Best movies & TV Shows like Life's Punchline

Five different directors adapt the works of Japanese author Otsuichi in this collection of unconventional live-action and animated shorts. A woman is murdered under odd circumstances in the title film, "Zoo"; twin sisters are treated differently in "Kazari and Yoko"; two siblings find themselves trapped in "Seven Rooms"; a survivor learns about life and death in "When the Sun Shines"; and parents lose the ability to see each other in "So Far."

In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.

Shishikari is a remote island, which is behind the times. The island suffers from a decreasing population and declining industries. Keita Izumi (Tatsuya Fujiwara) begins to produce black fig on Shishikari Island. Because of his well received product, the island is close to receiving a 5 billion yen grant from the government, which is part of the goverment's policy to reinvigorate rural economy. The residents of the island are excited, but their peaceful days changes by the appearance of Mutsuo Komisaka. Keita Izumi and his friends Jun Tanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) and Rookie Police Officer Shinichiro Moriya are suspicious about him. One night, Keita Izumi's daughter goes missing. Due to that, Keita Izumi, Jun Tanabe and Shinichiro Moriya happen to kill Mutsuo Komisaka. They decide to hide Mutsuo Komisaka’s murder to protect the future of the island and their families. It turns out Mutsuo Komisaka was a psycho killer. Police officers come to Shishikari Island to catch Mutsuo Komisaka.

High school student Saya Toma lost her parents and younger brother in an airplane accident. Detective Akio Kondo came and told her "your family has a high possibility that they were killed by people who have spec." That was the first time she heard of "spec". 6 years later, Saya Toma, who has never forgotten what the Detective said, decides to become a detective. She returns to Japan after receiving training by the FBI in the United States. Saya Toma is assigned to work unsolved cases in the Public Security Bureau. Meanwhile, because of Satoshi Chii's scheme, Juichi Ninomae considers Saya Toma his parents' enemy and tries to push her to the edge. Satoshi Chii's scheme has also caused Saya Toma and Juichi Ninomae to forget that they are brother and sister. The siblings are headed to a life-staking fight. A girl named Maho Ueno becomes involved in their fight. To protect Maho Ueno, Saya Toma uses "spec".

Actor Kamiki Ryunosuke (21) takes an 6 day travel for the length of 450 kilometers by train in Vietnam. Renowned as a railway fan, Kamiki will have chance to travel by various types of trains from the normal ones to night sleep ones to see the charm of foreign countries.

The story of a school festival that is being jointly organized by Tadakuni, Yoshitake, and Hidenori's all-boys school and an adjacent all-girls school. At an all boys high school, Tadakuni (Masaki Suda), Yoshitake (Shuhei Nomura) and Hidenori (Ryo Yoshizawa) are close friends and think usually all day about girls. Their high school then co-hosts a school festival with an all girls high school.

Osanai Kei enjoys a peaceful and happy life with his wife Osanai Kozue and daughter Osanai Ruri, but his wife and daughter die in an accident. Osanai Kei's life suddenly changes. One day, a man named Misumi Akihiko visits Osanai Kei. Misumi Akihiko tells him that on the day Osanai Kozue and Osanai Ruri died, Osanai Ruri, who was a complete stranger to him, was coming to see him. Misumi Akihiko tells him about a woman named Masaki Ruri, who he once loved. These people, who don't seem related, connect under the name of love.

Set one year after the fight between detectives Saya Toma, Takeru Sebumi, and Satoshi Chii. More confrontations ensues between the detectives at the Unidentified Crimes Unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Takeru Sebumi returns after taking a break due to his eye problems. Kenzo Ichiyanagi is appointed section chief, while Kotaro Nonomura is demoted. New member Shu Kikkawa joins the team.

Muraki Shingo has top notch skills as a chef, but as a culinary arts teacher, he is a novice and inexperienced. A former chef, Muraki has turned around to become a temporary teaching staff at a local high school in order to open a "high school students' restaurant". He encourages students who have no dreams or hope, and matures together with them through the operation of a restaurant and instructions in cooking.

Minoru Sanada is a cameraman with little skills in his profession. His wife Megumi runs a cafe, but the cafe doesn't have any customers. Yet, the couple has 8 chidren.

Like the original series, "SPEC" will revolve around a pair of police detectives as part of a special division solving difficult cases (Mishou). Touma Saya is a woman with an IQ of 201 and an inability to "read the atmosphere" in social situations. Due to a previous case, her left arm is in a sling. Her partner Sebumi Takeru used to be the star performer of the Metropolitan Police. After some incident however, he was transferred to Mishou. Those two track down offenders with special abilities(SPEC) who managed to get away with their crimes.

After graduating from high school, Sota Koyurugi studies bakery at an institute. In high school, he fell in love with beautiful Saeko. Because of Sota's effort, he is able to have a romantic relationship with Saeko right before Christmas. Saeko though tells Sota that she will be unable to meet him on Valentine's Day, but can meet him on the day before Valentine's Day. On that day, Sota gives Saeko chocolate that he made, but she doesn't accept his gift. Saeko tells him that she didn't think they were dating. Sota is heartbroken, but he doesn't give up hope. To make Saeko love him, he travels to France with little money and studies chocolate there. This is because Saeko loves chocolate. 5 years later, Sota becomes a first-class Chocolatier. Now back in Japan, Sota opens his very own store.

Shinigami-kun, alias grim reaper #413, is a rookie who pronounces the death of those scheduled to die and brings souls to the nether world. He would appear with the signature phrase “Congratulations! I’m here to call on you” although it is hard to say how this can be a happy occasion, and watch over the dying. To a grim reaper, persuading people attempting to commit suicide and preventing unforeseen deaths is also an important task. But because #413 is new to this grim reaper work, he has a tendency to lean towards humans in his judgments, break the rules of the nether world and get reprimanded by his superior.

Kindaichi's best friend is involved with the school film club where members are found murdered. Can he protect her before she become the next victim?

Patients are brought in one after the other. Being put in an environment where there is a race against time to save lives, all they can do is stand there doing nothing. Though they still have a lot to grow as a doctor and as individuals, will they be able to overcome adversity and one day be able to proudly identify themselves as being a doctor?

Tamako works for a company in the restaurant business. She experiences betrayal from Makoto, a chef she recently hired. Rumors then spread at work about her. Tamako decides enough is enough and quits her job. She decides to open a restaurant and run it from a woman's perspective. Tamako soon learns that Makoto has opened a luxurious restaurant across the street from her modest restaurant.

Kurata Kenta lives with his father, Taichi, his mother, Keiko, and his younger sister, Nana in an isolated home in the suburbs. He works as an unpopular commercial designer. Kurata Kenta possesses a timid personality, which he picked up from his father. Kenta doesn't like his father. One day, while waiting for the train, Kenta warns a man who pushed a woman and cut in line. Kenta is surprised that he spoke out with his normally timid personality. After that incident, Kenta's family home is targeted by an unknown person with flowers from their garden being pulled out and the seat of a bicycle being torn. Also, Kenta's younger sister Nana is stalked by her ex-boyfriend. Kenta and his family try to find out who is responsible. This mini series is based on the novel "Yokoso Wagaya e" by Jun Ikeido.

All of a sudden, Prime Minister Taizan and his carefree son Sho find their bodies switched around. They have no idea why nor how to turn back. Now Sho has to attend the Diet as Prime Minister. He cannot even read the words as he speaks as Prime Minister...but the diet members and the people are gradually moved by his straightforward opinions and things begin to change... Meanwhile, Taizan, the Prime Minister, is now a college student undergoing numerous job interviews. But he cannot pass the interview. And things become more confusing as he meets Sho’s ex-girlfriends.

Aoi Miura (Sota Fukushi) was born and grew up in Toyama Prefecture. He has an indecisive personality and does not like summer. He was the focal member of the high school swimming team, but he now works as an assistant at a small architectural office in Tokyo. One summer day, he meets his childhood friend and first love Akari Serizawa. During their school days they spent everyday hanging out together until the fireworks night in their 3rd year of high school. That night, Akari suddenly disappeared. Now, Akari has a man named Aoi.

Junko Sakuraba dreams of working in New York, but she currently works as an English conversation teacher. She's about to have her 29th birthday. Junko Sakuraba works hard to achieve her dream, but New York seem far away. She has also not dated in a long time. Junko Sakuraba attends a funeral held at a temple. During the funeral, she makes a mistake and throws ashes onto a monk chanting a sutra. She feels apologetic and embarrassment. Later, Junko Sakuraba's family deceives her into going on a blind date. The man she meets on the blind date is Takane Hoshikawa. Her date is the monk whom she accidentally threw ashes on.

Follows the story of love, friendship and growth of six young men and women who move from countryside to the big city of Tokyo, each with their own dreams and aspirations. Among them is Sugihara Oto and Soda Ren. After her mother died, Oto was raised by adoptive parents in Hokkaido. Although she has given up on having any high hopes or big dreams for her future, she still remains positive and faces life with optimistic attitude. One day, she finds out the fact that her adoptive parents are planning to marry her to the wealthy man in town in order to solve their financial debt. Soda Ren was raised by his grandfather in Fukushima. Ren works hard on one job after another in order to earn the money to buy back his grandfather's land so that they can start farming again. By chance, Oto and Ren meet in Hokkaido and they decide to move to Tokyo to find new life to change their fate and future. However, as soon as they arrive Tokyo, they get separated in the crowds...

Drama series depicts the lives of three men born in 1987 and oppose irrational things of the world through work, love, and friendship. The men are from the "yutori generation", when the Japanese government reformed the education system, emphasizing a pressure-free environment referred to as yutori education.

Hikuma Koichi was a saxophone player, but he suffers from the after-effects of an accident. Due to that, he turned his back on music. Hikuma Koichi finds hope in the high school brass band. The band consists of problem students. Koichi struggles to instruct the brass band and to give them hope.

Etsuko Kono is a 28-year-old woman who loves fashion. Aspiring to become a fashion editor, she joins a publishing company, but is sent to work in copy editing. There, her job is to correct errors and inadequate parts of documents and copies.

Two transfer students, Takashi Mitsuhashi and Shinji Itō, tired of their boring normal life and unpopularity, decide to take their arrival at a new school as an opportunity to reinvent their image, and become delinquents. The duo set out on various misadventures to become the greatest delinquents in all Japan!

In early 1965, a child violinist who was expected to be a prodigy, came up to Tokyo from Nagasaki and lived in lodgings. In the 1970s, the violinist (Suda Masaki) faced a setback during the uproar over the US-Japan security treaty. Even so, he did not cut off music. By the time he realised it, he had started singing as Grape. This is a story centred around his high school and university days surrounded by different people including friends, teachers as well as older men at his part-time job.

The Mobile Investigative Unit (known as "MIU") of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department attempts to solve cases within 24 hours. Detective Kazumi Shima is selected as a new member of MIU. He is intelligent, with excellent observation and communication skills. Yet, he does not trust other people. He is unable to find a partner in MIU and is ordered to partner with Police Officer Ai Ibuki, who works at a police substation. Ibuki applied for MIU, but he failed. He is in excellent physical condition, but he lacks knowledge and experience as a detective. Shima learns about Ibuki's background and he becomes more nervous. Finally, Shima has his first meeting with Ibuki.

Kasumi Arimura suddenly gets a break from filming and returns to her hometown for the first time in a long while. Her mother, Yumiko, comes to the train station to pick her up and they head for the family home.

Hajime works in the I.T. department of a newspaper company. He has worked there for 7 years. He often neglects his work and he is more interested in writing manga. His colleague at the newspaper company is Yutaka. He insists to Hajime that he values life more than his job, but he doesn't look happy to Hajime. Looking at his colleague Yutaka, Hajime suddenly wonders if his life is okay like this or will he become a person who does his job well.

27 year old Adachi Momoko lost both her parents in an accident when she was in third year high school. She then gave up going to college and has been working at a home centre for the past nine years while supporting her three younger brothers who are now 20, 17, and 14 year old respectively.

A new-age home drama that depicts a group of new single fathers and mothers, each with their own worries and secrets, raising their children together under one roof and becoming a "family".

A paralegal who graduated from a big-name school teams up with an offbeat lawyer, taking on oddball little cases out of a small, neighborhood law office.

Depicts how Ryunosuke Kamiki spends his days off during breaks in shooting dramas and movies.

Kurosawa, who works for a film production company, meets Akiko, a divorcee and single mother, who works at a publishing house. Through the efforts of Akiko's son, Naoya, they fall in love and decide to get married. The good news continues with Kurosawa becoming an assistant producer, and Akiko's parents offering to make the down-payment for their apartment. However, things start to go wrong when the ever-generous and sometimes naive Kurosawa helps a respected friend by co-signing on his financial obligation. A warm and occasionally wacky comedy for the whole family.

The time spent at a family restaurant where the trio of Makubes 3, Haruto (Masaki Suda), Shunta (Ryunosuke Kamiki), Junpei (Taiga Nakano), hang out and discuss their comedy skit scripts. (The program is unscripted, solely relying on the actors to stay in character and perform).