The best Ken Mitsuishi’s romance movies

When exchanging letters two women discover new things about a deceased man they used to know.

A woman with a body writing fetish seeks to find a combined lover and calligrapher.

In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.

High school student Naoki Tomura grew up in a remote area in Hokkaido. He meets piano tuner Soichiro Itadori in school and eventually decides to work at Itadori’s musical instrument store. Tomura gradually grows as a piano tuner through his interactions with the other tuners and musician clients

The police are tracking a man who shoots at people. But the young sister of a detective finds that he's not the mad vigilante portrayed in newspapers.

One summer day, a group of sixth-grade boys have an argument about whether fireworks are round or flat when viewed from different angles and embark on a journey for the answer during the annual firework festival. Meanwhile, one of their classmates, Nazuna, is troubled by her parents' separation and decides to choose one of the boys to run away with.

Saru is a talented young locksmith who unlocks any kind of lock. He is, however, a complete fool when it comes to women. One day a girl Mayumi asks him to open a safe full of stolen money. Knowing nothing about it, Saru takes the money briefcase with Mayumi and finds himself with yakuza gangsters and also police in hot pursuit.

Asuka is an aspiring model who moves to Tokyo to pursue her career. She moves into a small apartment with a friend of a friend, Kasumi. A bizarre murder occurs in the hotel across the street. The body was mutilated and repositioned into a lurid work of art. After this, a string of murders start happening all around the two girls, as if some crazed serial killer was following them. At the scene of each crime, the perpetrator leaves a black lip print, and is subsequently dubbed "The Black Kiss.

This enticing period melodrama depicts a long-suffering woman's relationship with her brilliant but self-destructive writer husband in postwar Tokyo. Based on a semi-autobiographical 1947 novel by Osamu Dazai, the story centers less on the womanizing, heavy-drinking, suicidal hero than on the wife who loves him. Written by Palm Springs International Film Festival

Japan, 250 years ago. Soetsu is a moneylender who is killed by the cruel samurai Shinzaemon. His body is dumped in the Kasenega-Fuchi river. According to legend, all who drown in the river will never surface again. 20 Years later, Shinkichi, the handsome son of Shinzaemon, coincidentally meets Toyoshiga, the daughter of Soetsu. They fall in love. It is a doomed love, as the spirit of Soetsu is far from dead

Set in the year 1969 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Kyoko Noma is a loving female high school student who takes part in campus protests. One day, she meets university student Wataru Domoto in the tea cafe Mubansou ("A Cappella"). Kyoko falls in love with him, but they get involved in an incident that leads to a shocking ending.

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...

Struggling scriptwriter Gota Yanagida and his wife Chika have been married for ten years and live with their daughter Aki. Gota suffers in his sexless marriage and tries to make his wife happy every day, but Chika is cold to him because he earns no money. One day, Gota is approached by a film producer about his story of “a high school girl who makes udon noodles at a tremendous speed.” He needs to go to Kagawa to write the screenplay and proposes a family trip there, and Chika reluctantly joins. However, a different film project has already been decided.

In 1987, frustrated junior high student Takashi hates his uncool father hanging around their suburban home all the time, and is pestered by the area’s wannabe gangsters. But he’s interested in the girl next door, the bounteously-breasted Megumi. One day, Takashi hears a rumor that porn actress Kyoko Yokushimaru is coming to town for an autograph session at the only video store in town where Takashi and his judo friends always hang out. Their ridiculous but serious adventure begins. What will Takashi find after all the surprises and chaos? Recalling youth classics like Stand By Me, this is the debut feature of Shin Adachi, Japan Academy Prize-winning screenwriter of 100 Yen Love.

Naoko meets Yusuke while staying on an island for medical treatment. Yusuke's graceful athletic figure captivates her eyes and she falls in love with him. But their relationship is soon broken after Yusuke's father dies while trying to save Naoko from drowning. The memory of Yusuke leads Naoko to the track, and six years later, they meet each other again at a Marathon competition. Naoko decides to become a manager to help Yusuke, a gifted runner, and they embark on training together to heal their sorrows from the past.

The series follow the story of a high school boy who lives in Tokyo, and his childhood friend, Hakatano Donko-chan, who is from Hakata and really talks in Hakata dialect! People around her sometimes get confused because of it, but her dialect makes them smile!

Moments of cherished friendship and somewhat painful memories of love

A failed director is trying to get his next movie off the ground, while dealing with his cranky brother and his estranged wife.