Millennium Old Journal: Tale of Genji

Drama / Romance

Based on the literary work of Shikibu Murasaki, The Tale of Genji is a story of the Emperor`s second son born by a courtier. Made a commoner, he served as a retainer to the court.

Drama / Supernatural

A young orphan named Biwa is taken in by the powerful Taira Clan—also known as the Heike—after their leader witnesses her extraordinary psychic abilities. Unfortunately, what she predicts is a future of bloodshed, violence, and civil war. Inspired by the 12th-century epic tale Heike Monogatari. (Source: Funimation)

Drama / Fantasy

Okina is a bamboo cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home to his wife Ounaa and they decide to keep her and raise her as a princess. She is clearly not of this world. Kaguya grows at an unnatural rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly beautiful young woman. Since Okina has now also found a cache of gold and treasure in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya. But this is not a fairy tale of courtship and marriage. (Source: Toronto International Film Festival)

Comedy / Romance

Uta Koi tells the "super-liberal interpretation" of the Hyakuninisshu anthology compiled during Japan's Heian period of 100 romantic poems from 100 different poets such as The Tale of Genji's Murasaki Shikibu.

Adventure / Music

Inu-Oh is born with unique physical characteristics. His parents cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, Inu-Oh meets a blind boy named Tomona, a biwa player. As Tomona starts to sing and play, Inu-Oh is amazed to discover he has an incredible ability to dance. The two become inseparable. Tomona and Inu-Oh start sharing their talent with audiences. Their performances quickly gain acclaim and draw crowds. But why is Tomona blind? Why was Inu-Oh born looking like he does? A story about a legendary artist from 14th-century Japan, who defied fate to forge his own destiny. An anime in the form of a rock operetta with spectacular music and dance sequences. (Source: Warsaw Film Festival) Note: The film received an early premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 9, 2021.

Drama / Fantasy

We are now in the early 18th century, the Kyouhou era, when the merchant culture was flourishing. In Yoshiwara, the red light district of Edo, there is a popular courtesan with good looks and character, called Usugumo. She in fact is a daughter of a Christianized prostitute and a shogun named Yoshimune, but the power struggle in these times doesn't allow her to be with her father. Her fate is about to change when she meets the blond haired thief, Kikunosuke. With Kikunosuke, a doctor named Aoto Touichirou, who uses the yet unfamiliar Western medicine, and her pet cat, Kotetsu, Usugumo forms a thief group, the Kikugumi. In the meanwhile, a member of a mysterious group appears, aiming for Usugumo... (Source: AniDB)

Drama / Romance

Chihaya Ayase has spent most of her life supporting her sister’s model career. When she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, he thinks Chihaya has potential to become a great karuta player. As Chihaya dreams of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends. Now in high school, Chihaya still plays karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again. (Source: Crunchyroll)

Drama / Psychological

Anthology series adapting six modern classics of Japanese literature: No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) by Dazai Osamu — A high school student becomes lost and alienated. Despondent and aimless, he falls into a cycle of self abuse, depression and drugs that taints his life for years. Told in three chapters, each chapter deals with a different point in his life and the final chapter leaves him standing alone — an empty and hollow caricature of his former self. In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita) by Sakaguchi Ango — A love story between a 12th-century woman and a mountain bandit who abducts her. Run, Melos! (Hashire, Melos!) by Dazai Osamu — An updated retelling of a classic Greek tale of the story of Damon and Pythias. Unwavering friendship is the most prominent theme of this retelling. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded. Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke — A famous artist is commissioned by a great lord to create a series of paintings depicting scenes of the Buddhist Hell. The artist is unable to paint scenes that he has not seen himself, prompting him to torture and torment the Lord's staff to create his imagined images of hell. His creative efforts taint the household, as the story descends into madness and destruction. Kokoro by Natsume Souseki — A 1914 tale of a young man's life journey during the Meiji era. The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls Sensei. It continues the theme of isolation developed in Souseki's previous works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame. The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito) by Akutagawa Ryuunosuke — The Buddha Shakyamuni chances to notice a cold-hearted criminal suffering in Hell. But this criminal did perform one single act of kindness in not stepping on a spider in a forest. Moved by this selfless act, Shakyamuni takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell, but it falls upon the criminal to seize the opportunity and pull himself out — if he can. (Source: AniDB)

Adventure / Drama

Raised from birth as a man, the Lady Oscar commands the palace guards at Versailles in the years before the French Revolution. Her beauty and noble spirit make her a shining figure in the eyes of both men and women but she is torn between her chosen life of service and duty to class and country and her own heart and desires. She lives as a noble amidst the opulence of Versailles but her keen senses and compassion are not blinded to the poverty of the French people. (Source: Anime News Network)

Drama / Slice of Life

This story is about a girl, Candy, who is a orphan. She is a nice and optimistic girl and she has a warm heart. When she was a child, she lived in an orphanage called Pony's Home. She had a good friend called Ann. And she met the "handsome boy on the hill" who is a important person in her life, on the hill behind the orphanage. She was adopted by the Loka's family. What's awaiting her are the bad-hearted Leo and his sister, Eliza. One day, in the rose garden, she met a boy, who is identical to the "handsome boy on the hill" who she had met in her childhood. The boy is called Antony. Thereafter, a fantastic story that she has never expected begins. (Source: AnimeNfo)

Action / Drama

Yabuki Joe is left downhearted and hopeless after a certain tragic event. In attempt to put the past behind him, Joe leaves the gym behind and begins wandering. On his travels he comes across the likes of Wolf Kanagushi and Goromaki Gondo, men who unintentionally fan the dying embers inside him, leading him to putting his wanderings to an end. His return home puts Joe back on the path to boxing, but unknown to himself and his trainer, he now suffers deep-set issues holding him back from fighting. In attempt to quell those issues, Carlos Rivera, a world renowned boxer is invited from Venezuela to help Joe recover.

Drama / Psychological

Before leaving her cram school, Nanako Misonō asks one of the teachers if they can become pen-pals. The teacher, Takehiko Henmi, is reluctant at first, but eventually accepts the offer. The story is narrated through the letters sent from Nanako as she enters Seiran, a renowned private high school for girls only. There she encounters many difficulties as an ordinary middle-class girl invited to the prestigious Sorority, the most traditional and sophisticated club on campus.. (Source: AnimeNewsNetwork)