The Best Films From Japan Released in 2016

Films from Japan Released In 2016

Following a rampage of extreme prejudice, a savage killer targets women as he tries to find a compatible one to engage his fantasies of torture and murder in. With the body count mounting and no one being able to stop him, he grows bolder and goes to more extreme measures to carry out his rampage, eventually catching the eye of a female serial killer who's just as sadistic as he is, forcing them into a deadly and dangerous showdown.

Brutal (2017)

As undercover cop Reiji takes on a new mission to takedown the Chinese mafia, elite police officer Shinya moves to arrest Reiji.

The Mole Song: Hong Kong Capriccio (2016)

Takatoshi Minamiyama (Sota Fukushi) majors in art at an university in Kyoto. On the train to the school, he sees Emi Fukuju (Nana Komatsu) and falls in love with her at first sight. Gathering up all his courage, he speaks to her. They begin to date and enjoy happy days together, but Emi reveals her secret to him.

Tomorrow I Will Date With Yesterday's You (2016)

In a time when the main source of energy was still coal, there was a man who saw the future in oil. Young Tetsuzo Kunioka who hails from Moji, Kitakyushu, rides out into the oil business, but is faced with numerous challenges and competitors who stand in his way, including domestic suppliers and major western oil companies, or the "oil majors". But Tetsuzo never gave up, however despairing the situation was. He always found a way and paved a new road with his unconventional ideas, eccentric actions, and most of all, his caring heart toward his own men. That style of Tetsuzo's was not something that would ever change, even when the tides were against him in a war-lost Japan.

Fueled: The Man They Called "Pirate" (2016)

Ranmaru is a shy, dorky guy with a tongue that can analyze any element simply by licking an object, a skill that allows him to solve all manner of crimes. With his cute, but annoying sidekick Hikaru, plus the steadying hand of friend Kanji, Ranmaru solves a series of strange events at a failing hot spring resort deep in the mountains. Ranmaru falls in love with a doctor who saves his life. The loveable, endearing Ranmaru and his band of quirky pals team up to solve a nasty murder mystery that devastates the village.

Ranmaru: The Man with the God Tongue (2016)

While a gang of high school girls randomly beats lone men at night, the photo of a young woman who has been declared missing is used to design a template which is painted on each wall of a small suburban town.

Japanese Girls Never Die (2016)

An illegal biological weapon K-55 is stolen from a university lab. The university lab can't even call the police because the secret nature of the weapon. The school lab then receives a message stating that the entire country is now being held hostage and they must pay a ransom of 300 million yen.

Shippu Rondo (2016)

Based on a popular manga series of the same name, this Japanese romantic comedy follows the lives of two high school students, Kotoko, a bubbly girl who’s hopeless in school, and Naoki, her smart and handsome senior. Although Kotoko gathers up the courage to confess her love to him, he bluntly rejects her in public. But fate works in mysterious ways - when her house collapses, a childhood friend of her father’s, Mr. Irie, invites them to live with his family, and she learns that the son of Mr. Irie is none other than Naoki himself…

Mischievous Kiss The Movie: High School (2016)

A series of grotesque murder cases takes place on rainy days. Detective Hisashi Sawamura (Shun Oguri) works to catch the murderer like he has done with past cases, but he soon realizes the murderer's next target is his wife and son. A man in a frog mask is a suspect.

Museum (2016)

Natsume Mochizuki works as a teen model in Tokyo, but she learns that she has to move to her father's hometown of Ukigumo. She is in a desperate situation because she can't do the things she wants to do in Ukigumo. One day, she meets Koichiro Hasegawa. He is the successor of the Hasegawa family. His family is wealthy and is respected in the area. Natsume Mochizuki and Koichiro Hasegawa become attracted to each other, but something changes their fate.

Drowning Love (2016)

When people finish their day and hurry home, his day starts. His diner is open from midnight to seven in the morning. Pork, miso soup combo, beer, sake and shochu is all that he has on his menu. Nevertheless, he makes whatever his customers request as long as he has the ingredients for it.

Midnight Diner 2 (2016)

Yukio Haruyama (Riku Ohnishi) is an elementary school student. He has an uncle (Ryuhei Matsuda) that teaches philosophy part-time at an university. His uncle leeches off his family. The uncle then goes on a blind date and falls in love with beautiful Eri Inaba. She is a fourth generation Japanese living in Hawaii. Sometime later, Eri goes back to Hawaii to take over a coffee farm left behind by her recently deceased grandmother. Yukio and his uncle travel to Hawaii to see Eri.

My Uncle (2016)

Young-Ung was dumped by his girlfriend. While he is in Okinawa, Japan on a business trip, the company he works for goes bankrupt. Sakura is a single mother and works for a travel agency. She needs to learn Korean for her job. At a Korean language institute, Sakura meets Young-Ung and their romance begins.

My Korean Teacher (2016)

A terminally ill single mother is determined to reconcile her splintered family.

Her Love Boils Bathwater (2016)

10 years has passed since the confrontation between Kira and L. Again, Shinigami sends death notes to the ground and due to this, the world soon falls into chaos. Tsukuru is a member of the Death Note special task force team with 6 other investigators including Matsuda who experienced the Kira case of 10 years ago. Mass murders caused by the death note takes place on Wall Street in the U.S., Shibuya in Japan and other places. World famous private investigator Ryuzaki, who is the rightful successor of L, also investigates the mass murders. They discover that 6 death notes exists in the world. A computer virus called Kira spreads in the world. A message in the Kira virus says to turn in 6 death notes. A person who has 6 death notes overwhelm the world. The confrontation begins between the person who wants Kira’s revival and the people who want to stop it.

Death Note: Light Up the New World (2016)

Senichi was born in 1964, when the entire nation was excited about the Tokyo Olympics. As an elementary student, Senichi won a footrace and got a taste of what winning felt like. Since then, Senichi takes part in various competitions including drawing and usually wins. He keeps struggling to win gold medals at competitions.

Gold Medal Man (2016)

The dead body of Maki Tsujimoto, a popular stage actress, is discovered in a theater in Oji. After striking her in the back of the head with a bronze statue prop, the criminal laid the body on the floor and pointed a light at it, "directing" the crime scene as if it were a scene from a play.

Odd Detective 14 (2016)

5 university students gather to exchange information on their job search activities. They encourage each other and post their thoughts & worries on Twitter, but behind that they have a lot on their minds. Takuto Ninomiya observes those around him. His roommate Kotaro Kamiya has a bright personality and communicates well with others. Mizuki Tanabe is Kotaro Kamiya’s ex-girlfriend. Takuto Ninomiya has feelings for his roommate's ex-girlfriend. Rika Kobayakawa is determined to land a job. Takayoshi Miyamoto is critical of job-seeking activities, but he later tries to get a job.

Someone (2016)

The movie depicts the confrontation between younger brother Akira Miyamoto (Shunya Shiraishi) and older brother Atsushi Miyamoto (Ryohei Suzuki) on Higanjima.

Nirvana Island: The Last 47 Days (2016)

If actresses Hirosue Ryoko, Igawa Haruka and Saito Yuki chose different paths at the turning point in their lives, what kind of life would they be leading?

Kamoshirenai Joyūtachi (2016)