Japanese Movies by Genre: Romance
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Koisuru Vampire (2015)
Director: Mai Suzuki
Plot: Kiira is a seemingly ordinary girl who dreams of becoming a world-class baker. However, she's also secretly a vampire. 8 years ago, she lost both her parents at the age of 12 and was taken in by her relatives. She now works part-time at a bakery. It's here where she's reunited by her childhood crush, Tetsu. They soon begin dating, and although Kiira dreams of their happy future together, she also worries that a relationship between a human and vampire might not work out. -
Raintree no Kuni (2015)
Director: Yoshishige Miyake
Plot: While browsing the web, salaryman Nobuyuki comes across a blog called "Raintree no Kuni" with writings about his favorite book from junior high school. He begins corresponding with the blog's owner Hitomi via email but she refuses to meet him or anyone else in person. Over time, Nobuyuki begins to fall in love with her. -
Asleep (2015)
Director: Shingo Wakagi
Plot: Terako is in the midst of an affair with a married man named Iwanaga as his wife lays in a coma. Terako's best friend Shiori earns a living as a “soineya"--someone who sells the act of sleeping in the same bed with people. When Shiori commits suicide, Terako is devastated and begins spending more and more time sleeping as she becomes overwhelmed with loneliness. -
Yoru ga Aketara (2014)
Director: Kiyoto Kawamura
Plot: Haru begins a romantic relationship with her high school teacher, Yuichiro. The two get married, but they become distant over time. One night, Yuichiro is involved in an accident while cheating with another one of his students, a girl named Shiori. In the wake of the accident, the two women meet by chance, leading to a fierce conflict. -
Initiation Love (2015)
Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Plot: In the late 1980s, a job-hunting college student in Shizuoka Prefecture named Suzuki begins an awkward romance with a dental hygienist named Mayu. However, when Suzuki finds a job he moves to Tokyo and the two are forced into a long-distance relationship. Over time, their relationship starts to fall apart as Suzuki begins spending time with another woman named Miyako. -
Five Minutes to Tomorrow (2014)
Director: Isao Yukisada
Plot: Ryo is a clockmaker living in Taipei. One day he meets a beautiful woman named Maggie who enlists his help in coming up with a gift idea for her identical twin sister Michelle. In fact, the resemblance is so striking that they often switch places to confuse Ryo. Before long, Ryo begins dating Maggie in spite of being keenly aware that Maggie is secretly in love with Michelle's boyfriend Leon.Maggie and Michelle decide to go on a trip before Michelle's wedding to Leon, but they get into an accident and only Michelle survives. Ryo buries his feelings and leads a solitary life until one day he's contacted by Leon, who's distraught because he's become convinced Michelle was actually the one who died in the accident and Maggie has taken her place. Worse yet, she doesn't even seem to have a grasp on her own identity. -
Taksu (2014)
Director: Kiki Sugino
Plot: As Chihiro's preoccupation with death begins to become a concern for the people in his life, he and his wife Yuri decide to take a trip to Bali to visit his sister. Yuri hopes that seeing his sister will ease Chihiro out of his funk, but when they arrive things only seem to get worse. Kumi spends most of her time preparing for her upcoming birth and Yuri falls for another man. It soon becomes apparent that the three of them have vastly different priorities and concerns as they struggle to find common ground. -
Starting Over (2014)
Director: Takashi Nishihara
Plot: Nana and Marin are 19-year-old best friends who depend on one another for just about everything. One day, Nina begins searching for the true meaning of love as she struggles with her inability to find it. -
100 Yen Love (2014)
Director: Masaharu Take
Plot: Ichiko lives the life of a hikikomori (shut-in) at her parents' home. However, when her sister gets a divorce and moves back home, Ichiko decides to move out and live on her own because they don't get along.The only minor happiness in Ichiko's dreary life is working at the 100-yen store where she can catch glimpses of an aging boxer named Yuuji practicing at a nearby gym. One day, the two move in together after getting to know each other better and Ichiko's life begins to change drastically as she takes up boxing herself. -
Poison Berry in My Brain (2015)
Director: Yuichi Sato
Plot: 30-year-old Ichiko Sakurai has a chance encounter with a younger man named Ryochi Saotome whom she recently met at a party. In her mind, she considers her options: "Should I talk to him? Should I stay quiet? Should I be forward, or try to get him to notice me?"Meanwhile, Ichiko's inner turmoil is acted out by a cast of five characters, each with vastly different personalities, who exist only in her mind. They consist of the chairman Yoshida, an energetic young man named Ishibashi, a pessimistic woman named Ikeda, a young girl in gothic lolita clothing named Hatoko, and an older man named Kishi who acts as the group's record-keeper.