Eri Watanabe

Mary Smith, a young girl who lives with her great-aunt in the countryside, follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest where she finds a strange flower and an old broom, none of which is as ordinary as it seems.

A group of delinquent high school girls form a band when they accidentally poison their school's brass band and have to replace them.

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.

Schoolgirl Kuniko is kidnapped by a middle-aged man Iwazono when she is jogging. He tells her that he had a failed marriage which leaves him a deep and everlasting scar in his mind. He kidnaps her in search of a perfect marriage and intends to lock her in the room and 'educate' her to perform perfect sex where body and soul are united.

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.

It was a pre-destined love and marriage for Sonoko and Tetsuo. They tied the knot and became husband and wife no questions asked. All is well then. Well, perhaps not. Each holds a secret that even the binds of matrimony cannot untie.

A world wide electrical outage occurs. Everything that requires electricity comes to a stop. Tokyo is nearly ruined. Yoshiyuki Suzuki decides to escape from Tokyo with his family.

Weaving two storylines together: the first is the story of 18th-century shogunate intrigue and loyalty, and the second is a ghost story about a beautiful woman who falls victim to passion and evil.

After being stricken with Alzheimer's disease in the prime of his life, a successful young businessman slips slowly away from his loving family.

After receiving a key to her late father's room, art museum employee Satomi traces his final days and discovers a man who found quiet comfort in language, tea ceremony and small beauty, recognizing the grace in how he lived.

When lightning strikes a theater about to close its doors, three moviegoers are thrust back in time to the world inside the screen.

Barbara is an adult-orientated fantasy tale filled with love and the occult from Osamu Tezuka's reimagining of "The Tales of Hoffmann". Its story deals with the erotic and bizarre experiences of a famous novelist called Yosuke Mikura whose life is tossed upside down by a mysterious girl named "Barbara".

Country bumpkin Haruko only ever wanted to become a maiko, an apprentice geisha. Initially rebuffed for lack of references, Haruko's strong accent intrigues a linguistics professor, who undertakes to coach her.

Takayuki is an elementary school teacher in Tokyo. He is seized with Behçet's syndrome, and will gradually lose his sight. He resigns from his job and leaves his girlfriend, Yoko (Yuriko Ishida) to return to his hometown, Nagasaki, where his mother lives. Takayuki spends his days strolling around Nagasaki, to imprint familiar scenes on his memory. Yoko visits him and insists on staying. Takayuki has major concerns for her future, and his own life. He drives her away, for her own good. After days of affliction, the two reunite. The story leads to an emotive conclusion, the end of his spiritual journey.

Two married couples struggle to cope with their sex lives. Kenji and Misaki, a seemingly happy married couple, lead a sexless life. Misaki, whose numerous seductions have been turned down by her husband Kenji, longs for a way to solve their sexless marriage. On the other hand, Shoko, a career oriented woman, is annoyed by the constant sexual attention she receives from her husband Yoshihiko, who believes fulfilling Shoko’s sexual needs is the greatest expression of love. When a chance meeting brings Kenji and Shoko together in a passionate affair, they suddenly find themselves re-examining their lives and struggling to understand what is truly important.

He is rejected by his sister when the brother floats the idea that their father move from his house to her apartment. The father has other ideas however and shows up unannounced at her doorstep with his belongings. She has little space, a boyfriend she lives with it and does not need a cranky father.

A series of short stories all about dogs.

The cockroaches of Saito's apartment live in peace with their human host, who gives them lots of space to breed and plenty of leftovers to munch on. In the midst of these high living times, Naomi and Ichiro plan to get married and start a family. But when a hard-bitten stranger roach named Hans appears with news of war with the humans across the lawn, it foretells disruption-not only of Naomi and Ichiro's relationship, but of the hive's entire way of life.

Set at a movie theater in a small village around 100 years ago. Silent films are play at the movie theater. A young man aspires to become a benshi, a performer that provides live narration to silent films.

Traveling chef Ryuji is called back to Tokyo to help save his late teacher’s restaurant. With the help of his close friend Kinu, Ryuji must complete the training of Wataru — the apprentice chosen by his late teacher to become the next master chef — in the art of culinary excellence and running a successful business.

Anthology film. "What's Wrong with Eating?" Numayama Kazuki is always complaining about his wife's, Atsugi Shizuka, body shape. Because of that Shizuka tries her best to restrict her diet and please Kazuki. "It's So Far Away!" Karuma Sae is an office lady who works in the city center but lives with her family in a house far away from her work. Because she is always rushing to catch the last train, she can never enjoy a decent date with her boyfriend, Oishi Mamoru. Her father is also always interfering in her life, so she can't appreciate the city life and isn't happy. "Get Ready to Drive!" Masuko is a new taxi driver in Tokyo who is very stressed from dealing with the behavior of some passengers. One night he drives a very beautiful drunk hostess home. "What Is English?" Kosaka Shigeru, a businessman, was transferred to a Chicago branch factory. He tried hard to learn English, practicing day and night, but couldn't improve as much as he expected.

Three outsiders meet by chance and try to chase their dreams despite all odds. However, things take a dramatic turn when they run into trouble with the Yakuza.

Four people are discovered brutally murdered in an up-scale high-rise apartment. All the victims appear to be family, but as the investigation deepens it is discovered that one of the victims isn't related to the family.

Centered around typical Japanese food, a solitary salesman travelling through the country for business purposes, eats at its various establishments and experiences the various delicacies of Japanese cuisine.

Oshin is a Japanese serialized morning television drama, which aired on broadcaster NHK from April 4, 1983 to March 31, 1984. The series follows the life of Shin Tanokura during the Meiji period up to the early 1980s. Shin was called "Oshin", which is an archaic Japanese cognomen.

Aki Amano, a high-school girl from Tokyo moves to the Sanriku Coast in the Tohoku region to become a female diver. She becomes a local idol, then returns to Tokyo to try to become a real idol, and finally returns to Tohoku to help revitalize the area after the Great East Japan earthquake.

Ohisama is a Japanese television drama that aired on NHK in 2011 in the Asadora time slot. Set in Nagano prefecture, "Ohisama" covers the life of Yoko Sudo (Mao Inoue) through World War II. Yoko Sudo with her smile is able to bring brightness to those around her & she follows her mother's motif to laugh through the hard times. During the onset of WW II, Yoko is a high school student and "Ohisama" follows her as she eventually becomes a teacher and then gets married and has a child. Yoko then opens a soba restaurant with her student. --asianwiki

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.

Sky High is a live-action, supernatural Japanese television drama series, starring actress and model, Yumiko Shaku. It aired in Japan, first run, from 2003 to 2004, and was popular enough to spawn the 2003 feature film of the same name. Both are based on the Japanese manga, Skyhigh. Shaku stars as Izuko, the Guardian of the Gate to the afterlife. The basic premise of the television series is somewhat similar in concept to the American series, Ghost Whisperer, in which the protagonist must use her powers to guide the dead on their journey to the afterlife by helping them determine the meaning or circumstance of their death. However, in Izuko's case, no matter how hard she tries, her guidance does not always result in a happy ending.

Makoto Masaki and Haruko Kogetsu are both 29 years old and single. Since they were children, they have passed each other at various places like on the beach and shrines. Yet, the two are not aware of each other at all. One day, a man appears in front of Makoto Masaki and introduces himself as God. He tells Makoto Masaki about his destined soul mate and that she works next door. When he faces Haruko Kogetsu, he tells her "I'm your destiny."

Nakajima looks up to his father, who was a war photographer, but can only get a job as an assistant for gravure magazines. Mizuno is a provisional high school teacher, currently on probation. Nishimura is Mizuno's best friend, whose boyfriend has been avoiding her since she discovered she was pregnant. Ichihara works at a magazine where he is being blackmailed into sexual favours by his chief editor. Park, on Twitter, takes on the persona of a doctor, when he is actually working at a company that sells medical equipment to disinterested doctors, and at the same time, trying to take care of his younger sister. This is a story about the blossoming friendship of five young people who were brought together by Twitter, and their journey to finding honesty with each other and with themselves.

Hiroshi Tanaka moves to Tokyo after being laid off from his job.

Set in a sake brewery in Niigata, from the Taisho to the Showa period, Retsu is a visually impaired girl with a strong will to make her own way in the world. Her aunt, Saho, watches over and supports her. The series centered on two women with opposing positions and personalities, depicting "home" as a member of pre-war Japanese society, along with a variety of human figures.

Sunday night TV documentary program that heightens the spirits bringing a positive message to start the upcoming week by showcasing the routine and life of people, both famous and regular, including the bits of joy and struggle that go along into making something special. Scientifics, actors, craftsman and people in all fields share their experience.

Don't you want to meet with a woman who falls in love, likes to dress up, and arrests felonious offenses? What if she fights for outrageousness of the society with the sounds of the howling siren, and yet, enjoys her love life and friendship? This is how the 21st century-woman with strong will and gentleness would be like. And without doubt, attractive woman are to be surrounded by attractive guys.

The story focuses on 26-year-old Rika (Ueto), a single editor who is unskilled in love. The story starts when a man (Uchino) appears before her, telling her that he is her husband from 10 years in the future. He informs her that she will meet the young version of himself in a few days, but begs her not to marry him. Tokyograph

~~ Adapted from the novel of the same title by Yamasaki Toyoko (山崎豊子)

"Gakeppuchi no Eri" describes the turbulent life of Eriko (Yamada), who has been extremely poor since childhood, due to the debt left by her parents. Despite constant misfortune, she aims to achieve happiness and money by moving to Tokyo to pursue life as a manga artist. --Tokyograph