The best Shohei Uno’s comedy movies

The year is 1987 and Japan is just reaching the peak of its economic success. Eighteen-year old Yonosuke Yokomichi arrives in Tokyo from Nagasaki. Ordinary in every way possible, he lives in a suburb far from the excitement of the big city and commutes to a university in the center of Tokyo.

Utsumi and Seto's daily routine is to spend their afterschool hours just jabbering with one another along a riverbed. Getting excited over trivial word play, agonizing over the content of an email to be sent to a girl, and, at times, talking about a serious problem, the two endlessly engage in meaningless idle talk as if it were meaningful.

Two Japanese friends accidentally kill their boss and dump his remains in Black Fuji, a mountain/landfill hybrid. This leads to poor results when the chemicals of the landfill mix with the corpse (and many other corpses) to give rise to a zombie infestation in Tokyo.

Hisashi Tanaka is a medical student in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. He does volunteer work and gets to know Yasuaki Kano at the hospital. Yasuaki Kano has suffered from muscular dystrophy since he was 12-years-old. Yasuaki Kano has his eccentric ways like running out of the hospital and saying that he wants to eat a banana late at night. Hisashi Tanaka thinks Yasuaki Kano is a lovely person. Yasuaki Kano develops a crush on rookie volunteer Misaki Ando. He asks Hisashi Tanaka to write a love letter for him, but Misaki Ando is Hisashi Tanaka’s girlfriend.

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.

Set within the fictional city of Mahoro, Keisuke Tada runs a "benriya" - a general problem solver for hire. His assistant is his former high school classmate Haruhiko Gyoten. A big crisis then occurs for them.

In a studio at the foot of Mt. Fuji, Gaku Hamada is struggling to shoot a movie with a dog in the lead role. Enter a huge cast of veteran actor who get involved in misadventures while on set.

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.

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.

Dr. Akiba, a rather perverted scientist, developed a series of sex robots, and Type 100 is his newest creation. She has highly advanced artificial intelligence — so advanced that she refuses to become Dr. Akiba's sex slave as he had designed and escapes from his lab. She meets college student Shunsuke Kubo and decides to stay at his apartment. However, as she is designed to be a sex robot, she interprets everything Shunsuke says in a sexual manner.

Sakai is a city near Osaka by the bay famous for its swords in the old days and kitchen knives today. Norio is an antique dealer in the city. Sasuke is a potter in the city. Seventeenth century tea master Sen No Rikyu appears before them one day.

Takuji Kameoka is a 37-year-old bachelor whose occupation is a “miscellaneous actor”. His only interest is drinking. One day he falls in love and his boring life begins to change. The film is based on the book “Actor, Takuji Kameoka” by Akito Inui, a five-time nominee for Japan’s most prestigious literary prize, the Akutagawa Prize. Satoko Yokohama, a much-admired up-and-coming newcomer, directs the film and we can immediately tell that she is a special talent, with a unique understanding that flows through to her actors and crew.

Shigeo is released from prison and immediately beaten up by some old associates, which results in him losing his memory. Kasumi, who just by chance happens to be the manager of a band, takes him in and discovers his talent for singing.