Interest Stacks

In the near future, augmented reality has become a key part of daily life. A gentle middle school girl named Yuuko "Yasako" Okonogi and her family have just moved to Daikoku City despite rumors of people disappearing. There, her grandmother, nicknamed "Mega-baa," runs a shop called Megasia that specializes in illegal tools which interact with parts of the virtual world. Mega-baa also hosts an unofficial detective agency called "Coil," a group of children around Yasako's age who find and handle corruption of the virtual world. Yasako gets involved with the group when Fumie Hashimoto, a playful member of Coil, helps rescue her cyberdog Densuke after getting trapped in virtual space while chasing a mysterious virus. Also investigating these corruptions and viruses is an abrasive hacker named Yuuko Amasawa, who the others take to calling Isako. Can Coil discover the truths behind the mysterious viruses and corruption, and if they can, at what cost? [Written by MAL Rewrite]

The main character, a cat named Nyatto, embarks upon a journey to save his sister's soul, which was ripped in two when Nyatto tried to save her from Death. She trails after him, brain-dead. They encounter many brilliant, mind-bending situations, beginning with a disturbing magic show. (Source: ANN)

Manie-Manie: Meikyuu Monogatari is an anthology film composed of three short films by acclaimed directors Rintaro, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, and Katsuhiro Otomo. Labyrinth Labyrinthos While Sachi is searching for her cat, Cicerone, they both fall through a mirror and become trapped in a mysterious, mind-bending labyrinth. They follow a clown's shadow into the distance, not knowing where it will lead them. Running Man Bob Stone is a reporter working on an article about racer Zack Hugh, the ten-year reigning champion of an extremely popular and deadly automobile race. By the time the two meet, Zack's body and mind are shells of what they used to be. When the next race starts, Bob observes what happens when both man and machine are pushed to their breaking point, and what it takes to be an enduring champion. The Order to Stop Construction Salaryman Tsutomo Sugioka is dispatched into the heart of a dangerous jungle in order to halt a construction project after the foreman's mysterious disappearance. There, he discovers the deadly and uncontrollable world created by the automated construction robots. When the chief robot is resistant to his orders, Tsutomo must figure out another way to stop the project before his company's financial losses become too great. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

The only noises you can hear are the sounds of water and wind. The story shows us a young girl and an elderly man. She cares about him and in a return, he gives her guqin lessons.

Four housekeepers package and prepare meals for children. The children feed the livestock, which are to be used for their meals. This repeats the cycle.

Numbers stations were prominently used during the Cold War. A boy was tuning the radio in the snow mountain and happened to tune the shortwave of codes.

This story is about a place long ago, before birth and before death, that everyone knows and no one knows. (Source: Geidai Animation)

A goldfish sneaks away from home and floats off on the back of a jellyfish. After getting stuck in a glass jar, she drifts to the shore where she is freed by Sousuke, a five-year-old boy who lives with his mother Lisa in a house by the sea while his father Koichi works on a fishing boat. After healing a cut on Sousuke's finger by licking it, the goldfish is named Ponyo by her new friend. Unknown to Sousuke, Ponyo already has a name and a family. Her father Fujimoto, a sorcerer who forsook his humanity to live underwater, searches frantically for his daughter Brunhilde. When found and captured, Ponyo rejects her birth name and declares that she wants to become a human. Using the power received from Sousuke's blood, she grows arms and legs and escapes to the surface once more. But the magic released into the ocean causes an imbalance in nature, causing the Moon to start falling out of orbit and the tides to grow dangerously stronger. Reunited with Ponyo, Sousuke must pass an ancient test to restore order in the world and let his companion live on as a human. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

The primary schoolboy "Kuchao" is hated person in his class. Even if everyone fly balloons, only he doesn't part with his it. When he immediately begins to chew a bubble gum, he enter the imagination world after school. When his balloon becomes the face and begins to chew a bubble gum, it changes into various things. His imagination makes rapid progress more. Then, the bird approaches while flying and... (Source: Official website)

Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland was released in American theaters in 1992. However, at one point earlier in its development many people from Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro) had been involved with the project. In 1984 they produced a test pilot. In 1987, Osamu Dezaki directed a third one (as a very first one was made by Sadao Tsukioka in the mid-1970s).

Old friends Cabbage and Pea reunite under awkward circumstances.

A little girl reflects on her last summer with her father at his funeral. Set on a small island in Japan where the director was born and raised, the film explores the relationship between the death of her father and the bomb storage in the mountain behind the family house. (Source: IMDB)

Music video by Tarafu Otani for Tomoyo Harada's single Kotobadori.

She was abused by her father during childhood. Since he left, the pain and anger had begun to fade. One day, unexpectedly, she was struck by a revelation about her father's life that cast her feelings about him into confusion. (Source: IMDb)

One day a boy encounters a street vendor who sells chicks. Even the boy knows these birds will die very soon. To his eyes, the man is selling none other than death itself. (Source: IMDB)

The day I dream, everything is different. (Source: TIAF)

Let not an Outsider touch thee, Lest thou shalt be cursed forever. Once upon a time, in a land far away that was divided into two realms... The Outside was roamed by teratomorphic creatures who had the power to curse whoever they touched. Humans could live safely only in the Inside. But when a lost little girl from the Inside named Shiva, and a demonic beast-looking Outsider simply known as "Teacher" initiate a quiet coexistence on the same side of the forest, their bond seems to transcend their incompatible natures. It is the beginning of a folktale about two outcasts -one human, one inhuman- who linger in the hazy twilight that separates night from day. (Source: Production I.G)

A collection of seven individual and unique shorts which range from touching to downright bizarre. With each story different from the last, we encounter monsters going to school, a man who has a hard time dealing with himself, and a child who learns the hard way about the circle of life, as well as many other unique characters and experiences. A journey through the minds of the most prolific artists in Japan, this compilation truly is the setting of a Genius Party. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Containing shorts that couldn't be included in the original, Genius Party Beyond weaves stories that are both deep and insightful: the idea all life is relative in size, the consequences of an oppressive government, and how to deal with your darker desires, among others. From the directors and artists of works such as Samurai Champloo, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira, come a multitude of thought-provoking tales, to create a collection equalling the original in storytelling genius. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yuuta was 12-year-old boy, who had lost his father in the traffic accident one year ago. In the summer vacation, he visited a deserted dam deep in the mountains, where he had a good time with his father before. Suddenly a thunder storm occurred and he slipped on the ground. He lost consciousness and woke up to find a girl and an unfamiliar village. He time-traveled 30 years and reached a village, which sank at the bottom of the dam. This is Yuuta's precious memory of "another" summer vacation.

Fifth-grader, Toriyasu, and his little sister, Meeko, have a dog named Papadoll who has been missing for the past week. One night, two cats take the two children to the distant cat land of Banipal Witt, where Papadoll was abducted. Because of his long exposure to Banipal Witt's sun, Papadoll mutated into a giant dog monster, terrorizing the city under the control of the evil Princess Buburina, who has the curse of turning anyone she touches into balloons. Toriyasu, Meeko, and the cats have until the next sunrise to turn Papadoll and the ballooned citizens of Banipal Witt back to normal and return to their home planet—or end up with the same fate as their dog. (Source: AniDB)

One day, a boy who separated from his mother’s hand is deprived of his fingers. His fingers become a larva and part from his hand. The house. . . conceals a relationship between the two from anyone. How does the boy who is deprived of his fingers grow up? (Source: TMDB)

Satomi Maiya's first year work at the Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Department of Animation. A young girl seeks the attention of her mother, who is occupied with her newly born sister. Out of jealousy, the girl hides her baby sister in darkness.

Satomi Maiya's graduate work at the Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, Department of Animation. A mother secretly threw a letter written by her daughter into the snow-covered ocean. The suspicious daughter follows her mother by sneaking on a rowboat with her.

Why do you want acceptance? If it's not going to happen, then forget about what it was you wanted acknowledged and just have some soup, like always. (Source: Geidai Animation)

In 1950s Japan, Tatsuo Kusakabe relocates himself and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, to the countryside to be closer to their mother, who is hospitalized due to long-term illness. As the girls grow acquainted with rural life, Mei encounters a small, bunny-like creature in the yard one day. Chasing it into the forest, she finds "Totoro"—a giant, mystical forest spirit whom she soon befriends. Before long, Satsuki too meets Totoro, and the two girls suddenly find their lives filled with magical adventures in nature and fantastical creatures of the woods. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

One windy day, Mei Kusakabe ventures outside to play despite the turbulent weather. But just as she is about to indulge in her caramel candy, a sudden whirlwind appears and begins to chase her! Retreating back into the house, Mei discovers that her pursuer is a young Nekobasu, and after deciding on a sweet truce, the two quickly become friends. The baby Nekobasu returns that evening and invites Mei to travel with him—marking the start of their exhilarating adventure in and around the bustling forest. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

A young girl is transported to a magical world by a storefront bear in this anime short by Studio Colorido.

A boy and his young sister were curious about the book someone had left on a bench, and they opened the book. Then the small Tower of Bavel was completed on a page. Looking into the tower, they found an old man sitting and reading a book, surrounded by innumerable books. As the man turned pages, mythical animals appeared and disappeared. (Source: yamamura-animation.jp)

In Kei Oyama's grim Consultation Room, a medical diagnosis triggers a wave of traumatic fantasies, portrayed in greyish pencil drawings that waver as if left out for too long in the rain. (Source: Sydney Morning Herald)

A foreign transfer student from the city arrives one day in a Japanese country town. Enchanted by his air of mystery, his classmates nickname him "Matasaburou the Wind Imp" after a local legend. Eventually they become friends and spend many days playing in the countryside. One windy day, Matasaburou returns to the city, leaving his classmates to speculate that he really was Matasaburou the Wind Imp and that he flew away on the wind.

In the evening of a village festival, a young boy named Bunroku goes to the festival with his friend and visits a clog shop on the way. There he learns an old superstition about the fox. (Source: haff.nl)

The pilot for Junkers Come Here included with the DVD release of the movie. It was produced in 1993.

"Googuri Googuri" - a made up word, a secret word, shared by a girl and her grandfather. For the girl, her grandfather is at times like a mountain, at other times like a tree, or an ocean; a warm and comfortable place. Her thoughts take wing into her endless imagination. The things we have seen, smelled, thought, and everything we have experienced, extending and expanding within the infinite expanse inside ourselves.

Music video for the song Imaginary Express by Snail's House from the album "Imaginarium".

Mizuki Kiyama's short animation utilizes a paint on glass technique to render a young girl's visit to a neighborhood sento (bath house) with her mother with dazzling sensuous wonder. Evoking child-like fascination at daily rituals, this quotidian act amidst feminine intimacy becomes a space of otherworldly fantasy. (Source: Anilist)

Music video directed by Saigo no Shudan and Tomomi Hayashi for the song timeless tree by Japanese jazz and rock musical duo EGO-WRAPPIN' from their ninth studio album "Dream Baby Dream".

A short film by Haruka Suzuki.

Music video for the song Okaasan by YUSHIO.

A mother goat rescues her kids from the belly of a wolf, but her eldest son Toruku is missing. One day Toruku shows up home and has to confront his own fears as well as the disfigured bodies of his brothers and sisters. As the wolf once again approaches, secrets of Toruku's absence come to light as the flock fights for survival. (Source: asianmoviepulse)

A boy is always alone, at school, or at home. One day, he finds a sandlot on the way home and thinks of making a ‘town’ of his own. Another boy was watching his play and starts to imitate him.

All of sudden, a boy starts to play hopscotch. Kicking stone is a simply play but it doesn’t work simply as it seems. He struggles by the rule he made himself.

The scutes glisten in the corner of her mind and she starts to dig her memories up. What was like the museum director she encountered when she was lost?

Stop-motion animation using sand. Depicts a child going outside to play and exploring nature, rough-housing with friends, and using the full extent of his imagination.

The old granny playing peek-a-boo is gone. Instead, a stranger appears and draws closer to the child. Peek-a-boo involves exercising memory, and looking directly at your partner. (Source: Geidai Animation)

A huge pig is lying down in front of a house. Father, mother, grandmother, six children and a dog live in the house. Everyone is aware of the huge pig, and the pig is aware of the family. But nobody knows how and what the other think. The mother doesn't understand the father… It depends what you imagine when you hear about normal family life. (Source: Fresh Film Fest Website)

It would be hard for anyone to imagine the combination of a mother and a telegraph pole. How could such a thing be possible? The image of the telegraph pole raising her child using cables in place of arms and legs is quite charming. The spirit of the producer who made such a wild idea into a film is also quite charming. (Source: AniDB)

Almost everyone in our contemporary society is picked up and moved around by someone or something, like in a game of Sugoroku. Those who first do so are our parents. We follow a boy who grows up along on Sugoroku board, during which he depends on his parents. His family play the parts of roles in the game - his father rolling the die, and his mother picking him up and placing him he passively goes about his way. But for how long will he let this continue? (Source: YouTube)

Shun is forced into playing with four friends. But they are not friends, he hates them. The unbearable heat and heavy atmosphere deepen his depression. (Source: eventive)

OVA bundled with the special edition of the manga's side story.