List of Japanese films of 2012
A list of Japanese films that are released in the Japanese box office in 2012.
The film A Letter to Momo became the first anime film to be screened at the Warsaw International Film Festival. The 2012 films Ai to Makoto and ' will be screened in the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
| Opening | Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes | Ref |
| Magic Tree House | Hiroshi Nishikiori | Mana Ashida, Keiko Kitagawa | Anime | Based on a children fantasy series | ||
| Quartet! | Junichi Mimura | Mahiro Takasugi, Ayame Goriki | Drama | |||
| Ryūjin Mabuyer The Movie Nanatsu no Mabui | Tomoki Sano | Shintaro Yamada | Tokusatsu | Based on a television series | ||
| Tibetan Dog | Masayuki Kojima | Houko Kuwashima, Jiro Hiramiki | Anime | |||
| Gekkō no Kamen | Itsuji Itao | Itsuji Itao, Tadanobu Asano, Satomi Ishihara | Drama | Inspired by the story Sokotsu Nagaya | ||
| Hasami | Fujiro Mitsuishi | Chitsuru Ikewaki | Drama | |||
| Himizu | Sion Sono | Shōta Sometani Fumi Nikaidō | Drama | Entered into the 68th Venice International Film Festival | ||
| Robo-G | Yaguchi Shinobu | Mickey Curtis, Yoshitaka Yuriko | Drama | |||
| .hack//The Movie | Hiroshi Matsuyama | Nanami Sakuraba | Anime | Based on a video game | ||
| Always Sanchōme no Yūhi '64 | Takashi Yamazaki | Hidetaka Yoshioka, Koyuki, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Hiroko Yakushimaru | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| ' | Shojiro Nakazawa | Ryota Ozawa, Yuki Yamada, Mao Ichimichi | Tokusatsu | |||
| ' | Eiki Takahashi | Members of the group AKB48 | Documentary | Sequel to a 2011 documentary | ||
| Inu no Kubiwa to Koroke to | Seiki Nagahara | Kenta Kamakari, Masaya Nakamura | Drama | |||
| Shiawase no Pan | Yukiko Mishima | Yo Oizumi, Tomoyo Harada | Drama | |||
| Tempest 3D | Yoshiyuki Yoshimura | Yukie Nakama, Shosuke Tanihara | Drama | Continuation of a television series | ||
| The Wings of the Kirin | Nobuhiro Doi | Hiroshi Abe, Yui Aragaki, Junpei Mizobata, Rena Tanaka | Based on a novel | |||
| Arakawa Under the Bridge | Ken Iizuka | Kento Hayashi, Mirei Kiritani | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Berserk Golden Age Arc I: Egg of the Supreme Ruler | Toshiyuki Kubooka | Hiroaki Iwanaga, Takahiro Sakurai, Toa Yukinari | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| Mameshiba Ichirō 3D | Toru Kamei | Jiro Sato | Drama | |||
| Nihon Retto | Keizo Ideta | NA | Documentary | |||
| Shinobido | Toshiyuki Morioka | Aimi Satsukawa, Hatsunori Hasegawa | Drama | Based on a theme park attraction | ||
| Tokyo Playboy Club | Yosuke Okuda | Nao Ōmori, Ken Mitsuishi, Asami Usuda | ||||
| ' | Shiohama Masayuki | NA | Documentary | |||
| ' | Fumihiko Sori | Anime Fantasy | Based on a video game | |||
| Gyakuten Saiban | Miike Takashi | Hiroki Narimiya, Mirei Kiritani, Takumi Saito | Legal drama | Based on a video game | ||
| Kitsutsuki to Ame | Shuichi Okita | Shun Oguri, Kōji Yakusho | Drama | Screened at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival | ||
| ' | Tomoyuki Takimoto | Ken Watanabe | Drama | Based on the true story of the Hayabusa spacecraft | ||
| Life Is Dead | Kōsuke Hishinuma | Atsushi Arai, Higarino, Shintarō Akutsu | Supernatural | Based on a manga | ||
| Utahime | Yoshiko Hoshida | Hitomi Kuroki, Tae Kimura, Shizuyo Yamazaki, Miki Maya | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| Afro Tanaka | Daigo Matsui | Shota Matsuda, Nozomi Sasaki | Based on a manga | |||
| Ikiterumono wa Inainoka | Gakuryu Ishii | Shota Sometani | Doomsday | |||
| ' | Norio Tsuruta | Mirai Shida, Haruna Kawaguchi | Horror | |||
| ' | Yūsuke Iseya | Hidetoshi Nishijima, Mirai Moriyama, Nae Yūki, Masahiko Tsugawa | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| Love Police | Yoshihiro Sakata | Takashi Yoshimura, Yosuke Oochi | Comedy | |||
| Zombie Ass | Noboru Iguchi | Arisa Nakamura, Mayu Sugano | Horror | |||
| Koun no Tsubo | Michihito Ogawa | Keiko Toda, Hosshan | Drama | |||
| ' | Kōzō Kusuba | Anime | 17th film in the Doraemon film series | |||
| ' | Hiroki Matsuyama | Shota Matsuda, Mikako Tabe | Drama | Sequel to the film ' | ||
| ' | Masahiro Kondo | Kazutoyo Koyabu, Saki Aibu, Yoichi Nukumizu | Drama | |||
| Henge | Ohata Hajime | Kazunari Aizawa, Aki Morita | Horror | |||
| Okaeri Hayabusa | Katsuhide Motoki | Tatsuya Fujiwara, Anne Watanabe, Tomokazu Miura | Drama | Based on the true story of the Hayabusa spacecraft | ||
| River | Ryūichi Hiroki | Misako Renbutsu | Drama | Based on real events | ||
| Bokura ga Ita | Solanin | Toma Ikuta, Yuriko Yoshitaka | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Ghostwriter Hotel | Hiroaki Ito | Tsuyoshi Abe | Horror | |||
| Ouran High School Host Club | Haruna Kawaguchi, Yusuke Yamamoto, Mariko Shinoda | Drama | Based on a manga; similar to the 2011 television drama based on the same manga | |||
| ' | Jyunji Shimizu | Misato Fukuen, Asami Tano | Anime | Part of the Pretty Cure All Stars film series | ||
| Strike Witches | Kazuhiro Takamura | Misato Fukuen, Saori Eto | Anime | Based on a mixed-media project | ||
| Tanemaku Tabibito | Toshi Shioya | Takanori Jinnai, Rena Tanaka | Drama | |||
| ' | Yoshimitsu Morita | Kenichi Matsuyama, Eita | Drama | |||
| Salvage Mice | Ryuta Tasaki | Mitsuki Tanimura, Julia Nagano, Seiya Osada | Action | |||
| Ultraman Saga | Hideki Oka | DAIGO, Takeshi Tsuruno, Taiyo Sugiura | Tokusatsu | |||
| Ano Sora no Ao | Tao Nashimoto | Masei Nakayama, Mikie Hara, Maki Aizawa | Drama | |||
| Aoi Sora Shiroi Kumo | Shusuke Kaneko | Hikari Mori | Drama | |||
| Ashita ni Kakeru Ai | Hideyuki Katsuki | Alex Ru, Sayaka Ichii | Drama | Collaboration with China to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Japan-China friendship | ||
| Atsuhime Number 1 | Rika Ishikawa, Yuko Nakazawa | Drama | ||||
| Kotoko | Shinya Tsukamoto | Cocco, Shinya Tsukamoto | Horror | |||
| Ramen Samurai | Naoki Segi | Dai Watanabe, Sayaka Yamaguchi, Yasuaki Kurata | Drama | Debuted at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival | ||
| Red Tears | Takanori Tsujimoto | Natsuki Kato, Yuma Ishigaki, Yasuaki Kurata | Horror | Debuted at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival | ||
| ' | Yukihiko Tsutsumi | Erika Toda, Ryo Kase | Drama | Continuation of a television drama series | ||
| Totecheeta Chiquitita | Kosuke Toyohara, Chieko Matsubara, Shono Hayama, Jurina | Drama | Developed under the Fukushima Film Project | |||
| Watashi no Ojisan | Tatsuoki Hosono | Katsunori Takahashi, Saki Terashima | Romance | Based on a novel | ||
| ' | Tsutomu Mizushima | Keiji Fujiwara, Satomi Koorogi | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| ' | Kobun Shizuno | Minami Takayama | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| Donzumari Benki | Haruhi Oguri | Nahana, Kuniaki Nakamura, Keiko Sugawara | Drama | |||
| A Letter to Momo | Hiroyuki Okiura | Karen Miyama, Yuka, Toshiyuki Nishida, | Anime | Entered into the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival | ||
| Bokura ga Ita | Solanin | Toma Ikuta, Yuriko Yoshitaka | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| ' | Osamu Kaneda | Masahiro Inoue, Ryota Ozawa | Tokusatsu | |||
| Monsters Club | Toshiaki Toyoda | Eita, Yōsuke Kubozuka | Horror | Screened at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival | - | |
| Sentimental Yasuko | Kei Horie | Azusa Okamoto | Drama | Adapted from a stage play of the same name | ||
| X Game 2 | Masashi Yamada | Aika Ota, Natsumi Hirajima | Horror | sequel to the 2010 film X Game | ||
| ' | Seiji Izumi | Yutaka Mizutani | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| Thermae Romae | Hiroshi Abe, Aya Ueto, Masachika Ichimura | Comedy | Based on a manga | |||
| Waga Haha no Ki | Masato Harada | Kōji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Kirin Kiki | Drama | |||
| Uchū Kyōdai | Shun Oguri, Masaki Okada | Based on a manga | ||||
| Kono Sora no Hana | Nobuhiko Obayashi | Yasuko Matsuyuki | Drama | Based on the Nagaoka Fireworks festival | ||
| Potechi | Yoshihiro Nakamura | Gaku Hamada, Fumino Kimura, Nao Omori | Drama | Based on a short story | ||
| Rent a Neko | Naoko Ogigami | Mikako Ichikawa | Drama | |||
| Sadako 3D | Tsutomu Hanabusa | Satomi Ishihara, Koji Seto | Horror | Uses characters from the Ring Trilogy | ||
| ' | Kōnosuke Uda | Akashi Takei, Ayumi Kimura | Anime | Based on a novel | ||
| Girl | Yoshihiro Fukagawa | Karina, Kumiko Asō | Based on a novel | |||
| Kotsutsubo | Jiro Nagae | Natsumi Matsubara, Rurika Yokoyama, Ai Shinozaki, Yusuke Yamada | Horror | Based on a novel | ||
| Mada, Ningen | Jumpei Matsumoto | Masato Tsujioka, Manabu Ueyama | Drama | |||
| My House | Yukihiko Tsutsumi | Itou Takao, Eri Ishiida | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| ' | Kōji Wakamatsu | Arata Iura | Drama | |||
| Blood-C: The Last Dark | Naoyoshi Shiotani | Nana Mizuki, Kenji Nojima | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| Gaiji Keisatsu | Kentarō Horikirizono | Atsuro Watabe, Kim Kang-woo, Yōko Maki | Mystery | Based on a novel | ||
| The Final Judgement | Masaki Hamamoto | Kota Miura, Umali Thilakarathne | Action | Based on a novel | ||
| Hotaru no Hikari | Hiroshi Yoshino | Haruka Ayase, Naohito Fujiki | Drama | Continuation of a television series of the same name | ||
| Michi: Hakuji no Hito | Banmei Takahashi | Yu Yoshizawa, Bae Soo-Bin | Drama | Based on a true story | ||
| ' | Masaaki Taniguchi | Azusa Mine | Romance | |||
| Ai to Makoto | Miike Takashi | Tsumabuki Satoshi, Takei Emi | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Library War: The Wings of Revolution | Takayuki Hamana | Marina Inoue, Tomoaki Maeno | Anime | Based on a light novel | ||
| Karappo | Shogo Kusano | Naoya Shimizu, Airi Taira | Drama | Debuted at the 4th Okinawa International Movie Festival | ||
| Berserk Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey | Toshiyuki Kubooka | Hiroaki Iwanaga, Takahiro Sakurai | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| ' | Kentaro Otani | Shingo Katori, Ryōko Hirosue, Riko Narumi | Drama | |||
| ' | Hajime Hashimoto | Masaaki Uchino | Mystery | Continuation of the television series Rinjo | ||
| Gusukobudori no Denki | Gisaburo Sugii | Anime | Based on a novel | |||
| Kono Sora no Hana | Nobuhiko Obayashi | Yasuko Matsuyuki | Drama | Based on the Nagaoka Fireworks festival | ||
| Soreike! Anpanman Yomigaere Bananajima | Hiroyuki Yano | Yoshino Kimura | Anime | Characters from the Anpanman series | ||
| ' | Yukichi Ootsuka | Katsuhisa Namase | Supernatural | |||
| ' | Eiichiro Hasumi | Riisa Naka, Hideaki Itō | Action | Part of the Umizaru film series | ||
| Chihiro Iwasaki: 27-sai no Tabidachi | Tomoko Kana | Tetsuko Kuroyanagi | Documentary | A documentary about the illustrator Chihiro Iwasaki | ||
| Helter Skelter | Mika Ninagawa | Erika Sawajiri | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Kueki Ressha | Nobuhiro Yamashita | Mirai Moriyama, Kengo Kora, Atsuko Maeda | Romance | Based on a novel | ||
| ' | Kunihiko Yuyama | Rica Matsumoto, Aoi Yūki, Mamoru Miyano | Anime | |||
| Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's | Keizou Kusakawa | Yukari Tamura, Nana Mizuki | Anime Fantasy | |||
| Paikaji Nankai Sakusen | Toru Hosokawa | Sadao Abe | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki | Mamoru Hosoda | Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa | Anime | |||
| Eight Ranger | Yukihiko Tsutsumi | members of the group Kanjani Eight | Drama | Based on popular skit by Kanjani Eight | ||
| Girigiri no Onnatachi | Yukihiko Tsutsumi | Miho Fujima, Yuko Nakamura, Makiko Watanabe | Drama | Screened at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival | ||
| ' | Hayato Date | Junko Takeuchi | Anime | Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Naruto animation | ||
| Kazoku no Kuni | Yang Yong-Hi | Arata, Sakura Ando, Yang Ik-june | Drama | Based on the director's own experience | ||
| Another | Takeshi Furusawa | Horror | Based on a novel | |||
| Kikoeteru, Furi wo Sita Dake | Kaori Imaizumi | Hana Nonaka | Drama | Screened at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival | ||
| The Kirishima Thing | Daihachi Yoshida | Ryunosuke Kamiki, Masahiro Higashide | Drama | |||
| ' | Hiroaki Sakurai | Ayaka Saito, Aya Hirano, Nozomi Sasaki | Anime | |||
| Fairy Tail the Movie: The Phoenix Priestess | Masaya Fujimori | Aya Hirano, Tetsuya Kakihara | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| Afterschool Midnighters | Kyohitoshi Take | Koichi Yamadera | Anime | |||
| Anata e | Yasuo Furuhata | Ken Takakura | Drama | Based on a draft left behind by the late producer Seichi Ichiko | ||
| Ai Ore! | Sakurako Fukuyama | Karam, Ito Ono, Yūta Furukawa | Romance | Based on a manga | ||
| Rurouni Kenshin | Keishi Otomo | Takeru Sato, Emi Takei | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Ushijima the Loan Shark | Masatoshi Yamaguchi | Takayuki Yamada | Based on a manga | |||
| I'm Flash! | Toshiaki Toyoda | Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ryuhei Matsuda | Drama | |||
| ' | Shuhei Fukunaga, Masahiro Izuo | Motoki Ochiai, Rie Tomosaka | Drama | |||
| Himitsu no Akko-chan | Yasuhiro Kawamura | Haruka Ayase, Masaki Okada | Romance | Based on a manga | ||
| Hitori Kakurenbo | Yasutaka Miyuki | Misato Nonaka, Taiyo Ayukawa | Horror | Based on an urban legend | ||
| ' | Katsuyuki Motohiro | Yūji Oda, Eri Fukatsu, Toshirō Yanagiba, Yūsuke Santamaria | Drama | Continuation of the Bayside Shakedown series | ||
| Bakugyaku Famiglia | Kazuyoshi Kumakiri | Yoshimi Tokui, Kento Hayashi | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Yume Uru Futari | Miwa Nishikawa | Takako Matsu, Sadao Abe | Drama | |||
| Jinsei, Irodori | Osamu Minorikawa | Kazuko Yoshiyuki | Drama | |||
| Kagi Dorobou no Method | Kenji Uchida | Masato Sakai, Teruyuki Kagawa, Ryōko Hirosue | Yakuza | |||
| Tenchi Meisatsu | Yōjirō Takita | Junichi Okada | Drama | Based on the story of Shunkai Shibukawa | ||
| Bingo | Yopei Fukuda | Kazuki Shimizu, Sakiko Matsui | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| The Boy Inside | Tetsu Maeda | Masaki Suda, Tori Matsuzaka | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Gekijō-ban Tiger & Bunny -The Beginning | Yonetani Yoshitomo | Hirata Hiroaki, Morita Masakazu | Anime | Based on an anime series | ||
| Muse no Kagami | Yuichi Fukuda | Rino Sashihara | Drama | Based on a NTV television series of the same name | ||
| Asura | Keiichi Sato | Masako Nozawa, Megumi Hayashibara | Anime | Based on a manga | ||
| Atarashii Kutsu wo Kawanakucha | Eriko Kitagawa | Miho Nakayama Osamu Mukai | Romance | Filmed in Paris | ||
| Kuro Neko Rushi | Toru Kamei | Muga Tsukaji, Megumi Yasu | Drama | |||
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica | Akiyuki Shinbo | Aoi Yuki, Chiwa Saito | Anime | |||
| Beyond Outrage | Takeshi Kitano | Toshiyuki Nishida | Yakuza | Sequel to the 2010 film Outrage | ||
| Tsunagu | Yuichiro Hirakawa | Tori Matsuzaka, Kirin Kiki | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| Hitotsu no Uta | Romance | Screened at the 2012 Tokyo International Film Festival | ||||
| Koi ni Itaru Yamai | Drama | Screened at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival | ||||
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica | Akiyuki Shinbo | Aoi Yuki, Chiwa Saito | Anime | |||
| Shiritsu Bakaleya Koko | Kubota Takashi | Members of AKB48 and Johnny's Jr. | Drama | Continuation of NTV television series of the same name | ||
| Tabi no Okurimono | Tetsu Maeda | Yu Yamada, Kiyoshi Maekawa, Wakako Sakai | Drama | |||
| Land of Hope | Sion Sono | Isao Natsuyagi, Naoko Otani, Jun Murakami | Drama | International film collaboration | ||
| Fuse Teppō Musume no Torimonochō | Masayuki Miyaji | Anime | ||||
| ' | Yuma Ishigaki, Kenji Ohba | Tokusatsu | ||||
| ' | Kenji Kamiyama | Mamoru Miyano | Anime | Based on the manga Cyborg 009 | ||
| ' | Tetsu Maeda | Kiyoshi Maekawa, Wakako Sakai, Yu Yamada | Drama | |||
| A Terminal Trust | Masayuki Suo | Tamiyo Kusakari, Kōji Yakusho | Drama | Based on a novel | ||
| Nobo no Shiro | Shinji Higuchi, Isshin Inudo | Kōichi Satō, Hiroki Narimiya, Mana Ashida | Period | Based on a novel | ||
| Kita no Kanariatachi | Junji Sakamoto | Sayuri Yoshinaga | Drama | Based on the novel Oufuku Shokan | ||
| Ogon O Daite Tobe | Kazuyuki Izutsu | Satoshi Tsumabuki, Tadanobu Asano | Thriller | Based on a novel | ||
| Lesson of the Evil | Miike Takashi | Hideaki Itō | Mystery | Based on a novel | ||
| Neraware Gakuen | Ryosuke Nakamura | Anime | Based on a science fiction novel | |||
| Yukuefumei | Koji Kawano | Riho Takagi | Horror | |||
| Evangelion 3.0 | Hideaki Anno | Anime | Third film in the Rebuild of Evangelion film series | |||
| Sono Yoru no Samurai | Masaaki Akahori | Masato Sakai, Takayuki Yamada | Drama | Based on a 2007 stage play | ||
| Karasu no Oyayubi | Tadafumi Itō | Hiroshi Abe, Shoji Murakami, Satomi Ishihara | Based on a novel | |||
| Tsunahiichatta! | Nobuo Mizuta | Mao Inoue, Keiko Matsuzaka | Drama | Inspired by actual events | ||
| Kyo, Koi wo Hajimemasu | Takeshi Furusawa | Emi Takei, Tori Matsuzaka | Romance | Based on a manga | ||
| Good Morning Everyone! | Toru Yamamoto | Yo Oizumi, Kumiko Asō, Ayaka Miyoshi | Drama | |||
| ' | Tatsuya Nagamine | Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura | Anime | Part of the One Piece film series | ||
| Yōkai Ningen Bem | Kazuya Kamenashi, Anne Watanabe | Drama | Based on a manga; continuation of a 2011 television drama | |||
| Odayaka na Nichijo | Nobuteru Uchida | Kiki Sugino, Yukiko Shinohara | Drama | |||
| ' | Fuminori Kaneko | Hideaki Itō | Drama | Based on a manga | ||
| Gothicmade | Mamoru Nagano | Maria Kawamura, Nozomu Sasaki | Anime | |||
| Graffreeter Toki | Kenichi Fujiwara | Rie Kitahara | Comedy | Inspired by a manga | ||
| Kamihate Shōten | Tatsuya Yamamoto | Reiko Takahashi | Drama | Screened at the 47th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival | ||
| Little Maestro | Toshiro Saiga | Kasumi Arimura, Yumiko Shaku | Drama | |||
| Tenjo no kaze | Yann Kung | Sachiko Fukumoto, Honoka, J.C. Chan, Tsuyoshi Hayashi | Drama | Okinawa and China collaboration |