Asian Drama

Toneri Shinichi is a young man living in a condominium in Saitama. He's someone that fails at everything he does. Whenever he gets a new job, he gets quickly fired. On the other hand, Kashiya Jiro is the resident in the room next to Shinichi's. He suddenly discovers a hole in the wall which he can use to see Shinichi. He uses it to watch Shinichi in secret. One day, his daughter Akane also discovers the hole and the situation rapidly changes.

More and more problems are created by the popularity of social media. In response to these problems caused by social media's influence, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department creates the Yubitai Department. Detectives, including Wataru Banjo, are assigned to work there. The detectives in the Yubitai Department are far from those thought to be on the path of success in the police detective. One day, a middle aged woman visits the newly formed department. She tells them that her daughter committed suicide.

A man works at a printing plant, but he gets fired from his job. The man, his female partner, and her daughter move to her hometown of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture. There, the woman opens up a beauty salon. They enjoy peaceful days, but small problems occur which leads to an irrevocable situation.

A man works at a printing plant until he gets fired. The man, his girlfriend, and her daughter move to her hometown of Ishinomaki in the Miyagi Prefecture. They enjoy a peaceful time until small problems add up to cause a precarious situation.

The Bastard and the Beautiful World is an omnibus film consisting of four episodes. (1) Fujiko is running as fast as she can, being chased after by a creepy masked man called Mad Dog. They meet a talented pianist on the way. (2) A mysterious relationship between a little girl, Utagui, who eats songs to live, and an artist who can't sing anymore. (3) A married couple sets off on a journey to find the right arm of their dead son. They finally reached a beach in Okinawa and find...? (4) Bastards comes together on a night dance floor for a show.

Daisuke works for a stationery manufacturer and enjoys being single. One day, a fire bell goes off at the apartment he recently bought. Daisuke accuses one of the residents, Hanako, who thinks her room is on fire. However, it is actually his father, Yozo, who smoked out Daisuke's room when he was cooking. To make matters worse, Daisuke's troublemaking father brought his son-in-law to live all together. His comfortable single life suddenly comes to an end...

Ichiro Demon (it's his surname!) is a demon who lives with his demonic sisters undercover in the human world. Once in thousand years demons are supposed to marry a human woman and have a child, and this Christmas is the deadline. But Ichiro doesn't care about it. He is just working at school as a teacher. The new female collegue appears, but before that they met accidently...

11-year-old Yusuke and his classmates camp in the woods and see a strange light. They discover a small metallic object like a robot which talks, calls himself Tetra and knows Yusuke's name. Tetra can create wonderful gadgets but actually has...

The 43rd NHK Taiga Drama is Shinsengumi!. The arrival of Commodore Perry's "Black Ships" rudely awakened Japan from 300 years of peaceful isolation from the world. Men set their eyes beyond Japan and began to demand change in society. Old clashed with the new, and thus began an age of turmoil. Amidst this confusion, one group remained true to the old ways and risked their lives to preserve the traditional shogunate system. Led by their charismatic captain, Kondo Isami, the Shinsengumi upheld the code of honor of the samurai. Tales abound of the feats of men like Kondo, Hijikata Toshizo, Saito Hajime, and Okita Soji. This NHK taiga drama brings to life the passion and glory of these men who lived during the most turbulent time in Japanese history. Full of pathos and action-packed, this is a series not to be missed by chambara fans.

Hiratsuka Heihachi (Katori Shingo), a detective of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division, is an oddball with his rude, petty, makeshift attitude and fuss over little things although he is always smiling and excrutiatingly gentlemanly in speech to everyone. Brazenly stepping into territory that others hate, he exposes their hidden faces and the true nature of human relations to solve cases. On the other hand, rookie detective Saionji Kosuke (Yamashita Tomohisa), the son of a very high profile distinguished family, is highly conscientious, untainted and upright. He is taken on probation by his coveted First Investigative Division, but the work he is given is overseen by Hiratsuka. The First Investigative Division’s Team Hiratsuka is a one-man department with Hiratsuka himself. While Hiratsuka is an unpopular person that no one in the division wishes to work under, he has somehow solved a great number of cases in succession. For that reason, the members of the division speculate that Hiratsuka might have ties with the dark side and Saionji is put under Hiratsuka in order to find evidence of his wrongdoing. However, the biggest reason why Hiratsuka solves cases is because he is the person that criminals hate the most. ~ Jdramas Wordpress

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 ...

The story involves Katori playing a successful advisor at a marriage consultation agency that aims to bring together people looking for partners. Kuroki plays one of the agency’s clients, who is “so beautiful” that the manual he uses doesn’t apply to her, while Fujiki plays a rich and handsome lawyer who is also a client. Katori starts to fall for Kuroki, but as a professional, he pairs the two together.

Nagareta Enishi is really lazy and sloppy, and always seems to have his mind floating away. He can't keep anything organized so his work desk is always in disorder. However, he's the best when it comes to crime scene investigation. He was once an official ace crime scene investigator, but due to certain circumstances, he currently works for a private company. Despite his personality, he won't let anyone give up and accept a bad situation. He's an ally for the weak and shaggy hair is his trademark. With his favourite donuts in one hand, he solves everything from insurance payouts to proving an alleged molester's innocence and even the damage that a stalker has done. The story starts when Enishi meets Ishinomaki Sakurako, a girl that requests his help after bumping into him a few times. Waiting on the other side of this story is a police officer that seems unable to let go of Enishi and the mystery of his deceased lover, Emiri... 

Yuichi Mafune is known as a finance broker, but he's actually a conman. One day, two men show up in front of Yuichi. One man is "M" and the other is his underling Yuki Seki. They ask Yuichi Mafune to steal the "M funds". The "M funds" is thought to be a longheld legend that massive amounts of gold and other stolen loot from World War II were hidden in the basement of a Japanese bank. The loot was then taken by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces to fund secret operations.

Yuichi accepts the proposal after hearing of the large fee offerred if successful. In order to steal the "M funds," which Yuichi isn't even sure if it exists, "M" plans an unprecedented money game which brings in interests from the U.S., Russia and other places.

Teacher Akira Kamiyama tried to stop a bullying case and the bullying became his own trauma. Since then, Akira has decided to not get involved if its not absolutely necessary. He then begins teaching at a middle school and moves into a new apartment. Akira then discovers that his apartment also houses a ghost named Akane, who was a teacher before she died. Akira Kamiyama and Akane then solve problems which the middle school students have.

Ichi has given up his cane sword and his former life as a traveler in order to settle down with his loving wife Tane in his home village. However, his plan to live the quiet life is interrupted when he learns that the Tendo clan has taken over the village and is constantly harassing locals. Soon, a group of farmers come to Ichi and beg him to help his own village like he’s helped countless other villages in travels.

Shiomi Eiji is forced to become a single father when his girlfriend passes away while giving birth to their daughter, Shizuku. Desolate after the loss of the woman he loved, Eiji has little time or desire to even consider remarrying, working part-time jobs just to make ends meet. The one thing that gives meaning and joy to his life is Shizuku, but even that begins to trouble him when Shizuku begins acting strange, hiding her face by putting a cloth over her head when around other people. One day after opening his flower shop, Eiji comes across a blind woman standing by the door, taking shelter from the rain. When he invites her to come inside the shop, she at first refuses, but later gives in to Eiji's kindness. They become intimate friends and she slowly grows to depend on Eiji's sincerity and goodheartedness. After rescuing her a following evening when she walks into the street and is nearly struck by traffic, Eiji himself inexplicably discovers the cold of winter that has saddled his heart all these years slowly melting away...

It's New Year's Eve for the Hotel Avanti, and the whole place is in panic mode. There's an award ceremony and countdown party to prepare for, guests to greet, entertainment to organise, a persistent call girl to deter, an escapee duck to find, and more.

It is near impossible to sum up this film in a few neat concise paragraphs. The level of writing that has gone into this film is fantastic. Throughout, it really feels like a stage play. The viewer feels intimate with the story and characters, and there is a real warmth and closeness there that is rare to find. Perhaps it the writer's experience with the stage that allows that quality to come through, and as such it is a real strength for the film.

This intimacy really helps the viewer to involve themselves in the story, which is incredibly fast-paced and deliciously mischievous in design. The film is really funny, and represents a very full spectrum of humour, from "hmmm" funny to "hah hah", and wry to downright silly, but still manages to be quite understated. This isn't the kind of film that you will make Pepsi come out your nose, but it is really funny all the same, and and there are some hilarious cock-ups that will have you giggling gleefully.

The jokes of course wouldn't work without the film's biggest strength: the characters. They are all so enjoyable to watch, as their adventures and mishaps tangle and spiral together, gathering momentum in one huge snowball effect. Some scenes are the culmination of so many threads that it is wonderfully painful to watch it all come together. It is hard not to talk at the TV. To the writer's credit though, the film is often refreshingly unpredictable, and I was impressed to find that this comedy of errors didn't just rely on the same old gags as similarly styled comedies.

The film also carries a dramatic message, and while all of the characters are caricatures of sorts, they are much deeper than that, and live and breath to the extent that the viewer finds themselves genuinely caring about what happens to them. There are so many great characters and scenes in this film that it would be a very cynical viewer that couldn't take away something memorable from it.

The Uchoten Hotel is a delightful film, expertly written, directed and performed. Even as the film effortlessly straddles zaniness and sophistication, and its many threads entwine together, the viewer can, just as the Hotel Avanti promises, think of the place as their second home.

A Young monk Sanzo Hoshi sets out for India, never forgetting to keep a "believing heart" as he travels together with Son Goku (monkey), Sagojo (water monster) and Chohakkai (Pig), those spirits who are always causing problems. What adventures are awaiting our band of travellers on their way, and will friendship and love prevail in the end?

After graduating from college, Yuuji lands the job of his dreams at the company that manufactures his favorite running shoes. The complete sincerity and selflessness that Yuuji shows everyone he meets causes many to dismiss him as naive or simply stupid. But when his good deeds start paying off, his co-workers begin to come around to the idea that nice guys don't have to finish last.Theme song: Serori (Celery) by SMAP, adapted from manga "Ii Hito " by TAKAHASHI Shin.