Asian Drama

The 63rd work of NHK Taiga Drama depicts the life of Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese female poet who wrote "Tale of Hikaru Genji". This story is set in the mid-Heian period.

(Source: nhk.or.jp)

Episodes: 40

In her beloved car, "Grace", a wife is on her way to Narita. Following a bus accident that kills her, her husband, Kikuo, gets access to her GPS which contains the history of all the places she travelled to without his knowledge. Suspecting infidelity, Kikuo embarks on a journey to trace the history of the cars GPS in order to solve the mystery.

Adapted from the novel "Grace no Rireki" (グレースの履歴) by Minamoto Takashi (源孝志).

Will be the latest reimagining of one of Japan’s most iconic heroes. Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno will be at the helm.

N/A

High school student Asuka sees the appearance of a dead student named Haruka and tries to find her body. Asuka and her friends try to find the eight scattered pieces of Haruka's corpse in the school. In doing so, they learn more about the Red Person who is pursuing them. The Red Person hunts down the students who are alone in the school to kill them, and until they exit the school gates, the Red Person will keep appearing before them. When the Red Person kills a student, it scatters the student's body into eight pieces and tasks others to find the pieces in the school. If Asuka does not find Haruka's body, the day will keep repeating and she and her friends will continue to die until they find it.

Adapted from the web novel "Karada Sagashi” (カラダ探し) by Welzard.

About the friendship and love between 4 police officers working at a police station who each have their own problems. Shikahama Suzunosuke is suspended from work due to a mistake he made while Mabuchi Haruhi works at the general affairs department.

Tsuchiya Tetsuo (Emoto Tasuku) suddenly wakes up one night in his company’s meeting room. When he goes home like usual his wife Chika (Suzuki Anne) seems out of sorts. She is lost for words and frightened. He goes to awaken their 1-year-old son but the boy is clearly 4 years old. A public official eventually comes to visit and tells Tetsuo, “You died three years ago.” There is a lot of news on TV and the internet of the resurrection of people who are supposedly dead all over the world. However, Tetsuo has no memory of his own death. It is said that he fell from the rooftop of his company but he is frustrated that he has no recollection whether it was an accident or suicide. Could he have been murdered by that security guard Saeki (Abe Sadao) who followed him around at every opportunity? Tetsuo pursues the truth as the mystery deepens. However, Chika seems to be hiding something. Each person’s dark side is revealed little by little.

Set within the highly competitive animation industry. People in that field work hard to receive the title of "haken," which is given to the most popular animation.

Saito Hitomi works on her first anime as a director. She struggles along with her colleagues to make the animation film, while dealing with various difficulties. Meanwhile, Ouji Chiharu is an animation director and has made hit movies in his past. He teams up with Producer Arishina Kayako to make his first animation film in 8 years. Saito Hitomi and Ouji Chiharu now direct films that are set for release on the same date. Who will get the title of haken?

Adapted from the novel "Haken Anime!" (ハケンアニメ！) by Tsujimura Mizuki (辻村深月).

Nagase Ren takes on the role of "I," a university student who moved to Tokyo and is living alone for the first time. I has no friends. I has no girlfriend. The lectures at the university were horribly boring, and I was always looking at Tokyo Tower on the way back from his laborious job. While being attracted to the ruthless, dignified and intelligent "Senior," played by Ikeda Elaiza, whom he meets in the "Hide and Seek Circle" that he secretly falls in love with. Meanwhile, I meets a man called "Black Suit," played by Emoto Tasuku, who is an extremely charismatic and mysterious person. Little did "I" know that the two people he met would bring excitement to his mundane, humdrum existence.

Adapted from the novel "Mayonaka Otome Senso" (真夜中乙女戦争) by F.

A collapsed woman, wearing white clothes, is found at a park in the early morning hours. The woman introduces herself Byakuya. Except her name, she doesn't remember anything else about herself. She doesn't know general stuff either, but she holds extensive medical knowledge and has a genius like diagnostic ability. With just the smallest amount of information, she is able to diagnose any disease. She begins to work with a diagnosis team at a hospital.

A collapsed woman, wearing white clothes, is found at a park in the early morning hours. The woman introduces herself Byakuya. Except her name, she doesn't remember anything else about herself. She doesn't know general stuff either, but she holds extensive medical knowledge and has a genius like diagnostic ability. With just the smallest amount of information, she is able to diagnose any disease. She begins to work with a diagnosis team at a hospital.

Ayako Mochizuki is a 35-year-old detective. She is a hard worker and seeks out justice, but she lacks flexibility. Ayako Mochizuki investigates a murder case. From the evidence she collects, she targets Haruto Hidaka as the murder suspect. Haruto Hidaka is a chemistry researcher and he runs his own company. He is smart and proficient with his work, but he is also a psychopathic murderer. Right before Ayako Mochizuki arrests him, their bodies are switched.

Iwane Sakazaki has two childhood friends: Kinpei Kobayashi and Shinnosuke Kawade. They received training at the same dojo. Kinpei Kobayashi's younger sister Mai is married to Shinnosuke Kawade. Also Iwane Sakazaki will marry Mao who is the younger sister of Kinpei Kobayashi and Mai. The three friends are like brothers. Shinnosuke Kawade then hears a rumor that his wife Mai is having an affair and he kills her. Kinpei Kobayashi becomes enraged that his younger sister is murdered and kills Shinnosuke Kawade. To punish Kinpei Kobayashi, Iwane Sakazaki is ordered to kill his friend.

Tabata Kaede is a university student with poor social skills. He meets Akiyoshi Hisano, who attends the same university. She seems to lack common sense and is also an idealist. She talks about ending wars and having no more bullies. Kaede & Hisano have different personalities, but they are both outsiders. For their goal to change the world, they decide to make a secret club Moai. One day, Hisano suddenly disappears. Their secret club Moai also changes. Moai becomes a club for job finders and the club gets larger. Kaede decides to leave the club, but he then decides to take back Moai for its original mission, dreamt up by himself and Hisano.

Set in the 1930's, the headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Navy sets out to build the world's biggest battleship Yamato. Rear Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is opposed to that plan. Isoroku Yamamoto attracts Tadashi Kai (Masaki Suda) who is a genius mathematician. Tadashi Kai discovers discrepancies related to the estimated cost to build the battleship. He tries to uncover a conspiracy in the military.

Daikichi is a 70 year old man who lives on a small island. Ever since his wife died, he has lived with his cat, Tama. Daikichi was born and raised on the small island and enjoys relaxing days with his childhood friends including Iwao. Daikichi has a son Tsuyoshi who lives in Tokyo. Tsuyoshi worries a bit about his father living alone on the island, but Daikichi is content with his life. After his close friend passes away, Daikichi worries about his physical condition. His life begins to change.

An Kazutaka (Emoto Tasuku) is a young, bashful psychiatrist whose jazz piano skills are as good as a pro. He also has a love for records and books. He searches for his place in the world in his youth. But when he meets the cheerful Shuko (Ono Machiko), who becomes his wife, he finally feels at peace with himself. Right after they have their first child, the Great Hanshin Earthquake strikes. Although his family is affected by the disaster, he begins to search for what he can do as a psychiatrist. As he listens to the stories of disaster victims, he realises that he can help not by treating them, but restoring their capacity to heal. Later on, he compiles his observations of the disaster-hit area as a psychiatrist into a book, and wins a prize for social sciences. He sees this as a positive sign. However, one day when he is 39, he discovers that he has cancer.

Kenji Amo is a 2nd generation Japanese-American. He was born in America but went to school in Japan. He returned to America to study at UCLA. Now, Kenji Amo works as a reporter for a newspaper in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles.

Charlie Tamiya also studied at UCLA with Kenji Amo. Charlie Tamiya has feelings for Nagiko who works with Kenji Amo at the same newspaper company. Knowing that, Kenji Amo holds complicated feelings. At this time, Nagiko's friend Emi Hatanaka asks Kenji Amo to marry her. He accepts her proposal, but the Pacific War begins. Circumstances surrounding Kenji Amo changes.

A young man spends the summer with his new girlfriend and his roommate, drifting through clubs in Hakodate. While they slowly form a ménage à trois, they realize their unusual bond will not last

When he was just seven-years-old, Suei's mother blew herself up with dynamite in a love-pact suicide with the neighbor's son. Suei worked at a factory in the city after graduating from high school and then quit to go to Tokyo, where he plunged into the world of adult magazines after working as an illustrator and cabaret sign painter.

Shikata Atsushi, Tadokoro Keita, and Kawabata Satoshi spent their childhood days as friends. As adults, they meet again due to a murder case. Atsushi works as a detective, Keita is a suspect and Satoshi is a victim. As they come face to face with the truth of the murder case, they must also confront their detested past, sealed within their minds until now.

Shikata Atsushi, Tadokoro Keita, and Kawabata Satoshi spent their childhood days as friends. As adults, they meet again due to a murder case. Atsushi works as a detective, Keita is a suspect and Satoshi is a victim. As they come face to face with the truth of the murder case, they must also confront their detested past, sealed within their minds until now.

Set around the Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, Japan.

Yassan (Tsuyoshi Ihara) is homeless and doesn't have any money. He does have an amazing sense of taste and knowledge about food. He delivers information to restaurants and gets paid with food. A young guy, Takao (Tasuku Emoto), admired Tokyo and eventually found an IT job in the city. He now goes with Yassan.

The experiences and relationships of five senior students at a rural high school, during the last year leading to graduation.

Seiji (Masanobu Ando) is a third generation "Gosei kai" gang member. He works to build up the group's strength. Meanwhile, a journalist (Tasuku Emoto) investigates a case that occurred 19 years ago. He meets Hayato (Masahiro Higashide), Daisuke (Kenta Kiritani)...

Hoshina Kyoko, Doi Tomohiko and Sakai Miwa have been leading ordinary lives working as adults. Raised at Yoko Gakuen which was isolated from the world and located on the mountain, the three of them enjoyed child-like lives and education and were supposed to be normal children. One day, they were told by their principal Kamikawa Emiko that they are special children who have been given a “mission” from birth and were informed of their “true destiny”. The three are actual clones and they were produced for eventual organ harvesting.

After leaving an abusive relationship, Shino decides to quit her job and move away to a new area. She gets a part-time job at a local shop and discovers the manager is also her new neighbor, Kyoshiro. Shino finds herself quickly becoming attracted to Kyoshiro, but also knows he lives with his girlfriend Akari, who is almost immediately suspicious of Shino's intentions. With the failure of her last relationship in the forefront of her mind, Shino is hesitant to make more mistakes involving her love life, but must also weigh that against her own desire to find happiness.

Middle-aged Hideo lives alone with an inflatable doll he calls Nozomi. The doll is his closest companion. He dresses it up, talks to it over dinner, and has sexual intercourse with it. However, unbeknown to Hideo, Nozomi was created with a heart. After Hideo leaves for work each day, Nozomi dresses in her maid's outfit and explores the world outside their apartment with a sense of child-like wonder. She encounters various city residents who metaphorically are as "empty inside" as she is. When Nozomi meets Junichi, who works at a local video store, she falls in love with him and gets a part-time job at the store. She learns about the world through the movies she watches with Junichi, but her happiness with him is interrupted by a dramatic turn of events. Director Koreeda has stated that the film is about the loneliness of urban life and the question of what it means to be human.

Tokuzo Akiyama is a young man from a rural area who is married with a child along the way. One day, he eats a delicious breaded cutlet which inspires him to strive to become a chef, specializing in Parisian cuisine. He travels to Tokyo, then Paris, France to learn the culinary arts. Despite facing discrimination and prejudice, he becomes a chef at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. At the age of 26, he becomes the Emperor of Japan’s personal chef.

In the fictional Tokyo suburb of Mahoro, Keisuke Tada (Eita) works as a "benriya" - a general problem solver for hire.

One day in January, former classmate Haruhiko Gyoten (Ryuhei Matsuda) appears unannounced. Back in their schooldays Haruhiko was a quiet person who rarely talked. Now, Haruhiko is talkative. Both men are over 30 years old and divorced. Without giving an explanation, Haruhiko suddenly asks to spend the night at Keisuke's home. Keisuke turns down Haruhiko, but Haruhiko is persistant and finally Keisuke allows him to sleep over for one night. What Keisuke is unaware of is that Haruhiko plans to stay for more than one night. Eventually, Keisuke accepts Haruhiko as his assistant and they become involved in various cases involving an assortment of people from different walks of life.

Born into a wealthy family, 17-year-old Masato (Emoto Tasuku) has never been deprived of material comforts, but his distant relationship with his parents leaves him feeling empty. One day, Masato discovers that he was kidnapped by a woman when he was an infant. Curious about his past, he travels to Okinawa to find the woman, Aiko (Matsuyuki Yasuko), and ends up staying to work at her restaurant. As the two grow closer over time, an ambiguous relationship develops, not quite mother and son, not quite lovers.

Tanaka Masatoshi (Eita) is having troubles getting into medical school, something he blames on all the time he spent on synchro two years earlier. While on a research trip to a remote southern island of Japan, he is forced into coaching a newly formed three member boys synchro team. Tanaka has to come to terms with his past and begins questioning his future, while the three boy synchro team dream of life off of the island.

Michiru (Erika Toda) works at a book store in a small city. She has a boyfriend named Kyutaro (Tasuku Emoto), but falls into an affair with publishing company employee Toyomasu (Hirofumi Arai). Toyomasu visits the city from Tokyo. Michiru then plans to go to Tokyo with Toyomasu to eventually settle down there. Right before Michiru leaves for Tokyo, her co-worker asks her to a buy lottery ticket which she does. Later, Michiru finds out the lottery ticket she bought is the winning ticket of a 200 million yen prize. Her world is about to change. A man who claims to be Michiru's husband tells the story of her personal life. Michiru's long time friend Takei (Kengo Kora) is the only she trust in Tokyo, but Takei has something to hide. Meanwhile, Toyomasu goes missing. Her former boyfriend Kyutaro arrives in Tokyo to find Michiru, but falls into an incident. A murder takes place.

In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds sanctuary with her nihilistic brother, Ryo, and his friends. They pass their days hanging around a shadowy jazz cafe bar, indulging themselves in a life of sex, drugs and alcohol. Social unrest simmers, while their relationships gradually falter. Misuzu gets drawn into a dangerous plot against society that was hatched by one of the rebellious youths, Kishi; they will rob a bank car of 300 million yen! The two accomplices set out for numerous rehearsals, while in their hearts they secretly and quietly become even closer. Then one rainy day, aided by coincidence, they pull off their heist successfully, which has a huge impact throughout Japan. However, it brings Misuzu only a great sense of loss and sadness, which she had never anticipated...

Asahi, Hikari, Haru and Tadashi are siblings that all live together in the house they grew up in located in Shitamachi. There is another brother, Satoru, but due to something that had happened in the past, he had moved out. Their parents had died when they were young, and Asahi, being the eldest, is the one who had taken care of them all. Asahi is a conservative, stubborn man, and his favorite phrase to his siblings is, "I am the one who had brought you all up", which irritates them no end. Asahi works at a construction site and goes to a shop daily to buy lunch, where he meets the shop's cute employee, Sawabe Asuza. Hikari works as a nurse in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the hospital, together with the family friend who used to live nearby, Dr. Shinjo Masaomi. Haru doesn't like to study, and prefers to tread the boards instead. As the head of his performing troupe, he is a temperamental man who fusses over the troupe members. Tadashi is currently under suspension from school, so in order to not fall back on his studies, he is currently attending a prep school daily. At the prep school, he is drawn to another fellow student, Nagihara Kasumi. As for Satoru, one day, in her workclothes and smoking a cigarette, Yashiro Takako suddenly calls out to him, "you killed your mother, didn't you?"... Five siblings, each with their own problems, soon find themselves in various situations, living life as a youth of today.

Forever supporting actor Hiroshi's (Toru Masuoka) real life seems to mimic his minor acting career. When he walks out on the street he is often mistaken for a shop clerk, staff member, security guard or even a kidnapper. At home, his famous play-writer father Kenta Matsuzaki (Masahiko Tsugawa) treats him like an idiot.One day, Hiroshi's life turns upside down when he meets the woman of his dreams, aspiring actress Aya (Hiromi Nagasaku). While attempting to court Aya, Hiroshi also tries to play the lead in his own life ...

Sawano has lost his job due to depression and isn't on good terms with his wife and 6-year-old son. After a failed suicide attempt, he discovers 7 letters which had not been delivered and sets out to give them to their intended recipients in a way of counting down to the end of his life.

Based on the same-titled novel, the drama is set in the year 1964, the year the Olympics were held in Tokyo. A nation trying to rebuild its economy post world war II, Japan was eager to show the world what it had to offer. Amidst all the excitement and enthusiasm, two fires had broken out consecutively; at the private residence of the Chief of Police, Suga Shuichiro, and then at the Nakano Police Academy. However, both incidents were hushed up, and even Detective Ochiai Masao, from Division One MPD (Metropolitan Police Department) had to find out about it from his fellow colleague. Ochiai was puzzled as to why no investigations were being carried out and it soon came to light that prior to the first fire at the Chief's home, a threatening letter had been sent to the MPD. In view of the upcoming Olympics, everyone at the MPD were feeling jittery over the letter and the arson, and thus a team was set up to ensure the safety of the public during the event. Ochiai and his team mates were to carry out the investigation secretly. Information came to Ochiai, that some 25 tubes of dynamite were stolen from a gunpowder factory. While questioning the owner, Ochiai was introduced to Shimazaki Kunio, a poor student from Akita prefecture, attending Tokyo University and working part-time there. Suspecting him of the crime, Ochiai started digging around into Shimazaki's life and was surprised to find out that his own sister, Yumi, was actually dating Shimazaki!

The drama is based on the best-selling same-titled novel by Shigematsu Kiyoshi. It tells the story of how a widower brought up his only son, after the death of his beloved wife. Ichikawa Yasuo, or Yasu as he is known, is a baka, with no paper qualifications to his name. However, like all normal parents, he dotes on his only son, Akira. Having grown up without his parents around, Yasu himself knows next to nothing of what parenting is about. With his wife, Misako, by his side, he had spent many happy days together with his little family.

However, when Akira was 3 years old, Misako passed away suddenly from an accident. Heart-broken, and filled with regrets, Yasu pulled himself together, in order to care for his little son. Together with the help of his friends, Yasu overcame it all, and Akira grew up to be a bright and successful young man.

"With nothing but love for his son... that's all there is"

Composed of four stories, each part of 10 minutes, namely: "Rainbow and Zebra", "The Goddess of Victory and the Snail", "The Ant and Love Letter", and "His Royal Highness and the Sheep".

"Kenta to Jun to Kayo-chan no Kuni" tells the story of two men, Kenta & Jun, who grew up as almost brothers at a children's facility. Kenta & Jun now works as part of a demolition crew but become fed up with their jobs. The friends then decide to take a road trip up north to visit Kenta's brother at the Abashiri prison.

Sayama Michio is a young and callous beautician who will stop at nothing to fulfill his ambition(s). Coming from an impoverished background, he suddenly becomes the darling of the beauty world. He holds women who desire beauty captive and puts on several different faces when dealing with Murase Minako, the female owner of the place that he works at; Hatano Masako, a woman of leisure; and Fukuchi Fujiko, an editor of a weekly magazine to come out tops. He also gets involved with two detectives who are investigating him for a prior incident.

In the chaotic days of the 1960s, Misuzu, a lonely high school girl from a troubled family, finds sanctuary with her nihilistic brother, Ryo, and his friends. They pass their days hanging around a shadowy jazz cafe bar, indulging themselves in a life of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Social unrest simmers, while their relationships gradually falter. Misuzu gets drawn into a dangerous plot against the society that was hatched by one of the rebellious youths, Kishi; they will rob a bank car of 300 million yen! The two accomplices set out for numerous rehearsals, while in their hearts they secretly and quietly become even closer. Then one rainy day, aided by coincidence, they pull off their heist successfully, which has a huge impact throughout Japan. However, it brings Misuzu only a great sense of loss and sadness, which she had never anticipated...

The 300 Million Yen Affair is one of the most well-known real-life unsolved crimes in Japan. The incident took place on the rainy morning of December 10, 1968, when a car that carried 300 million Yen was hijacked by a criminal wearing a fake policeman's outfit. Even though more than 100 pieces of evidence were left behind by the criminals, with 170,000 policemen against 110,000 suspects spending almost a billion yen in the investigation, nobody was arrested and the stolen money was never found. The investigation was officially closed for prescription in 1975.

The story concerns a boy called Shuji, growing up in a rural area of Japan where the community is divided into "Shore" and "Offshore" - the latter so-named because it is built on reclaimed land. He meets a few main...