticks his nose into their private affairs. But Sakutaro keep trying to help them overcome their problems He also encourages and guides them, and they eventually develop a bond of trust. "Live in the moment which exists only now"... His message gradually gets through to his students.

At a police unit dedicated to supporting crime victims, two women with contrasting approaches work together to help survivors rebuild their lives while confronting the emotional aftermath of tragedy.

When a comatose salaryman's spirit becomes her unexpected wingman, an ordinary office worker's love life gets hilariously extraordinary.

“Who is the last person you would like to see？” When junior high school teacher Sakuraba Ayako wakes up, she sees a man standing there. Calling himself a guide of this mysterious place that extends in front of them, he tells her that this is “goodbye’s other side”. As his words sink in, Ayako recalls that she has died. She lets slip that she had never thought she would die in this manner. Visitors to this other side can meet people of this world one last time within a 24-hour time period. Ayako immediately thinks of her son Yuta and husband Hirotaka. However, the guide says the ones she can meet are only those who still do not know about her death. Ayako goes to the house of her former teacher Ishibashi Nobuyoshi. She is greeted by his daughter Megumi, but Nobuyoshi passed away about two years ago…

Kagura Ran is a former child actor-turned-lawyer who left the legal circle after her best friend was framed of murder. A year later, an article written by scriptwriter Kurosawa Jin about her ends up circulating online in which she becomes acknowledged as a capable lawyer who has never lost a case. She decides to resume her work as a lawyer once more, and attempts to regain her trust in the law by joining forces with Kurosawa in order to exonerate her friend from the accusation and resolve the case once and for all.

March is graduation season. Parting with the one you love, becoming disheartened from a broken dream, bereavement from your loved one… In life, one will always encounter a wall that they must overcome. When you are able to conquer that wall, that is the essence of ‘graduation’ in life. As some say, "Goodbye is not the end", graduation is not an end, but instead is the start of a new life.

A heartwarming drama inspired by true stories of individuals who built new lives in 12 cities and towns across Fukushima.

This drama revolves around a public elementary school beset with problems. Yosuke Eguchi plays the character Seichiro Naruse, a passionate protagonist, who worked at construction sites for 20 years with a mid-sized general contractor. However, in order to keep a promise he made with his former teacher, he suddenly changes jobs and becomes the principal of his old school, which he must save from closing down. He now attempts to change the school with his bright personality and acting power.

Kiwako Nonomiya is devastated after Takehiro Akiyama, the married man she has been having an affair with, manipulates her into getting an abortion by promising to marry her and then refusing to divorce his wife. Kiwako then learns of Takehiro's wife's pregnancy. One morning, while Takehiro and his wife Etsuko are away, Kiwako sneaks into their home to get a look at their six-month-old child. Without a thought for the consequences, she carries the baby away. Kiwako then raises the child as her own, while being a fugitive from the law.

Kishi Minetaro is a skilled and serious-minded plastic surgeon. He looks down on doctors earning money through cosmetic surgeries as well as on women asking for such medical procedures. However, having to repay his father's debt, Minetaro chooses lucrative work at a clinic specializing in aesthetic plastic surgery. The clinic is full of beautiful women, including the director Yukawa Mari, who is well known for her skills in breast reconstruction, a highly-trusted doctor Ichii Mutsumi, and a cheerful nurse Kishitani Aoi. But most of them have already had some work done to their faces, and they strongly believe that “faces are for lives.” Various types of patients visit this clinic. As Minetaro needs to keep this job to continue paying off the debt, he has no choice but to respond to the patients' selfish requests, such as, “I need my previous face back because my husband suspects that I may cheat on him now that I have a surgically-altered, young-looking face,” or “I want to change my face and look different from my twin sister.” But their wishes makes him wonder...If they change their appearances, will their futures become brighter? Will their worries disappear? “Beauty” is the keyword set in this human drama, depicting the true feelings of women through the eyes of a surgeon who isn't attuned to reading a woman's mind.

The wives take down the worst husbands who trample on their wives' dignity! A new, "at-home" revenge story that depicts the extreme situations of three couples at the end of their marriages and their condemnation of their husbands in an omnibus format!

Akizuki Haruto, a police detective on childcare leave, finds himself solving cases using the hints he notices while raising his infant son, Ren, in this light mystery. Along with his wife Saki, Haruto is navigating the challenges of parenthood when he is unexpectedly taken hostage during a robbery. Despite the tense situation, Haruto uses his keen observation skills to gather clues and secretly calls his own police division for assistance. However, as he deals with the unfolding events, he must also attend to Ren's needs, including diaper changes and feeding times, adding a unique twist to his crime-solving endeavors.