Movies by Masachika Ichimura
Giovanni's Island
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.
Thermae Romae II
In ancient Rome, bathhouse architect Lucius (Hiroshi Abe) becomes famous with designing the original "thermae" (bathhouse). He receives an order to build a thermae in the colosseum to help gladiators recover from their wounds, but faces difficulties. Thus, Lucius travels again to modern day Japan through the time slip. He meets Manami (Aya Ueto) again, who is now a reporter for a magazine which covers bathroom. With the help of the flat face Japanese tribe, Lucius again designs a new thermae. Meanwhile, Emperor Hadrian (Masachika Ichimura) ...
The Stand-In Thief
Hajime Onuki (Ryuhei Maruyama) was a thief, but he now works as a welder and lives happily with his girlfriend. Hajime Onuki is threatened by a former partner in crime. He forces Hajime Onuki to break into the mansion of a picture book writer to steal. He is caught by others while in the act, but they keep mistaking him for someone else. Hajime desperately keeps up the ruse to not get caught.
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.
The Nutcracker 3D
This adaptation of the Nutcracker story (by Tchaikovsky and original choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov) is updated in this stop-motion animation from the original Japanese release of 1979. The new 3-D rendering is complemented by the art direction of Sebastian Masuda who is responsible for much of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's style. She also provides music here.
The Floating Castle
In the year 1590, the mighty warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi is close to fulfilling his ambition of unifying all of Japan under his banner when he comes across unexpected resistance in the form of a floating fortress known as Oshi Castle. Narita Nagachika, a frivolous hedonistic fellow and unlikely candidate for the position of rebel general, finds himself in charge of defending the castle. His odds? An army of 500 men to combat Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army of 20,000.
Veronika Decides to Die
Towa lives in a peculiar sanatorium after committing suicide. Convalescing in sanatorium, she is informed that she has only 7 days to live. Isolated within their worlds, strange people live in this sanatorium and try to avoid making any contact with her. However, Kuroda a man who lost his power of speech feels sympathetic towards her and their every lovable things give true colors to the life and inspire Towa’s honest desire for the life…
Bushido
Kakunoshin Yanagida (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) was a samurai, but he was forced out of the Han due to a false accusation. He then lived in poverty with his daughter Kinu (Kaya Kiyohara). Despite being poor, he never gave up his pride and honor that he held as a samurai. Even when playing the board game Go, which is his hobby, he always plays in a fair manner. Because of a case, the truth behind the false accusation is revealed. Kakunoshin Yanagida is shaken and filled with rage. He decides to take revenge, even if it means he will be torn from his ...
And So the Baton Is Passed
Yuko Morimiya is a high school student and she lives with her stepfather Morimiya. Morimiya is her third father. Her mother, Rika, is a free spirited person and has remarried several times. She disappeared from Yuko's life at a certain point. Even though Yuko and her stepfather are not blood related, she is fully loved by him.
A Conviction of Marriage
The perverted serial killer who shook the world, "Shinagawa Piero," has been arrested. The killer turns out to be a 20-year-old woman! A boy, seeking to find his murdered father's missing head, writes a letter to her in prison under the name of Arata, a child welfare center worker who was counseling him. To fulfill the boy's request, Arata meets her, but when she realizes Arata did not write the letter, he abruptly proposes marriage to her to capture her interest.
The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin
The devious leader of Team Rocket Organization, Giovanni, has a fervent ambition to take control of the Pokémon world through both financial and military means. To achieve his military needs, he covets a Pokémon stronger and more adept than any other, a veritable living war weapon, so he enlists a scientist named Doctor Fuji to create this being from the DNA of the ancestor of all Pokémon and most powerful of Pokémon, Mew, which Fuji had found on a previous jungle expedition. Fuji accepts, for he is heavily into the prospect of cloning to cr...