Known For
Follows the rise of Tooru Muranishi, one of Japan's most notorious directors of adult video. Adapted from a biography of the man, this series depicts the character, his art, vision and his interactions with the approving and disapproving folk around him.
SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games. These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking. Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.
Set in "Byplaywood" a large film studio surrounded by forest, far from the city. The story depicts 100 days of turmoil caused by the gathering of serial dramas and movies from various TV stations at once in this remote studio. It is a drama full of battles for ratings between studios, clashes between young, mid-career, and big names, and a heartwarming story of friendship and bonding. Also, the self-deprecation and parodies are enhanced by the fact that the actors play a role of themselves.
Following the ascension to power of Taira no Kiyomori, the Minamoto clan is exiled. Minamoto no Yoritomo meets Masako, the sister of Hōjō Yoshitoki and later marries her. Following this marriage, the gears of Yoshitoki's destiny begin to turn.
Ryōsuke Sagara is an ordinary salaryman and he works for a mid-size shipping company. He is a good-natured person. His family consists of his wife Maho, high school student daughter and elementary school student son. Maho works part-time at a supermarket. They are a happy family, but Maho and their two children suddenly disappear. There are no clues about their disappearance. Ryōsuke gets the attention of the media and public. He tries to find the truth behind his family's disappearance with the help of his subordinate Mizuho Ninomiya at work.
Orphaned when he was not yet ten, Musashi grows up skilled in the martial arts. During the Battle of Sekigahara, he fights on the side of the losing Toyotomi forces, but eludes the enemy as they hunt down the vanquished soldiers. He then spends years wandering the countryside mastering the sword. As his fame spreads throughout the nation, men seek him out to test their skills against him--most notably Sasaki Kojiro who faces Musashi in the ultimate duel at Ganryujima.
In 1979 Tokyo, four distinct sisters uncover their aging father's affair, causing their happy facades and bottled-up emotions to slowly unravel.
"Blackboard ~ Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~," revolves around teachers in different time periods having to deal with the problems of that era. The first episode stars Sakurai as Shirahama, a junior high school teacher who taught his students about "dying for your country" during wartime. After later losing his right arm in the war, he returns to teaching but is burdened and conflicted by what he taught his students in the past. The second episode of "Blackboard ~Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~" stars Sato Koichi as a teacher during the 1980s having to deal with school violence. Shida Mirai plays a delinquent student, and Kanjiya Shihori plays another teacher at the school. Set in modern-day Japan, tackles the story of forbidden teacher-student relationships. Matsushita Nao plays a devoted English teacher who's offering personal lessons for a pupil (played by Kamiki Ryunosuke), who barely can read or write.
"Blackboard ~ Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~," revolves around teachers in different time periods having to deal with the problems of that era. The first episode stars Sakurai as Shirahama, a junior high school teacher who taught his students about "dying for your country" during wartime. After later losing his right arm in the war, he returns to teaching but is burdened and conflicted by what he taught his students in the past. The second episode of "Blackboard ~Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~" stars Sato Koichi as a teacher during the 1980s having to deal with school violence. Shida Mirai plays a delinquent student, and Kanjiya Shihori plays another teacher at the school. Set in modern-day Japan, tackles the story of forbidden teacher-student relationships. Matsushita Nao plays a devoted English teacher who's offering personal lessons for a pupil (played by Kamiki Ryunosuke), who barely can read or write.
Princess Go was the youngest of the most famous three sisters in Japanese history, who each led a remarkable life in an age of turmoil and civil war. Go loses her parents in the war, marries three times, and feuds with her own sister in competing for power. Go's husband becomes the second Tokugawa Shogun and she ensures her prominence as she gives birth to a son who later becomes the third Shogun and a daughter, a wife of the Emperor. The drama describes the age of the civil war through the eyes of Princess Go, who plays a significant part in establishing the age of peace that lasts over 200 years in Japan.
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Movie Credits (52)
A boy who no longer speaks, shaped by a tyrannical father and a mother he both resents and loves, grows up on Japan's northern coast. With nowhere to belong, he returns to seek his father and sets his fate in motion.
Shinobu Otake takes on her first role as an adult male in *King Lear*! This much-talked-about production brings together a stellar cast including Rie Miyazawa, Ryo Narita, Erika Ikuta, Oji Suzuka, Eiji Yokota, Tamae Ando, Masanobu Katsumura, Hajime Yamazaki and others. King Lear (Shinobu Otake), King of Britain, decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters upon abdicating due to old age. His eldest daughter, Goneril (Rie Miyazawa), and his second daughter, Regan (Tamae Ando), skilfully flatter their father to please him, but his youngest daughter, Cordelia (Erika Ikuta), can only speak her mind honestly. Enraged, Lear disinherits her, and the Earl of Kent (Eiji Yokota), who tries to defend her, is also banished. Cordelia, though disinherited, becomes Queen of France, whilst Kent disguises himself to conceal his identity and returns to serve King Lear.
From time immemorial to the age of space colonization, there is one legend that has stayed unchanged in every history book—the tale of the immortal bird Phoenix. A being whose blood is said to grant eternal life or wisdom, the radiant figure ensures the continuation of sentient life in the universe as it oversees human civilizations and their development. Yet, mankind remains a slave to its habits; from happiness and sorrow, to wrath and love, a myriad of emotions continue to play an integral part of human life. Simultaneously, time and time again, certain beliefs and agendas persist over the centuries to disturb the fragile equilibrium of the world's preordained nature and principles. It appears that fate and its dynamic variables can manifest itself in many ways—and oftentimes exhibits a bizarre sense of humor…
Yoko, who gets a job at a nursing home, witnesses the elderly and disabled people there having their human dignity threatened.
Sou Makimoto works in the "send-off" department at the city hall. The department's main responsibility is to hold funerals for people who die alone and bury them at a cemetery. Makimoto doesn't like to socialise with his colleagues or listen to them. By doing his job, he meets various people and slowly begins to change his life.
A comedy about how the world of politics really works! Tsutomu is a secretary for a member of the Japanese Parliament. After the latter suffers a heart attack, his daughter Yumi is chosen to fill his place in the next election because she seems easy to control. However, her unpredictable behavior soon throws the campaign out of control.
A group image drama set at the end of the war depicting the unknown struggle of Japanese people who faced the difficult issues.
One day, Shiro's all-time favorite idol Mami Mitsuya suddenly appears right in front of him! Even though this meeting left him excited, his partner Kenji ends up unhappy. Moreover, the appearance of a new partner and Shiro's work situation have led to the relationship between the two changing...
In the town of Saima, when summer is about to begin, a group of six high school students intend to live a secret adventure by spending seven carefree days in a ruined mining facility.
The story of Osamu Dazai, one of Japan's most celebrated novelists, absorbed in alcohol and love; married and in a relationship with two other lovers.
After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Futaba resolves to spend her remaining time reuniting her broken family, reopening the long-closed bathhouse, and helping her shy daughter Azumi learn to stand on her own.
After dying in a bus crash and falling to hell, high schooler Daisuke joins a demonic rock band so he can be reincarnated back into the mortal world.
'The Ninagawa of the world', still ill. The 80-year-old's intense run to stay alive, even after falling ill!
Hiroshi has given up on his dreams of becoming a painter and works part-time cleaning office windows. He learns that he has only 3 months left to live. During his last summer, high school student Mai appears. Hiroshi becomes attracted to her.
Wakaba Bank contract employee Rika meets university student Kota at a client's home. Unknown to her husband Masafumi, she engages in secret rendezvous with Kota, and begins to embezzle money from her clients' accounts to buy expensive cosmetics and pay off Kota's debt.
A young girl named Kiki must leave her home for a year to begin training in witchcraft. She leaves on her broom, but first says goodbye to her friends and family. Kiki then begins her new life with her trusted cat Jiji.
Kageyama (Sho Sakurai) works as the butler for rich heiress Reiko Hosho (Keiko Kitagawa). Reiko happens to be a novice detective but lacks certain deductive skills needed by detectives. Because of this Reiko relies on Kageyamaa to help her solve cases. Meanwhile, Kageyama isn't afraid to mince words and often calls out Reiko with his sharp tongue!
TV Credits (34)
Professor Shiro Sakaki, a butterfly researcher, confesses to turning six young boys, including his own son Itaru, into "human specimens."
It is the year 2125. Four decades have passed since human habitation began on Mars. Here, "stability" is a foreign concept. Under authoritarian rule by ISDA (the Inter-planetary Space Development Agency), discontent is brewing. Mars is silently in turmoil. In this atmosphere, "it" suddenly appears. And with it comes inexplicable supernatural phenomena. Who created it? Why is it here? And what does it mean for humankind? Hope? Catastrophe? Lili E1102 is visually impaired. Born and raised on Mars, she endured grueling training to board the spaceship bound for Earth. She is determined to meet someone: Shiraishi Aoto, the young Earthling ISDA scientist. The two have a secret pact no one knows about. But on the day of departure, Lili is struck by disaster. And this triggers accelerated machinations on both Earth and Mars... And all is connected to "it"...
In 1979 Tokyo, four distinct sisters uncover their aging father's affair, causing their happy facades and bottled-up emotions to slowly unravel.
In the age of space exploration, Romi and George flee a devastated Earth in search of a new world.
Following the ascension to power of Taira no Kiyomori, the Minamoto clan is exiled. Minamoto no Yoritomo meets Masako, the sister of Hōjō Yoshitoki and later marries her. Following this marriage, the gears of Yoshitoki's destiny begin to turn.
~~ Adapted from the novel of the same title by Yamasaki Toyoko (山崎豊子)
Ryōsuke Sagara is an ordinary salaryman and he works for a mid-size shipping company. He is a good-natured person. His family consists of his wife Maho, high school student daughter and elementary school student son. Maho works part-time at a supermarket. They are a happy family, but Maho and their two children suddenly disappear. There are no clues about their disappearance. Ryōsuke gets the attention of the media and public. He tries to find the truth behind his family's disappearance with the help of his subordinate Mizuho Ninomiya at work.
Kiyomi Koike is a 16-year-old girl. She has all these different emotions intertwined in her mind. One day, she suddenly blurts out "What is a woman?" She then hears a DJ's voice in her head. The voice states "Women's Songs! Radio FM999 starts." The DJ in Kiyomi Koike’s head proceeds to spin songs that matches her worries. With her eyes closed, Kiyomi Koike meets various women in the world of music and learns from them.
Set in "Byplaywood" a large film studio surrounded by forest, far from the city. The story depicts 100 days of turmoil caused by the gathering of serial dramas and movies from various TV stations at once in this remote studio. It is a drama full of battles for ratings between studios, clashes between young, mid-career, and big names, and a heartwarming story of friendship and bonding. Also, the self-deprecation and parodies are enhanced by the fact that the actors play a role of themselves.
A family asks a man to build a house he would like to live in himself. However, when it is completed, the family disappears without moving in.
Follows the rise of Tooru Muranishi, one of Japan's most notorious directors of adult video. Adapted from a biography of the man, this series depicts the character, his art, vision and his interactions with the approving and disapproving folk around him.
NODA MAP, led by Hideki Noda, broadcasts its 2017 performance of "Princess Footprints" . This work is a tribute to Nakamura Kanzaburo XVIII.
About a lady and her cat. The lady's cat dies and she loses all inspiration to continue living, and doing her work from home job. One day when forced to get out of her house for a while she finds and orphaned kitten in the park. The kitten is sick and she takes the kitten to the vet. This kitten brings her out of her depression and gives her new hope.
Before World War II, the automobile industry in developed countries in Europe and the United States possessed formidable technological capabilities. A youth who saw this industrial might with his own eyes, returns to Japan fired up with the dream to develop the national automobile industry with his own hands. This young man’s name is Aichi Saichiro and this is the story of Aichi (Toyota) Motor Corporation.
"Blackboard ~ Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~," revolves around teachers in different time periods having to deal with the problems of that era. The first episode stars Sakurai as Shirahama, a junior high school teacher who taught his students about "dying for your country" during wartime. After later losing his right arm in the war, he returns to teaching but is burdened and conflicted by what he taught his students in the past. The second episode of "Blackboard ~Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~" stars Sato Koichi as a teacher during the 1980s having to deal with school violence. Shida Mirai plays a delinquent student, and Kanjiya Shihori plays another teacher at the school. Set in modern-day Japan, tackles the story of forbidden teacher-student relationships. Matsushita Nao plays a devoted English teacher who's offering personal lessons for a pupil (played by Kamiki Ryunosuke), who barely can read or write.
"Blackboard ~ Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~," revolves around teachers in different time periods having to deal with the problems of that era. The first episode stars Sakurai as Shirahama, a junior high school teacher who taught his students about "dying for your country" during wartime. After later losing his right arm in the war, he returns to teaching but is burdened and conflicted by what he taught his students in the past. The second episode of "Blackboard ~Jidai to Tatakatta Kyoushitachi~" stars Sato Koichi as a teacher during the 1980s having to deal with school violence. Shida Mirai plays a delinquent student, and Kanjiya Shihori plays another teacher at the school. Set in modern-day Japan, tackles the story of forbidden teacher-student relationships. Matsushita Nao plays a devoted English teacher who's offering personal lessons for a pupil (played by Kamiki Ryunosuke), who barely can read or write.
Princess Go was the youngest of the most famous three sisters in Japanese history, who each led a remarkable life in an age of turmoil and civil war. Go loses her parents in the war, marries three times, and feuds with her own sister in competing for power. Go's husband becomes the second Tokugawa Shogun and she ensures her prominence as she gives birth to a son who later becomes the third Shogun and a daughter, a wife of the Emperor. The drama describes the age of the civil war through the eyes of Princess Go, who plays a significant part in establishing the age of peace that lasts over 200 years in Japan.
Princess Go was the youngest of the most famous three sisters in Japanese history, who each led a remarkable life in an age of turmoil and civil war. Go loses her parents in the war, marries three times, and feuds with her own sister in competing for power. Go's husband becomes the second Tokugawa Shogun and she ensures her prominence as she gives birth to a son who later becomes the third Shogun and a daughter, a wife of the Emperor. The drama describes the age of the civil war through the eyes of Princess Go, who plays a significant part in establishing the age of peace that lasts over 200 years in Japan.
