Asian Drama

Shibuya Taikai is a popular young actor with excellent acting skills and a charming smile. Women are crazy about him, but Taikaihas never been in love in his life. He has a 4-year-old sister named Rizumu who attends nursery school. One day, Rizumu comes back home with a scratch from the nursery school. Taikai is concerned enough that he passes up on a drama series acting offer and decides to take Rizumu to school and pick her up after school. At his sister's school, Taikai Shibuya meets Rizumu's teacher Aota Aika. He gets attracted to her. Meanwhile, Aika is a devoted nursery school teacher who likes children. She has a warm heart and cares about other people.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the manga "Omukae Shibuya-kun" (お迎え渋谷くん) by Mitsuno Makoto (蜜野まこと).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 30 min.

Aired On: Tuesday

No hobbies, no friends, no lover. There are a lot of things that Kouki doesn’t have. The story begins when Kouki, an apathetic convenience store worker who struggles to find meaning in his daily life, is stabbed by a random thug. In his dying moments, he sees a beautiful angel with pure white wings.

Thinking he was being taken to the afterlife, he is surprised to wake up and find himself fully recovered. When he returns home, he discovers the same angel from before is already there. After learning that the angel has no memories and cannot fly, he takes pity on him and decides to let him stay with him for a while…

(Source: Japanese = Natalie.mu || Translation = Drama-Otaku)

Adapted from the manga "One Room Angel" (ワンルームエンジェル) by Harada (はらだ).

Episodes: 6

Four stories of four women on Christmas Eve. 1. "Christmas bouquet" A housewife was given a bouquet of flowers from a strange adolescent girl. 2. "Anti－Xmas girl" A woman spent some time with her sister's lover. 3. "Fun family trip" A family who suddenly decided to go on a trip with the whole family on Christmas at the suggestion of the father. A wife who devises a certain strategy at this time. However, this trip was intertwined with the thoughts of each family member. 4. "Eve's departure" A woman decided to marry a man from her work place.

Due to an accident, Sakura Hiraga gave up on her dream. She is now married and her husband runs a hair salon. They live in a luxurious penthouse apartment. Her life seems glamorous and she is envied by everyone. What everyone does not know is that Sakura Hiraga is abused physically and verbally by her husband. She is unable to leave her situation. Sakura Hiraga considers herself a goldfish in a fishbowl. One day, due to a goldfish, she meets a man.

Adapted from a manga of the same name.

Ryuji (Taisho Iwasaki), Satoru (Ryuga Sato) and Atsushi (Hidaka Ukisho) are friends in high school. They are classmates in the 2nd grade class B. They appear like troubled students, but they are not. They are actually country boys.

When they are at their secret place, they suddenly feel a big shake and hear the sound of thunder. Then next moment, they see a man Sanpei wearing a dirty military uniform with a backpack and holding a bayonet. Sanpei came from the past, right before the end of the war in Guam. Ryuji, Satoru and Atsushi enjoy their time with Sanpei. They think that being with Sanpei, their lives might change and they ask him to spend summer with them. Class President Michifumi (Yuto Nasu) and twin brothers Akihiko (Naoki Fujii) and Kazuhiko (Issei Kanasashi) join the group.

Working at a bank, Tetsuo Kashimura (Toru Nakamura) enjoys a smooth life. Things change when the bank he works for merges with another bank. His life becomes more difficult. His colleagues resign from work and Tetsuo Kashimura also quits his job. While looking for a new job, he meets Tomoya Yamamoto (Ryohei Otani) the CEO of an investment company. Tomoya Yamamoto talks to him about restoring a restaurant franchise company.

Tae Ukishima (Erina Mano) works at the front desk for a company. Her dream is to marry a competent man and live as a housewife. Her boyfriend is Shunpei Shiraishi and he works at the same company. They have dated for the past year. To marry him, Tae Ukishima pretends to act like a naive and shy person in front of him. Her real personality though is to speak frankly and making sharp remarks.

Tae Ukishima wants to relieve her stress and she decides to purchase Jun Setsuna (Ryusei Yokohama) as her boyfriend. To pay off his debt, Jun Setsuna becomes an obedient boyfriend to Tae Ukishima.

Kozo Nakase attends meetings for single widowers looking to remarry. He meets Sayoko Takeuchi and eventually marries her. Not longer after their marriage, he suddenly collapses and dies, leaving everything to Sayako. The rest of his family, including his daughter Tomomi, are left out of his will. Tomomi hires Honda, a private investigator, to find out more about Sayoko.

Meanwhile, Sayoko works with Toru Kashiwagi, the director of the matchingmaking service. When older wealthy men register for the service, she charms them until they eventually leave everything to her. Sayoko and Toru always split the spoils 50/50. After Kozo Nakase's death, Sayoko begins attending the matchmaking meetings again. Kiharu Funayama becomes her next target, but Sayoko sincerely falls for Kiharu.

Natsu Kamijo (Kyoko Hasegawa) lives in company housing. One morning, she hears a rumor from the other housewives. The rumor is that Rie Komaki (Naho Toda), who is friends with Natsu, has left her husband and son for her boyfriend. Natsu believes that family is more important than anything else, finds the rumor difficult to believe. Natsu receives a phone call from Rie Komaki. Rie tells Natsu that she now feels faithful as a woman and her tone is very bright. Ryu Saeki (Ryo Narita) is a young man that moves in downstairs from Natsu. Ryu works in the same department as Natsu’s husband Yoshiyuki (Shingo Tsurumi). Natsu develops feelings for Ryu.

Tachibana Miyabi is 39-years-old and hasn't had a boyfriend in 5 years. This doesn't bother her though as she is pretty and confident and enjoys her life as a single woman. She is a doctor and runs her own successful dermatology clinic. But at her school reunion, she finds herself being pitied by others for still being single. Afterwards, she attends a gourmet meeting at a restaurant. There, she talks about her school reunion. Seiji, the owner of the restaurant, makes a biting remark that she isn't the type popular with men. She becomes upset by the remark, but finds herself taking his advice to heart. Eventually, she asks Seiji to mentor her on how to catch men to which Seiji agrees. What follows is a series of mishaps and triumphs and adventures as Miyabi does her best to be the 'type' of woman men want.

Criminologist Himura Hideo gets so much pleasure out of being in crime scenes that he's even confessed to having wanted to kill someone. Constantly seeking out the ultimate crime, he is indeed a man with quite a few issues. Mystery writer Arisugawa Arisu, on the other hand, keeps a close eye on Himura's investigations and writes about them but at times completely misses the point. Not at all the type of guy you'd call dependable, Arisugawa nonetheless professes to be the protector of the clumsy Himura. Although these two men appear like they have no business being in crime scenes, they mitigate each other's shortcomings and use their compelling logic to unravel the elaborately woven tricks left behind by the criminals. It's almost as if Himura and Arisugawa use incredible magical powers to tease out unimaginable truths!

Criminologist Himura Hideo seeks the pleasure of murder scenes and announces “I’ve ever wanted to kill a person”. He appears to be a rather dangerous guy who pursues the ultimate crime. His buddy is the somewhat unreliable mystery novel writer Arisugawa Arisu who observes his investigations. His inferences keep missing the mark at times, but he regards himself as Himura’s protector. An unlikely pair for investigation scenes, the two of them make up for each other’s deficiencies as they figure out the complicated and mysterious “tricks” left behind by criminals, with exquisite logic.

Kanbara Kiko is a poor single mother whose 5-year-old son, Haruto, gets admitted to a prestigious kindergarten in an unexpected turn of events. One Haruto's first day of school, high-end cars are backed up in front of the kindergarten’s front gate. Mothers swagger on high heels within the compound and carry luxury brand bags. Although Kiko is shocked by the reality of this kindergarten where she is out of her element, she expresses her feelings directly to the mothers who regard her as an enemy. With her vivacity and compassion, she starts to change the thinking and establish new bonds with these rigid women living in a completely different world and generation.

Shinkai Genichi devotes himself to his research, trying to recapture the glory of his successful researches from his college days. At 42, he lives in poverty, neglecting his family, and always inconveniencing the people around him, all for chasing his dream. "To reach your dreams, you must never give up" is his mantra. Putting it nicely, he can be said to be someone with unwavering objectives, but in reality, he is just a hopeless father causing trouble to all around him. One day, his wife, Sayoko runs away, leaving behind their 5-year old son, Kota. Unable to pay the rent, Genichi and Kota are kicked out of their apartment, and thus begin their lives as homeless people. However, having left the upbringing of his son, and the running of the family to his wife all these years. Genichi is clueless about feeding his son, nursery, fees, bills, etc. As the drama unfolds, we see Genichi become the adult he should be through the struggles of earning a living and bringing up his son on his own. -- by Fuji TV

Aragaki plays Akane, who is determined to protect the longevity of the Tendo dojo. However, one day her father Soun suddenly declares that the dojo’s successor must be male. This rules out Akane’s intended partner Ranma, who suffers from a curse that turns him into a girl whenever he is splashed with cold water. In order to remove the curse and inherit the dojo, Ranma seeks out a secret hot spring, but he encounters a mysterious enemy.

Kyoichi Suzuki is an average college student in his junior year. Although he's not in one of the top universities, he's satisfied with his college life studying architecture. Kyoichi left home and is finally on his own, living in a beat-up apartment in Tokyo. However, this apartment building is home to some out-of-the-ordinary residents, who are always bugging Kyoichi. His next-door neighbor hits Kyoichi up for a loan when he finds out that Kyoichi just got paid. His other next- door neighbor who works at a nightclub, always calls Kyoichi, demanding him to come pick her up, because she's so drunk. Other than that, Kyoichi is satisfied with his normal life, until he meets a girl one day...

It has been two years since then... Nodate, who has risen to become the counsellor as a result of the performance of Eriko and the unit, accepts an important case with the intention of securing another promotion. And, so he revives the Special Crimes Unit.

Ino Mamako is an English teacher at one of Japan's roughest schools, Ryuzan High School. After nine years of teaching, Ino decides to "reset" her life and meets with Ebisawa Yasuo, a charismatic "occupational change agent" who advises people on switching jobs. However, Ebisawa ends up hiring Ino as an occupational change agent herself. Together with her work partner Taguchi Ryota, Ino helps others switch gears in their livelihoods and transform the rest of their lives.

Sugimuro Saburo is the son-in-law of Imada Concern's group Chairman, and is currently working as the assistant editor of the the in-house newsletter. One day, on the way back to the office after an interview with ex-board member Mori Nobuhiro, Saburo, his chief editor, Sonoda and his staff, Tejima, are caught in a bus hijack. Together on the bus with them are Tanaka Yuichiro, a metal foundry manager; Sakoda Toyoko, an elderly houewife; Sakamoto Kei, a university drop-out; Maeno Mei, an aspiring patissier; and Shibano Kazuko, the bus driver. The hijacker, Sato Ichiro, had planned well, leaving Saburo and everyone else, no room for escape. He instructs them to call the police, and tells them that he will pay them compensation monies when all has ended. Who is this man, Sato Ichiro, and what are his true objectives? Who is his intended hostage?

“Yae no Sakura” will tell the story of Niijima Yae, also known as Yamamoto Yaeko, who was born into the Aizu Domain during the late Edo period. Skilled in gunnery, she helped defend Aizu during the Boshin War, earning her the nickname of the “Bakumatsu Joan of Arc.” After the war, she married educator Joseph Hardy Neesima (Niijima Jo) and became a Christian, and she helped Neesima found Doshisha University.

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.

In the year 1926, Machiko Hasegawa is a 6-year-old child and lives in Fukuoka. She is a bright girl, who enjoys playing outdoors. At home, she loves to draw. Her father is a handsome mining engineer and he loves his family more than anything else. When Machiko is 14-years-old her father passes away. The rest of her family decides to move to Tokyo. Her mother than makes a quick decision and sends 15-year-old Machiko to manga artist Tagawa as his student. Machiko's life is peaceful, but the oncoming war makes things tense. Machiko's family moves back to Fukuoka. When the war is about to end, the local newspaper asks Machiko to publish a serial manga. Machiko has difficulties in coming up with an idea for the manga series and decides to go to the nearby Momochi Seaside Park. She watches the ocean and comes up with the idea for manga series "Sazae-san".

~~ Based on the autobiographical essay manga "Sazae san Uchiake Banashi" by Machiko Hasegawa.

This drama is set in the late 1960s decade of Japan. The main rivalry depicted in the story is between Manpyo Daisuke (Kitaoji Kinya), a powerful banker, and his eldest son, Manpyo Teppei (Kimura Takuya), the executive managing director of a steel firm. For some reasons, Daisuke seem to dislike his own son and as Teppei seems to find out the reason for Daisuke's hatred, his whole life is turned upside down with fatal consequences.

The 45th NHK Taiga Drama is Komyo ga Tsuji.

Kazutoyo lived during the end of the Sengoku period (1546-1605). He was the first feudal lord of the fief of Tosa on the island of Shikoku. He served Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Chiyo (1557-1617) was his wife, and was known in history for her dedication and devotion to her husband (like Matsu was to Toshiie in Toshiie to Matsu). She is the daughter of a samurai who served the feudal lord Asai.

Based on a novel by Iwai Shimako, Jiyuu Renai (a.k.a. Bluestockings) is the story of a love triangle between a man and two beautiful women. Masato Harada (Kamikaze Taxi, Bounce Ko Gals) directed the film, which is set during the days of Japan’s male-dominated Taisho Era (1912-1926), when it was difficult for women to have both love and a career. Yuichiro (Toyokawa Etsushi of Angel Dust and Undo) is the son of a wealthy merchant family, who’s happily married to Akiko (Hasegawa Kyoko of Three…Extremes). When Akiko’s friend Kiyoko (Kimura Yoshino of Ichigo no Kakera) gets divorced, Akiko decides to help her find a job in Yuichiro’s company. Akiko even lends Kiyoko her kimono for the interview. But upon seeing Kiyoko, Yuichiro is immediately smitten…

Kirishima is the most famous baseball player in Japan. However, an unfortunate injury forces him to retire. His family abandons him, and all that's left is a vacant coaching position at a local baseball team for young boys. This club is on the verge of being disbanded, and, so far, they have never won a single game. Will Kirishima be able to help the club?

Through the television screen, popular baseball player Kirishima tells the kids, "dreams come true." His baseball techniques are so fantastic that he is called the "miracle man." But in reality, Kirishima is an arrogant and selfish flirt who spends money like there's no tomorrow.

Mizuki is a girl who wants to become a lawyer. Her brother plays on Kirishima's team but can't stand the sight of Kirishima. She hates men who fool around, and especially those who deceive children. Will Mizuki and Kirishima be able to come to a mutual understanding?

Sosuke Nakata is just your everyday salaried worker. There is really nothing special that stands out about Nakata. He is a serious guy, whose life mostly consists of going back and forth to the office each day.

Suddenly one day though, Nakata just happens to meet a certain woman by a coincidence she is the top star, Hikaruko Kirishima. Just by talking to her, Nakata is left standing feeling as he has just seen a dream.

Several days later, Kirishima calls an emergency press conference. And there she announces: "I am now dating a gentleman by the name of Sosuke Nakata, a salaried worker, whom I intend to marry." An announcement about their "relationship" out of the blue! More than that, this top star's boyfriend is just your typical salaried worker!! What does Kirishima have up her sleeve as she hides behind her intrepid smile?!

Nakata obviously has no idea about what happened at the press conference. He also doesn't know what lies ahead for him at work, and about Hikaruko's true intentions.

~~ Remake of the American movie “Nothing Hill” [1999].

Episodes: 11

Duration: 45 min.

Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

Aired On: Thursday

Ratings: 7.2