trailers.fm
trailers.fm / Guide / Drama + 1990s + Japanese
Japanese drama films from the 1990s
The best 100 of 136
- 1
Whisper of the Heart
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."
- 2
Only Yesterday
In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.
- 3
Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku
Bardock, Son Goku's father, is a low-ranking Saiyan soldier who was given the power to see into the future by the last remaining alien on a planet he just destroyed. He witnesses the destruction of his race and must now do his best to stop
- 4
Dreams
Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, an
- 5
Kikujiro
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tea
- 6
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death and Rebirth
Originally a collection of clips from the Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, Death was created as a precursor to the re-worked ending of the series. Rebirth was intended as that re-worked ending, but after production overruns Rebirth became only the first half of the first part of The End of Evangelion, with some minor differences.
- 7
Love Letter
Hiroko attends the memorial service of her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, who died in a mountain-climbing incident. Although Itsuki's mother says that their old house is gone, Hiroko records the address listed under his name in his yearbook and send
- 8
Maborosi
A tragedy strikes a young woman's life without warning or reason. She continues living while searching for meaning in a lonely world.
- 9
A Scene at the Sea
A deaf garbage collector happens upon a broken and discarded surfboard. The discovery plants in him dreams of becoming a surf champion. Encouraged by his also deaf girlfriend, he persists against all odds.
- 10
After Life
On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then, over the course of the week, assist them in choosing a single memory to keep for eternity.
- 11
Shall We Dance?
A bored accountant spots a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private
- 12
Kids Return
Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.
- 13
Madadayo
In postwar Tokyo, beloved writer-professor Hyakken Uchida retires and is buoyed through hardship by the fierce devotion of his former students, who honor him each year with a raucous “Not yet!” birthday toast. Told in warm, gently comic vig
- 14
Rhapsody in August
An elderly Nagasaki hibakusha spends a summer caring for her four grandchildren, whose curiosity about the 1945 bombing stirs buried memories and moral questions. When an American nephew from Hawaii visits, the family confronts grief, guilt
- 15
Swallowtail Butterfly
The struggles of a group of outcasts living in "Yentown", in an alternate-future Japan.
- 16
Boiling Point
Masaki, a baseball player and gas-station attendant, gets into trouble with the local Yakuza and goes to Okinawa to get a gun to defend himself. There he meets Uehara, a tough gangster, who is in serious debt to the yakuza and planning reve
- 17
Bullet Ballet
After his girlfriend commits suicide, a man becomes embroiled in gang warfare attempting to obtain a gun in hopes to kill himself.
- 18
April Story
In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.
- 19
Revolutionary Girl Utena: The Movie
In a loose retelling of the Revolutionary Girl Utena TV series, Utena Tenjou arrives at Ohtori Academy, only to be immediately swept up in a series of duels for the hand of her classmate Anthy Himemiya and the power she supposedly holds. At
- 20
The Bird People in China
Wada, a salary man, is enlisted to venture off to China to investigate a potential Jade mine. After his arrival, Wada encounters a violent, yet sentimental, yakuza, who takes the liberty of joining his adventure through China. Led on their
- 21
Haru
A young Tokyo businessman joins an online movie forum and develops a special bond with one of its members through back and forth e-mails.
- 22
The Eel
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
- 23
Tokyo Fist
A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru. After an altercation, Tsuda begins training rigorously himself, leading to an extremely bloody, violent confrontation.
- 24
Gundam Wing: The Endless Waltz
After Colony (A.C.) 196, one year following the end of the battles between the Earth Sphere and the space colonies, peace has spread throughout. The Gundam pilots find themselves attempting to rebuild their lives. No longer having need of their weapons of war, their Gundams are sent into the sun to be destroyed. But suddenly, Relena Darlian, now a high-ranking government official, is kidnapped by a colony with aspirations of total dominance. The pilots and their allies find themselves called into action once again. The Endless Waltz has resumed...
- 25
Moving
Physically separated from her father and at odds with her distraught mother, a girl must negotiate her own passage to maturity.
- 26
Postman Blues
Sawaki is a postman who's not quite thrilled about his boring way of life. But his life is about to change when he delivers mail to his old schoolmate Noguchi, who's now a member of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia, and just finished cutting his little finger off.
- 27
Suzaku
Depicts the life of a family in a remote Japanese timber village. Family head Tahara Kozo lives with his mother Sachiko, wife Yasuyo, nephew Eisuke and young daughter Michiru. Economic recession and failed development plans cause tragedy in the family.
- 28
Fireworks, Should We See It from the Side or the Bottom?
One summer day, a group of sixth-grade boys have an argument about whether fireworks are round or flat when viewed from different angles and embark on a journey for the answer during the annual firework festival. Meanwhile, one of their cla
- 29
2/Duo
The slow collapse of the relationship between an out-of-work actor and his girlfriend.
- 30
Taboo
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering around a handsome young samu
- 31
Charisma
A seasoned detective is called in to rescue a politician held hostage by a lunatic. In a brief moment of uncertainty, he misses the chance for action. Leaving his job and family without explanation, he makes his way to a mountain forest, encountering a peculiar tree called Charisma.
- 32
Sleepless Town
Kenichi is a half-Japanese, half-Chinese man of the underworld. You can sell him anything except children's organs. His domain is in Kabukicho, a gangland controlled by various Shanghai gangs intent on taking control. His former partner-in-
- 33
August in the Water
A teenage girl gains supernatural power after an accident and comes to understand her place in the universe.
- 34
The Friends
A delightful and moving coming-of-age story. One summer, three young boys take an increasing interest in an eccentric old man who lives alone in a house surrounded by an overgrown garden. The boys form a bond with the recluse and set about weeding and replanting the garden.
- 35
Chizuko's Younger Sister
The Kitao family is coping with the loss of the eldest daughter, Chizuko, who was killed in a freak accident the year prior. When the other daughter Mika is suddenly in a dangerous situation, Chizuko returns as a ghost to save her; reunited with her sister, Mika begins spending time with Chizuko again.
- 36
Spring and Chaos
Set in the beginning of the 20th century Japan, the film follows the bright and eccentric Kenji from his late student years through his adulthood. Kenji suffers the tragedy of being an artist whose art isn't recognized during his lifetime. Based on the life of the author Kenji Miyazawa, the film depicts his brief but intense existence.
- 37
Fudoh: The New Generation
In order to settle a business dispute, a mob leader murders one of his own teenage sons. The surviving son vows to avenge his brother's death, and organizes his own gang of teenage killers to destroy his father's organization.
- 38
Labyrinth of Dreams
Tomiko falls in love with Niitaka, even though she also suspects him of being the Tokyo bus driver serial killer, who killed his female conductors after tiring of them.
- 39
The Most Terrible Time in My Life
Maiku Hama is a private detective working in Yokohama. Hama comes to the aid of a Taiwanese waiter named Yang and agrees to track down his missing brother. Through a series of double-crosses Hama gets embroiled in a gang war and a revenge plot between the two brothers
- 40
Gonin
Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers.
- 41
Sada
On 17 May 1936–during a period of war, economic depression, public unease and growing militarism, a time of unrest and confusion when public opinion was, at best, unpredictable–Sada Abe killed and emasculated her lover. Condemned by the law
- 42
A Quiet Life
A melodrama about the life of a mentally disabled young man and his devoted sister after their famous novelist father and housewife mother go to Australia on a business trip.
- 43
Supermarket Woman
A struggling Japanese neighborhood supermarket manager chances upon an old classmate, who has plenty of ideas for revitalizing his business.
- 44
Gonin 2
Five women snatch one billion yen in jewellery from the yakuza, while construction manager Toyama burns for revenge against the mobsters who raped and caused the death of his wife. Before long, the yakuza and Toyama arrive at the women's hi
- 45
A Last Note
A retired actress whose husband has recently died visits her summer home. There she has encounters with old friends and acquaintances who bring various stories and news of death and the past
- 46
Gemini
When his mother's untimely death quickly follows his father's, a doctor begins to believe a killer may be targeting him and his amnesiac wife.
- 47
Black Angel 2
Mayo, the Black Angel, is ordered to assassinate a powerful syndicate leader. The hit goes awry, however, as the crime boss' bodyguard steps in the way. It's none other than Yamambe, who once rescued Mayo from a rape and has lived in her heart since then.
- 48
Ocean Waves
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it b
- 49
Eyes of the Spider
After killing the man he believes murdered his daughter, a white-collar worker returns to his mundane life, until he's approached by a man offering a mysterious job opportunity.
- 50
Give It All
Etsuko – a typical Japanese high school student, who's unlucky in love, an academic failure, and plain bored with life. That's until one day, the view of a boat gliding gracefully in the sea inspires her to take up the oar. Since she's rejected by her school's all-male rowing team, she decides to form her own all-women team. Nothing will ever be the same again.
- 51
The Fetist
In the district of Shinjuku, a cut-throat rōnin student crosses paths with an uninspired painter who does the utmost for his envisioned muse.
- 52
The Last Dance
A successful Japanese movie director in his sixties becomes increasingly ill while working on his latest film. Though his family, friends, and doctor try to keep the secret of his terminal cancer from him, Buhei gradually comes to realize the truth of his condition, leading him on a journey of despair, anger, and – ultimately – acceptance.
- 53
Sharaku
Crippled Kabuki player Tonbo is taken in by a strolling company of itinerant actors. An influential publisher notices his honest, bold art, and nurtures him despite persecution and betrayal.
- 54
The Stairway to the Distant Past
Broke, with his vintage Nash convertible repossessed, private eye Mike Hama is reduced to combing the mean streets of the Yokohama waterfront on a borrowed bicycle. But when Lily, a beautiful stripper from out of Hama's past, returns to town, the fuse is lit on a criminal powder keg set to blow the lid off the Yokohama underworld.
- 55
Lupin the Third: Island of Assassins
Lupin is framed for the murder of Inspector Zenigata by a mysterious assailant holding a silver-coloured Walther P38 pistol Lupin himself once owned. Tracking the true killer leads Lupin to the island of the bloodthirsty Tarantula assassins
- 56
Blues Harp
Ambitious Yakuza Kenji befriends harmonica-playing bartender Chuji, who moonlights as a part-time drug-dealer for the opposing gang. Their friendship is threatened by Kenji's plans for advancement, as well as by his bodyguards' growing jealousy of Chuji.
- 57
Bounce Ko Gals
Jonko runs a group of high school girls involved in paid dating. Raku is a street dancer. Togo was brought up in the US, and after being back in Japan for one year, wants to escape to New York. Their contact with the world of talent scouts
- 58
Basara: The Princess Goh
Furuta Oribe is ordered to become tea master under Toyotomi Hideyoshi after his teacher Sen no Rikyū, the former tea master, was ordered to commit suicide. Princess Goh, daughter of the lord but adopted by Hideyoshi, is outraged when Rikyū'
- 59
Round About Midnight
While on a cigarette break in between sets, Koji, a jazz musician, witnesses a murder and runs into a girl, Linda, who is being pursued by the killers. Mistakenly identified as prime suspects, they have to solve the crime but time is running out: Koji has to be back to perform in his club by midnight, as a very special guest will be attending.
- 60
Unlucky Monkey
A dark and strange comedy about a bank robber with bad luck. Bungling a bank robbery turns out to be a profitable mistake for Yamazaki, an amateur crook who ends up with 80 million yen after a string of improbable accidents. But having so much cash doesn't make his life is any easier. In fact, it gets much more complicated when Yamazaki stabs a hairdresser by mistake and instantly becomes a hunted fugitive. He's just one unlucky monkey but can he turn his luck around?
- 61
The Trap
When a hooded stranger appears in private eye 'Mike' Hama's office with the cryptic challenge "I want you to look for me," Hama is drawn into a string of bizarre serial murders that have Yokohama's police baffled and the city terrified.
- 62
Pornostar
A young man decides one day to start killing yakuza. After he kills his first two he gets roped into helping a wannabe gangster and his bumbling underlings to perform a hit. While things work out in the beginning, this young psychopath quickly becomes more trouble than the gang expected. Will they be able to rid themselves of him, or will they be his next victims?
- 63
What's Up Connection
When a Hong Kong teenager from a poor family wins a trip to Japan, he unleashes a chain of events that will soon bring him from his secluded fishing village to Tokyo. On the way, he connects with a barely competent tour guide and a gender-fluid pickpocket. Upon returning home with this merry band of schemers, he and his family of counterfeiters discover that a multinational conglomerate led by a ruthless Japanese developer has found the village, and is determined to raze it to build the new center of world trade.
- 64
All Under the Moon
A Korean taxi-driver interacts both humorously and tragically with his customers and employers in '90s Tokyo.
- 65
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still
An adolescent with the ability to control a looming war-golem becomes entangled in the Experts of Justice's fight against the infamous group Big Fire.
- 66
Tokyo Heaven
A pampered young model is killed in a traffic accident. Given the chance to return to earth, she becomes involved with the advertising executive who is trying to cover up her death. A blend of fantasy and trenchant realism in which Somai uses the ethereal glow of advertising images to comment on the transience of life.
- 67
Ley Lines
The story follows a trio of Japanese youths of Chinese descent who escape their semi-rural upbringing and relocate to Shinjuku, Tokyo, where they befriend a troubled Shanghai prostitute and fall foul of a local crime syndicate. Like many of Miike's works, the film examines the underbelly of respectable Japanese society and the problems of assimilation faced by non-ethnically Japanese people in Japan.
- 68
Black Jack: The Movie
Black Jack is a master surgeon who possesses impeccable skills, enabling him to perform operations that are impossible for even the finest surgeons. He now is faced with his most difficult task to date and must challenge the limits of medic
- 69
Yumeji
Following the life of Japanese artist and poet Yumeji Takehisa through the imagining of an encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past.
- 70
Stray Dog: Kerberos Panzer Cops
An elite police unit, rebelled against disarmament orders. Their leader Koichi escaped after the uprising. Years later, ex-member Inui seeks him, encountering unexpected twists. Upon finding Koichi, Inui realizes he's been manipulated.
- 71
Young Thugs: Nostalgia
Nostalgia is Takashi Miike’s favorite film of his considerable body of work. Including biographical elements, Nostalgia centers around the home and school of a young boy, whose family mix the violent and dysfunctional with the comic and the loveable. Though containing elements of the sudden and shocking brutality that many associate with this director, Young Thugs – Nostalgia is more concerned with a child’s moment of leaving the internalized world of fantasy, and passing on eagerly to the next stage of life. A wonderful, touching, startling vision that is uniquely Miike’s.
- 72
Noh Mask Murders
The patriarch of a bickering family announces his retirement, stirring competition about who will succeed him as a leading practitioner of Noh theater, his granddaughter or grandson.
- 73
Kamikaze Taxi
A young foot soldier in the yakuza seeks revenge when his prostitute girlfriend dies after a session with a high-ranking Japanese politician with a taste for torture. He sets out on a 'kamikaze' mission to kill his bosses and the politician
- 74
Woman in Witness Protection
Vain, middle-aged actress Biwako is placed in witness protection while authorities investigate the brutal murder she witnessed. Under the watch of two dedicated cops, Biwako struggles to maintain her career, her public image, and her personal life as she prepares for her new role on the witness stand.
- 75
Helpless
Yasuo is a gangster just released from jail. Believing his boss double-crossed him, enraged Yasuo is on his way to find the boss. But before setting out for the dangerous trip, Yasuo asks Kenji to take care of his mentally challenged sister
- 76
Nowhere Man
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.
- 77
License to Live
Having fallen into a coma following a car accident at 14, Yutaka wakes ten years later and realizes that his family is no longer intact: father, mother and sister live at different places, so he decides to reopen the farm that his family once ran.
- 78
Owls' Castle
As great military commander Nobunaga Oda consolidates his power across Japan, one of his actions is to wipe out a clan of assassins, killing every man, woman and child he found in the village. Years later, one survivor has hired a young, skilled assassin to avenge his friends and family. His mission: to sneak into the most heavily guarded castle in Japan, and eliminate the supreme ruler.
- 79
Looking for an Angel
Takachi, a young porno star from a small town in Japan is found dead. His death provides the opportunity to show us his true emotions, and how his two best friends in Tokyo remember him. These two travel back to Takachi's town, Kochi, which
- 80
Open House
A struggling model and a troubled divorcee face loneliness and desperation in Tokyo.
- 81
Hakuchi: The Innocent
In a future where World War II never ended, Japan is decimated by nightly bombings. The only building left standing is known as the Media Station, a broadcasting center responsible for all of Japan's entertainment.
- 82
Keiho
The psychiatric evaluation of a young actor arrested for a brutal double murder concludes he may be unfit for trial. Further investigation, however, reveals the crime was a well-planned statement against the section of Japan's criminal code granting diminished responsibility to the mentally impaired.
- 83
Ronin-gai
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.
- 84
The Last Frankenstein
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.
- 85
Kyrie Eleison
A female detective tries to live a life of surveillance and of spying on couples having affairs while her husband is in a strange coma.
- 86
Close Your Eyes and Hold Me
Tenderly played Japanese love triangle between a man, his girlfriend and a transvestite hooker
- 87
Lupin the Third: The Columbus Files
When Fujiko secures a file that documents the location of the fabled Columbus Egg – a mystical relic that controls the weather – she quickly recruits Lupin and the gang to track down the long-lost treasure. Unfortunately, her memory of Lupi
- 88
Moonlight Whispers
Satsuki and Takuya are high school students who meet at kendo practice, where they bash one another with wooden swords. They begin an awkward romance, but Takuya soon reveals a masochistic side to his desires. He has been stealing Satsuki's
- 89
Raigyo
A black clad woman murders a man that she had just met by chance through a phone sex club.
- 90
Tetsuo II: Body Hammer
A Japanese salaryman finds his body transforming into a weapon through sheer rage after his son is kidnapped by a gang of violent thugs.
- 91
The Sting of Death
Miho and Toshio, putting their children and household at stake, duel for control in their degrading, middle-aged marriage.
- 92
Original Sin
Based on a novel by Bo Nishimura, the film is about an extramarital affair between the wife of an estate agent and a 22 year old man.
- 93
I Am Keiko
Keiko Suzuki is a lonely waitress in Tokyo. Her father passes away of cancer and she becomes obsessed with the passage of time. And so, three weeks before her 22nd birthday, she decides to record this period of time in the most accurate way possible, regardless of how lonely or banal this record ends up being.
- 94
Zero Woman: The Hunted
A woman with no past or identity, Rei is a gorgeous undercover agent for the Zero Department, a deadly shadow division of the police force. But her skillshave made her a threat and this sleek, sexy assassin has been marked for death by a ri
- 95
Angel in the Toilet
The story of an angel who encounters a series of men in a public toilet. A fable about identity.
- 96
Sasori in U.S.A.
Japanese lady gets framed for killing her man and is shipped off to prison in California. She escape and seek vengeance against those who wronged them.
- 97
Otaku no Video
A hilarious mockumentary featuring an animated tale of an average person who slowly becomes an otaku (obsessive fanatic) and eventually becomes the "Otaking"! Between story segments, live action interviews with fictional die-hard otakus tak
- 98
The Perfect Education
Schoolgirl Kuniko is kidnapped by a middle-aged man Iwazono when she is jogging. He tells her that he had a failed marriage which leaves him a deep and everlasting scar in his mind. He kidnaps her in search of a perfect marriage and intends
- 99
Kichiku: Banquet of the Beasts
While the leader is in jail, his leftist group is controlled by his girlfriend, but her leadership lacks conviction and perspective. When the leader commits suicide in prison, despair and confusion rule the group and revenge and violence er
- 100
A New Love in Tokyo
A look at the lives of two prostitutes in Tokyo: Rei, who works as an S&M dominatrix, and Ayumi, in the more straightforward profession of call girl. In addition to their working life, the film also looks at their private lives. Rei is acting in an amateur theatre company along with the receptionist from Ayumi's escort service, while Ayumi is living with her student-boyfriend as he struggles to finally get accepted to college.