Naisho no Hanashi - Recommendations

• OVA (3 eps)
• 1989

Ruka and Rumi Kobayakawa are twin sisters in love with the same man, athletic upperclassman Katsuyuki Touma. Rumi seems supportive of Ruka's fledgling romance with Katsuyuki, until the twins are infected with a strange bacterium that transforms Rumi's personality and gifts the twins with terrifying psychic powers. Now Rumi will stop at nothing - or no-one - that gets between her and Katsuyuki, including her own twin sister...

• TV (13 eps)
• 2003

Rumic's Theater is a collection of 13 stories by Rumiko Takahashi, who is also responsible for such things as Inuyasha, Kimagure Orange Road, and Mermaid's Forest. While each story has its own tone, the focus tends to be based upon marriage, death, apartments, or general quirky situations and experiences. Sarcasm and mixups abound in this entertaining series.

• OVA (1 ep)
• 1993

Young love remains in the hearts of so many; and it is this love that is explored within nine stories. A man meets his first love again -- a wild girl from his youth that was into the Beatles; a high school Rugby manager meets the team's star again after so many years; a salaryman falls for a mobster's girlfriend; and another leaves his small-town love to live life in a big city, and meets a girl that resembles her ten years later. Relationships aren't always as simple as just loving someone; sometimes it takes time to learn how to love.

• DVD Special (2 eps)
• 2018

Tomie Kawakami is a femme fatale with long black hair and a beauty mark just under her left eye. She can seduce nearly any man, and drive them to murder as well, even though the victim is often Tomie herself. While one lover seeks to keep her for himself, another grows terrified of the immortal succubus. But soon they realize no matter how many times they kill her, the world will never be free of Tomie. 

• Movie (1 ep)
• 2018

An ambitious collection of three thrilling tales; Kanini & Kanino, Invisible, Life Ain't Gonna Lose. Together, the stories explore ideas of heroism large and small, and the infinite potential of the short film format allows the directors and Studio Ponoc to experiment with breathtaking, action-packed visuals, concise human drama, and gorgeous fantasy worlds, in this unforgettable short film anthology that is further demonstration of the studio’s exciting future.

• Movie (1 ep)
• 2016

Sanpei is a boy beekeeper and the sole survivor of an accident that killed his entire family. Sanpei meets Chiyo, a girl who gets stung by a bee, and starts a new life in her village. Eventually, Sanpei cultivates the land that the villagers had abandoned, and then disappears. In the land now filled with flowers, Chiyo waits, believing Sanpei will return.

• TV (10 eps)
• 2008

One day, Rahzel's father decides that she should go on a journey and see the world, so he does the only reasonable thing – he kicks her out of the house! However, Rahzel is an optimist and decides to find a traveling partner, and within minutes she stumbles upon the beautiful silver haired red-eyed Alzeid. Rahzel tells Alzeid that she will free him from his boring life and take him on a fun and wonderful adventure. Joined by a mysterious yet lecherous muscle head named Baroqueheat, the travelers head out without a destination in mind, seeking enjoyment and fulfillment, and encountering friends and enemies at every turn.

• Movie (1 ep)
• 1991

Taeko Okajima lives a nondescript life in Tokyo performing office duties in the day and then coming home in the evening to listen to her mother’s remarks on the phone about her unmarried status. In a bid to escape the monotony, Taeko decides to visit the countryside she once loved as a child and spend time on a safflower farm run by relations of hers. But her journey awakens memories she thought she had long abandoned, and Taeko must once again decide the kind of person she truly wants to be.

• TV (51 eps)
• 1996 - 1997

Kiko is a four-year-old girl who rarely ever smiles and is capable of doing things other kids her age can't do, like cooking and shopping alone. Her odd habits and strange behavior make her very poular with all the kids in her class. Her life is filled with strange moments like helping her teacher find love and eating her carrots on dates, annoying her lovey-dovey parents, and playing with her cat, who happens to be an angel.

• Movie (1 ep)
• 2020

There are as many births and child delivery stories as there are people. Despite all the progress of medicine and science, it still happens that lives get lost during childbirth. On such a daily and common matter, we want to interview mothers on their intimate experience of giving birth, and adapt that material into animation to have it seen by audiences of all generations. This is a documentary animation on the very beginning and the mystery of life, told from the point of view of mothers.