Rena Tanaka

Hijacked Youth – Dare To Stop Us 2 (2024)

Nagoya, 1983: Legendary filmmaker Koji WAKAMATSU decides to open a cinema – not least to show his own films. The Cinema Skhole quickly turns into a hot spot for local cinephiles. Junichi INOUE tells an empathetic and almost true story about motion pictur ...

Kami no Ko wa Tsubuyaku (2023)

One family changes as they join a religious group. Kinoshita Haruka is forced to engage in her religious activities by her mother, Aiko, who is an avid believer and forbids her from making friends or participating in events at her school. Her father Shinji ...

September 1923 (2023)

Based on the murder of nine street peddlers in the aftermath of the Great Kanto earthquake. ...

Naval Port Child: Yokosuka Cleaning 1946 (2023)

Post-war Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture. Adults who are swayed by the US military stationed in the country and swayed by US intentions cannot afford to care about children who should be protected. The war orphans, who had no choice but to survive on their o ...

Where Love Goes (2023)

Junior high schoolers Sudo Ai and Sosuke Ito live together as a patchwork family in a small town in Hokkaido, all thanks to Ai's mother, Yumi, creating an environment of love. Bullying and the harsh environment cannot pierce that safety until Yumi dies. Ca ...

Inubu: The Dog Club (2021)

Hanai Sota is 22-years-old and a university student in the veterinary department. Since he was little, he has always loved animals. His apartment is full of animals that needed help. One day, Hanai Sota saves a dog that was being used in experiments. To sa ...

最上の命医 2019 (2019)

As Sawa-chan Rides the Waves (2019)

Sawa lives in a small port town called Hososhima in Hyuga City. He is a cheerful person who supports a single mother, Yoshiko, and also takes care of a junior high school younger brother. On the other hand, my divorced father, Takuji Tamayama, is a clumsy ...

Fortress of Skulls (2019)

Japan, 1590. Following the death of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's seizure of power, the mysterious warlord Tenmaō and his fierce warriors terrorize the inhabitants of the Kantō Plain. ...

The Crimes That Bind (2018)

Michiko Oshitani, who lived in Shiga Prefecture, is found dead at an apartment in Tokyo. She was strangled to death. Mutsuo Koshikawa is the owner of the apartment and he goes missing. Detectives including Yuhei Matsumiya who is a cousin of Detective Kyoic ...

Omotenashi (2018)

Cultures meet and values are learnt through the renovation of an inn. ...

Dear Etranger (2017)

Makoto Tanaka is 40-years-old and has remarried. His wife is Nanae and they care for 2 daughters from Nanae's prior marriage. Makoto tries to have an ordinary family. Nanae then becomes pregnant. Afterwards, things begin to change among the family members. ...

The Sowing Traveller 3 (2016)

Acclaimed director of Summer of Chirusoku, Half a Confession and Yunagi City, Sakura Country Kiyoshi Sasabe casts Rin Takanashi and Takumi Saitoh as members of the farming industry. The Sowing Traveller 3 tells a universal story of the cherished act of gro ...

Desperate Sunflowers (2016)

Natsuko Kotani was born to be a swindler. Meanwhile, Tetsuko Ishida is Natsuko's distant relative. Unlike Natsuko, Tetsuko is an attorney with an upright disposition. Whenever Natsuko makes trouble, Tetsuko is called to solve her troubles. Believing that N ...

The Katsuragi Murder Case (2016)

The Katsuragi Household that runs a small store may appear serene. But as the younger son Minoru commits a murder on the street, the family is exposed to the public. Is there anybody that is behind this murder case? ...

Chateau de la Reine (2015)

The hotel Chateau de la Reine is located in Paris, France and it is considered the finest hotel there. The hotel has been in existence for 300 years. Tourists from all around the world want to stay at the Chateau de la Reine. A travel agency, which is teet ...

The Women on Page 3: The Nest of Love (2015)

Koi (2013)

The story is set in the 70s where Ishihara plays Fumiko, an university student, who gets involved romantically with her assistant professor Katase Shintaro (Iura Arata) and his wife Hinako (Tanaka Rena). However, on 28 February 1972, the police finds Shint ...

Miracle Apples (2013)

Akinori Kimura (Sadao Abe) and his wife Mieko (Miho Kanno) opens an apple orchard in their hometown of Hirosaki in Aomori Prefecture. Due to Meiko's allergic reaction to pesticides, Akinori Kimura has to grow his apples without the aid of chemicals. Becaus ...

Walk, Walk, Walk ~ Shikoku Pilgrimage Journey (2013)

Aruku, Aruku, Aruku ~Shikoku Henro-michi~ (NHK Drama Special, Winter 2013) is about Hayama Misa (Tanaka Rena), a down-on-her-luck free-lance writer. Leaving her unhappy life in Tokyo, she takes part in the Shikoku Pilgrimage as a lone walking pilgrim. It h ...

Dreams for Sale (2012)

After losing their restaurant in a fire, a husband and wife come up with a strange plan to rebuild their shattered finances: marrying the husband off to a series of lonely women and defrauding them. ...

Kazoku Kashimasu ~ Family Complex (2012)

Yamamura Shuji (Tamaki Hiroshi) runs staffing "Family Romance Company" - a company that rents out people to act like their client's family members for occasions like weddings, funerals & meeting with teachers. One day, a customer, who wants to be loved by ...

A Sower of Seeds (2012)

Kinjiro, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, is a good-natured fellow who goes around the country helping farm families. At his new appointment in Usuki City, Oita Prefecture, he visits a tea-growing family he has known fo ...

The Wings of the Kirin (2012)

A man's body is found under the statue of a winged kirin in the Nihombashi area of Tokyo. A suspect named Yashima has a car accident and falls unconscious while he is attempting to run away. Yashima's lover Kaori comes from Fukushima and tells detectives t ...

Isoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet (2011)

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and ...

The Tale of Genji: A Thousand Year Enigma (2011)

"Genji Monogatari" focuses on the love and hate relationships surrounding Genji Hakaru. Lady Fujitsubo is Genji's first love. Ryokuzono Miyasutokoro is obsessed with Genji and eventually becomes a spirit. Yu Kao, who is from the lower class, give comfort t ...

The Days of Morisaki Bookstore (2010)

After learning her boyfriend and colleague was already in a relationship and about to marry another colleague, Takako quits her job and falls into a slump. Her uncle, Satoru, offers her a job and room in his used bookstore in Jinbocho. Despite her initial ...

Tales of the Bizarre 20th Anniversary Fall Special: Popular Author Competition (2010)

Flowers (2010)

Flowers examines the lives of six women across three generations, from the Show period all the way through to the present day. ...

Yona Yona Penguin (2009)

Rintaro directs a tale of three children who visit a land of wonder. This is the first "3D anime" that Madhouse has produced. Oh, and there are penguins. ...

Don't Forget About Niini (2009)

にゃんこ THE MOVIE3 (2009)

Kitaro and the Millennium Curse (2008)

Young women disappear one after another in drizzling rain. They all hear the "cursed song" of the Cage Song before they vanish into thin air. Kitaro and his friends investigate these mysterious cases when they meet Kaede Hiramoto, a high school girl who fi ...

The Taste of Fish (2008)

It may sound cliché, but Japanese people really do love their fish. If Japan has the best and freshest fish in the world, then Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market is where you're most likely to find them. It's the home of Japan's biggest daily fish auction, and i ...

Yamazakura, The Cherry Tree in the Hills (2008)

Based on a short story written by Shuhei Fujisawa (who also wrote Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor), the film depicts the uneasy life of Noe Isomura (Rena Tanaka) with the difficult family she has married into after her former husband pas ...

10 Promises to My Dog (2008)

One day a puppy comes to the house of Akari, who has just turned twelve, and was trying hard to act strong after her mother suddenly fell ill. She immediately falls in love with the puppy and names it "Socks" after the paws which looked like they had white ...

The Silver Season (2008)

The arrival of a bride-to-be shakes a hapless ski resort and proves to the three young down-and-out local skiers that there is much more to life than they think. ...

The Shadow Spirit (2007)

A series of murders of beautiful girls occur in Tokyo not long after the end of the war. Also the daughter of a retired actress, Yuzuki Yoko, has gone missing. In the meantime, a religious cult that claims to shut away misfortunes in a box has been gaining ...

Fuckin' Runaway (2007)

Hana, 21-year old, is sent to a mental hospital for attempting a suicide. She suffers from hearing a deep male voice in her head almost everyday that goes, "Twenty yards of linen are worth one coat..." She gradually regains her peace of mind by traveling a ...

Yunagi City, Sakura Country (2007)

Thirteen years afterward, I wonder if those who bombed Hiroshima are looking at me and saying: 'We did it! We were able to kill another person!' They should be," murmurs Minami (played by Kumiko Aso), one of the two leading female characters in Yunagi no M ...

Kitaro (2007)

Kitaro is a half human, half creature who keeps an eye on the human society to save them from the evil attacks from another world. He finds that a magical ball that controls all powers had been brought into the human world, and stops it from falling into t ...

Waiting in the Dark (2006)

A precarious loner sneaks into a blind woman's home and begins living there without her noticing. Meanwhile, the woman mourns her recently deceased father and struggles to remain connected to the world. ...

Tripping (2006)

It's the story of a rebellious Japanese-Taiwanese girl (played by Rena Tanaka from "Kitaro") who gets transported back to ancient times and embarks on an adventure with a Taoist priest and a thief. On the road, the group encounters numerous dangers, stumbl ...

The Suspect: Muroi Shinji (2005)

One day in February, 2005, Metropolitan Police Department Superintendent Muroi (Toshiro Yanagiba) is arrested to take responsibility for a botched murder case he headed. His faithful colleagues, including Arashiro (Toshio Kakei) and Okita (Miki Maya), only ...

Summer of Ubume (2005)

Kyogokudo is a used book seller who doubles as an onmyouji, or Heian style occultist. His friend Sekiguchi brings him the story of a woman who has been pregnant for twenty months. Sekiguchi investigates further with the help of his friend Enokizu, a detect ...

Tetsujin 28: The Movie (2005)

One of the true classic's of anime's much-loved robot genre. ...

Nin x Nin: The Ninja Star Hattori (2004)

Kanzo Hattori, an apprentice Ninja, leaves his home town of Iga for his final training. He must go to the city of Edo (Tokyo), and the first person he meets shall be his master, whom he must protect with his life, whilst upholding the ninja code. Also whil ...

Drugstore Girl (2004)

Pharmaceutical student, Keiko witnesses her boyfriend having an affair. Shocked and disappointed, she jumps on a train ("destination anywhere, east or west, she don't care") and ends up in a town named Masao in Tokyo's remote suburbs. There, she gets a par ...

A Day on the Planet (2004)

Masamichi is about to take up postgraduate study. He invites six student friends round for a farewell dinner at his Kyoto flat. ...

Thirteen Steps (2003)

A released inmate is hired to solve a murder case. ...

Toy Reanimator (2002)

Set in a toy store specialized in antique toys, a boy works in the toy store and is obsessed with tin toys. There's one particular tin toy he loves more than the rest. In walks a girl wearing shades, and starts telling her own story, a weird and fascinatin ...

Tokyo Marigold (2001)

Eriko – lonely, aimless and self-absorbed – falls for Tamura. Despite knowing that he is waiting for his girlfriend to return from overseas, she requests to enter into a relationship with him for just one year. ...

Ekiden (2000)

Two former teammates on a college relay team, find themselves pitted against each other in track competition and in love when they enter rival companies and fall for the same woman. ...

Click-Cinema Suki (2000)

The Whispered City (2000)

Director Jun Ichikawa spins this affectionate portrait of the people who populate Shimokitazawa, a bohemian corner of Tokyo filled with small theater companies and smoky coffeehouses. ...

First Love (2000)

This coming-of-age story from Japan opens just after 17-year-old Sataka has gotten dumped by her boyfriend. When her mother is hospitalized with a malignant stomach ulcer, Sataka is left alone with her emotionally repressed father; whiling away the hours o ...

GTO: The Movie (1999)

Great Teacher Onizuka is back, using his unorthodox brand of inspiration and education as a substitute teacher in a depressed small town in Hokkaido. ...

Give It All (1998)

Etsuko – a typical Japanese high school student, who's unlucky in love, an academic failure, and plain bored with life. That's until one day, the view of a boat gliding gracefully in the sea inspires her to take up the oar. Since she's rejected by her sc ...