
Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.

Sex & Fury chronicles Ocho's exploits as she searches for her father's killers, each identified by unique tattoos on their backs (a deer, a boar, and a butterfly). Along the way, she also crosses paths with Shunosuke, a radical set on murdering prominent politician Kurokawa, and Christina, an American spy posing as a gambler.

A boy born in a poor village in Tokushima spends his days idly until a chance meeting sets him on the road to becoming boss of Japan's largest gang. This epic film is the first part of greatest true-life series based on autobiography of the Yamaguchi-gumi's third leader, Taoka Kazuo.

Natsuko is so good at using that super-strong vagina of hers that she can fuck guys to death. In the end, she’s pitted against a sexual superman and a showdown ensues. There’s also a subplot about a mad scientist type who needs vaginal juices to create a potion designed to turn Japanese girls black.

Sachiko is the leader of a girl gang from Shinjuku who wind up in Kyoto and make a bid to take over the local girl gangs there.

Kiyohime, a daughter of Tokugawa Ienari is married-off to Tadateru Ogura, the lord of a Kyushu clan. However, the lord's sexual inexperience and Kiyohime's strict morals lead to significant crisis in their marriage. To improve his sexual prowess, the lord is introduced to Sandra, a French woman held captive by usurer-smuggler Hatakaya. This results in the lord's choosing Sandra as his mistress. Kiyohime's attendants see this move as an insult and have Sandra beaten and imprisoned. Nevertheless, Sandra escapes with the help of Morita, a retainer of the lord. Out of bitterness and as some sort of revenge, the lord imposes a sex ban on his subjects.

Delinquent girl boss meets and conflicts with an orphan girl who lives an isolated life after the dramatic deaths of her parents. She plays the piano, but stands up against her lecherous guardian, who is also a school official.

The fourth "Tenamonya" feature. Adapted from the popular television comedy, Fujita stars in this film based on historical events.

Hoodlum group helps fishermen against firm polluting their fishing ground.

The story follows the chance meeting between Senkichi, a wandering gambler on the run, and Orin, a blind musician who offers him kindness and shelter. As their lives become intertwined, they attempt to find a sense of peace and domesticity while caught in the crossfire of the violent Bakumatsu revolution.

Action-comedy film featuring the adventures of an itinerant merchant (Hiroki Matsukata) that becomes an unlikely hero.

The third film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. Sugawara still plays the same Kanto street peddler, who this time ventures to Osaka where he defends a blind girl at a street market. The area is targeted by rotten yakuza (Asao Koike and Tatsuo Endo), who have lured local senior female boss (Nijiko Kiyokawa’s) rebellious but not entirely indecent son Goro Ibuki to their side.

The fourth film in the Kanto Street Peddlers series. The protagonist, played by Bunta Sugawara sides with female boss Yumiko Nogawa to fight evil Hiroshi Nawa, who at one point employs rebellious young hood Tsunehiko Watase and Kagawa. Tatsuo Umemiya also shows up as a cool, leather jacket gunman who gains Sugawara’s respect despite playing for the opposing team. What eventually keeps this film from being as good as the first is the loose script that doesn’t really tie all the fun stuff into a coherent package. Much is forgiven however when the last 20 minutes arrives with several visually striking set pieces (including one death scene stylized to the point of ridiculousness) and a terrific final massacre. This was Suzuki’s last contribution to the series; the fifth and final picture would be helmed by Takashi Harada.


Osaka Tough Guys stars Kentaro Nakakura and Yoshiyuki Ohmori. It tells the story of two hoods forced to take on paid work when they run out of money for booze, who end up being drawn into the spiderweb of the yakuza. Gaijiro Saito and Sei Hiraizumi co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi