Taro Yabe

Genius Party (2007)

The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Masaaki Yuasa  •  Hideki Futamura  •  Atsuko Fukushima  •  Yoji Fukuyama  •  Shoji Kawamori  •  Shinji Kimura  •  Shinichiro Watanabe
CAST:  Tomoko Kaneda  •  Rinko Kikuchi  •  Lu Ningjuan  •  Taro Yabe

The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Masaaki Yuasa  •  Hideki Futamura  •  Atsuko Fukushima  •  Yoji Fukuyama  •  Shoji Kawamori  •  Shinji Kimura  •  Shinichiro Watanabe
CAST:  Tomoko Kaneda  •  Rinko Kikuchi  •  Lu Ningjuan  •  Taro Yabe

Moonlight Mask (2011)

The year is 1947, during the war torn period of the Showa era. The story begins when a man, presumed to have been killed in battle, returns home. Who was this man? Before the war, he had a bright future ahead of him as the proficient and popular rakugoka (comedic ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Itsuji Itao
CAST:  Itsuji Itao  •  Tadanobu Asano  •  Satomi Ishihara  •  Gin Maeda

The year is 1947, during the war torn period of the Showa era. The story begins when a man, presumed to have been killed in battle, returns home. Who was this man? Before the war, he had a bright future ahead of him as the proficient and popular rakugoka (comedic ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Itsuji Itao
CAST:  Itsuji Itao  •  Tadanobu Asano  •  Satomi Ishihara  •  Gin Maeda

Chinyuki (2016)

Genzo is a monk on his way to Tianzhu (early East Asian name for India). Along the way, he happens to visit a house and meets an old couple. The couple has an adopted son, Taro Yamada (Kenichi Matsuyama). They ask Genzo to rehabilitate Taro who makes trouble with ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yudai Yamaguchi
CAST:  Kenichi Matsuyama  •  Kana Kurashina  •  Junpei Mizobata  •  Yoichi Nukumizu

Genzo is a monk on his way to Tianzhu (early East Asian name for India). Along the way, he happens to visit a house and meets an old couple. The couple has an adopted son, Taro Yamada (Kenichi Matsuyama). They ask Genzo to rehabilitate Taro who makes trouble with ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yudai Yamaguchi
CAST:  Kenichi Matsuyama  •  Kana Kurashina  •  Junpei Mizobata  •  Yoichi Nukumizu

Tokyo Serendipity (2007)

Yui, a college student, moves in to her first own apartment, where she begins her new independent life in a big city. Soon after, the upstairs neighbor Takashi sparks her interest.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akiko Ohku
CAST:  Yui Aragaki  •  Rinko Kikuchi  •  Noriko Eguchi  •  Ryuhei Matsuda

Yui, a college student, moves in to her first own apartment, where she begins her new independent life in a big city. Soon after, the upstairs neighbor Takashi sparks her interest.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akiko Ohku
CAST:  Yui Aragaki  •  Rinko Kikuchi  •  Noriko Eguchi  •  Ryuhei Matsuda

Love and Other Cults (2017)

Born in a small town in Japan, a young girl named Ai is sent to a cult commune by her religious maniac mother and lives there for seven long years. After the cult is exposed by the police, Ai starts a new stage of life, going to a normal school for the first time, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Eiji Uchida
CAST:  Sairi Ito  •  Kenta Suga  •  Kaito Yoshimura  •  Hanae Kan

Born in a small town in Japan, a young girl named Ai is sent to a cult commune by her religious maniac mother and lives there for seven long years. After the cult is exposed by the police, Ai starts a new stage of life, going to a normal school for the first time, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Eiji Uchida
CAST:  Sairi Ito  •  Kenta Suga  •  Kaito Yoshimura  •  Hanae Kan

Meatball Machine Kodoku (2017)

Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yoshihiro Nishimura
CAST:  Yoji Tanaka  •  Tomori Abe  •  Kensuke Ashihara  •  Satoshi Eishima

Nobody knows where they came from. They parasitize in human beings, take control of them and change their bodies into hideous monsters (Necro-borg). The Necro-borg fight each other until the other dies. Where did they come from? To what end? Yuji and Kaoru, whom ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yoshihiro Nishimura
CAST:  Yoji Tanaka  •  Tomori Abe  •  Kensuke Ashihara  •  Satoshi Eishima

Rise of the Machine Girls (2019)

Living in the lawless Ishinari District in a future Japan, sisters Ami (Hina Nagimiya) and Yoshie (Hanakage Kanon) who sold their bodies to help their parents, try to earn a living performing as an idol group in the area. When their performance causes stranger ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yuki Kobayashi
CAST:  Kanon Hanakage  •  Himena Tsukimiya  •  Tak Sakaguchi  •  Rie Kitahara

Living in the lawless Ishinari District in a future Japan, sisters Ami (Hina Nagimiya) and Yoshie (Hanakage Kanon) who sold their bodies to help their parents, try to earn a living performing as an idol group in the area. When their performance causes stranger ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yuki Kobayashi
CAST:  Kanon Hanakage  •  Himena Tsukimiya  •  Tak Sakaguchi  •  Rie Kitahara

Marriage Hunting Beauty (2019)

Takako (Mei Kurokawa) is a beautiful woman in her 30's and she works as a designer. Takako has only had relationships with married men. She decides to change herself with the help of her manga artist friend Keiko (Asami Usuda). Takako signs up at a matchmaking site ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akiko Ohku
CAST:  Mei Kurokawa  •  Asami Usuda  •  Tomoya Nakamura  •  Seminosuke Murasugi

Takako (Mei Kurokawa) is a beautiful woman in her 30's and she works as a designer. Takako has only had relationships with married men. She decides to change herself with the help of her manga artist friend Keiko (Asami Usuda). Takako signs up at a matchmaking site ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akiko Ohku
CAST:  Mei Kurokawa  •  Asami Usuda  •  Tomoya Nakamura  •  Seminosuke Murasugi

Man Gataro Show: Babaa Zone (2004)

Based on the manga by Man Gataro.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yudai Yamaguchi
CAST:  Toshie Negishi  •  Taro Yabe  •  Toshifumi Muramatsu  •  Tomoko Murakami

Based on the manga by Man Gataro.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yudai Yamaguchi
CAST:  Toshie Negishi  •  Taro Yabe  •  Toshifumi Muramatsu  •  Tomoko Murakami

Tsubushiya Reika (2014)

"When Ikasama comes out, use your hammer to crush your hands," that is the rule of Ura Mahjong. Reika, a great female sparrow, beat many men and was scared as a crusher. However, as a substitute for Yakuza, Shimizu falls into a mean trap and Reika crushes her right ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasushi Koshizaka
CAST:  Iori Kogawa  •  Mitani Arisa  •  Shinzo Hotta  •  Yukio Itami

"When Ikasama comes out, use your hammer to crush your hands," that is the rule of Ura Mahjong. Reika, a great female sparrow, beat many men and was scared as a crusher. However, as a substitute for Yakuza, Shimizu falls into a mean trap and Reika crushes her right ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Yasushi Koshizaka
CAST:  Iori Kogawa  •  Mitani Arisa  •  Shinzo Hotta  •  Yukio Itami

To the North (2020)

Ken works at the Konbini and Sho is boring - the boys need an adventure, a road trip. Life is too short for monotony. A ride is quickly found and on their way they meet a beautiful girl, a bad man, an affectionate ballet teacher and a singing cook, among others. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Bruce Nachbar
CAST:  Misao  •  Yuya Fujita  •  Masateru Otogi  •  Taro Yabe

Ken works at the Konbini and Sho is boring - the boys need an adventure, a road trip. Life is too short for monotony. A ride is quickly found and on their way they meet a beautiful girl, a bad man, an affectionate ballet teacher and a singing cook, among others. ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Bruce Nachbar
CAST:  Misao  •  Yuya Fujita  •  Masateru Otogi  •  Taro Yabe

The Blue Danube (2021)

The soldiers no longer know why they are at war, and when it even started. Daily and dutifully they march to the river and shoot at the opposite village from 9 to 5 – orders are orders after all. They’ve done so for decades. When private Tsuyuki is transferred to ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Ikeda
CAST:  Kou Maehara  •  Hiroki Konno  •  Hiroki Nakajima  •  Naoya Shimizu

The soldiers no longer know why they are at war, and when it even started. Daily and dutifully they march to the river and shoot at the opposite village from 9 to 5 – orders are orders after all. They’ve done so for decades. When private Tsuyuki is transferred to ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Akira Ikeda
CAST:  Kou Maehara  •  Hiroki Konno  •  Hiroki Nakajima  •  Naoya Shimizu

Toshie The Nihilist (2021)

Cryptocurrency exchange secretary Toshie ought to be celebrating the release of her boyfriend from jail. Instead, a freak accident compels her to swim from Japan to Hawaii with the child of an American-Vietcong war hero.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Matthew Chozick
CAST:  Rino Higa  •  Taro Yabe  •  Takato Yonemoto  •  Matthew Chozick

Cryptocurrency exchange secretary Toshie ought to be celebrating the release of her boyfriend from jail. Instead, a freak accident compels her to swim from Japan to Hawaii with the child of an American-Vietcong war hero.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Matthew Chozick
CAST:  Rino Higa  •  Taro Yabe  •  Takato Yonemoto  •  Matthew Chozick

ヒノマル♪ドリーム (2013)

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DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Saki Fukuda  •  Chihara Junia  •  Taro Yabe  •  Nicholas Edwards

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DIRECTION: 
CAST:  Saki Fukuda  •  Chihara Junia  •  Taro Yabe  •  Nicholas Edwards

Zero (2004)

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DIRECTION:  Yoshifusa Ide
CAST:  Taiyo Sugiura  •  Hassei Takano  •  Emiri Henmi  •  Hiroshi Inuzuka

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DIRECTION:  Yoshifusa Ide
CAST:  Taiyo Sugiura  •  Hassei Takano  •  Emiri Henmi  •  Hiroshi Inuzuka

Cosplay Detective (2009)

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DIRECTION:  Masaaki Jindo
CAST:  Rio  •  Naoko Inoue  •  Kōta Kusano  •  Nichita Tanabe

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DIRECTION:  Masaaki Jindo
CAST:  Rio  •  Naoko Inoue  •  Kōta Kusano  •  Nichita Tanabe