Movies by Mayu Matsuoka
Shoplifters
After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them.
Chihayafuru: Part II
After successfully won the Tokyo qualifying tournament, Chihaya and her friends are set to go on to the nationals. As they prepare, Chihaya is faced with new personal issues as her childhood friend and inspiration, Arata, has announced that he has quit competitive karuta. Not only that, but a new rival emerges in the reigning female champion karuta player, Shinobu Wakamiya, a karuta prodigy who became the nation's and the world's greatest female karuta player as a 9th grader. All of this forces Chihaya to reexamine her love of the game in th...
Cats Don't Come When You Call
Mitsuo is a boxer who prefers dogs but ends up looking after two cats that his brother rescues.
Chips
Tadashi Imamura is a burglar who idolises Ozaki, a star baseball player he shares a birthday with. One day he realises their connection is much deeper than that and decides to find out more.
Little Forest: Winter/Spring
Ichiko bakes a cake for an end-of-year party with her friends. In the depths of winter, making mochi and curry keeps the people of Komori warm. Later, spring brings thoughts of her absent mother as well as rice planting and sakura, and she begins to think of leaving Komori behind again.
Little Forest: Summer/Autumn
Fleeing heartbreak in the big city, Ichiko returns to Komori, her rural hometown. She battles summer's rain and humidity, bakes her own bread, grows hothouse tomatoes and tills the fields. During autumn, the time for pickling and preserving fish and sweet potatoes, Ichiko begins reaping rice and recalls her departure five years before.
The Kirishima Thing
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
Strayer's Chronicle
In the early 1990s, experiments were carried out secretly in Japan. Two different methods were used in the experiments. One method involved forcing stress upon expecting parents and when the baby was born, provoke the baby into mutations and develop their special abilities. The other method involved birth to babies having abilities of animals and insects. The special abilities were derived from gene manipulation. Subaru, Saya and others were born from those experiments.
The Wonderland
The story follows Akane, a girl with no self-confidence. On the day before her birthday, she meets a mysterious alchemist, Hippocrates, and his student, Pipo, who both tell her they're on a mission to save the world. Together, they set out from the basement for "Wonderland," and Akane finds herself labelled Wonderland's savior.
One Night
A family reunites after 15 years. They each have a story to tell as they have not forgotten what happened years ago.
Tremble All You Want
Yoshika has had a crush on Ichimiya, whom she calls "the One" since she was in middle school. Now, a 24-year-old salarywoman, her all-consuming fixation has prevented her from even considering another candidate for boyfriend until an office colleague asks her out.
Hell Dogs
Bent on revenge, a traumatized ex-police officer must infiltrate a yakuza organization by befriending one of the group's most unhinged members.
Screaming Class
Kana is an ordinary high school student. One day, her photo is selected for a magazine and, because of this, Kana receives attention from popular student attention Rio. The attention though is not the kind Kana wanted. Kana is bullied by Rio and her friends. A rumor exists that a ghost exists in the old school building. The ghost is able to grant someone's wish, but that person will lose something important to them. The ghost is a former student named Yomi, who died in an accident 12 years ago. Kana decides to go see the ghost. The next da...
Theatre: A Love Story
The director of a theatre company is in crisis and his actors have lost confidence in him. One day he meets a woman wearing the same shoes as him, immediately sparking chemistry between the two.
Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction
Hayami Teruya is a dedicated salaryman who does a workman like job as the chief editor for a magazine. He has personal charm, get along with both the publisher and subordinates and runs the ship well. Chatting with his direct boss he picks up a certain vibe. Did he misunderstand that the magazine is doomed and will be terminated? If so, he is not going down without a fight. He will fight to make it through and keep his, and the others', jobs.
Kuroido Goroshi
March 1952, the only doctor in the village Shiba had found a dead body of Sanako. The cause of death is overdose of sleeping pills. Sanako had been suspected for killing her own husband so Dr. Shiba’s sister Kana is guessing that she has committed suicide due to being tormented by killing her husband. Everyone who was in Mr. Kuroido’s house is the suspect, including all the members of Kuroido family, butler, secretary, maids, etc. The Detective Suguro (Hercule Poirot) will investigate the case. Dr. Shiba will be assisting him. As things are ...
Listen to the Universe
Four pianists take part in the preliminary round of an international piano playing competition. Each has a story that is different and unique. One is a former child prodigy who stopped playing when her mother died. One is a Julliard student. One is a new face and yet comes recommended.
Samulife
Nagaoka is a former high school teacher. He decides to start a school with an ideal learning environment. To achieve this goal, he struggles to make money by running a bar and a publishing company.
blank 13
Thirteen years after abandoning his wife and two sons by stepping out for a pack of cigarettes and never returning, deadbeat gambler Masato dies of stomach cancer. At his funeral, a motley crew of fellow mahjong players, pachinko parlor employees and former drinking buddies gather to pay their respects and tell stories, revealing aspects of Masato’s life that complicate his sons’ resentment towards him.