Love Letter also launched the film career of Miki Sakai who won a Japanese Academy Award as 'Newcomer of the Year' for her portrayal of Itsuki Fujii as a young girl.

In 1996, came the commercial and critical success of Swallowtail Butterfly, a multifaceted story of the fictional Yen Town, a city of immigrants in search of hope and a better life with three separate and distinct main characters.

Kobayashi would create the music for the titular pop star, Lily Chou-Chou (voiced by Japanese singer Salyu), that is spread through the film (as well as Debussy), and later be released as an album entitled Kokyu (Breathe).

Also in 2006, Iwai spent time documenting and interviewing Kon Ichikawa while filming The Inugamis (Inugamike no ichizoku) to create a feature-length documentary about the director's life.

A more recent project, a piece he wrote about the Japanese indie rock scene in the early 1990s called Bandage, was released on January 16, 2010.

[4] Unknown Child Fireworks Undo Picnic Love Letter Swallowtail Butterfly April Story All About Lily Chou-Chou Hana & Alice