Onimasa is the egocentric boss of a small yakuza clan on Shikoku Island, whose criminal duties conflict with his self-image as a chivalrous samurai. His struggles with his boss, the Shikoku Godfather, and the tumultuous life of his adopted daughter, Matsue, form the backdrop of this epic tale of justice, obedience, and bloody vengeance.

Kyoko, a newly-appointed English teacher at a rural but well-respected, prestigious prefectural high school, had spent her childhood and high school years overseas before returning to Japan. Because she lived abroad for a long time, she cannot understand the old-fashioned ideas peculiar to Japan and tends to be frank about what she thinks. On the eve and the day of the school entrance examination, various incidents occur. There is the spectre of someone attempting to wreck the examination for some motive. Everyone present is a potential suspect and the truth remains shrouded in mystery to the end.

An industrialist is diagnosed with terminal cancer. He is on a trip to Europe at the time, and a glimpse of a Japanese woman in that setting causes him to fantasize about her as the personification of his impending death. As his dialogue with his imagined mortality continues, he actually meets the living woman who is the template for his fantasy, and together they tour rural churches. Gradually he comes to some kind of peace about the diagnosis. When he returns to Japan, he is met with a series of challenges which profoundly test the lessons he has learned.

A young boy joins a band of ninja during a peasant uprising, all depicted through an experimental form of filming pages from the original manga set to sound.

After a salary-man's fiancée attempts suicide, he recounts his gruesome family history which saw generations of his ancestors suffer and sacrifice themselves for the sake of their cruel lords.

A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb.

[Period covered: 1582-1594]. As the film opens, the warlod Nobunaga Oda rides to Iga Ayanokuni shrine. He is asked if he thinks he has destroyed all the ninja who opposed him and answers that he suspects that there may be more. A servant brings water and tests it first. The paige dies and we hear gunshots as two ninja flee the scene. His suspicions confirmed, Nobunaga oversees the execution of captured ninja and decides that, in the future, he needs a much crueler method of execution. The daimyo Hideyoshi comes to visit.

A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.

Nello Tarth is a poor but happy orphan who lives with his grandfather Jehan and his dog Patrasche in a little village near Antwerp. He spends his days drawing and delivering milk. When Nello decides to enter an art contest, he experiences firsthand the ignorance and cruelty of the villagers of the town. Nonetheless, with the help of his beloved dog, Nello perseveres to achieve his dream.

Sonoko Nanakura is a straight A student, daughter of a doctor. She meets Wataru Okochi, a tall orphan guy working in a factory, who attends school at night. Her parents warn her not to get involved, and a smart boy Yusuke Hasebe also seems interested in her.

The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.