Eternal First Love

Tomokazu Shudo has his first ever crush on Sugina Mayama, a senior student. Tomokazu has troubles confessing his feelings to the popular student, but one day, he is invited to the research lab where Sugina Mayama works. Tomokazu hopes to use this meeting to express his true feelings for her. To Tomokazu's surprise, when he arrives he first sees a big wooden box in the middle of the dark lab. Sugina tells Tomokazu that he looks scared and then proceeds to push Tomokazu into the box!

Master chef Kate Armstrong runs her life and her kitchen with intimidating intensity. However, a recipe for disaster may be in the works when she becomes the guardian of her young niece while crossing forks with the brash sous-chef who just joined her staff. Though romance blooms in the face of rivalry, Kate needs to look outside the kitchen to find true happiness.

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

Kihachi, an unemployed worker, wanders around the industrial flatlands of Tokyo's Koto district with his two young sons, Zenko and Masako. He is unable to find a job and has to rely on his sons catching stray dogs to earn reward money for their meals. As days go by, Kihachi and the boys no longer have enough money to stay at an inn for the night. Luckily for him, he encounters an old friend, Otsune, who finds him a job and allows them to stay at her eatery house.

Sanpei is a young boy who lives with his grandpa in a small village in Akita and they both love fishing and are masters at it. His sister moved to Tokyo when their father died and blames it on the fishing. She thinks it's just a stupid play. Gyoshin, a bass professional fisher who lives and competes in America is in a slump and comes to the small village to try to find the joy of fishing again. Together, they all go to find the legendary big char of Yonakidani (The Crying Valley of The Night), which Sanpei's father once saw, but could never catch, before he died.

Minako, a Tokyo housewife, is depressed that everyone has an active life outside the home except her. Taking her inspiration from TV reports of a hitch-hiking chainsaw murderer, Minako decides to spice up her life by finding a young lover and running off with him by faking her kidnapping. While her family frets and worries, Minako has a wonderful time. Eventually, though, she decides it's time to go back to her family. Her lover, however, isn't ready for the fun to end, and Minako's fake kidnapping soon becomes all too real.

What is the life of a Geisha like once her beauty has faded and she has retired? Kin has saved her money, and has become a wealthy money-lender, spending her days cold-heartedly collecting debts. Even her best friends, Tomi, Nobu, and Tamae, who were her fellow Geisha, are now indebted to her. For all of them, the glamor of their young lives has passed; Tomi and Tamae have children, but their children have disappointed them. Kin has two former lovers who still pursue her; one she wants to see, and the other she doesn't. But even the one she remembers fondly, when he shows up, proves to be a disappointment.

Nana is 19 and lives in a corner of Tokyo. Her birth mother and Marin, a girl the same age who she loves, were the only people she could trust. Nana confronts them in her yearning for love, but the world does not give it to her. With her whole life ahead of her, Nana struggles, suffers, and begins a search for the true meaning of love.

Adapted from a sex-stuffed cult novel, LALAPIPO (a play on the phrase “A Lot of People”) follows divergent seedy strands of sexual and narrative spaghetti through the sticky Tokyo night. There’s a chubby freelance writer who’s so obsessed with masturbating to the sound of his upstairs neighbors going at it that he forgets to deal with his own love life and when he finally does have sex he is immediately filled with self-loathing. The upstairs neighbor’s story then splits off like an amoeba: she’s an office lady seduced by a “talent scout” who is falling down the sex industry ladder, moving from hostess, to massage girl, to private karaoke attendant. The talent scout’s story then splits off and runs in its own direction, revealing the sorry state of this young pimp’s soul. From there, the movie takes more and more time to consider the lives of more and more characters until the entire Japanese sex industry is filled with the wailing of lost souls.

The Master’s late-night diner welcomes a woman troubled by funeral fans, an elderly scam victim, and a noodle delivery man struggling with love.

"You will die six hours later." Keishi, a youth who proclaims himself a seer, suddenly says this to Mio, who is walking along the streets of Shibuya. At first, Mio scoffs at it as nonsense but ever since her acquaintance was murdered a few days ago, she realises that she has also become a victim of a stalker. Half believing it, she decides to hang around with Keishi. Later, with the help of Sawaki, a detective she knows, the stalker is identified. She thinks the case is closed but a totally unexpected person attacks her...

Set within music field, this film depicts a love story between a 25-year-old sound engineer and 16-year-old high school student Riko, who posessess a gifted voice. 25-year-old sound engineer Aki is a member of popular band "Crude Play," but right after the band decides to make their major record debut Aki quits the band. But, Aki provides his music to Crude Play under the name of producer Soichiro. Aki begins to date Riko, whose father runs a fruit and vegetable shop. Riko doesn't know about Aki's background, but she likes to listen to him hum. Riko is in a band herself, with childhood friend Yuichi and Sota. One day she is scouted by producer Soichiro.

Shunsuke has fallen for his colleague Hinako, but she is engaged albeit in a long-distance relationship. She and her boyfriend meet on the odd weekends. She feels lonely at times. When one evening they are both working late and still in the office Shunsuke throws caution to the win, reveals his feelings, makes a pass and plants a kiss on Hinako. Things should make their natural progression from there if nature takes its course, but then again they chart a different course.

Real estate rising star Molly, who breaks up with Jackson, a smitten but seeming underachiever, on Valentine’s Day because he may have lied to her. Molly moves to New Mexico for a high-profile promotion and soon finds herself close to being engaged to the generous but immature Greg. In a twist of fate, a proposed business deal for a trendy winery puts Molly face-to-face again with the remorseful Jackson, who has a few more surprises for the woman he still loves.

Three stories are told, respectively set in Tokyo, Taipei, and Shanghai. The first two stories are about a Japanese person and a Taiwanese person. The last one is set in Shanghai with a story about a Japanese man and a Chinese woman. Some of the characters can speak Japanese and some of them Mandarin. Each story encompasses an experience of a foreigner, either from Japan ,Taiwan or China, with a native of the opposite country.

Seri, an unknown yet talented female chef from the country, arrives in Tokyo to work at French restaurant, Etoire, but discovers that they have gone out of business due to the departure of their main chef. Together with the restaurant's former manager, she opens a French restaurant of her own and begins to recreate the flavors her late father mastered as a famous gourmet chef. Unfortunately, Etoire returns with an unscrupulous manager, and to make matters worse, Seri learns that it happens to be owned by her birth mother living in Paris who she hasn't seen since she was a child. Seri wonders if her passion and skill will be enough to succeed. --TBS

19-year-old Saeki Rei (Takei Emi) comes to Tokyo. Rei’s redeeming traits are her cheerfulness and distinctive positivity, but everything she does is always unheard of and unsuccessful. Because this foolhardiness causes trouble to the people around her each time, she ends up being called a girl who is unable to read situations. Rei moves to Tokyo with neither a dream nor goal, and is reunited with her father Suzuki Takuya (Watabe Atsuro) who abandoned her mother and her 15 years ago. Although she opposes her father for making her mother miserable, his dissolute life rouses her into action. “This won’t do. I’ve to make this person happy or I can’t move on with my own life!” And so, she runs about with the aim of getting her father remarried in her first experience living in Tokyo. With cheerfulness and positivity, she overcomes various difficulties and slowly changes the people around her too.

Kagura Akane is the only daughter of a family who runs a teppanyaki place in downtown Tokyo. Akane had always been proud of her father Tetsuma, who was called the "No.1 teppanyaki chef in Japan." Growing up in such an environment, she naturally acquired "teppanyaki skills." However, when her mother died of illness, her father lost his energy to work and disappeared. Since then, Akane has managed and protected the restaurant all by herself. One day, out of the blue, she is visited by Erena, the rich daughter of a major food company, who orders Akane to move out at once because her father had borrowed money against his restaurant. Though feeling disappointed, Akane makes up her mind to close the store. But when her father's friend, Kurogane, shows her "Ittetsu," a grilling plate that Akane's father cherished, it reignites her passion towards teppanyaki.

Set in the Ryukyu Kingdom during the latter days of the Tokugawa shogunate, a woman takes the guise of a Eunuch to pass a government examination. She eventually becomes a government official still in the disguise of a man.

Four young people have been arrested for crimes they did not commit. When one of them learns that his daughter is in a critical condition because of an incurable heart ailment, he decides to break out of the jail. He is joined by three other prisoners who also decide to break out of jail. Although their motives and backgrounds are different, all of them are innocent and there are reasons why they cannot wait till their release. They have to get out of jail as soon as they can. So they band together and begin to plan their escape in order to accomplish their goals. Bound for Tokyo, they have to overcome frequent challenges for the sake of their families and loved ones.

Makoto is a promising oarsman at a University regatta team. One day, he loses his best friend by a tragic accident which he believes and blames himself for the very cause. Although he once leaves the team out of tremendous sense of responsibility, he finally decides to return by the encouragement of Misao and his teammates, and moreover, for the love and passion of regatta. He is determined than ever to become a top class oarsman and struggles to fulfill his dream to participate in the Olympic games. Through the severe practices and competitions of regatta, Makoto learns the bitterness and difficulties of life. Rivalry with teammates, agonies of love and friendship.

Koizumi Akira, a son of a popular songstress, travels to a small-town cinema in far-off Kochi Prefecture to watch the closing movie before the theatre shuts its doors forever. The movie takes place in the same village but during the Showa 30s (1950s), in the years following the war. The story follows a young soldier who washes ashore on the beach one day, having lost his memory. He is "adopted" by the family who owns the village cinema and given the name Shimanto Taro. Although his past remains a mystery, Taro becomes good friends with many of the villagers, discovering his love for movies and falling in love with a feisty young girl.

Set in an old prestigious ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) in a small town in the center of Tokyo, a young itamae (cook for Japanese dishes) struggles his life, love and work while the long-lasted ryotei and the beloved old town face the change to survive the time. This heartwarming drama shows the intimate relationship of the community that has been lost nowadays, asks what the most important things in your life is, and tells how difficult it is to make a decision. The story is told in the form of a letter from him to his unknown father with lots of humor and love.

Six agriculture students travel north to Hokkaido for first-hand training and experience in a farm setting. The story focuses not only on their daily life and their growth as young men and women, but also on the economic situation in the region, which received national attention earlier this year when the national government cut off aid to the struggling city of Yubari.

Asahi Mikuri‎ya works at a photography studio, located near the sea. In the past, Asahi Mikuri‎ya dreamed of becoming a famous photographer, but now he as a cameraman for weddings and school events. Asahi Mikuri‎ya was also in love with a woman, but she suddenly left him. Natsuki Chiyohara‎ then appears in Asahi's life. Natsuki works as a manager at a well known Italian restaurant in Tokyo. During the worst moment in her life, when her boyfriend dumps her, Asahi appears and even takes a picture of that moment. Natsuki begins work as a chef at the "House of Sea," located in the same seaside town where Asahi lives. Asahi's former senior classmate runs the restaurant. Natsuki and Asahi have their past in common and they begin to get closer. Meanwhile, Taniyama is Asahi's former junior classmates. She holds feelings for Asahi.

Just an ordinary teenager, Kobeni Yonomori receives quite the surprise on her 16th birthday—a fiancé and a sister-in-law she never even knew she had. As a result of an arrangement that her late grandfather made, Hakuya Mitsumine and his younger sister Mashiro have moved from their countryside home to the Yonomori household in order to deepen their relationship with their new family members. This story follows Kobeni's "love life" with Hakuya as she tries her best to adjust to the abrupt changes forced upon her. However, as some extraordinary secrets regarding the siblings come to light, Kobeni will find her life changed forever.

Agetarou works at his family's tonkatsu restaurant in Shibuya, but he's not very excited by the work. One day, he takes a delivery to the staff of a night club, and the worker lets him in to enjoy the club for a while. Agetarou finds that he loves the club, with its relaxed people and cute girls, all enjoying the music supplied by the DJ. He continues going to the club, until the night comes when the guest American DJ Big Master Fly puts on a show. Agetarou is inspired by Big Master Fly, and realizes that the groove of being a DJ is very similar to the groove of being a tonkatsu chef. Now Agetarou is determined to master both disciplines, though he is most excited to become a DJ!

Azu Takamori is 30-years-old and married to Junpei. They have a 5-year-old daughter. She runs a nail shop out of her house. Azu Takamori has a happy life, but she is not satisfied with her marriage. Her husband is more like a family lover than a lover. One day, Junpei comes home with bruises on his face. He had an affair with a female co-worker and the woman's husband found out about their affair. Junpei's bruises are from the other woman's husband. Azu Takamori happy life collapses. She is filled with anguish, but tries to restart life with her husband. They face a difficult situation.

Nagao Kanji works for an advertising agency in his hometown of Ehime Prefecture. He is assigned to the Tokyo sales department where his colleague Akana Rika takes care of his work. One day, Kanji is invited to drinks by Mikami Kenichi, a former classmate from his hometown who is now in Tokyo, and he is also reunited with Sekiguchi Satomi who has feelings for him. However, Rika ends up joining them when she delivers Kanji’s wallet which he had left in office. On the way back, Rika tells him, “Kanchi, shall we kiss?” and he is rattled. There have been rumours in office that Rika is in a relationship with their boss Waga Natsuki - JDrama Weblog

Teruko, a third year university student, comes across as a forthright and sunny girl but is in truth a rather timid person. She's also the sort who easily gets carried away and does things impetuously only to regret her actions later. Influenced by her older brother who has taken to wandering the world, Teruko too hopes to make her own journey one day but she lacks the courage, content to live the life of a normal university student ... However, she's also plagued with the insecurity of having done nothing she can be proud of in her lifetime, and mustering all her courage embarks on a solo trip to India ... While in India, she meets a fellow backpacker, Shingo. Teruko first regards Shingo as a frivolous person but as his encouraging words clear her hesitation and touches her, she falls in love with him.