Tamae Ando is an actress born on August 8, 1976, in Arakawa, Tokyo. She is married to Kuro Tanino, a theater playwright and director associated with the theater group "Niwa Gekidan Penino". The couple has one child. She's been active as an actress since 2001. She is part of the talent agency MASH. She was born as the daughter of a tonkatsu restaurant called "Donpei" which has appeared in the drama "Kodoku no Gurume". She graduated from Ogu Miyamae Elementary School, Ogu Hachiman Junior High School, and The Second Nihon University High School. Aspiring to become a diplomat, she entered Sophia University's department of Foreign Languages but dropped out. She went on to graduate from Waseda Universities department of Literature. Following her graduation, she joined the theater company "Pots Doll" and began working as an actress. She caught the eye of director Hiroki Ryuichi and was cast in her first film, 2003's "Vibrator". Following her 2003 movie debut, 2004 saw her appearing in her first drama. She left "Pots Doll" in 2007 but still appears in stage productions with her most recent appearance occurring in 2015.
Makoto Kanzaki is a PR man at a university. He is swept up in a series of scandals and is driven into a corner as he tries to make temporary solutions. A satirical comedy about modern society depicting the contradictions of modern society and the sorrows of its people with black humor....
Jun is an 18-year-old high school student. He hides the fact that he is gay from his mother and other people. Miura-san is a classmate of Jun. She likes reading books about BL (genre depicting homoerotic stories). Jun tells Miura-san that BL is just fantasy and that gayness in real life is dirty. Miura-san tells Jun that his remark is offensive to gay people. Nevertheless, Jun and Miura-san become close. Jun becomes interested in Miura-san, and Miura-san begins to have feelings for Jun. One day,...
Shūichirō Kiriyama works at the Limitation Task Force, the place where the cases which have reached the statute of limitations are destroyed. Getting bored of his job, he decides to find a hobby, because it seems important to him to have a hobby. So he decides to puzzle out the unsolved cases on his free time, helped by his coworker Mikazuki, who seems to have a crush on him....
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26-year-old car mechanic Hibiki Mamiya lives with his high school sweetheart of the same age, Kurumi Ogasawara. Life together feels so natural and filled with the warmth of each other's love. It was a happiness they expected would last a lifetime. Hibiki is secretly preparing his proposal to Kurumi when misfortune strikes. A tunnel collapses, trapping him for four days. Barely making it out alive, he discovers a world completely changed. There is absolutely no one around, communication signals ...
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Tamotsu is suspected of murdering his actress wife Shizuka Harada. He flees to Taiwan and commits suicide. Tamotsu’s friend Banji Masuzawa works as a private detective, and has doubts about Tamotsu’s death, but the case is covered up by powerful media mogul Heizo Harada....
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Suda Tamio is an ordinary salaryman. He experiences various stress throughout his daily life. His only pleasure is to set out on trips to find "Zetsumeshi." Zetsumeshi refers to endangered meals, that may no longer exist in the future. While his wife Kanae and child go attend concerts by their favourite idol groups, he leaves home on Friday after work and returns home Saturday night....
Takeshi Hongo is a promising young man with a passion for motorcycle racing. However, his dreams are suddenly ruined when he gets kidnapped by Shocker, the evil secret organization planning to dominate the world. After being remodeled into a cyborg, Takeshi escapes and swears to protect the world from the inhuman monsters....
In an otherwise mundane diner open from midnight to 7 a.m., there is no menu – but the chef cooks anything his customers want. Each episode is about different a different customer, as they find simple yet profound connections with one another based on their shared love of a particular dish....
Satoshi Itomura is an assistant police investigator who belongs to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Scientific Investigation Team. Reenactments, fingerprint and voice data collections, profiling... His team collects scientific evidence and pieces together fragments of information in order to help build evidences. However, Itomura often does not care about the scientific approach and instead pays a great deal of attention to the things that the victims always carried with them or treasured. ...
The story revolves around the 38-year-old Shijimi Usa (Watanabe), who is a high school classical literature teacher. Her students are mean to her, but they do not realize that she has another identity. Outside of school, she lies about her age to be active as the super popular 17-year-old Idol Singer Mayu Watanabe, whom the students adore. The show aired on TV Tokyo on Fridays starting from January 13, 2012 to April 7, 2012 with 12 episodes....
Private forensic researcher Nagareda Enishi (Katori Shingo) is usually very sluggish as well as sloppy, and always aloof. However, his entire demeanour changes once he is at a scene and his skills as a forensic researcher are topnotch. He stands up for the disadvantaged by using science and technology to uncover conclusive evidence and solve trivial civil cases which the police will not handle such as adultery, molest and stalking. Enishi used to be a member of the Research Institute of Forensic...
Onda Kokoro is an oncologist called Dr Onkoro for short by the people around her and teased that she was born for this path. She got married to Takumi, whom she had known since she was a student, and they had a son. Life was going smoothly for her. But three months ago, her husband fell in an accident and remained unconsciousness even though he underwent emergency surgery. Although Kokoro puts on a brave face at work, she still has not been able to accept reality. One day, she meets Kajiyama Kao...
In 2002 (Heisei 14), public relations officer Mikami Yoshinobu of D Prefectural Police, is having an intense confrontation with the correspondents’ club, over the issue of the anonymity of a perpetrator in a traffic accident that caused serious injuries. Meanwhile, the public relations office is informed by the top brass that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department commissioner’s visit to the home of the family of the victim in “64”, an important unsolved case with its statute of limitation abo...
The story of Asagaya Shimai living together as sisters even though they are not real sisters....
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....
Satoru Matsudo moves to Tokyo in hopes of becoming an actor. He has trouble breaking into the industry, but his luck begins to change when he finds an airplane ticket belonging to a talent agency CEO. Time passes, and Satoru makes a name for himself as an actor. He gets a call from America. Hoping it is a Hollywood offer, he instead hears about his estranged older brother....
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Rinko and Aya, employed in the Philippines in 1944, escape one of the most gruesome battles of the Pacific War. Based on the accounts of actual women survivors, this special depicts the friendship - the joy and sadness - shared by these two women, whose lives remain intertwined in wartime and long beyond....
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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....
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Yukio, a snowman, works at Midori's parents' supermarket and comes to live with them. The Yukio and Midori were originally "discovered" by the government after they lost their home due to a giant typhoon and ended up living in Tokyo. Yukio and Midori go on a tour of Tokyo at Akane's suggestion. Tokyo is hot in spite of winter. Yukio is surprised to see vending machines. He says that when he lived in the mountains, he used to be afraid of humans. The people at the supermarket are having a hard ti...
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She looks super competent at work but has no idea what she's doing. He seems like a mess, but he's great at his job. Together — they make quite a team....
Set in a small restaurant in the corner of a shopping district. The unusual eatery is only open after midnight, and its standard menu consists of just a single choice. However, the customers still come for the amusing chatter and the proprietor's willingness to cook any dish that they request. This drama depicts the lives of the restaurant's patrons, including a yakuza, an unsuccessful actor, a group of office ladies, a newspaper delivery boy, and a stripper....
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A teenager named Noriko Shimabara runs away from her family in Toyokawa, to meet Kumiko, the leader of an Internet BBS, Haikyo.com. She becomes involved with Kumiko's family circle, which grows darker after the mass suicide of 54 high school girls....
Three freelancers are having a casual conversation in a family restaurant late at night. The film version of the famous manga....
Matsunaga Yasuzaemon was a man called “Electricity Monster”. The post-war recovery and high economic growth serve as the basis for him to achieve the breakup and privatisation of the electricity business. As a follower of Fukuzawa Yukichi, he inherited the spirit of independence, self-respect and the people. He rose up alone from the ruins of the war. It was the fight of an unconventional, stubborn old man over 70 with an indomitable will. Minister of Trade and Industry Ikeda Hayato admired Mats...
In the Susukino red light district of Sapporo, a private detective (Yo Oizumi) drinks alcohol with his driver Takada (Ryuhei Matsuda) in his favourite bar. There he receives a phone call from a woman who identifies herself as Kyoko Kondo. The woman asks the detective to complete a simple task. The detective, having an excellent sense for danger, thinks the work is easy and accepts the case. The next day he begins the investigation....
Miwa is fired from her part-time job, sentenced to stay in Japan, and dumped by her boyfriend. She sets off on a trip to the Sea of Japan to find the truth, but her souvenirs are rather dull, including a rather rude female friend. This time she takes her younger brother Harumi with her to her home town. Together with Sawada, a classmate of Harumi's and a close friend of Miwa's, the three of them spend a summer holiday that takes them back to their childhood. However, when Miwa takes a picture of...
After losing their restaurant in a fire, a husband and wife come up with a strange plan to rebuild their shattered finances: marrying the husband off to a series of lonely women and defrauding them....
Although her mother died when she was ten, Noriko still receives yearly birthday cards from her. Her life gets complicated as she grows older but she still finds comfort in her mother's messages....
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world....
Misaki is ugly, clumsy, lackluster, and lives a life that is meant to be bullied by others. While collecting money from her part-time job delivering newspapers, she falls in love with a man named Yoshida who is kind to her....
"Daijobu 3 Kumi" depicts the interactions between new teacher Shinnosuke Akao, who was born without arms and legs, and the 28 students in his 5th grade class, told from the vantage point of school board member Yusaku Shiraishi...
Kanao, a courtroom portrait artist, observes crimes, scandals and the decline of Japanese values without passing judgement. As he and his wife endure the tragedy of their first child’s death, hope slowly unfolds and their love story flickers to life once again....
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A restaurant opens at midnight. Both the menu offerings and personality of the owner draw a series of flawed patrons including Tamako, whose boyfriend has passed away, live-in worker Michiru, and ruckus-raising Kenzo....
The semi-biographical The Extremists' Opera follows the everyday and inner struggles of a women-only alternative theater group delivering explosive and politically controversial explosive stage performances under the control of tough mannered director Naoko....
Adapted from the bestselling Japanese autobiography of the same title, this gentle coming-of-age drama concerns an adolescent boy, Boku - Masaya, torn between the inherited recklessness of his father Oton and the inherited responsibility, wisdom and emotional strength of his mother Okan. Following a period of intensely rebellious behavior, Boku learns that his mom has contracted cancer; suddenly, his mother comes to live with him in Tokyo the entire emotional landscape of his life is altered....
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....
When a gold ingot and a severed human head are discovered in a small provincial town, the rush to solve the curious case wavers between tragic and darkly humorous....
After Isao has reached retirement, he receives a phone call from an ex- elementary school classmate Norio inviting him to a reunion. During the reunion, none of them can claim to have had a wonderful life since graduating from primary school and have their respective problems now. It leads them to rethink that their lives are far from over and that there is still hope for them even at this stage of their lives. They encounter many unexpected happenings during the journey which reminds them of th...
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, c...
Meiko and Taneda are a couple graduated from university two years ago. Unhappy with their lives, Meiko quits her job and encourages Taneda to have his band become professional....
Yoriko Sudo believes in a new religious group Midoriinochikai, that worships water. She lives peacefully, devoting herself to the group daily....
Nana runs an inn called Nakajima-so in a seaside town. One day, a young man named Fujii Shuntaro comes to visit and reveals that his girlfriend stayed at the inn one year prior, just before she died. Following in the footsteps of his lover, Nana takes on the role of guide and joins Shuntaro as he wanders the town....
When easy-going Aoyagi meets an old friend for a fishing trip, he ends up drugged, framed for the Prime Minister's assassination, and on the run from corrupt cops. It's only the beginning of what quickly becomes the worst, weirdest day of his life. But he'll get by with a little help from his friends, who include a famous pop diva, a rockabilly deliveryman, a crippled old gangster, and the world's most cheerful serial killer....
After one of their group is caught for speeding a group of trouble-making teenagers decide to prank the local police officer. It starts with simple speeding pranks but gradually moves to more elaborate and bizarre pranks....
On the night before ‘Black Friday,’ which is the one of the busiest commerce days, a cardboard box, that is delivered from the world's largest shopping site, explodes. Soon after, a series of mysterious explosion cases occurs. The entire nation becomes terrorized by the shocking events. Funado Erena has just began to work as the center director for a large distribution warehouse that covers three-quarters of the Kanto area. Erena must gain control over this unprecedented situation with team mana...
A young woman named Miyuki returns to her hometown, camera in hand, after a difficult breakup. As she walks and takes photographs, she meets a variety of people and begins to realize she doesn’t have to go through this painful time in her life all alone....
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A depressed widower, a bored housewife, and a gay lawyer all intersect in this triptych of love lost....
A friend of the detective has been is murdered. During the investigation, he comes across a source which tells him that his friend was murdered for involvement with the dark side of the political world. On top of that, a woman approaches the detective with a request....
Struggling manga author Satoru Fujinuma is beset by his fear to express himself. However, he has a supernatural ability of being forced to prevent deaths and catastrophes by being sent back in time before the incident occurred, repeating time until the accident is prevented. One day, he gets involved in an accident that has him framed as a murderer. Desperate to save the victim, he sends himself back in time only to find himself as a grade-schooler one month before fellow classmate Kayo Hinazuki...
Azusa and Kanami have been best friends since high school. After Kanami dies in an unexpected accident, Azusa despairs yet finds comfort in sending text messages to Kanami’s cellphone. Kanami’s parents wonder about Azusa’s identity, and upon visiting the orphanage that their dead daughter cared about, are moved by her good deeds....
Toshiya (Yoshinori Masakado) graduated from an art college and works in Osaka. One day, he comes to Kyoto to visit his cousin Saki (Renbutsu Misako) and interacts with Saki and his friend Nao (Tamae Ando). He feels a little envious of Saki, who runs an antique shop in Kyoto and seems to live a free and easy life. As he visits small, nostalgic and sophisticated shops run by individuals and shops rooted in everyday life, he is comforted by Kyoto's nature, he begins to feel a desire to live in Kyo...
The Master’s late-night diner welcomes a woman troubled by funeral fans, an elderly scam victim, and a noodle delivery man struggling with love....
Shuichi Furukawa receives a phone call from his mother. She reminds him that they are moving the next day. The following day, Shuichi takes a train ride back to his hometown. He arrives at his parents home, but nobody is home. He looks for the house key under a potted plant but can't find the key. He starts to thinks back to his childhood days in his parents home. Shuichi grew up with his younger brother, older sister, father who ran a shoe making business out of their garage and mother. Shuichi...
Urumi Kenji is a scoundrel who tricks women with his handsome looks and charm into a marriage yarn and swindles them out of their money. He is not a one-man show however. He works with Sengoku Ruriko. They use plotting, scheming, tricking, engagement rings, gourmet and sex to succeed....
Based on the novel "Kanojo no Jinsei wa Machigai ja Nai" (literal translation: Her life is not at fault) by Director Hiroki, it is a powerful story of survivors, who are all trying to find their own silver linings in life....
In order to find a missing university student, a detective and his buddy get involved with the owner of a modeling agency....
15-year-old Hatsuko (Higashi Ayu) lives with her elder brother in a humble town house. Their mother died when they were young, and the father disappeared. The brother (Shioya Shun) left high school before graduation to work at a factory, but spends their meager house-keeping money on adult entertainment. Hatsuko, who is poor and has no friends, finds emotional support in Mishima (Sano Kazuma), a boy in her class, who helps her with her study to go to a high school together. However, Hatsuko's br...
Female students, including Hikari Tomonaga, from a high school cheerdance club follow strict instructions from their teacher Kaoruko Saotome. They compete at the USA Cheerdance Championship....
Saki's father is an alcoholic and her mother is a follower of a new religion. She sees her father's strange behavior and her mother's loneliness. Her family is collapsing, but Saki struggles to look for her future....
Dr Toma, a skilled surgeon, starts work at a regional hospital in Japan. After performing an operation to remove a patient’s liver cancer, something that normally would not be done at this hospital, he quickly gains a very good reputation amongst the town’s people. Some of his colleagues become so jealous they are resentful and waiting patiently for the perfect opportunity to crucify him. Soon they get their chance as Dr Toma considers performing a controversial operation…...
The movie is made up of three parts. Cursing: A year has passed since Mari's (Mayu Hotta) mother died. She still misses her mom very much and feels loneliness without her. Her father decides to marry Asami Kamijo (Ayaka Komatsu) and he brings her to their house. Mysterious events take place. Waltz: A filming team goes to an abandoned mountain home to film a mockumentary. The director purposely avoided giving out a screenplay. The director tells his team that a tragedy will happen. A tragedy th...
Mitsuko Murakami puts the passion to balloon in the hot-air balloon Circle "Airheads". The club gathered young people holding a variety of thoughts. But "Airheads" is disbanded not too long. Five years after their time in the Balloon Club ended, the members' former club leader brings them back together and rekindles old flames....
A recently divorced and traumatized man moves to Hakodate, Hokkaido and attends a vocational college to learn carpentry along with several other students who are in the same boat as he. When a couple of the guys go to a hostess club the man meets an unconventional girl who likes him and a relationship is born....
Rei is a freelance writer embattled by personal demons. She hears voices in her head, and has sleeping problems, eating disorders and drinks excessively. On Valentine's Day, she meets truck driver Takatoshi. She joins him on a journey in his bumpy and shaky truck - which vibrates in tune with her uneasy soul....
A group of junior high school must find out the truth of their classmate's death is he was killed by someone or committed suicide....
A group of junior high school must find out the truth of their classmate's death is he was killed by someone or committed suicide....
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After Satoru Watarai graduated from elementary school, he dropped out of school and decided to live within his apartment complex, never to venture outside. Satoru Watari then meets his old friends as they are coming back from their middle school classes. Satoru has now gotten a job at a cake shop within the apartment complex and eventually gets engaged to one of his friends. Satoru, still lives within the apartment complex only, but, as time passes, more of his friends leave .....
Based on a manga written by Tatsuhiko Yamagami, the story is set in a former seaport town Uobuka, where 6 former criminals were sent to live there by the government, with the intention of re-socialising them. Aside from the few who know about the project, the general townsfolk has no idea of the former convicts' identities. Tsukisue is the pleasant and efficient municipal official put in charge of the programme. As he slowly learns about their past, a body is discovered....
In a studio at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Gaku Hamada is struggling to shoot a movie with a dog in the lead role. Enter a huge cast of veteran actors who get involved in misadventures while on set....
Hanai Sota is 22-years-old and a university student in the veterinary department. Since he was little, he has always loved animals. His apartment is full of animals that needed help. One day, Hanai Sota saves a dog that was being used in experiments. To save more of the animals, he sets up the "Inubu" club. His friend Shibasaki Ryosuke, among other people, joins the group. Shibasaki Ryosuke also loves dogs and is a student in the same veterinary department as Hanai Sota. They work hard to protec...
Shino Umemiya readily dates guys interested in her, because she believes that's better than being alone. She breaks up with her violent boyfriend after he discovered that she cheated on him. She moves to a new area to get a fresh new start on her life. There, Shino Umemiya meets her neighbor Kyoshiro Sugahara. He is also her manager at her new job. Shino Umemiya becomes interested in him, but he lives with mysterious woman Akari....
Naruse Uta is a "unique" 13 year old child. She possessed the talent to read sheet music even before she could speak, but has now come to the point where she hates playing the piano. Her father was also a piano virtuoso, but mysteriously disappeared from her life at a young age. Because of her father's disappearance Uta's mother had to move out of their posh home and into a far modest working class neighborhood. In this working class neighborhood there is a local grocer. The grocer's son Kikuna ...
Orimoto Shinnosuke, a former popular news anchor, was forced to leave the nationwide news program “Showtime 7” for a certain reason. Orimoto, now a negotiator, forcefully goes live on air to negotiate with a bomber. Based on the 2013 Korean film “Terror, Live.”...
Jumbo, Matsun and Mickey are still having the same loose, delusional talk in a family restaurant late at night. Tonight, they thought they would be talking nonsense again, but for some reason, they started talking about foreign countries. Do you think they're going to leave the family restaurant?...
The three freelancers Mickey, Matsun and Jumbo start dabbling as usual. For some reason, the conversation turns to Sentai Mono. Their fantasies grow as they think that the Famidala Sentai Famiranger will stand up to the evil of the Familess world... (‘The leader is Red, isn't he?’). (The leader is Red, isn't he?)....
Suddenly Mickey says, ‘The era is comedy’, and the three start talking about what role they should each play as comedians (‘What should I do?’). [Contents. Mickey's talk is on top form again today. But Jumbo and Matsun look at him... (‘This is now, isn't it?’). (‘This is now, isn't it?’)....
A unique film in which three freelancers talk about unimportant things in a family restaurant. The fast-paced talk exchanged in a loose atmosphere is sure to generate strange laughter. Jumbo, Matsun and Mickey are three freelancers who gather at the family restaurant Big Boy at 2am. They come here night after night to catch up on their contentless conversations. The three of them and an old man eating a parfait by himself at another table......
Todo Shunnosuke is a movie director who passed away thirty years ago. Just before his death, he told his wife about three short films which contained a secret. Years later, Todo's wife, who is on the verge of death, asked Madame Marmalade to solve the mystery. (2nd part of the 2-part Quiz movie : the audience gets to find out the answers to some questions asked in the "Question Version" film, and the people who got the answers right get their names placed in the film)....
Todo Shunnosuke is a movie director who passed away thirty years ago. Just before his death, he told his wife about three short films which contained a secret. Years later, Todo's wife, who is on the verge of death, asked Madame Marmalade to solve the mystery. (1st part of the 2-part Quiz movie : questions were asked to the audience at the end of the screening and the answers were given in the follow-up film, "Answer Version")....
A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process....
When a young student shows signs of trauma, his parents act swiftly against his middle school teacher. But all may not be as it seems, leading the scales of justice to tip in fascinating, heartbreaking ways....