Ayuko Tsukahara

Director

Kuki, Saitama, Japan

Biography

No biography available.

Filmography

8.1

Worst to First: A Teen Baseball Miracle

Nagumo Shuuji, a social studies teacher at Mie Prefecture’s Etsuzan Senior High School, was a former baseball player up until university when he quit after sustaining an injury. Thereafter, he worked as a sports trainer but returned to university at 32 years old in order to pursue his dream of becoming a teacher. However, his peaceful daily life goes through a change after he’s appointed to be the advisor of his school’s baseball club that is on the verge of abolition.

8.4

Unnatural

Mikoto, a forensic investigative examiner, and her partners trace down the evidence of crimes and unravel the puzzles behind mysterious deaths.

7.5

MIU404

The Mobile Investigative Unit (known as "MIU") of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department attempts to solve cases within 24 hours. Detective Kazumi Shima is selected as a new member of MIU. He is intelligent, with excellent observation and communication skills. Yet, he does not trust other people. He is unable to find a partner in MIU and is ordered to partner with Police Officer Ai Ibuki, who works at a police substation. Ibuki applied for MIU, but he failed. He is in excellent physical condition, but he lacks knowledge and experience as a detective. Shima learns about Ibuki's background and he becomes more nervous. Finally, Shima has his first meeting with Ibuki.

7.3

Meet Me After School

Emotions resurface when a school teacher and her former student reconnect three years after sharing a forbidden attraction that scarred them both.

7.1

Dearest

Rio Sanada is the president of "Sanada Wellness" and an up-and-coming businesswoman who is selected as one of the "100 people in their 30s who will change the world". She is reunited with her former love interest Daiki Miyazaki, who is now a detective, after 15 years as an important witness to a murder case. In Gifu Prefecture in 2006, Rio is a third-year high-school student who wants to go to the University of Tokyo. She took good care of her younger brother in lieu of their busy father. Before Daiki could confess to her, an incident occurs at the dormitory.

8.4

La Grande Maison Tokyo

Determined to attain three stars, a middle-aged female chef teams up with a disgraced Michelin-starred chef to start a new restaurant together.

7.3

My Happy Marriage

An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.

7.9

Sleepeeer Hit!

Kokoro Kurosawa used to be a contender for the Olympic Judo Team, but she had to give up on her dream due to an injury. In the end, she ends up working at weekly manga magazine "Vibes." The publishing industry is going through a turbulent time due to ebooks. Members of the editorial department struggle to come up with ways to sell more manga books. She learns about editing from her senior editors and becomes fascinated with the edition world, interacting with manga writers, and discovering new manga artists. But what surprises her the most is that in a competitive world such as manga publishing, not all dreams come true, and even when they do, they come with a price...

7.0

Tower of Sand

Takano Aki is a happy, ordinary housewife whose family (sweet husband and two kids) has moved to their dream apartment. Just as they are starting their new life, they encounter an ominous, terrifying neighbour, Sasaki Yumiko, who manipulates the dark emotions of pride, vanity and jealousy of the housewives living in the apartment building. She drives Aki into isolation within the building with unexpected methods and eventually causes the break up of her family. Meanwhile, a series of abduction cases take place. There seems to be a connection to the kidnapper and the frightening neighbor.

7.7

Testimony of N

University student Sugishita Nozomi, Naruse Shinji, Ando Nozomi and Nishizaki Masato end up coming upon the scene of the murder of the Noguchi couple, because of a plan they had devised. Nishizaki is arrested at the scene and is given a 10-year prison term because of his voluntary confession. 10 years later, Takano Shigeru, a former police officer who has misgivings about the verdict of this case, starts to pursue the truth. He is convinced that it all began as a result of an incident caused by Nozomi and Naruse on an island in the Seto Inland Sea in the summer 15 years. “They committed a crime at that time. It was for the sake of each N.”

6.5

Why I Dress Up for Love

A busy publicist learns to open her mind and heart when she moves into a luxury apartment with a friend and her three free-spirited roommates.

8.7

The Royal Family

Kurisu has always admired his father, who runs a tax accounting firm, and dreamed of working with him one day. To broaden his skills, he joined a major tax firm, but a professional setback left him disillusioned. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets racehorse owner Sanno Kozo, reigniting his sense of purpose.

5.8

Limit

Mizuki Konno is a high school student. She belongs to the the most powerful group in the class, which is led by Sakura Himezawa, so she can have a peaceful school life. One day, on the way to a school exchange event, a school bus driver becomes unconscious due to overwork. The bus goes off a cliff.

7.5

The Good Wife

Kyoko Hasumi (Takako Tokiwa) is a former lawyer who quit her job to become a housewife and a mother. Her husband is an elite prosecutor. He works as the leader of a special investigation department at the Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office, but he is charged with corruption and gets arrested. A scandal with another woman is also revealed. Kyoko Hasumi's life as a "good wife" begins to change. To protect her children, she decides to work again as a lawyer. She is hired temporarily at a law office and begins to work as a lawyer for the first time in 16 years.

6.4

Second Love

Taira Kei has a talent for contemporary dance since he was young and went to study in Germany to join a dance company in his teens. He has won several international competitions and was referred to as a “prodigy”. However, he encountered a setback in the middle and got frustrated. He returned to Tokyo and takes a part-time work while he tries to re-capture his dream. Nishihara Yui is a Chemisty teacher in her 30s, working at a prestigious high school. Even while continuing a love affair with a married colleague, she was still lonely until she meets Kei and gets swallowed in passion.

7.5

Grande Maison Paris

Famous Japanese chef Obana opens a new restaurant in Paris in the quest for his elusive third Michelin star. But Obana finds life as an outsider in Paris difficult, and even has trouble sourcing ingredients. His ambition causes tension with his team, including pâtissier Yuan, and sous chef Rinko. When his menu for a gala proves a disaster, Obana promises his former mentor that if he doesn't get three stars, he will leave Paris. Can he pull it off?

7.0

Reverse

Kazuhisa Fukase graduated from a prestigious university, but he leads a boring life. His only strength is making delicious coffee. Whenever he makes coffee, he is reminded of his friend Yoshiki Hirosawa. He was friends with Yoshiki Hirosawa back in their university days, but Yoshiki Hirosawa died on a snowboarding trip 10 years ago. One day, he meets Mihoko Ochi at a coffee shop. He is strongly attracted to her. Kazuhisa Fukase goes to a professor’s retirement celebration at a university. There, he meets Kosuke Asai who went snowboarding with Yoshiki Hirosawa on that fateful trip. Journalist Toshio Ogasawara also appears there. He has been investigating Yoshiki Hirosawa's death.

8.9

The Diamond Sleeping in the Sea

Set on Hashima Island in Nagasaki Prefecture during the coal industry's rise in 1955, this story follows themes of family, friendship, and love. It contrasts the post-war era, where people had little but were full of dreams, with present-day Tokyo, where abundance prevails, but young people struggle to find their dreams.

6.1

Captivated, by You

Miyoshi Hayashi is one quirky high-school student who enjoys doing fun things that don't always quite make sense. Despite being hard to pin down, his mysterious charm never fails to draw others to him. In order to finance his activities, he sometimes helps out at his parents' restaurant, allowing him to continue living by his motto, "It's comfortable to have enough free time to waste."

8.0

Nameless Poison

Saburo Sugimura works for the PR department of a company which his father-in-law Yoshichika Imada runs. One day, Yoshichika Imada tasks Saburo Sugimura with work regarding a man named Nobuo Kajita. A complicated story unfolds from the request.