The best Hikohiko Sugiyama’s movies

Shigemori is a lawyer tasked with defending Misumi in a murder trial. Misumi has previous convictions for murder and has confessed to the crime, but evidence in the case leads to Shigemori having doubts about what really happened.

When Yuko Takeuchi’s unnamed novelist receives a letter from Kubo, her interest is piqued by the strange sweeping sounds that the latter hears in the dead of night. On further investigation, the amateur sleuths discover that nobody stays in Kubo’s building for long, and many previous tenants have died in mysterious and gruesome circumstances. It’s clear that the noises barely scratch the surface of the malevolent forces at work.

With Saitama no rappa 2 (AKA 8000 Miles 2 – Girls Rapper), Yu Irie tells the story of amateur girl rappers who dream of a small big-time. The film opens with Saitama 1 B-boys, Ikku and Tom coming to town. They run into young Ayoma (Maho Yamada), inspiring her to gather her girlfriends and work up their rap routine.

Kenji, abandoned by his mother, scrapes out a meager existence doing odd jobs including driving bar hostesses and their customers home. Besides this he takes care of the sister of an old friend in jail and a young illegal immigrant. But his life reaches a turning point when he happens to meet Chiyoko, his long lost mother. She is now married to Mamiya, the owner of an express package delivery service. They also have a teenage son, Yusuke. Subdued feelings of alarm, discomfort and resentment between Chiyoko, Kenji, and his half brother Yusuke hide underneath and are seemingly caused by the inseparable blood ties that seem to wield control over everyone's destiny. Is blood that powerful? What exactly defines a mother or a father? While Kenji struggles with these questions and attempts to escape his fate, Chiyoko seems content to let these issues unfold and find a solution. Where will it ultimately lead them?

There is an old love hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku district where couples can rent a room by the hour for romantic assignations. However, few of its regular customers seem to come there for sexual encounters; the hotel has become a hangout for rootless teenagers, senior citizens looking for a place to relax, and kids that play under the watchful eye of its owner...

Ikku, Mighty and Tomu live in Saitama, not exactly the coolest places to get involved in a wanna-be rap star lifestyle. But try they do with their freestyle rap band Sho-Gung. Yu Irie, who gained the Grand Prize at Yubari Fantastic Film Festival with this film, grew up in Saitama and inserts the grim realities of suburban youth skillfully in his comedic style.

Noboru runs a real-estate agency in a provicial Hokkaido mountain town. He is despised by the locals for his aggressive business practices. His daughter, Nana—a high school senior—bears the brunt of their anger; and yet, she resolves to stay after graduation, even though her father wants her to leave with him for Tokyo.

Ryo (Yamada Masasi), the lead singer of an amateur rock band at night, owns a Ramen noodle shop. He cannot fly on airplanes because he has a fear of them. Ironically, he finds himself attracted to a stewardess who comes to eat very often at his shop. One day, an opportunity comes knocking on their doors - they are to perform in Seoul. The performance day approaches, but their dream of performing in Seoul is about to be shattered because of Ryo, who cannot fly on an airplane. As a last resort, Ryo decides to take a taxi in Tokyo and fly to Seoul, leaving behind the charming stewardess who makes his heart flutter.

Shinohara has spent the last 14 years wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his wife. After finally gaining his freedom, his only thought is of revenge. With the help of a policeman plagued by regret that he helped imprison an innocent man, Shinohara searches his wife’s true killer.

The beautiful Azami is tired of her penniless and lazy boyfriend, Hideji. Determined to break up with him, she must first get back all the money she has given him over the years. She hatches a plot in which she fakes her own kidnapping to get Hideji to pay a ransom. Things get hilariously complicated when all parties involved act to their own agendas.