The best Ai Hashimoto’s drama movies

A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.

Abandoned by her mother, young Ichiko leaves her life in the city to live off the land in Komori, a small town nestled among the mountains in rural Japan. Despite the void left by her mother’s disappearance, Ichiko comes to enjoy her independence and revels in her new-found connection with food and the elements. Visually luxuriant, this film follows Ichiko through one summer and autumn, as she learns to use and respect the time-honoured wisdom of rural folk and read the cycle of life and connectedness in the environment around her.

Ichiko (Ai Hashimoto) lived in a big city, but goes back to her small hometown Komori, located on a mountain in the Tohoku region. She is self-sufficient. Ichiko gains energy living among nature and eating foods she makes from seasonal ingredients.

When Kanako, a model daughter and a brilliant student, disappears, her mother asks her ex-husband, a violent former policeman, to find her. As his investigation progresses, his idealized image of Kanako cracks: the girl hides a dark life that her father can not even imagine.

A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.

High school student Ayumi is trained by his grandmother to act as a "tsunagu," an intermediary for people who want to reach the dead.

Jun is a university student. She meets high school student Haru. To Jun, Haru looks just like Sachiko who was the girlfriend of her now deceased father. Jun and Haru meet Tokio. Tokio is the grandson of Sachiko and they learn that Sachiko is now deceased. They find an open-reel tape from Sachiko's articles.

In a remote area of Hokkaido, two lonely high school students meet and connect through a shared love of music.

Noriko lost her mother Yoshie when she was only 10-years-old. Yoshie knew she would not be able to live long enough to see her children grow up and wrote birthday cards to her children in the future. Agonizing over relationships with friends, love and marriage, Noriko grows up with hints and thoughts hidden on birthday cards which are sent from her mother every year.

15 short films with an animated end-title sequence by young women directors born in late ‘80s to ‘90s.

Kenichi Shibuya is a 50-year-old salaryman who divorced a few years back. Since the divorce, his relationship with his daughter has become awkward. One day, Kenichi Shibuya and his boss Yumi Ayase are struck by lightning and die. They go to the afterlife. There in the afterlife they hear of a legendary soup. If someone drinks the legendary soup, that person is reborn, but the reborn person has no memories of their prior life. Kenichi Shibuya then searches for the secrets in the legendary soup, hoping to be reborn, but not forget his daughter.

A family believes they are aliens from other planets and tries to save Earth from impending calamity.

Chieko Sanda has operated a dry goods store in Kyoto for the past 20 years. Her family has owned the store for generations. Chieko is conflicted on whether her daughter Mai will take over her position with the changing of times. Mai is a college student and has not decided whether to take another job or take over the dry goods store. Meanwhile, Mitsuko Nakata runs a forestry in the outskirts of Kyoto. Mitsuko is Chieko Sanda’s twin sister, but they were separated at an early age. Mitsuko is in serious financial difficulties. Mituko's daughter, Yui, has talent in art and she goes to France. There, Yui feels a sense of powerlessness. Mitsuko notices and goes to Paris to see her daughter. Mai travels to Paris to take part in an event to show Japanese culture.

Hajime asks his friend Yoshi to set him up with his classmate Ann. Yoshi tries to do this for Hajime, but this just upsets Ann. Yoshi's relationship with Ann is now awkward. Yoshi doesn't know exactly why, but Ann becomes absent from school frequently. One day, during their summer vacation, Yoshi hears that Ann has dropped out of school.

When Koichi Takahasi (Miutani) is transferred from Tokyo to a small village in Iwate Prefecture, they set up hoe in a two-hundred year-old farmhouse. The family is split between those who hate the move and those who are happy. Fumiko (Yasuda), the wife, is unhappy at the change and doesn’t get on with her elderly neighbours, Azumi (Hashimoto) is sad about having to transfer to a new school. Koichi’s mother, Sumiyo (Kusabue), rather likes the new community while young Tomoya Takahashi (Hamada) really enjoys the new move because he can play outdoors. Koichi takes note of the split in the family but finds himself struggling at his new job. Thankfully the house has Zashiki Warashi (yokai) living there who will unite them with their antics. Judging by the poster these antics won’t be terrifying.

16-year-old Haruka lost the people she loved the most in a fire. Haruka is also physically and emotionally wounded from the fire, but she still dreams of becoming a pianist. She takes part in an upcoming competition. Inauspicious incidents then occur around her. Musical student Yosuke, who teaches piano to Haruka, tries to solve the case.