Kazunari Aizawa

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

Relatives gather from afar in wintery Ashibetsu upon the death of patriarch Mitsuo. A mysterious woman named Nobuko suddenly shows up. Her appearance gradually exposes wartime secrets and Mitsuo's unknown past.

A young couple's lives take a turn for the worse after a mysterious attack on the husband leaves him suffering from some bizarre after effects.

#45 in the series, following "The Men's Past"

Set in an old movie theater, this group drama depicts the battle between dying yakuza and salaried workers who have forgotten their dreams.

A warehouse on the harbourfront just before dawn. Whilst illicit dealings between Japan and Taiwan are taking place, Detective Matsuda of the Yokohama Shinko Police Station, Kanagawa Prefectural Police—having obtained intelligence—ventures in alone. His partner, Detective Nishizaki, follows in his wake, but it is already too late; he is forced to watch as Matsuda is engulfed in flames right before his eyes. After the incident, Nishizaki resigned from the police force, left Japan and became a private detective. However, just as he was beginning to settle into this new life, he is once again drawn into a nightmare. Ryo, the younger brother of the late Matsuda, appears and asks him to join him in seeking revenge. Confused by Ryo’s desperate expression, Nishizaki gently declines. But Ryo, unwilling to accept this, resolves to storm the organisation alone, just as Matsuda once did.