Yoshio Harada
Also Known As: Ёсио Харада
Biography: Yoshio Harada (February 29, 1940 - July 19, 2011) was a Japanese actor. A veteran of over 80 films, he has twice been nominated for the Best Actor Japanese Academy Award. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 11th Yokohama Film Festival for Dotsuitarunen and Kiss yori kantan. Description above from the Wikipedia article Yoshio Harada, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Tokyo, Japan
Adult: No
Birthday: February 29, 1940
Age: 85 years old
Gender: Male
Deathday: July 19, 2011
Popularity:
Known For:
What's a Director?
Overview: Works commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of Japan mapping Supervision Association
Genres: Drama Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-11-04
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Hana
Overview: In a poor district of Edo lives a young samurai named Soza. He has been sent by his clan to avenge the death of his father. He isn't an accomplished swordsman however, and he prefers sharing the life of the residents, teaching the kids how to write etc. When he finally finds the man he is looking for, he will have to decide whether he follows the way of the samurai or chooses peace and reconciliation.
Genres: Action Drama History Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-06-03
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Party 7
Overview: Seven characters, introduced at the start of the film, get thrown together into the same hotel room: a thief who's stolen a suitcase of money from the mob, his ex-girlfriend, her obsessive boyfriend, the mob soldier sent to retrieve the briefcase, another mobster sent to kill them, master voyeur Captain Banana and his new apprentice, The Mister Yellow. Who will end up with the money?
Genres: Action Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-09-27
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Still Walking
Overview: A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.
Genres: Drama Family
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-06-28
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The Fang in the Hole
Overview: A police detective tries to investigate the mystery of a victim who was shot in the head, but no bullet was found.
Genres: Crime Horror Mystery Drama TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1979-09-23
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The Hunted
Overview: Paul Racine, a high-powered American business executive in Japan, is catapulted into a maze of danger and intrigue after he and his sexy companion are the targets of assassins hired by the ruthless Kinjo. To survive, Racine must join forces with a powerful samurai and together they will fight the force of evil in an awesome battle rooted in centuries of brutal conflict.
Genres: Action Drama Thriller
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-02-24
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The Story of PuPu
Overview: Fu and Suzu are two pretty anarchist girls who decide to take to the road. They set off on a journey to visit the tomb of a small pig by name Pupu. On the way, they meet Suzu's ex-lover, a gay couple, and a golf player; always getting in trouble. But whenever trouble comes, 'Trunk Man' the hero appears to save them.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1998-04-04
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Bare Essence of Life
Overview: Yojin, an eccentric young farmer living in the countryside, falls in love for the first time in his life. Her name is Machiko, she teaches in a kindergarten and is from Tokyo.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-06-06
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The Trail of Blood
Overview: Can a sinful man change and find peace? It's unlikely in gang-plagued Japan. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter (and hired sword), goes straight after protecting a woman in distress: they marry, have a son, and Jokichi pursues his father's craft. After three years, the gangs he embarrassed when he saved his wife find the family and leave Jokichi in grief, vowing revenge. To parry his terrible swift sword, rival gangs join forces, hiring a prostitute to pose as a woman needing help and breaking the code of honor to double cross the drifter. He finds unlikely allies: a thief who aids him for fun and a one-eyed swordsman who may be Jokichi's equal in skill and honor.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1972-06-10
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Nightmare Detective
Overview: When a number of suicide victims slash themselves in their sleep, detective Keiko Kirishima is called to investigate.
Genres: Thriller Horror Crime Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-01-13
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Another Heaven
Overview: A pair of hard-boiled Tokyo cops are investigating a gruesome murder: after killing the victim, the murderer cut his skull open and cooked his brain in a stew. As they try to track down the killer, they discover that, quite literally, everybody is a suspect. Will they bring the terror to an end, or will they become part of it themselves?
Genres: Crime Horror Science Fiction
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-04-29
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Evil Emblem
Overview: Aida, a daredevil detective who isn't afraid of power or challenges. The great evil has begun investigating a major corruption case involving a leading trade company and the nation.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-06-08
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Hunter in the Dark
Overview: Yataro Tanigawa, a one-eyed hired assassin, impresses yakuza boss Gomyo Kiyoemon with his skill. Gomyo hires Tanigawa as his bodyguard, or yojimbo, to protect him during an inter-clan conflict. Tanigawa quickly rises in stature in the clan, but finds his boss's enemies almost overwhelming.
Genres: Action Adventure Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1979-06-17
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Dororo
Overview: Hyakkimaru, a warrior on a quest to reclaim 48 of his body parts which were each taken by a demon, is joined by Dororo, a thief on a quest to avenge the death of her parents.
Genres: Action Fantasy Horror Science Fiction
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-03-15
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9 Souls
Overview: After discovering a hole in their crowded cell, nine prisoners escape their confinement to track down the key of the universe, which a fellow prisoner known as the Counterfeit King said he had hidden.
Genres: Crime Comedy Drama Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-07-19
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Marriage
Overview: An omnibus featuring the work of three different filmmakers.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-07-16
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Lady Snowblood 2: Love Song of Vengeance
Overview: Lady Snowblood is caught by the police and sentenced to death for her crimes. As she is sent to the gallows she is rescued by the secret police who offer her a deal to assassinate some revolutionaries.
Genres: Action Drama Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1974-06-15
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Manhunt
Overview: A tough prosecutor is falsely accused of theft and goes on the run to clear his name. He is assisted by the beautiful daughter of a rich man.
Genres: Action Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1976-02-11
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Then Summer Came
Overview: A humorous wedding story fueled by a rather no-good father and son, disguised as the old and new “good guys.” The father Nobuo, and his son Tamio, are unable to mature, unable to break the parent-child roles, have no sense of responsibility, and keep holding on to the past. The pair is overwhelmed by all the colorful characters around them telling them what to do. They go to strenuous and humorous efforts to make Tamio’s wedding an event to remember.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2008-07-19
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À la carte Company
Overview:
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-05-10
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The Fearless Avenger
Overview: Thirsting for revenge, Jokichi rashly attempts to assassinate the evil Chogoro but ends up being captured by Yakuza. His life is spared by Boss Juzaburo, in order that the harmony of an important commemoration not be further disturbed. Though now even more of an outcast, Jokichi is asked by another Yakuza boss, Umezo, to guard Oyuki, the wayward daughter of Juzaburo. The tragic consequences of this assignment will lead him into a deadly trap and a final confrontation with Chogoro.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1972-10-10
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No More Comics!
Overview: Stuck doing show-biz schlock, an investigative reporter stumbles on a scheme to swindle pensions through an attractive gold futures scam, a potential news-story.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-03-24
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I Wish
Overview: Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-06-11
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Pastoral: To Die in the Country
Overview: A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
Genres: Fantasy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1974-12-28
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Wet Sand in August
Overview: Several high-school friends spend their final summer together indulging in sex and leisure; their halcyon days are soon coming to an end.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1971-08-25
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The Assassination of Ryoma
Overview: Story of the last three days in the life of Sakamoto Ryoma (1836-1867), the imperial loyalist who tried to unite the Choshu and Satsuma clans and prepared the way for the Meiji Restoration (1868).
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1974-08-03
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The Triple Cross
Overview: Following the bloody aftermath of a heist, three robbers are double-crossed by a new accomplice, who is then tracked down amid escalating carnage and spectacular car chases.
Genres: Drama Action Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1992-09-12
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Heaven's Bookstore
Overview: Kenta, a young pianist who has just lost his job, is drowning his woes at a bar, when he meets a man in a Hawaiian shirt named Yamaki. He invites Kenta to work with him, and the next thing he knows, Kenta wakes up to find himself in a room he has never been in before. It is a strange room that seems to have no connection to life. He descends a staircase to find many shelves of books.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-06-05
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Yumeji
Overview: Following the life of Japanese artist and poet Yumeji Takehisa through the imagining of an encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-05-31
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Kagero-za
Overview: A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife.
Genres: Romance Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-08-21
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Zigeunerweisen
Overview: A surreal period film following a university professor and his eerie nomad friend as they go through loose romantic triangles and face death in peculiar ways.
Genres: Mystery Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1980-04-01
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Ronin-gai
Overview: Near the end of Japanese civil war, several disgraced ronin living in Edo's red light district attempt to regain their honor by defending a brothel from a hostile militia bent on wiping out local prostitutes.
Genres: History Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-08-18
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Preparation for the Festival
Overview: Tateo, young and neurotic, wishes to leave the village his mother has raised him in.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1975-11-08
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Aegis
Overview: The Isokaze, an Aegis-class escort vessel, sets sail on a routine training exercise, playing host to a platoon from the Fleet Training Group. No sooner is the Isokaze on open water, however, then the FTG reveal themselves to be terrorist stowaways who kill the ship's captain, send the rest of the crew overboard and take control of the vessel. The ship is carrying a secret biological weapon which the terrorists are now threatening to use to level Tokyo! Only a stowaway NCO, Sengoko (played by Sanada Hiroyuki from Ring and Twilight Samurai) is in a position to stop them - but does he really have what it takes to save the day? Playing like a cross between a sea-faring version of Top Gun and Die Hard, director Sakamoto Junji shows that it's not just Hollywood that can produce thrill-a-minute action spectaculars.
Genres: Action Thriller Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-07-30
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Out of Focus
Overview: A magazine publisher called Out Of Focus hires a new female camerawoman. This company is located in Tokyo. The new photographer moves from outside the city to Tokyo and upon arrival and on her first day is tasked with immediately snapping pictures. Her boss sends her on a mission with a senior colleague. The senior cameraman uses rogue ways surprising his new colleague. A new assignment related to a former Japanese Prime Minister falls on her lap. The court does not look fondly at photography of this kind.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-01-01
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Mister, Missus, Miss Lonely
Overview: Two men and a woman plan to steal 1.5 Billion yen.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1980-12-20
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Lost Love
Overview: At a seaside city somewhere in the Tohoku area, the corpses of Nozomi, daughter of an affluent family, and Yamazaki, son of an engineer at the local nuclear power-plant, are found tied-to on a beach, as if they intended to commit double suicide. Nogami, a reporter, begins to investigate.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1978-02-24
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Tattoo
Overview: An ardent culture-vulture youth, previously charged for the murder of a woman when he was young, plans to hold hostage a local bank.
Genres: Drama Crime Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-06-05
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Onibi: The Fire Within
Overview: After spending over half his life in prison, ex-hitman Kunihiro is determined to go straight. But the shortcomings of the new gangs mean that he is soon having to call on his old-school yakuza talents. And when he falls for Asako, a beautiful piano player, she unknowingly ignites a fire within Kuni that will immolate everything and everybody around him. Regarded by many as his masterpiece, Onibi has all the hallmarks of a Mochizuki film, with the gangster elements tightly compressed and controlled to allow space in which a subdued romance can bloom. Coming from a background in porno cinema, this master of sexual relations injects a fresh passion and tension into the macho world of the yakuza film.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-04-19
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A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness
Overview: A rookie golfer must cope with the stress of fame after a marketing executive transforms her into a sports celebrity.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1977-05-21
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Little DJ
Overview: Taro is a 12-year-old into baseball and radio, especially "Music Express," a song-request show. Sound quaint? But it is 1977 and a small town in Hokkaido, a more innocent, pure-hearted time and place, we are told. Taro, however, has a blood disease that lands him in the hospital where his aunt is a nurse. Rounds of tests, transfusions and injections sap his spirit, despite the kindness and dedication of his young doctor and the Doctor's hospital-director father. The latter, a music buff who broadcasts classics over the hospital's PA system, asks Taro to relieve him as DJ — and soon the boy is ensconced in the hospital director's well-stocked library-cum-studio, spinning popular J-Pop tunes. He also becomes acquainted with Tamaki, a girl he first calls "the mummy" because of her bandages and full body cast — she was injured in a traffic accident. He later changes his tune when she is revealed as a cute 13-year-old — for him, an older woman...
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-12-15
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Slaughter in the Snow
Overview: In feudal Japan, women are vulnerable, in need of protection, and capable of deception. Jokichi of Mikogami, a drifter, has not yet fully revenged the death of his wife and son. He searches for Kunisada Chuji, who in turn has hired the knife-throwing Windmill Kobunji to kill him. Kobunji and Jokichi meet in the winter, near Sasago Pass, when both have rescued women: Jokichi has saved the lute-playing Oyae whose clan and whose lover want her dead; Kobunji has rescued Oharu, a well-born woman married to an innkeeper. Is this rescue a whim or something deeper? And why does Jokichi become the consumptive Kobunji's protector? What ultimately will Jokichi do about Oyae?
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1973-06-08
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Let Him Rest in Peace
Overview: A man returns to his seaside roots to confront a yakuza boss. Along the way, he charms young men, softens a hard woman and busts a few heads.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-06-14
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Someday
Overview: The annual kabuki show is the main attraction in a rural Japanese mountain town. However, Yoshi's life is thrown into disarray days before the performance when his estranged wife and former best friend arrive back in town...
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2011-07-16
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Outlaw Cop
Overview: A bad cop is engaged in a violent chase to catch a yakuza boss. In his absence his wife runs away with another man, who turns out to be the very same man that her husband is hunting. Once he discovers this, he loses his nerve and turns in his badge. But the chase turns into a personal vendetta where the ex-cop plans to wipe out the entire gang.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1976-02-04
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Karaoke Terror
Overview: One of a gang of karaoke loving middle aged women is murdered by a young man. Her friends track him down and kill him. His friends track them down and kill the killer and it escalates!
Genres: Horror Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-11-08
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A Forest with No Name
Overview: Private detective Mike takes on an assignment to return a girl, who is set to marry into a prestigious family, from a mysterious commune in the forest.
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-03-19
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The Last Frankenstein
Overview: Professor Sarusawa and his psychic daughter Mai live together after the suicide of the Professor's wife years earlier - which was caused by a suicide plague running rampant throughout the city. Dr. Aryo lives in a nearby castle with his wife, whom Dr. Aryo created, and a hunchbacked assistant. Dr. Aryo once worked at the same university with Professor Sarusawa but was fired for his morbid experiments. Now, Dr. Aryo may hold the key to unlocking the origins & cure for the suicide virus which Professor Sarusawa may now have. Meanwhile Professor Sarusawa's daughter Mai can be bring to life Dr. Aryo's stitched up cadavers which Dr. Aryo hopes to create a new race with.
Genres: Drama Horror
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-04-20
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Shogun's Samurai
Overview: Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his respect. Iemitsu and his brother Tadanaga become bitter rivals for the shogunate, and the land is split into factions, eventually erupting into warfare. Iemitsu's mentor, his fencing instructor Yagyu, is fixated upon securing Iemitsu the shogunate and ends up betraying everyone, even his own family, in pursuit of the goal.
Genres: Action Drama Adventure
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1978-01-21
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The Whispered City
Overview: Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a bohemian corner of Tokyo filled with small theater companies and smoky coffeehouses.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-07-07
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Madness in Bloom
Overview: Yamaguchi, Ichikawa and Kosuge dress in white military-style uniforms to "clean" the streets of Shibuya from bad elements. After rightist gang boss, Aota takes an interest in the three, the boys gradually become influenced by him, but start to go their different ways.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2002-10-19
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The Face of Jizo
Overview: Based on a play by Hisashi Inoue, it focuses on the sufferings of the survivors of Hiroshima. The film takes place during 4 days in the summer of 1948, as the ghost of her father visits Mitsué (Rié Miyama). He had somehow learned that she has fallen in love, and tries to convince her to start her new life. But Mitsué obstinately refuses his warm and humorous encouragements : « People were killed in my place. I do not have the right to find happiness », she says.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-07-31
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The Breath
Overview: Haida, once a famous private detective, is now down and out and running out of reasons to live. One day, while engaging in a group volunteer project to clean up a river, he loses what's left of his will to live and lets the water carry him away. He ends up rescuing a drowning man who alters his view of life totally. Soon he gets a job investigating the mysterious disappearance of a student who sent her mother a cryptic letter, "Wait a bit, Mother. I'm sending my breath. It will arrive soon."
Genres: Drama Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-09-10
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Circus Boys
Overview: Two brothers, Jinta and Wataru, are raised in a travelling circus. After an accident, Jinta decides to leave the circus and travels the countryside working as a con-man. After a run-in with a local gang of yakuza, he is invited to join their ranks, where he makes the mistake of falling for a boss's mistress. Wataru stays with the circus and works hard to regain its former glory
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-11-23
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Pickpocket
Overview: Kaido is a professional pickpocket who works the Tokyo subway with his young foster-daughter, Rei: She lets herself be groped while Kaido relieves the groper of his wallet. More often than not they're observed by a middle-aged cop, who generally lets Kaido go free. Rei is unsettled when Kaido takes on a young street punk, Kazuki, as an apprentice -- with instructions to make Kaido stop drinking. Kazuki, however, would like to go into business with Rei.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2000-11-03
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A Boy's Summer in 1945
Overview: Commencing well-respected Nippon director Kazuo Kuroki's sixth decade behind the camera, "A Boy's Summer in 1945" (literally "A Beautiful Summer in Kirishima") is a lyric, novelistic drama set in the countryside in the last days before Japan's surrender ending WWII. Striking a welcome retro note in its languid pacing and delicate handling of seriocomic ensemble threads, handsome production is a natural for fests. It might also prove a cornerstone for retrospectives or ancillary releases of works by a helmer ("Preparation of the Festival," "Ronin-gai") who's long been appreciated at home but has won just limited attention abroad.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2002-12-14
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The Girl of Silence
Overview: 14 year old Nakamura is sexually abused by her stepfather. She invents a friend who is coming to her rescue when she really needs it.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-06-17
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The Mystery of Rampo
Overview: Edogawa Rampo is a writer whose latest work is censored by the government, deemed too disturbing and injurious to the public to be allowed to be published. However, after burning his drafts, his publisher shows him a newspaper with an account of events just like his forbidden story. As the film progresses, fantasy and reality intermingle in a tale that draws heavily on influences from Poe and Stoker's Dracula. The film's strongly Expressionistic direction skillfully combines a variety of media (animation, computer-generated imagery, grainy black-and-white fast film stock, color negatives) for artistic effect.
Genres: Drama Thriller Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-05-27
Popularity:
300 Million
Overview: Katagiri, a highly ambitious young detective, teams up with older detective Takiguchi, who is about to retire, to investigate a murder that took place by Sumida River. Katagiri is annoyed by Takiguchi's pushiness, but is surprised to hear that the victim was a suspect in the 300 million yen robbery.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2010-07-03
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The Invitation from Cinema Orion
Overview: Based on the short story from the best-selling collection "Poppoya" by Jiro Asada, "The Invitation from Cinema Orion" tells the story of a couple's undying love for the cinema and each other.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-11-03
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The Anthropology of a Fight Scene
Overview: A man must overcome many obstacles as he works his way through the dangerous crime world to the level of yakuza.
Genres: Comedy Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-11-13
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Stray Cat Rock: Beat '71
Overview: The series swansong, Beat '71, sees Kaji framed and sent to prison by her boyfriend's father and with the help of some hippies she strives to be re-united.
Genres: Thriller Action Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1971-01-03
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A Yakuza in Love
Overview: When an innocent young country girl falls for a low level yakuza, she enters a completely different world in which the line between good and evil are quickly blurred. Through great ups and downs their love will be tested, but the ultimate test lies in whether or not they will survive the downward pull of the lifestyle they have chosen.
Genres: Drama Action Romance Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-09-06
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Born to Be Baby
Overview: A detective, a mysterious beauty Ekin and other characters appear in the film. It creates a mysterious visual world that takes us one step further into the world of Ekin. This is the second art documentary film produced by the Museum of Art, Kochi, following Hiroyuki Oki's HEAVEN-6-BOX. This time, the stage performances of butoh greats Maro Akaji and Dairakudakan were documented by Hayashi Kaizo.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1997-01-01
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Golden Flower: What Is Hidden Is the True Flower, What Is Gone Is the Butterfly
Overview: Nursing home "Yuyoso". Many lonely old people live there, including botanist Taro Makiso, a physicist, an actor, a bar mom, and a chef. Maki has spent most of his life studying botany, and has lived without regard for entertainment, drinking, women, or everything else in the world. Then came my 80th birthday. He and a young staff member go digging for wild yam and find a mysterious golden flower. It was the flower of immortality, the "Golden Flower", which was said to bloom beside the Himalayan Virgin, which he had been looking for for many years. From that day onwards, fragments of memories from his youth, which he had intentionally sealed off in order to immerse himself in botany, surged into Maki in a whirlpool.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-11-21
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Drawing Restraint 9
Overview: The film concerns the theme of self-imposed limitation and continues Matthew Barney's interest in religious rite, this time focusing on Shinto.
Genres: Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-02-11
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The Bicycle Thief Was Bad
Overview: Steel-worker Saito Tetsuo, driven by an unexplained anxiety, steals bike after bike to move away from his hometown to Tokyo. Through snow-storms and empty landscapes, the breathtaking photography allows us to look deep into the mindscape of a man searching for an answer - although the question itself is never quite articulated.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-12-01
Popularity:
Firefly
Overview: A young outlaw racing through the streets of Yokohama. Will the love that slipped through his fingers like sand come back to him once again?
Genres: Action Crime Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-02-18
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United Red Army
Overview: Two of the most radical student groups form the United Red Army (URA) and head into the mountains to conduct a training camp. Ideology devolves into despotism, and the URA's leaders begin to arbitrarily persecute their followers, a harrowing ordeal that culminates in violence and murder.
Genres: Drama Thriller History
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2007-08-26
Popularity:
Manji
Overview: Kleptomaniac Sonoko and young, beautiful Mitsuko begin an unusual love affair which develops fast into a kinky sexual love triangle when Sonoko’s husband gets involved.
Genres: Romance Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-03-12
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Farewell to the Ark
Overview: A surreal, isolated village sees its inhabitants gradually leave behind their mutual traditions and superstitions as they leave for the city. Among them are two cousins who love each other and who get into a quarrel with other villagers.
Genres: Fantasy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1984-09-08
Popularity:
Ring
Overview: In different parts of Tokyo, four young and seemingly healthy people suddenly die of heart failure at exactly the same moment. Reporter Kazuyuki Asakawa decides to investigate the deaths, and discovers that the four had stayed at a rural inn together just a week earlier. At the inn, he comes across a strange video that ends with a message saying that anyone who watches it will die exactly seven days later. Now the clock is ticking for Asakawa. Can he break the curse in time?
Genres: Horror TV Movie Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-08-11
Popularity:
Song of Vengeance
Overview: Executive management of a major Tokyo construction company are getting bumped off one after another. It seems obvious that it is a former partner of the company with a long-standing grudge who is responsible, but he died in the first ten minutes of the movie. Or did he? This may aptly be described as a giallo-noir for the unrelenting string of murders by a mystery man and the black-and-white gritty urban setting.
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1968-09-17
Popularity:
Shag
Overview: Shiro Akitsu goes on a relentless search for his abducted 7-year-old daughter, with the aid of an Ainu dog summoned by a whistle she gave him.
Genres: Crime Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1978-03-31
Popularity:
Nowhere Man
Overview: Sukezo, a former manga comic artist, takes up the art rock business by setting up a shop in a shed by the river. He tries hard to be successful, but business does not go well and the family becomes progressively poorer.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-11-02
Popularity:
Gone Without Saying Goodbye!
Overview: This TV drama special depicts the obsession of a sister and two detectives searching for her missing brother who witnessed the crimes of a political fixer.
Genres: TV Movie Mystery
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-10-20
Popularity:
Play it, Boogie-Woogie
Overview: A runaway cat-loving girl begins a love triangle with a reckless older man and a young biker in high school. The film follows their subsequent chaotic relationships.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1981-04-07
Popularity:
Flying
Overview: A young woman aspires to be a motorboat racing champion.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-05-14
Popularity:
CLUB DEJA-VU ONE NIGHT SHOW 松田優作・メモリアル・ライブ
Overview:
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2022-04-15
Popularity:
A Bridge of Tears
Overview: Japanese drama film.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1983-06-17
Popularity:
Goodbye, Flickmania
Overview: Set at the height of the Japanese student rebellion in 1968, the film tells the story of the friendship between two very different men—a fortyish film maniac who spends nearly all his time at the movies and a 19-year-old going through the final rites of passage from adolescence to adulthood.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1979-05-26
Popularity:
KT
Overview: This movie is a political/espionage thriller, based on a real kidnapping incident of Korean politician, Kim Dae-Jung.
Genres: Drama Action Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2002-05-03
Popularity:
Fish of the Fire
Overview: Hi no Sakana (火の魚, Fish of the Fire) is a Japanese novel by Murō Saisei; it was first published in 1960, and was later adapted into a single episode TV drama that was broadcast on NHK Hiroshima in 2009. The story describes the interactions between an elderly author and a young staffer from a publishing company as they collaborate on a book cover design for the author's latest novel.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2009-07-24
Popularity:
This Story of Love
Overview: Life and love stories of stunt men and women.
Genres: Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-09-12
Popularity:
It's Easier Than Kissing
Overview: After the death of her mother a young woman wants to meet her real father
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-01-28
Popularity:
Hangyaku no Tabi
Overview: Hiroshi Kakurai is an assassin who was thinking of retiring. He travels to an island in the Seto Inland Sea and begins to live peacefully with Shinobu, a woman he has fallen in love with, but the intensity of his love for her begins to drive him towards destruction...
Genres: Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1976-09-04
Popularity:
The New Morning of Billy the Kid
Overview: All the protagonists move about in a Tokyo Bar that has an entire wall taken up with a black-and-white reproduction of a photo of Monument Valley. The action starts as Billy the Kid, in full living color, walks out of the photo and gets a job as a waiter. Along with him on the working staff are a samurai straight out of the history books, a G.I. from World War II, and several other anachronistic characters. The plot (as such) revolves around keeping away the brutal mobsters and thugs who dominate the city streets outside of the bar, making the tavern safe for its easily recognized facsimiles of well-known characters.
Genres: Crime Comedy Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-08-01
Popularity:
Kagerô 2
Overview: An entertainment drama depicting the conflict of yakuza, centering on the female torso and her sister's feud.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1996-02-10
Popularity:
The Heartbreak Yakuza
Overview: A hardened gangster encounters by chance a woman he hasn't seen since childhood. They are both engulfed in the underground world of intergang warfare.
Genres: Crime Romance Drama Action
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-09-12
Popularity:
Ballad of Orin
Overview: A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1977-11-19
Popularity:
The Miracle of Joe, the Petrel
Overview: In Okinawa, a Japanese-Filipino gangster named Joe kills an Okinawan mobster. Joe temporarily escapes the pursuing mob by fleeing to the Philippines, hoping to find there safety and perhaps to link up with his father. He meets Yoko, a saloon girl, who looks after him, but soon Joe's enemies show up, determined to make Joe pay.
Genres: Action Crime Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1984-04-28
Popularity:
House of Sleeping Beauties
Overview: About an establishment where old men pay to sleep besides young girls that had been narcotized and happen to be naked, the sleeping beauties. The old men are expected to take sleeping pills and share the bed for a whole night with a girl without attempting anything of bad taste like putting a finger inside their mouths.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1995-10-14
Popularity:
Step on the Gas!
Overview: Yūji, fresh out of prison on parole, meets a stranger named Nao that asks for his assistance...
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1970-10-24
Popularity:
At Noon
Overview: Tadao decides to comes back from Tokyo to live in his home town, in the countryside. He stays at his parents place and finds a job, repairing transistor and television. He catches up with his friend Tetsuji, the only that haven’t left yet. But one night, Tetsuji decides to leave for Tokyo with a bar hostess.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1978-12-29
Popularity:
A Pool Without Water
Overview: The man has a monotonous job punching tickets for the Japanese railway. One night, while walking home, he saves Jun from getting raped by two hoodlums. A few days later, he sneaks into her house but gets discovered. Later, as he watches his son subdue an insect with a chemical, the man gets an idea to subdue women while they're sleeping so he won't be discovered sneaking into their home. His new hobby spirals out of control as his confidence grows.
Genres: Drama Crime Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1982-02-20
Popularity:
Did the Red Bird Escape?
Overview: A young outlaw can’t escape his rebellious past despite connections to a well to do family.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1973-02-17
Popularity:
Sosuke Loses His Lover
Overview: Koji Wakamatsu adapted Kouhei Tsuka's play of the same name into a human comedy about the members of a traveling acting troupe.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1992-10-02
Popularity:
Izo
Overview: Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.
Genres: Action Drama Fantasy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-09-07
Popularity:
Melody of Rebellion
Overview: The disbandment of the Tanno clan left gang member Tetsu to stray from the crime family's fold. He roamed the streets as a one man band, wearing a denim jacket and long hair with sunglasses to cover his piercing eyes. Befriending a like-minded lone wolf by the name of Gebasaku, Tetsu builds a coalition against higher forces. A graphic portrayal of irrepressible anger and a friendship worth dying for.
Genres: Action Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1970-07-22
Popularity:
Paper Lantern
Overview: A new wave Yakuza film in which Takanori Jinnai plays a young Yakuza suffering from stomach cancer who has very little left to live. This film is based on the posthumous manuscript of Shoji Kaneko, the legendary director who died of cancer after completing work on the hit "Ryuji".
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1987-05-23
Popularity:
Time Limit
Overview: Mizusawa (Takenouchi Yutaka), an explosives expert, is arrested and charged with a string of bank robberies. Because he is a flight risk, Detective Kayama (Ogata Ken) is assigned to transport Mizusawa to Shizuoka for questioning. On the way, Kayama receives word that the hotel where his wife and daughter are attending a party has been rigged with a time bomb. Being a "by-the-book" kind of cop, Kayama refuses to abandon his job and return to help his family. Meanwhile, the hotel is swarming with police and the bomb squad who are searching for the bomb and the culprit. Time is almost up. Mizusawa claims that he is the only who who can deactivate the bomb.
Genres: Crime Thriller TV Movie
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-06-25
Popularity:
Kanto Drifter
Overview: Young man returns from prison and sets out to destroy the gang that killed his friends and boss of his former gang.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1971-02-06
Popularity:
Azumi
Overview: In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ultimate assassin.
Genres: Adventure Drama Action Thriller Romance
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2003-05-10
Popularity:
Zatoichi: The Last
Overview: A blind master swordsman attempts to lead a quiet life with his wife but he is provoked back into battle.
Genres: Action Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2010-05-29
Popularity:
Ready to Shoot
Overview: A middle-aged man discovers an injured refugee woman trembling in the corner of his bar in Kabukicho. He quickly becomes aware that her life is in his hands when he learns she is hiding from the yakuza.
Genres: Drama Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-11-17
Popularity:
Business Trip
Overview:
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-09-30
Popularity:
Sukanpin Walk
Overview: Musical star vehicle for a young Kikkawa Koji.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1984-02-11
Popularity:
Take It Easy
Overview: Coming of age film about rock musicians.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-04-12
Popularity:
You Gotta Chance
Overview: The story of Tamikawa, a professionally and artistically burned out singer, who embarks on a search for a director named Goda. During the journey, the man not only experiences a lot of adventures, but also tries to find himself and answer the question whether he still sees his career in show business.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-02-09
Popularity:
Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage
Overview: After his parter Ahiru is gunned down in the process of arresting criminal Bruce Sawamura, cop Joe "Joker" Kawamura goes rogue and tries to get revenge. Since Bruce's last coup was stealing 5 million dollars in donations from a church, he is joined in his quest by nun Lily.
Genres: Action Crime
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-03-10
Popularity:
Tekken
Overview: A directionless young man, recently released from prison, tries to make a new start in life as a boxer...
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1990-11-23
Popularity:
Cabaret
Overview: A young jazz musician's desire to advance in his career runs afoul of organized crime in this thriller from Haruki Kadokawa. After a saxophonist starts playing at a particular nightspot, a thug from the Yakuza adopts him as a special friend for no greater reason than he plays one of his favorite songs well. As the dangerous life of the gangster intertwines with that of the musician, it brings harm to the musician's girlfriend, who is raped. This changes the young saxophonist's attitude about his patron, but his Yakuza "friend" is still too embroiled in his own problems to worry about anything else.
Genres: Drama Crime Music
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1986-04-26
Popularity:
Nuclear Gypsies
Overview: Barbara, a dancer, is coming home to Nagoya after a long absence. She lives above a bar in an area whose inhabitants are mainly from Okinawa. Upon her return, Barbara faces problems beyond her control. Her brother and two friends take one of their teachers hostage to extort money to go on a school trip. Miyazato, the man who loves Barbara is there, but not Aiko, her best friend. Miyazato, a yakuza and manager in a nuclear power plant has forced Aiko into prostitution for the workers of the plant. Barbara plans to help her escape from this hell. Aiko has been sent to Mihama. Without even thinking for a moment, Barbara decided to go see her friend.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1985-05-05
Popularity:
Knockout
Overview: A Japanese boxer stages a dramatic and dangerous comeback after suffering brain damage in the ring.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-11-11
Popularity:
Dream Street
Overview: A comedy about the lives of people living in the shopping district of Osaka.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1989-08-05
Popularity:
Billiken
Overview: The main hero of this film is the spirit of the once very popular wooden statuette called Billiken. It's a small god with a pointed head, a fat belly and a characteristic smile. When the casket in which the statuette was found is broken, the spirit of Billiken is free. After that he tries to fulfill the wishes of all those who had prayed to him, but it doesn't always works.
Genres: Fantasy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1996-08-03
Popularity:
Tomorrow
Overview: On August 9, 1945, the Americans dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. This film, based on a story by Mitsukaru Inoue, describes the daily life of people in Nagasaki the day before that fateful event. It presents the human drama of people's lives, and their feelings of joy and sadness. These include a newlywed couple, an expectant mother, and lovers who must say farewell because the boy is called to serve in the army. Each of these people, like others in the city, hoped to live with their dreams for ‘tomorrow’. But tomorrow never comes for them, as their lives are brought to an abrupt and unexpected end. Knowing how the story ends, in this case, doesn't detract from it at all; rather, it enhances the emotional impact, which is further heightened by the poignant musical score from Teizo Matsumura. 'Ashita' is the first film in Kazuo Kuroki's 'War Requiem Trilogy,' which also includes 'Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima' (2002) and 'Chichi to Kuraseba' (2004).
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1988-08-13
Popularity:
Waters
Overview: Seven young Tokyoites get scammed into working as hosts for "Dog Days" bar. Will they be able to overcome their individual differences and keep the club open?
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2006-03-11
Popularity:
Singapore Sling
Overview: Tatsuya is on a honeymoon in Australia. A couple of unfortunate encounters land him in jail, where he’s imprisoned without a chance of ever getting out again. His wife tries her best to launch an appeal, but it’s Tatsuya’s inmates who are his best chance of escaping his current predicament.
Genres: Drama Crime Thriller
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1993-09-11
Popularity:
Summer of the Lion Kings
Overview: Katsu, who belongs to the Murai group of the Sakagami Union, was frustrated by the distance from the yakuza world he had envisioned. At that time, Katsu, who met Osamu who belongs to the conflicting Dainippon Kyokushinkai, feels the real gangster scent of Osamu.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1991-01-12
Popularity:
Chicken Is Barefoot
Overview: A disabled child of separated parents gets caught up in police espionage due to his uncanny ability to remember license plate numbers.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2004-11-13
Popularity:
Confessions Among Actresses
Overview: In this intricately layered Japanese film, the nature of actresses and what they gain from acting is explored. The lives of three actresses are laid bare, and scenes from their lives are woven in and out of interviews with each of them. Each of them has experienced a traumatic event which contributes to their particular enjoyment of becoming someone else in dramatic roles.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 1971-11-17
Popularity:
Yankee Bokou ni Kaeru SP
Overview: In 1988, Hokkaido's Hokusei Yoichi High School became the first high school in Japan to accept students who had previously dropped out of high school from nationwide. This special follows Yoshiie Hiroyuki (based on a former graduate of Hokusei Yoichi) and his friends from the time they enroll in the school during it's first year accepting delinquents. This is a brilliant tale of troubled youths trying to break free from their former lives- fighting through various gut-wrenching challenges on their way- while the teachers struggle to help them every step of the way.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2005-03-27
Popularity: