Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Spirited Away tells the story of Chihiro "Sen" Ogino, a ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood, inadvertently enters the world of kami. After her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro takes a job working in Yubaba's bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and return to the human world. The film was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distributed by Toho.
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated historical war drama film written and directed by Isao Takahata, and produced by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka.
Perfect Blue is a 1997 Japanese anime psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon. It is loosely based on the novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, with a screenplay by Sadayuki Murai. Featuring the voices of Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiyama, Masaaki Okura, Shinpachi Tsuji and Emiko Furukawa, the plot follows a member of a Japanese idol group who retires from music to pursue an acting career. As she becomes a victim of stalking by her obsessive fan, gruesome murders take place, and she begins losing her grip on reality. The film deals with the blurring of the line between fantasy and reality, a commonly found theme in Kon's other works, such as Millennium Actress (2001) and Paprika (2006).
Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa, , born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, is a New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". On 1 December 1971 she was recognised internationally when she appeared as the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House in London.
Sanshiro Sugata is a 1943 Japanese martial arts drama film and the directorial debut of the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa. First released in Japan on 25 March 1943 by Toho film studios, the film was eventually released in the United States on 28 April 1974. The film is based on the novel of the same name written by Tsuneo Tomita, the son of prominent judoka Tsunejirō Tomita. It follows the story of Sanshiro, a talented though willful youth, who travels to the city in order to learn Jujutsu. However, upon his arrival he discovers a new form of self-defence: Judo. The main character is based on Saigō Shirō.
Lady Snowblood is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Kazuo Kamimura. It was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Playboy magazine from February 1972 to March 1973. The series revolves around the title character, a female assassin who seeks vengeance against the bandits who murdered her stepfather and older half-brother and raped her mother.
Pierrot Co., Ltd., previously known as Studio Pierrot Co., Ltd. until 2002, is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by Yuji Nunokawa, previously an animator and director for Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for several worldwide popular anime series, such as Naruto, Bleach, Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Underground, Yu Yu Hakusho, Black Clover, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Ghost Stories, Great Teacher Onizuka, and Gensomaden Saiyuki.
Nikola Jean Caro is a New Zealand film, television, and music video director and screenwriter. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals. She directed the 2020 live action version of Disney's Mulan, making her the second female and the second New Zealand director hired by Disney to direct a film budgeted at over $100 million. Caro's works ranged from music videos, commercials, television dramas, and films, etc.
Ai Carina Uemura, known mononymously as Ai, is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter and rapper. Born in Los Angeles, Ai moved to Kagoshima at age four. Motivated to become a singer, she returned to Los Angeles during her adolescence, attending the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. While in Los Angeles, she performed as part of a gospel choir at a Mary J. Blige concert and appeared as a backup dancer in Janet Jackson's music video, "Go Deep". She briefly joined the Asian girl group SX4 in 1999 until she graduated high school.
Yōko Ogawa is a Japanese writer. Her work has won every major Japanese literary award, including the Akutagawa Prize and the Yomiuri Prize. Internationally, she has been the recipient of the Shirley Jackson Award and the American Book Award. The Memory Police was also shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2020.
Lady Snowblood is a 1973 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Toshiya Fujita and starring Meiko Kaji. Based on the manga series of the same name by Kazuo Koike and Kazuo Kamimura, the film recounts the tale of Yuki (Kaji), a woman who seeks vengeance upon three of the people who raped her mother and killed her half brother. The film's narrative is told out of chronological order, jumping between present and past events. Alongside Kaji, the film's cast includes Toshio Kurosawa, Masaaki Daimonm, Miyoko Akaza, and Kō Nishimura.
Umineko When They Cry is a Japanese dōjin soft visual novel series produced by 07th Expansion. Its first episode debuted at Comiket 72 for Windows in August 2007. The story focuses on a group of eighteen people on a secluded island for a period of two days, and the mysterious murders that befall them. Readers are challenged to discern whether the murders were committed by a human or some other, supernatural source, as well as the method and motive behind them. The eight main Umineko games are split into two sets of four, which are considered the third and fourth titles in the When They Cry series, preceded by the two sets of Higurashi When They Cry games and followed by Ciconia When They Cry.
Peter Northe Wells was a New Zealand writer, filmmaker, and historian. He was mainly known for his fiction, but also explored his interest in gay and historical themes in a number of expressive drama and documentary films from the 1980s onwards.
Kamen Rider Decade the Movie: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker is the superhero film adaptation of the 2009 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Decade. The main protagonists of Kamen Rider W make their debut in the film.
All You Need Is Kill is a Japanese science fiction light novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka with illustrations by Yoshitoshi Abe. The book was published in Japanese by Shueisha under their Super Dash Bunko imprint in December 2004, and was later released in English by Viz Media under their Haikasoru imprint. All You Need Is Kill follows a soldier named Keiji Kiriya, who, after dying in a battle with extraterrestrials, is caught in a time loop that makes him live the same day repeatedly, allowing Kiriya to improve his fighting skills.
Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese animated romantic drama film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and written by Hayao Miyazaki based on the 1989 manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Hakuhodo. The film stars Yoko Honna, Issei Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi and Keiju Kobayashi.
Snow Prince - Forbidden Love Melody is a 2009 Japanese film. This film is adapted from the 1872 novel A Dog of Flanders and is inspired by the 1971 film A Small Love Melody. Directed by Joji Matsuoka and written by Kundō Koyama—the scriptwriter for the film Departures, it is a poignant story of a middle class woman's teenage friendship with a poor artist. Shintaro Morimoto plays the role of Sota, the orphan artist who lives with his grandfather, and Marino Kuwashima plays the role of Sota's friend, Sayo. Together, they have to weather the many challenges that come their way because of their lowly social status. Snow Prince marked the film debuts of Morimoto and Kuwashima.
MAPPA Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including Terror in Resonance, Yuri!!! on Ice, In This Corner of the World, Kakegurui, Banana Fish, Zombie Land Saga, Dororo, Dorohedoro, The God of High School, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga, Chainsaw Man, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku, and the 2024 adaptation of Ranma ½. MAPPA is an acronym for Maruyama Animation Produce Project Association.
Sweet Sweat is a 1964 Japanese drama film directed by Shirō Toyoda.
Mitsurou Kubo is the pen name of Mitsuko Kubo, a Japanese manga artist, writer, and radio personality. She is the co-creator of the 2016 anime series Yuri on Ice.
