The best Atsuro Watabe’s movies

A Westerner finds refuge with a group of women in a church during Japan's rape of Nanking in 1937. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.

The story of a teenage boy named Yu, who falls for Yoko, a girl he runs into while working as an "up-skirt" photographer in an offshoot of the porn industry. His attempts to woo her are complicated by a spot of cross-dressing - which convinces Yoko that she is lesbian - dalliances with kung-fu and crime, and a constant struggle with the guilt that's a legacy of his Catholic upbringing.

Ruthless dominatrixes pursue a mild-mannered salesman who wants to get out of his unbreakable contract with a secret bondage club.

Swallowtail Butterfly takes place in an alternate Japan, in a ghetto where immigrants from all over the world have come to live and make their fortune. The city is called Yentown, and it is much like Tokyo. Sixteen-year-old Ageha, a young girl whose mother has just died, is passed on from person to person until a prostitute named Glico finally takes pity on her. Under Glico's care, Ageha has many experiences with the other poverty-stricken immigrants in Yentown. Eventually, due to a sudden twist in fate, the immigrants are given a chance to realize their dreams. But in doing so, they destroy their solidarity, and have to face their problems separately.

Spinning off from the popular Professor Layton puzzle games, this movie brings Layton and his trusty assistant Luke to the big screen to allow fans to enjoy more of the same. At the beginning of the film Layton receives a letter from the famed opera singer, Jenice Kaitly, inviting them to see her newest performance. She also asks Layton, Luke, and Remi for assistance in a mystery, saying her friend Melina went missing one year ago but returned later as a seven year old girl saying she had found the secret of eternal life. Naturally, the case fascinates Layton and his apprentices, so they head to the Crown Petone opera house. When they arrive, something is very strange: the pianist, Ozro Vislar talks of a game, and the winner will win the "eternal life." It is up to Layton, Luke, and Remi to solve the mystery of the Eternal Diva before it is too late.

Being a failure as a teacher and a familyman, Shinichi tries to escape everyday live by dressing up as "Zebraman", the superhero. Although the TV series whas canceled after only 6 episodes, this cannot stop him from acting out his escape fantasy in a self made zebra-suit. He get's more then he could ever wish for, when his black-and-white dressed alter-ego seems to be the only thing to stand between absolute (green) evil and a happy ending.

“Three” is an anthology of three horror shorts from three different Asian countries.In "Dumplings" an aging actress wishing to reclaim her youth goes to a woman who makes dumplings that supposedly have regenerative properties; however, they contain a gruesome secret ingredient. In "Box" a soft spoken young woman has a bizarre recurring nightmare about being buried in a box in the snow. Searching for her long lost sister, she realizes her dreams and reality may possibly be connected. In "The Cut" a successful film director and his wife are kidnapped by an extra, who forces the director to play his sadistic games. If he fails, his wife’s fingers will be chopped off one by one every five minutes

Graduating at the top of her class, elite detective candidate Jun Shibata is transferred to the section that handles cases deemed "unsolvable" by the department. Her partner, though a well-respected and experienced detective, has grown complacent after unsuccesfully pursuing these cases that many consider an exercise in futility. With her upper class breeding, her colleagues don't expect much from her either, but she suprises them all with her motivation and astounding powers of deduction. Well-constructed mysteries and colorful characters abound in this stylish and edgy police drama.

Futakotamagawa High School had a Baseball Club, but because of a fight during one of their games, they were suspended for a year from all games. Composed of student delinquents, Futakotamagawa High's new Literature teacher Kawato Koichi inspires the Baseball Club to believe in a dream goal once again. For them, it is to play at the Koshien - Japan's National High School Baseball Championship. But, Kawato Koichi and the newly reformed baseball team run into plenty of obstacles along the way...

Adapted from the successful play, the film takes place in 19th-century Japan, where a war between demons and their slayers is fought. Izumo, a kabuki actor with a demon-slaying past, meets and falls in love with Tsubaki. However, something is not right, as mysterious marks appear on her body as time progresses. At the same time, it is announced that Ashura, the queen of all demons, will be resurrected and bring destruction to the universe.

Three murder cases take place in Tokyo. Numbers are left at the murder scenes, possibly hinting at where the next murder will take place. An investigation begins of the serial killer and Detective Kosuke Nitta works on the case. He believes the next murder will take place at Hotel Koruteshia Tokyo. To catch the killer, Kosuke Nitta goes undercover and begins working at the front desk of the hotel. Naomi Yamagishi works at the front desk of Hotel Koruteshia Tokyo. She is selected to train Kosuke Nitta for his front desk job, but they can't get along. Kosuke Nitta is focused on catching the killer, but Naomi Yamagishi prioritizes the safety of the guests. As they begin to understand each others differences, they also begin to build a trust between each other. Who is the murderer?

The ST team at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department consists of eccentric members. Some members do not cooperate with others and others do not reveal themselves in front of others. With Samon as the leader of the ST team and young Inspector Tomohisa tasked with managing the team, the ST (Scientific Task Force) attempt to solve the most difficult of cases.

Diving to save a camera from a fall down a flight of stairs, high school junior Naomi Sukuse wakes with no memory of the last four years. Naomi must remember who she was and figure out who she wants to be in this story of love and second chances.

"Falling into the Evening" tells the story of a young woman’s confusion when her boyfriend starts a relationship with another. Rica and Kengo have been living together for the past four years. It’s been a very happy time for Rica; the only dark spot being an accident she caused during a shoot for a commercial in which Kengo’s good friend, Shibata, nearly lost his life. The memory of this event weighs heavily on Rica’s conscience. One night Kengo tells Rica that he has fallen in love with a charming but „inscrutable“ woman named Hanako.

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.

On the outset, the Okunos seem like a normal happy family with father Tadashi and his two bright sons, genetics researcher Izumi and artsy Haru. When a series of arson attacks strike the neighborhood, clues left at the crime scenes seem to be somehow related to the Okunos. Izumi and Haru try to get to the bottom of mystery, slowly unveiling a tragic family secret that has come back to haunt them.