Asian Drama

The story is set in the private senior high school Minami Gakuen which boasts of an unusually high proportion of good-looking students and aims to win at the National Ikemen Contest for senior high school students.

Mariko Goto is 29-years-old and dreams of marrying her ideal man by the age of 30. She finds her ideal man in Mitsuo Tomizawa. He works as a section chief at the same company where Mariko Goto works. Mitsuo Tomizawa is smart, handsome, and tall. He also does his job well. He seems like a perfect man, but he has a secret. His secret is that he loves his doll Michuko. ~~ Adapted from the manga of the same name by Murasaki.

Sato Yui is a dispatched contract worker at Amagi Pharmaceutical Company. Her pet has died and she feels deep sorrow over its death. One day, she drinks alone at a bar and shouts, with tears running down her face, "Develop medicine to bring back someone to life!" At that time, a man walks towards her. He makes a spiteful remark that that there is no such medicine that can bring someone back to life. He also tells her to stop barking and to go home. Yui feels anger within herself and she trips him. She then leaves the bar. Yui is unaware that the man she tripped is Amagi Kyoichi and he is the CEO of Amagi Pharmaceutical Company.

The next day, Yui hears at work that the CEO is looking for her. When she gets to his office, she realizes the man she tripped in the bar is the CEO. She thinks that she might get fired, but he suddenly tells her to "Please treat me as a slave."

Adapted from the manga series "This Guy is the Biggest Mistake in My Life" (この男は人生最大の過ちです) by Kokonose Shiki (九瀬しき).

A few months before a law is enacted that requires the recording of all police interrogations, police officers gather at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and they receive instruction on how to treat suspects better. They observe, Yukiko Makabe (Yuki Amami) from the special interrogation team Kintori interrogate a suspect who does not show any signs of remorse. Yukiko Makabe uses sharp words and shows a lack of respect towards the suspect. Due to her behavior, Councilor Reiko Kikuchi orders Yukiko Makabe to train newcomers.

Around this time, Yuta Nomoto, who received a 12 year sentence, escapes while being transferred to prison. He breaks into a house and takes a housewife as a hostage.

Shoko Takanashi, a scandalous former attorney, takes control of a minor law firm and drives them to "V"ictory no matter how precarious the lawsuit. Amidst chaotic human drama, a legal tale of justice and tears emerges.

Mizutani Shizuku is a self-absorbed overachiever,​ concerned only with maintaining the highest grades in school.​ Yoshida Haru is an impulsive short tempered brute,​ who scares everyone with his explosive bursts of violence.​

Haru gets suspended on the first day of school when he encounters some bullies harassing a student and dispatches the bullies with great bloody violence.​ Mizutani is tasked with delivering school materials to Haru who interprets this as an act of friendship and latches on to Mizutani,​ much to her dismay.​ And so begins a strange and potentially combustible relationship!

Mizuno Gota, an aspiring musician, finds himself in a quandary when the convenience store where he works part-time suddenly closes down. One day, he catches sight of a newly-opened hamburger shop called Yankee Burger. When Mizuno enters, he is asked by the owner Ozeki Katsuya for feedback on the taste. He condescendingly tells Ozeki that the burger lacks punch, and the next thing he knows, he is offered a full-time job at the shop. Thinking that he can put his mother at ease and at the same time be able to drive a Ferrari some day if he stops living as a part-time worker and joins the hamburger shop, Mizuno decides to take the company entrance exam.

30-year-old Kamata Rinko is single and a struggling scriptwriter. She has no boyfriend and keeps having night outs at drinking spots with her girlfriends Kaori and Koyuki. “If I become beautiful, a better guy will appear!” “If we grow to like each other, we can get married!” They will not stop talking about these hypothetical questions. Then a younger, handsome, golden-haired guy suddenly utters, “These “what if” women!” and the trio have to face the harsh reality that they are no longer girls. Rinko enters her 30s while still immature, seeking happiness and struggling with romance and work.

Umeda Mina (Ono Machiko) is a pianist whose father is a famous conductor. She has set her sights on winning an international piano competition. However, she has faced countless setbacks and this is her last chance at the age of 35. Mina has been married to her husband Shinji (Eguchi Yosuke) for 10 years, but they do not have children for some reason. One day, a filthy boy with an impassive face breaks into their garden. It turns out that he has been abused and he is put in a home. But several days later, he appears in their garden again. Believing that it is fate that brought him to their house twice, Shinji secretly starts to look up on child adoption … …

Fujiki Sana, a programmer at network game company Neo Genesis, has been researching a “virtual human nurturing game” using artificial intelligence. A simulated foetus created by CG is sleeping in the screen that she is watching intently. Its speed of development is seven times faster than a human being.

Together with Kiyotake Mitsuo, the head of the development team, and Mizushima Moemi, a junior programmer, Sana inputs vast amounts of data into the simulated foetus, making it grow at a rapid pace in an attempt to create an imaginary character. Michio Harutaka, a key development member, is Sana’s fiance and they plan to hold their wedding soon, but an incident happened. Later, Sana starts to enter all sorts of data relating to her late husband Harutaka into AI. Wanting to see Harutaka again, Sana attempts to recreate him in a virtual world now and produces AI with a personality and emotions just like Harutaka. She devotes herself to the work of entering data more than actual child raising. However, as it develops, she starts to realise the differences from the actual Harutaka. She eventually makes a decision. But she does not know that it will bring about an unexpected outcome.

Misawa Sanae (Saito Yuki), a newscaster for a news programme, comes to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Emergency Response Investigation Team in order to do a story on the special interrogation room where an enactment of an interrogation is underway. She feels a connection with Makabe Yukiko (Amami Yuki), the department’s only female who speaks passionately about the necessity of visualisation and being ready to fight fairly. “It seems we’ll be good friends,” she says in a loud voice and they shake hands firmly. This is what happened the day after. The Kintori receives a request to interrogate a suspect. This suspect is former hairdresser Yajima Satomi (Matsushita Yuki), who was just released yesterday morning from a women’s prison. She had served a six-year prison sentence for killing the boyfriend whom she started dating through a good friend’s introduction. In a mere three hours and fifteen minutes after her release on parole, she comes to turn herself, and says she “killed a person”. The murder weapon with Satomi’s fingerprints and skin on it as well as the dead body of a man are found at the location in accordance with her statement. However, the estimated time of death is one week ago. No matter how one thinks about it, it would have been impossible for Satomi to execute the crime while in prison. Why did she confesses to a crime that she did not commit? What truth is hidden beneath this lie!? Yukiko, who is in charge of the interrogation, attempts to determine the facts, but Satomi runs through her “confession”, and at the same time provokes a skeptical Yukiko. She finally suggests a live telecast of the interrogation as her terms to confess everything. However, Yukiko firmly refuses this. In order to get proof which will override the voluntary confession, the members of Kintori (Denden, Osugi Ren, Kohinata Fumiyo) run around to corroborate Satomi’s story on her movements in the three hours after her release. Meanwhile, Yukiko focuses on the high school graduation album that Satomi had in her possession when she turned herself in at the police station. She visits Satomi’s alma mater and obtains an unexpected clue which give her a fresh perspective in the investigation, but … They have just three days to interrogate Satomi. The Kintori make every effort to arrive at the truth in the meantime. But on the contrary, Satomi starts to confess to a second impossible crime instead of changing her confession … … ~JDrama Weblog~

Makabe Yukiko worked her way up from a rookie officer to her current investigator level. Recently, she had just been transferred to the "Emergency Interrogation Department", nicknamed as Kintori. Her colleagues are all men, and each of them have their own idiosyncrasies. Their job is to get the information from the suspects, and try to psycho-analyse them at the same time. Yukiko herself has an unsolved cold case that she is secretly investigating still... - TV Asahi

Plain, timid and obsessed with jellyfish, Tsukimi is a far cry from her idea of a princess. Her tepid life as a jobless illustrator comes complete with roommates who harbor diehard hobbies that solidify their status as hopeless social rejects. These wallflowers run a tight, nun-like ship, but their no-men-allowed-not-no-one-not-no-how bubble is unwittingly burst after Tsukimi brings home a rescued sea jelly and a beauty queen... who's actually a guy. When the threat of losing their cozy convent inspires this glamour boy to turn the neurotic entourage into a portrait of success, will Tsukimi take her chance to bloom, or will she end up a hot mess?

Sugisaki Momoko used to be a nursery school teacher. Her difficulty smiling leads to communication problems with parents and her contract is terminated in one year. Momoko is picked up by ‘Little Snow’, a home care service for sick children, and makes a fresh start there as a caregiver. When a child has a fever, the caregiver would visit the home and care for the child in place of the parents who simply cannot take time off from work. Momoko encounters all sorts of families at the places she is sent to. With the support of her colleagues and the occasional help of her best friend, Yumika, she starts to face work, romance, family and friendship.

Episodes: 10

Yamashita Kotaro was living a peaceful life as a publisher part-timer aspiring to be a mobile phone novelist until two females suddenly appeared in his life. One is his six-year-old celebrity niece and the other is the little girl's stern manager. As he is forced to live under the same roof as the little prodigy, their differences soon manifest and disputes ensue. However, through co-habitation, Yamashita slowly comes to appreciate having a family and the warmth it brings, all the while developing a love-hate relationship with Fuji Mineko, the manager.

Police Officer Kankichi Ryotsu (Shingo Katori) is back at the Kameri Park Polic Box. Kankichi Ryotsu usually means to do well, but more often than not he ends up causing all kinds of trouble. Like on his way to work he away when he is asked to pay up by a shop owner or cheats an elementary school student. Ryotsu's co-workers Reiko Catherine Akimoto (Karina) and Keiichi Nagakawa (Mokomichi Hayami)have had about all they can take from Kankichi and his boss Ohara (Masato Ibu) is constantly berating him. One day, Kankichi runs into Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) - a women who went to the same elementary school as Kankichi and who Kankichi had a crush on. Kankichi also befriends Momoko's elemtary school-aged daughter Yui (Ririka Kawashima). Kankichi learns that Momoko is a single mother and works with a travelling dance group. During this time, Kankichi dreams of one day marrying Momoko and retiring from the police force. Meanwhile, Momoko thinks fondly of Kankichi, but can't forget Yui's father Mitsuo (Shosuke Tanihara). Kankichi then skips out on his job to help with Momoko's dance group performance. Kankichi is then caught by his boss Ohara who comes to watch the performance. Kankichi and Ohara soon start to argue. Kankichi then becomes angry and declares that he is quitting the police force and marrying Momoko. During this time, the police learns the granddaughter of the Police Commissioner has been kidnapped. An investigation HQ is quickly setup. The police then disover that the girl kidnapped is not the Police Commissioner's daughter, but rather her classmate Yui. Because the victim isn't the Police Commissioner's daughter the police investigation seems to lose its sense of urgency which angers Kankichi. Kankichi then starts his own investigation with the help of Keiichi Nakagawa and purses the kidnapper. As they delve further into the case they uncover another case from the past which the police seem to want to hide ...

Makoto is a promising oarsman at a University regatta team. One day, he loses his best friend by a tragic accident which he believes and blames himself for the very cause. Although he once leaves the team out of tremendous sense of responsibility, he finally decides to return by the encouragement of Misao and his teammates, and moreover, for the love and passion of regatta. He is determined than ever to become a top class oarsman and struggles to fulfill his dream to participate in the Olympic games. Through the severe practices and competitions of regatta, Makoto learns the bitterness and difficulties of life. Rivalry with teammates, agonies of love and friendship… The first ever drama of the rising actor Hayami to perform as the leading role!

After a failed relationship, Nobuko puts her all into dieting and finds success. She begins to work for her favorite fashion magazine, and just when her new life is falling into place she meets Taiichi, a handsome patissier. However, when Nobuko eats cakes, she can't stop - moreover, if she gains weight, she'll be fired. In the end, will Nobuko rebound...?

Matsukata Hiroko is a super busy magazine editor. Just like any other 28-year-old woman, she enjoys going on dates with her boyfriend, fashion and her private life. But once she turns her switch into working mode, she sacrifices all that and dedicates her life to her job. That's when her colleagues refer to her as the Hataraki Man (working man). Her success at work however doesn't give her total satisfaction.

Based on a novel by Akutagawa Prize-winning author, Yu Miri, this is a story about the supernatural and the bonds between a father and daughter. Sakurai Tomoharu is a single parent who has an extremely close relationship to his daughter. One of his hobbies is catching and collecting butterflies, and he has traveled to Taiwan to catch a very rare butterfly, the Troides magellanus. It's so rare it's been called the "phantom butterfly." The legend goes that whoever catches this butterfly will become a phantom themselves. Back in Japan, Tomoharu's daughter, Ame, hasn't received a phone call from her father in days and begins to worry. However, when Tomoharu does return, he has no recollection of how he got back to Japan, or what happened at all. Ame notices strange things beginning to happen all around her . . . With the help of his neighbor Akiko, Tomoharu begins to piece together what happened back in Taiwan, and comes to a horrifying conclusion.

Meisuke Nueno (Ryuhei Maruyama) is the homeroom teacher of a 2nd grade 3 class in high school. He is referred to as Nube. He sometimes carries himself as an idiot, but he does care about his students a lot. He also has a hidden side. Meisuke Nueno has a demon's hand. He solves monstrous case and fights desperately to save students from monsters.

Kirigamine Ryo ia a high-school student who develops a great passion for baseball and mysteries; so much so that she even joins her school's Detective Club. She may be more eager than skilled, but even so, there doesn't seem to be many cases around for her to solve. So when a minor case does pop up, Ryo quickly takes it on. Dragging along her less-than-willing Biology teacher, Ishizawa, as backup, Ryo is ready to tackle even the most bizarre cases after school!

Japan and Korea’s biggest names star in this big-scale drama. Nishijima Sho is a Japanese detective whose father was murdered in Korea when he was still a boy. In hopes of discovering the truth behind his father’s death, Sho is working undercover in a huge secret organization. Choi Yuna is a Korean woman who visits Japan in search of her missing father. She opens a Korean restaurant with her younger sister, but soon faces the mercy of fate. The couple meets in a corner of Tokyo and fall in love. But what waits ahead of them… A "rondo" of fate, love, and history is about to begin.

July 1590, Odawara. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had surrounded the Odawara Castle for over three months, hoping to conquer this last obstacle to his dream of the country's unification.

Standing at the gate of the castle, a lone man facing the menacing guards shouted out: "Do not throw your lives away. Treasure living!". Not long after, the castle gates opened and the reigning lord surrendered. The name of that man is Kuroda Kanbee. An excellent military strategist, he worked hand-in-hand with Hideyoshi to unify the country.

Kanbee's family had fled to Harima, and were relatively poor. As the protege of Kodera Masamoto, Kanbee was very much trusted and relied upon by his lord liege. However, Kodera was suspicious of Kanbee's father, Mototaka, thinking that he was trying to usurp his power. One day, Kodera decided to match-make Kanbee with the daughter of Kushihashi, another one of his vassals. Kushihashi's son, who was of the same age as Kanbee, intensely disliked Kanbee and objected to the match. Since this was the order of Kodera, they had no choice but to marry the youngest daughter, Teru, to Kanbee. On Kuroda clan side, in order to assuage their lord liege's suspicions, Mototaka decided to step down, and made Kanbee the head of the clan. Kanbee was but 22 years old. Kanbee and Teru were married, and they were blessed with a son soon after, but when many years had passed and yet Teru couldn't seem to conceive a second child, Kanbee decided to adopt the young children of his vassals as his proteges who became known as "Kuroda's warriors".

When Kanbee turned 30, a revolutionary young lord was slowly laying siege to all the various shogunates, aiming for a unified Japan. Harima became the place where the clash between Oda and Mori Terumoto was set. Kanbee was very attracted to Oda's unification plans, and had gone to Gifu Castle to meet up with him. There, he became acquainted with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and soon became Hideyoshi's right-hand man, marking the birth of Gunshi Kanbee.

Mokomichi plays himself, the star of a cooking show. Each episode is set after his cooking show is broadcast. He goes on a date with a different woman each episode.

Episodes: 4

Yukiko Makabe works at the #3 Special Investigation Team of the Metropolitan Police Department. She has excellent negotiation skills. Yukiko then attempts to negotiate with a hijacker on a bus, but something unexpected happens and her mission fails. Yukiko takes full responsibility and takes a transfer to a special interrogation team "Kintori". Her boss is Katsutoshi Kajiyama and Yukiko has had a difficult working relationship with him in the past. Her other coworkers include Susumu Hishimoto, Zenjiro Nakata and Haruo Koishikawa.

A man with leather gloves asks a girl to place a can of cookies in the police substation. Because of this, a police officer dies. Tetsuji Watanabe and Daijiro Kenmotsu, detectives from the #1 investigation team, finds out the identity of the man in leather gloves. They believe the culprit is famous attorney Fujishiro who only takes on miscarriage of justice cases. Fujishiro vehemently denies his involvement in the cookie incident during his interrogation by the Kintori team. Around this time, a man turns himself in and takes responsibility for an explosion at a police substation.

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!

Two prisoners managed to escape after the police truck carrying them crashed. One of them ,is a gangster. The other called "Otowa YonKo" - our protagonist - is a con artist whose cheats money from criminals or terrorists. Accidentally, "Otowa Yonko" then becomes the new teacher for the nearby high school, under the new name "Hachisuka Goro", and according to a deal of "Hammer Session" with the headmaster.

Adapted from the manga series "Hammer Session!" (ハンマーセッション!) written by Koganemaru Yamato (小金丸大和) and Yatsu Hiroyuki (八津弘幸) and illustrated by Tanahashi Namoshiro (棚橋なもしろ).

Robot maker, Kronos Heaven, finally develops "Night Tenjo", the perfect male humanoid programmed to be devoted and completely loyal to his lover. The company chooses temp worker Izawa Riko to take part in a 5-day free trial. At first, Riko only sees Night as a household appliance. But when she finds out how deep Night's devotion to herself is, Riko finds herself falling in love with him. Joining the love triangle is Asamoto Soshi, a distinguished young executive at her company who has feelings for her.

Filming began on 2008-April and finished 2008-June.

Kato Rosa stars as Tachibana Ayaka, a young woman whose life has been ruined after she lost her boyfriend then her mother became gravely ill. Looking for revenge, she starts out as a hostess with the goal of rising to become the "empress" of the Osaka nightlife scene. Matsuda Shota plays a member of the underworld who becomes Ayaka's ally.

Tanaka Misako stars as a woman struggling to raise her three sons - played by Tamayama Tetsuji, Hayami Mokomichi and Nakao Akiyoshi - after her husband dies. Kuninaka Ryoko will appear as Tamayama's girlfriend, Chisato.

They don't know when to stop, and live life to the full—meet the never-a-dull-moment Sakurai family, where nobody holds their feelings back. Returning to serial drama for the first time in five years, Misako Tanaka and the three hyperactive sons provide a story with a heartbeat. Sakurai Harue who has brought up her sons alone after her husband died, is absolutely hopeless at running a household. Her eldest, stickler Tatsuya, does the job in her place while keeping younger brothers Riku, and Junpei firmly in line. The sparks are constantly flying, but that's the way it goes in this home. Tatsuya, a serious-minded advertising agency worker, and his brothers, an easy-going swimming instructor and rather naïve student, are three good-lookers who, along with their useless live-wire of a mother, keep getting into all sorts of scrapes—in love and at work. This is the Sakurai household, where everything hangs loose and everyone always speaks their mind. Tanaka says she really loves this 'perfect family.' They are sure to win your hearts too!

Aoyama Saori, working as an office lady at an MNC, gets into trouble with a drunkard on a train. She's saved by Yamada Tsuyoshi. As a form of appreciation, she sends him Hermes teacups. Having no experience with the opposite sex, Tsuyoshi decides to ask for help on the Aladdin Channel BBS on how to interact with Saori.

(Source: TVDb)

Adapted from the novel "Densha Otoko" (電車男) by Nakano Hitori (中野独人). ~~ Based on a real online conversation on the Japanese forum 2channel.

Episodes: 11

Duration: 45 min.

Aired On: Thursday

Ratings: 7.5

"Please tell me who I really am."

This e-mail message was sent by Mika Kimoto, an editor working at a publisher in Daiba, Tokyo.

Coming from a wealthy family, Mika has always had everything she has ever wanted and more. She is a third-generation Korean living in Japan. She loves her job, and her Japanese boyfriend is a doctor.

There's one thing that bothers Mika though... Her father Masao is very conscious of his ethnic heritage and will allow Mika to marry only a Korean. When her relationship falls apart because of her father's interference, she just happens to post the above message on a mobile phone dating service.

Ryosuke, a blue-collar warehouse worker at Shinagawa Pier, replies to Mika's message.

Daiba and Shinagawa Pier are separated by Tokyo Bay. Mika is a career woman working at a major firm. Ryosuke lives a meager life doing manual labor at a warehouse. There seems to be nothing in common between the two. Still, destiny brings them together.

One day Mika happens to find her late mother Yuri's diary. Written within is the tale of Yuri's concealed relationship with a Japanese man before she married Masao. Mika finds out her mother's hidden past and her passion for the man she loved. Without knowing it, she is about to follow the same path as her mother.