Asian Drama

In the turbulent last days of the Edo period, Kawai Tsugunosuke, a Japanese samurai serving the Makino clan of Nagaoka, dreamt of independence from the restraints of vassalship. Despite his progressive views and his desire for his estate to remain neutral during the Boshin Civil War, he was bound by loyalty and duty to the clan and was compelled to choose sides.

Adapted from the novel "Toge: Saigo no Samurai" (峠 最後のサムライ) by Shiba Ryotaro (司馬遼太郎).

Yuri Ishikawa and her team try to crack unresolved cold cases in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The Japanese version of Warner Bros ‘Cold Case'.

Onimasa is the egocentric boss of a small yakuza clan on Shikoku Island, whose criminal duties conflict with his self-image as a chivalrous samurai. His struggles with his boss, the Shikoku Godfather, and the tumultuous life of his adopted daughter,...

Through his unconscionable actions against others, a sociopath samurai builds a trail of vendettas that follow him closely.

In timeline at least, this is a sequel to director Teshigahara's earlier film Rikyu, which can be found on Asia Torrents here: RIKYU It follows the lives of Princess Go and Lord Oribe Furuhata from just after Rikyu committed 'sepukku' when Hideyoshi Toyotomi was in power until just after Lord Oribe's death when Shogun Ieyasu Tokagawa was in power. Though the daughter of the Lord of the Maeda clan, Princess Goh was adopted at birth by Hideyoshi, the supreme ruler at the time, who until that point had been unable to sire any children. He brought her up almost as a son and spoiled her quite completely. She was very intelligent and became highly skilled in the martial arts. She was also very headstrong and the arrogance of her youth matured into an imperious self-confidence as she aged. Throughout her life she used the more assertive (and usually masculine) form of the first person pronoun (ware) rather than the more socially acceptable, less assertive form generally used by women (watashi). There was nothing reticent or weak about this woman. Her story shows us her youth and early friendship with Lord Oribe during Hideyoshi's reign and then her later life under a virtual house arrest at her family mansion in Kaga. It is her attempt to renew her friendship with Oribe by inviting him to a tea ceremony with Lords Ukon and Tadaoki that stirs up not totally unforseen troubles. Intertwined with her storyline is the life of Lord Oribe who inherits Rikyu's position as Tea Master to Hideyoshi, although that comes with a thinly vieled threat to do better or suffer a similar fate. The film opens with this scene between Hideyoshi and Oribe. It is filled with tension and threat. As an aside, there have been some criticisms of Teshigahara's direction as being stiff, especially in this sort of scene. I would suggest that they come from a complete misunderstanding of the cultural and social millieu where even a nobelman like Oribe had to be very careful of every word and gesture for fear of upsetting a man who could easily have him killed. There is a very clear stiffness and awkwardness underpinned with fear and warriness which I believe is completely intended by the director. Later in the film Oribe finds himself in a similar relationship with Ieyasu. In this case it has to do with Ieyashu's fear of a Christian rebellion and that fact that Oribe's sister had married Lord Ukon the most prominent daimyo to convert to Christianity. Also Oribe's close friend Lord Hosokawa Tadaoki had married a very prominent and influencial noblewoman who converted to Christianity and took the name Gracia. These relationships caused Ieyasu to suspect Oribe's loyalty.

Rina Takeda and Haruna [sic] Tobimatsu co-star as sisters Ayaka and Natsuki Kurenai, the youngest descendants of a legendary Okinawan karate master named Shoujirou Kurenai. As children, they live a happy life with their father (Tatsuya Naka) who encourages them both to practice karate. However, one day a mysterious group breaks into their dojo – killing their father, kidnapping Natsuki, and stealing the black belt which has been passed down in their family for over 200 years. Several years later, Ayaka is living the humble life of an ordinary high school student in Yokohama. One day, when Ayaka was working a group of burglars were stealing a woman's purse. Ayaka uses her karate skills to stop them causing her to be a hero to the public. Ayaka's heroics was caught on camera causing the evil organization to notice Ayaka's fighting skills. Natsuki, on the other hand, has been trained as a killing machine by the mysterious group that kidnapped her all those years ago. Soon, Natsuki and the group begin to take aim at Ayaka. Out of love for her sister and with the teachings of her father still in her heart, Ayaka decides to do whatever it takes to get Natsuki and their family’s black belt back from the clutches of the mysterious group.

More than just a cute high school girl. She is a master of Karate! Seventeen-year old karate champion Rina Takeda is playing the titular character, a young high schooler who trains in karate and has to face a special group of martial arts fighters wih the help of her sensei (master).

Intense and minimalist, Kuru-Obi follows the physical and spiritual journeys of three karate journeymen in militaristic 1930s Japan. With the non-professional leads being black belts in real life, the film's martial art sequences are as strong and straightforward as they come, but equally important is the philosophy behind the moves, and the internal and external conflicts brought about by violence. Kuru-Obi is also notably forthcoming about the historical background of the time, clearly setting up the militaristic atmosphere and corrupting forces surrounding the characters. Giryu (Yagi Akihito), Taikan (Naka Tatsuya), and Choei (Suzuki Yuji) study karate at a reclusive dojo in 1932 Kyushu under master Shibahara (Owada Shinya). When the military come to take over their dojo, the students resist and peace-loving Giryu easily fends off military commander Tanahara (Hakuryu) in a duel. Shamed by his loss, Tanahara commits seppuku, and his wife and daughter come looking for revenge. Hoping to put an end to the violence, Giryu allows himself to be stabbed and incurs near mortal wounds. Taikan, meanwhile, can only submit to orders when the military return with guns. Joining the army as an instructor, Taikan becomes increasingly aggressive and brutal as he seeks higher opponents. His downward spiral paves the way to a showdown with former comrade Giryu who must learn to fight again.

Yuichi Mafune is known as a finance broker, but he's actually a conman. One day, two men show up in front of Yuichi. One man is "M" and the other is his underling Yuki Seki. They ask Yuichi Mafune to steal the "M funds". The "M funds" is thought to be a longheld legend that massive amounts of gold and other stolen loot from World War II were hidden in the basement of a Japanese bank. The loot was then taken by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces to fund secret operations.

Yuichi accepts the proposal after hearing of the large fee offerred if successful. In order to steal the "M funds," which Yuichi isn't even sure if it exists, "M" plans an unprecedented money game which brings in interests from the U.S., Russia and other places.

Ichi has given up his cane sword and his former life as a traveler in order to settle down with his loving wife Tane in his home village. However, his plan to live the quiet life is interrupted when he learns that the Tendo clan has taken over the village and is constantly harassing locals. Soon, a group of farmers come to Ichi and beg him to help his own village like he’s helped countless other villages in travels.

The 35th NHK Taiga Drama is Hideyoshi, the story of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms. Hideyoshi is regarded as Japan's second "great unifier".

The drama won 11th Television Drama Academy Awards (1996-Dec-20) for best drama.

Seiji Iwahashi, a member of the Enoki-ya gang. He was recently released early from a 10-year prison sentence for killing the boss of rival Kan’non-gumi. However, he returns to find Kan’non-gumi and Enoki-ya finalizing the process of merging under the careful orchestration of a manipulative politician.

Iwahashi tries to be as supportive of the new changes as possible, even when he’s passed over as new boss, but when a pattern of corruption and assassination is slowly revealed he can no longer sit back and let it continue.

"High and Low" focuses on Kingo Gondo (Toshiro Mifune), a powerhouse executive in the Japanese shoe industry. In the midst of an attempt to take over his company, a proposition that throws him in hock down to his own furniture, he's hit by a huge ransom demand, with a twist -- the kidnaper (Tsutomu Yamazaki) takes, not his own son, but his chauffeur's.

Adapted loosely from the novel “The King’s Ransom” by Evan Hunter.