Best movies & TV Shows like Hanako & Anne

Rei Iwatsuki moved from her hometown Kōchi to Tokyo to pursue her dreams. On arrival, she found a job as a waitress in a restaurant and met guitarist Ryuuji Shintani. Ryuuji liked her voice and invited her to join his band as the vocalist, The Survival Company (also known as Sabakan). The two started a relationship but then broke off when Rei wanted to write her own songs. Rei met other girls also working in the restaurant, Hirono, Ryoko and Maki, all in pursuit of their own dreams, and became good friends with all of them. One day, Rei receives news that Takashi was seen in New York and she decides to go look for him...

Hinata is murdered again by the Tokyo Manjikai Gang in front of Takemichi. In order to save Hinata, Takemichi travels 10 years back in time again. Takemichi has to change a key case that can save Hinata. The key case involves a sad incident that occurred to 6 men, who later formed the Tokyo Manjikai Gang.

The long-awaited sequel to "Tokyo Revengers" will be released in two parts, before and after the film. Once again, Hinata is killed in front of Takemichi's very eyes by the now-militarized Tokyo Manjikai.

A bruised and battered corpse in Shibuya, Tokyo has the attention of the local cops. A veteran detective is assigned to the case. The last utterance of the victim is one clue that detective Imanishi has to work on. Yet, the case becomes more tangled quickly. Elsewhere, a prodigy named Waga Eiryo is composing an orchestral piece. Remake of The Castle of Sand (1974).

In 1969, Kenji, an elementary school kid and his friends built a secret base during their summer holidays. They fantasized that they had to fight villains who were out to conquer the world and wrote them in the Book of Prophecies. Years later in 1997, Kenji becomes a convenience store manager and leads a regular life after giving up his dreams to become a rock star. His boring life is suddenly turned upside down when his old classmate dies mysteriously and an entire family in the neighbourhood disappears. At the same time, a religious cult and its mysterious leader, Friend emerges and a strange chain of events duplicating exactly the events described in the Book of Prophecies follow. Is this the beginning of the end of the world? Who is Friend?

Cyborg She follows the burgeoning romance between an ordinary college student and his sassy love interest - who happens to be a time-traveling cyborg with superhuman powers. One day, a beautiful cyborg girl appears in front of a dull university student. Even though the cyborg starts to like him, she can’t truly feel emotions, so the boy has no choice but to say goodbye. Missing her, he continues his lonely existence. One day, a disastrous earthquake hits Tokyo and the cyborg girl saves his life. In that moment, she starts to have feelings like a real human being.

A wandering tough biker girl aids a female delinquent gang in their battles against an all-male Seiyu group over a fixed boxing match.

The stage of this work is Saitama, a suburb of Tokyo in the early Heisei period. Immediately after the bubble burst gangster countermeasures law, there were gangsters who defended the last territory and young people who freely controlled the city. The youth conflict escalated day by day and became a force that surpassed the yakuza, and the runaways were sent to juvenile prisons one after another, where exclusive rules awaited.

Hirayama seems utterly content with his simple life as a cleaner of toilets in Tokyo. Outside of his very structured everyday routine he enjoys his passion for music and for books. And he loves trees and takes photos of them. A series of unexpected encounters gradually reveal more of his past.

Manami is captured by blood thirsty trigger happy vampires, and taken to their hotel, where they keep prisoners as future meals. They are all instructed to find a partner to survive, when a vampire clan from Transylvania interferes.

Tokyo Friends is a Japanese television drama released on June 3, 2005. Unlike many other dramas, it was never aired on TV but released as a set of 3 DVDs. Volumes one and two contain the first 4 episodes while volume three contains the last episode. Each episode is approximately 70 minutes. The Tokyo Friends Premium Box was also released which includes all 5 episodes, a bonus DVD, and 12 postcards. Although this is a very typical Tokyo-story and was never aired on TV, it was quite successful probably because it was Ai Otsuka's debut as an actress.

A struggling lawyer, Kenji Sakuragi, takes a position at private school Tatsuyama Gakuen to pay off his debts. Kenji decides to try to turn this hopeless school into one of the elite institutions in Japan to help rejuvenate his career. His barometer of success will be to get five of his students admitted to the prestigious Tokyo University the following year. But rather than cramming them with lots of general information, his down-to-earth class concentrates on unknown techniques for passing the entrance examination and how to live a good life in these turbulent times. His refreshing outlook and strategy may just be what is needed to turn around the future prospects of himself and his students and teach the rest of us a thing or two as well!

Takemoto Yuuta, Mayama Takumi, and Morita Shinobu are college students who share the small apartment. Even though they live in poverty, the three of them are able to obtain pleasure through small things in life. The story follows these characters' life stories as poor college students, as well as their love lives when a short but talented 18 year old girl called Hanamoto Hagumi appears.

Set in a small restaurant in the corner of a shopping district. The unusual eatery is only open after midnight, and its standard menu consists of just a single choice. However, the customers still come for the amusing chatter and the proprietor's willingness to cook any dish that they request. This drama depicts the lives of the restaurant's patrons, including a yakuza, an unsuccessful actor, a group of office ladies, a newspaper delivery boy, and a stripper.

At a high school entrance ceremony, high school student Kotoko Aihara, who isn't that smart, notices pretty boy Naoki Irie. She falls in love with him immediately. Kotoko initially doesn't express her feelings to him, but finally has a chance to tell him how she feels. Unfortunately, Naoki turns Kotoko down, saying "I don't like dumb women." One day, Kotoko Aihara's house is severely damaged by an earthquake. Until the house is rebuilt, Kotoko Aihara and her father decide to live with her father's friend. When Kotoko Aihara moves to her new temporary house, she is surprised to learn that Naoki Irie lives there as well.

Amachan is the 88th 2013 NHK asadora written by Kankuro Kudo (Tiger and Dragon, Unobore Deka). It's about Amano Aki (Nounen Rena), a 16 year old girl from Tokyo who goes to her mother's former home in Sodegahama, a fishing village in Kitasanriku, Iwate prefecture for the summer break. She falls in love with the sea and its people, and decides to stay on to become an Ama (women divers who fetch clams and sea urchins for tourists) just like her grandmother, Natsu (Miyamoto Nobuko). Her decision is welcomed wholeheartedly by Natsu and the other locals. However, her mother Haruko (Koizumi Kyoko) does not like the idea at first. She has a strained relationship with Natsu, and her extreme dislike of the sea, diving and the countryside is one of the reasons why she left her hometown 24 years ago. Eventually, she decides to stay in Sodegahama with Aki, considering that she is contemplating on getting a divorce anyway and does not want to go back to her husband in Tokyo. She also notices that it might be good for Aki for she seems livelier and happier in Kitasanriku than in Tokyo. The road towards becoming a full-fledged Ama-san is tough for Aki as she encounters tests and hurdles. One day, a video of her as an Ama gets uploaded in the city's tourism website, transforming an ordinary high school girl into an overnight Internet sensation. Suddenly she is called upon to use this opportunity to attract tourists to a city suffering from depopulation.

At present, over 47% of the male population in Japan aged between 30 ~ 34 are single. While for women, the no. goes up to 60% for those in their late twenties. It is not that they are unable to get married. Rather, they all choose to remain single, as they believe that marriage is not the be all and end all. Life holds more promising things beyond marriage, and thus they are all celebrating life as a single. This drama takes a look at life from the perspectives of these men and women. Hoshino Mamoru is the President of a film production company, having taken over the position from his father. He is an excellent creative director, but he detests chaos and hence prefers to remain single. His brother, Susumu, works at the same company, taking care of the business side of things. Currently undergoing divorce proceedings, Susumu has had to move out of his marital home. Haruno Yuki is disillusioned with men, after having gone through several failed relationships. She wasn't making great strides in her career either, and so one day, she decided to quit her job and pursue her dream of becoming a scriptwriter. In order to pay the bills, she takes on a part-time job at a maid agency. Before she knows it, she gets her chance to make her dream come true! It could be Fate, or just plain coincidence, but the 3 of them are plunged into each other's lives; The "Affluent Single", the "Divorced Hero" and the "Marriage Refugee". Will a pivotal moment happen upon them? Will the "Affluent Single" decide to give wedded bliss a chance?

Seeking an escape from his mundane life, high-schooler Keita Amishima stumbles into the secret life of an agent of UNDER ANCHOR - a covert organisation combating cyber terrorism. Keita isn't alone, as he is partnered with an A.I. - the Phone Braver "Seven". Together, Keita and Seven work to counter cyber crimes, all the while dealing with the machinations of a rogue Phone Braver, "Zero One".

The First Investigative Division is the star unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Jun'ichi Ōiwa, the head of the division, leads around 400 elite detectives. He has an extremely heavy responsibility: attends initial investigations at the scenes of all brutal crimes that occur within the metropolis, decides on the course of action of the investigations at the same time as he directs many investigation task forces and gets into investigations himself at the critical phase. However, Ōiwa is definitely not a superman. Amid his suffering, Ōiwa overcomes this grave responsibility and is quite simply a "life-size hero" and "ideal boss" to his subordinates.

In 1930 and as a young child, Tsuneko Kohashi lives at Enshu in Shizuoka Prefecture. She has a happy life with her parents and two younger sisters. Things change after her father dies from tuberculosis. Her father asked Tsuneko Kohashi to take care of the family in his place. Due to financial difficulties, her mother Kimiko decides to move the family to Tokyo where Tsuneko's grandmother lives.

Freelance writer Harada Ririko and former lecturer on folklore Shimano Hitoshi go around to Tokyo’s hidden spots with horror stories. They encounter many apparitions in places that everyone knows about in the 23 wards. There is the office lady who wanders the subterranean drains of Shibuya ward in search of her missing mother. The mistress who hides a dead body in Koto ward’s Yume no Shima. The riddle of the Ikebukuro woman and romance in old age. The secret of the female CEO who encounter an apparition in a late night taxi plying Minato ward. The doctor’s wife whose fate is at the mercy of Itabashi ward’s tree which is supposed to severe ties between man and woman. The mystery of a woman and the Suzugamori execution grounds related to a crime scene in Shinagawa ward.

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

With his two friends, a video-game-obsessed young man finds himself in a strange version of Tokyo where they must compete in dangerous games to win.

45-year-old Mitsuo Komae works for an advertising company. He gets demoted from the head office in Tokyo to a branch office in the province. He has to leave his wife and daughter in Tokyo to work at the branch office. There, Mitsuo Komae begins work as the branch office manager which only has 2 employees. Needing to pay for the mortgage on his house and support his student daughter, he seeks ways to increase sales. One day, Mitsuo Komae receives a phone call from a client. The client is CEO Ryuzaki. Mitsuo Komae’s branch office made leaflets for CEO Ryuzaki's company, but a silly mistake was done in the leaflets. CEO Ryuzaki is furious. Making things even worse, CEO Ryuzaki is a yakuza. Mitsuo Komae is in big trouble.

In the year 2020, two alien brothers are on a mission. To learn about humans, they must interact with them. What will they discover in Tokyo?

What would you do to pursue your passion? For Hiyori Suzumi, it’s leaving her simple rural hometown for the bustling city of Tokyo to join Sakuragaoka High School’s track team. Between being a manager-in-training for two cutthroat schoolboy idols, track, and friends, Hiyori shows no signs of slowing down.

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.

Higa Nobuko was born and raised with her four siblings in a farmhouse in the "Yanbaru region" in the northern part of the main island of Okinawa. She aims to become a chef drawing inspiration from Okinawan cuisine. The four siblings follow very different paths, but the memories of their hometown connect their hearts and they're able to overcome their hardships as a family.

Born over a tofu shop in Osaka, twin sisters Reiko and Kyoko have very different characters. Reiko is diligent, and longs for a secure, middle class lifestyle. Kyoko is a free spirit, who seeks thrills and adventure.

The spirit Hanako-kun and his human assistant, first-year student Nene Yashiro, keep the peace between supernatural forces and the students of Kamome Academy. When they’re not fighting to maintain balance between the living and spirit worlds, how do they spend their time? Join Hanako-kun and Nene on their adventures after school!

The 61st NHK Asadora Drama is Asuka. Set in Kyoto in the home of a traditional Japanese candy-maker, Asuka is the story of one young girl's dream to one day walk in her father's shoes and become a top candy-maker in the male-dominated world of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Asuka grows to be a healthy, adventurous young girl with a deep curiosity and, a desire to become a candy-maker like her father. This NHK drama is one of the best in years with an excellent cast, a well-developed story based on extensive research into the traditional worlds of candy making and the tea ceremony in Kyoto, and beautiful scenery and settings in Kyoto and the surrounding areas.

This is the story of a young mother, Kitayama Nazuna, and her son Taiyo from Ohma, a small town at the tip of a peninsula in Aomori. Taiyo's father, Murai Kento had aspirations to be a professional boxer but due to a detached retina he was forced to abandon his dream. Leaving Nazuna behind, he left for America, with another woman, to get treatment for his eye-problem, unaware that Nazuna was pregnant. As his life is boxing he quickly returns to the ring after the operation turns out to be successful and once again he dreams of becoming a professional boxer. However, success eludes him and he returns home to Japan. Nazuna meanwhile has given birth to her son and moved to Tokyo to search for Kento. By chance she finds Kento. When discovers he has become a father, he tries to make up for lost time. The show picks up their story as Nazuna, Taiyo and Kento begin family life together. Of course things are not as simple as they appear.

Mizuki is a would-be actress who has yet to attain her goal, struggles to keep the dream in her heart alive while dealing with the reality of her normal life, far away from lights, cameras, and action she longs for. Despite words of warnings from her family, which includes her birth and step mothers, intended to keep her from reaching her destiny, she actually makes it onto a set of one of the film companies in Tokyo. She experiences the peaks and valleys of a starting actress, but receives a blow when news of the company collapses and eventually closes. Mizuki returns home, but, the fire once lit, still burns.