Takashi Fujii

A wildly psychedelic ride through Osaka's backstreets, the afterlife, and a whale's belly. Incorporating photo frames of the actual voice-actors' faces, the film reflects the rough aesthetic of the young production house Studio 4c, as well as an emerging anime trend toward DJ-style visual sampling. (Museum of Modern Art)

Who is the mysterious "Friend" and how does he tie into Kenji's youth? Why are there disappearances and deaths tied into Ochanomizu University? Their memories hold the keys to the puzzle, but time and age have clouded their minds. The strange occurrences and the reach of the "Friend" conspiracy grow by the day. It will all culminate on New Year's Eve 2000. Will Kenji and the others be able to put together the puzzle and save the world? (robojapan.blogspot.com)

After the civil war that tore apart Japan, the new governors of Touto, Hokuto and Seito work together to reunify the country. But they are actually members of an extraterrestrial race called "Blood Tribe", the same species as Evolto who arranged their government positions to commence their plan to destroy Earth as they have done to Mars and previous planets before. (imdb)

After a catastrophic flood, a young girl Mio, leaves her hometown of Osaka to work in a restaurant in Edo. She is blessed with great talent, but is troubled by the difference in taste between Osaka and Edo, and toils to find a solution. Meanwhile, she learns that her best friend, Noe, is in Edo but she is rarely allowed to see her because of her lowly status. (Japanese Film Festival)

For Sarya (17), a Kurdish refugee girl in Japan, life seems to be looking up; her grades at school are enough to pursue college, she's surrounded with good friends and her relationship with Sota is becoming special. Sarya's life becomes upside down, however, when she learns that her family's refugee status is turned down, restricting her family of work and traveling across the city. Her father, who had continued to work to sustain a living, is taken into custody for illegal employment. Sarya is

Moriyama Mikuri had graduated from university and got no job offers. She became a temporary employee but was even laid off. Now, she works as a housekeeper for bachelor Tsuzaki Hiramasa by chance and he proposes a contract marriage to her. (imdb)

This show marks the return of the jidaigeki series "Hissatsu Shigotonin," which has had several seasons between the 1970s and the 1990s. The franchise came back in 2007 with a one-shot special, but this is its first full season since 1992. Makoto Fujita returns as the protagonist Nakamura Mondo, one of the "shigotonin," a team of hired assassins.