While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

Thirty years after graduation, a man and a woman meet again at an alumni reunion. They are no longer young, but the moment she sees him, memories of her first love are revived. Her love for him has never faded even though she married another man and bore his child. What has kept her going is a white shell the boy gave her and a phrase of Jean Cocteau's poem, "My ears are shells, fondly hearing the sound of the sea..." She gets a divorce, returns to her hometown and opens a bar named "Coquille," which means "shell." Without their knowing, an unexpected turn of events awaits the two...

Masashi is a photographer. He has his parents and an older brother Yukihiro. Through the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, Masashi begins to take staged photos of his family.

Something bizarre has come over the land. The kingdom is deteriorating. People are beginning to act strange... What's even more strange is that people are beginning to see dragons, which shouldn't enter the world of humans. Due to all these bizarre events, Ged, a wandering wizard, is investigating the cause. During his journey, he meets Prince Arren, a young distraught teenage boy. While Arren may look like a shy young teen, he has a severe dark side, which grants him strength, hatred, ruthlessness and has no mercy, especially when it comes to protecting Teru. For the witch Kumo this is a perfect opportunity. She can use the boy's "fears" against the very one who would help him, Ged.

A brother and sister learn their biological grandfather was a kamikaze pilot who died during World War II. During their research into his life, they get conflicting accounts from his former comrades about his character and how he joined his squadron.

An unapologetic former sex worker starts working at a bento stand in a small seaside town, bringing comfort to the lonely souls who come her way.

Suzume is a girl born to a family running a small restaurant in Gifu Prefecture. She loses her hearing in one ear from a disease. Encouraged by her loving parents and childhood friend, she lives through an eventful life with a tenacious spirit.

Towards the end of the Edo era, in the town of Kyoto, there lived a wealthy merchant by the name of Imai Tadamasa. He was blessed with 3 children, Hatsu, Asa and Kyutaro. His eldest, Hatsu, was a traditional girl who loved to play the koto and sew. Whilst his second daughter, Asa, was an impish hoyden who loved sumo wrestling. Asa was engaged to be married to the second son of a distinguished family who ran a money changer business in Osaka, Shirooka Shinjiro. Although Asa was furious when she had first heard about the betrothal, when she met up with Shinjiro for the first time, his charisma greatly attracted her and she fell in love with him in no time.