Jakob arrives at the Institute Benjamenta (run by brother and sister Johannes and Lisa Benjamenta) to learn to become a servant. With seven other men, he studies under Lisa: absurd lessons of movement, drawing circles, and servility. He asks for a better room. No other students arrive and none leave for employment. Johannes is unhappy, imperious, and detached from the school's operation. Lisa is beautiful, at first tightly controlled, then on the verge of breakdown. There's a whiff of incest. Jakob is drawn to Lisa, and perhaps she to him. As winter sets in, she becomes catatonic. Things get worse; Johannes notes that all this has happened since Jakob came. Is there any cause and effect?
An upper class English family owns a villa in the Irish countryside. When the man of the house leaves to fight in WW2, his mother, wife, dying butler, maid and other staff's life becomes a bit hectic and some love affairs start to bloom.
Jay, a failed musician, walked out of his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day Jay follows her and finds out about the rest of her life (and that her name is Claire). This eventually disrupts their relationship.
Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.
Taiji has been estranged from his mother Mitsuko for years. Due to a meeting with his friend, he looks back at his past with his mother. After not seeing her for years, Taiji sees Mitsuko again. He tries to regain his mother's love.
At the spooky western styled mansion turned restaurant "Thriller Restaurant," Kuroka and Ryu disappear. After their disappearance others start to disappear at the restaurant. Rumors soon start that the devil himself is responsible for the missing persons.
Four pianists take part in the preliminary round of an international piano playing competition. Each has a story that is different and unique. One is a former child prodigy who stopped playing when her mother died. One is a Julliard student. One is a new face and yet comes recommended.
Aimi (Ito Ono) lost her mother due to the Kyoto earthquake in 1995. She remembered watching whales with her mother and moved to Okinawa to see whale's jumping out of the water again. Aimi has now lost hope for life. During this time, she meets a young Vietnamese man, Khoa Nguyen (Win Morisaki), who came to Okinawa to receive training at an IT company. Aimi is moved by his nostalgia for his hometown and his passion for work. She faces her life again and develops feeling for him.
The incredible true story of how an orphaned Jamaican baby, adopted by an elderly white couple and brought up in an all white area of London, became one of the most feared and respected men in Britain.