Aoba Kawai

Hoshi Shinichi is the "God of Short Stories" who published more than 1001 short stories during his lifetime, some of which are included in textbooks and continue to be read today. His stories often feature mystery, science fiction, or fantasy elements. A sometimes "humorous" and sometimes "cynic" look at society and mankind. Always short, but always surprising and unpredictable. Is it a poisonous allegory or a wake-up call? See some of his greatest gems come to life in this 2022 live-action adaptation

After causing a major incident, police officer Daigo Agawa takes his wife and daughter to live in the remote mountain village of Kuge. It seems the perfect place to recover from the ordeal, despite the mysterious disappearance of a previous officer posted there. One day, the body of an old woman is found on the mountain. The Goto family says she was attacked by a bear, but Daigo notices a human bite mark. It soon becomes clear that not all is as it seems in the village.

The drama revolves around Kounotori Sakura, an Ob-Gyn doctor working at the Persona General Medical Centre who is also a gifted jazz pianist. His mother had died in childbirth and he was brought up in an orphanage, which is what fueled his ambition to be an ob-gyn. He hopes to be able to deliver every baby to this world, congratulating them on the gift of life given to their little bodies. (Source: TBS)

Years after retiring from their formidable ninja lives, a dysfunctional family must return to shadowy missions to counteract a string of looming threats.

TOKYO MER is formed by order from the Governor of Tokyo. The name of the group stands for TOKYO Mobile Emergency Room. The members are emergency care professionals and they are to go to sites of dangerous accidents and disasters by ER car. Their ER car is a large vehicle equipped with the latest medical devices and an operating area. There, TOKYO MER saves lives of the injured. Kōta Kitami is a doctor for TOKYO MER and its leader. He holds a strong conviction that, regardless of the dangers, he will go to accident sites to save lives.

Two detectives communicate through a walkie-talkie to solve a cold case. One detective exists in the present day, and the other detective exists 15 years in the past.

Mano Reiji, a man who experienced a gruesome incident, is a forensic researcher at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Investigative Science Research Institute. Under the belief that "appraisal will result in the truth" and with his vast knowledge, Mano approaches cases from a view point that differs from others. On the other hand, Sawaguchi Nonna (Araki Yuko) is a rookie forensic researcher that begins working with the no nonsense Mano. They are forced to work together on a murder case.

Minami Hiromi is an FBI agent visiting Japan from the US for a limited time. Minami lost his sight due to an accident in the past and he is called the "last man" in the FBI, referring him as the last trump card to end a case with his strong sense of analysis, smell, and touch. Godo Shintaro has been assigned to attend to Minami. From a family that has served as the Commissioner of the National Police Agency for generations, Godo has an extraordinary sense of justice and is willing to go any lengths to catch the criminals. Minami, who is always ready to ask for help, and Godo, who has never trusted anyone except himself, become a duo and work together to solve cases.

The drama tells the story of a group of seven university students who travel to a deserted island where a strange decagonal mansion stands. It was the scene of a grisly mass murder six months earlier, and events soon turn ominous.

Two people, sake and gourmet. Yoshioka (Asaka), who is stressed by work, reunites with Keiko (Nakamura), a longed-for senior, because of his work in the “U-shaped bar” with a U-shaped counter.

Four renowned Japanese directors each adapt a supernatural short story by Japanese literary masters for the KAIDAN HORROR CLASSICS omnibus series. In his adaptation of Yasunari Kawabata's THE ARM, Masayuki Ochiai reveals the inner world of fetishists in an eerily unsettling tale of a man who convinces a woman to let him borrow her arm for a night. Meanwhile, Shinya Tsukamoto explores death and unrequited love in Osamu Dazai's THE WHISTLER, about a woman who spies on her dying sister's secret love life after her own romance is dashed by her father. After VILLAIN, Lee Sang-Il looks at social outcasts once again in Ryunosuke Akutagawa's THE NOSE. The story follows a priest with a hideous nose who kills a young local boy in a moment of blinding anger. Meanwhile, Hirokazu Kore-eda creates a gentler ghost tale with Saisei Muro's THE DAYS AFTER, about a married couple who thinks the young boy who visits their house daily may be the ghost of their dead infant son.

Bottakuri is a small bar located in the deserted downtown of Tokyo. In this place the beautiful sisters Mine and Kaoru, who inherited the restaurant from their late parents, serve hearty food and sake. The two sisters and their regular customers solve small problems and share wisdoms while eating and drinking. ~~ Adapted from the web novel "Izakaya Bottakuri" (居酒屋ぼったくり) by Akikawa Takimi (秋川滝美).

Professor Shiro Sakaki, a butterfly researcher, confesses to turning six young boys, including his own son Itaru, into "human specimens."

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.

The Abe family consists of French Toma, his Japanese wife Mikiko and their beautiful daughter Yuko. They appear like the perfect family. However, things start to change when Mikiko manages to get her daughter in show business.

Since his father died, manga artist Ichiro has barely scraped by, forced to support his two younger siblings on just a middle school education. He doesn't even have time to learn how to use a computer, which forces him to keep wrestling with pen and paper. When his art assistants quit to strike out on their own, on top of juggling deadlines, family, and the constant fear of losing his job, Ichiro feels close to a total breakdown. But then a new assistant pops into Ichiro's life, and his prospects immediately start to brighten! She's an incredible artist, she always finishes on time, and she's beautiful, to boot! But she also seems to know an awful lot about him, and soon, she makes a confession that bends Ichiro's mind beyond the confines of Earth…

Ritsu Hayakawa, a college student lives in happiness together with his sweet family; younger brother, younger sister, and mother, Kyoko. Their smile and Mom’s rice omelet always make him happy. However, Kyoko has to be hospitalized for cancer. He goes back home in gloomy feeling and sees that his siblings, who don’t know about their mother’s disease, are excited about a pizza-to-go for dinner. Ritsu can’t stand to see them, so he runs away to kitchen, then he find a notebook that his mother wrote down her recipe. He notices how deeply Kyoko loves her family, and how important meals are, then he decides to prepare meal for them to maintain his family’s life. One day, Ritsu comes to know that he doesn’t related by blood with Kyoko. He is an adopted child. Ritsu goes to see his biological mother, Maya, then he sees Maya treating his biological brother, Ruka, cruelly. Then he becomes to want to help Ruka from his mother.

As a young child, Hana loses her family to a devastating tsunami that wipes out her town. At a shelter, distant relative Jungo sees her wandering and adopts her as his daughter.

A secret life is the one thing they have in common. At school, Hori is a prim and perfect social butterfly, but the truth is she's a brash homebody. Meanwhile, under a gloomy facade, Miyamura hides a gentle heart, along with piercings and tattoos. In a chance meeting, they both reveal a side they've never shown. Could this blossom into something new?

During their childhood, a little girl and a boy made a pledge to meet again. Now at the age of 45, the girl, Kasumi, is now a divorced mother of a son of high school age. She works as hard as she can at a laundry delivery shop for the wealthy, in order to make a living. Then one day, Kasumi encounters a young male designer, Yuri, who has attracted international attention. He is somehow far too familiar with her and pokes his nose into her affairs. Kasumi is initially wary, but she soon learns that he has a pure heart and starts to get drawn to him. These two people with different backgrounds fall in love. Why did Yuri appear before her? Could he be the boy from that time?