Hirata Toshio

Something like cooking contests in anime form. Approximately three minutes long per episode, in each story there is an evaluation judgement about preparing home food. The preparation is described as humorously as possible. Funny wordplays are often mentioned several times in a consequence and are particularly salient but are repeated in a merry way.

* Based on the novel by Kobayashi Chitose. This is the autobiographic tale of Kobayashi Chitose, a young Japanese girl growing up in a Japanese-occupied North Korea. As World War II progresses, Chitose begins to realize that her family will not be able to escape the effects of the conflict. From the simple disappointment of not being able to get the type of backpack she wants…

Count D, a quite interesting pet shop owner from an area called Chinatown, sells rare and hard to come by pets to people longing for something special, but with each sale comes a contract. If the rules of the contract are followed, everything goes fine, but if someone should break the rules of the contract, the pet shop cannot be held responsible for anything unfortunate that…

Tiny schoolgirl Chiiko develops a crush on older boy Saly and believes herself to be his girlfriend, although Saly is already involved in a love triangle with a girl called Tonko. Source: The Anime Encyclopedia

* Based on a short story by Kataoka Yoshio. The 17-year-old Nomura Akihiko, called Bobby, is an underachieving high school kid with a deep love for motorcycles. His grades are failing, and his father, traditional and strict, is trying everything he can think of to get the kid to apply for college. His mother is so silent, she might as well not even exist. Really, his support…

The Acorns and the Wildcat is a unique short film in picture-book format from the creator of Night on the Galactic Railroad and Gauche the Cellist. Unusually for an anime, a narrator reads Kenji's story aloud while the action is played out on the screen by a succession of warm and evocative illustrations brought to life by subtle touches of animation. If the film feels somehow…

Based on the adventures of Marco Polo, a merchant from the Venetian republic, who embarks on a journey to Asia along with his father and uncle in the 13th century. Source: ANN

Three years after the Hiroshima bombing, Gen and his adopted brother, Ryuta, befriend a group of orphans. A fierce typhoon hits the city, leaving the orphans' home flooded and beyond repair. Gen helps them build a new home on an abandoned piece of property, and brings love and encouragement to one of the children whose face has been badly scarred by radiation. Gen's mother,…