Asian Drama

Hiro's so stressed out at work that he can barely have proper meals or get some well-earned sleep. When he passes out on the sidewalk after yet another stressful day, an unfamiliar face calls out to him - apparently, they once promised to marry each other? What's Kai Fukaya's deal, and why is he so insistent on assuming the role of Hiro's fiancé?

(Source: BakaUpdates)

Adapted from the manga "Perfect Propose" (パーフェクトプロポーズ) by Tsurukame Mayo (鶴亀まよ).

Episodes: 6

Airs On: Friday

Kisaragi Toko is a detective in the Investigation 1 Section 11 of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Her senior, Detective Hideaki Takano, has decided to move to the Public Security Bureau. Hideaki Takano’s transfer will be carried out in 1 week. During this time, a murder takes place. A wealthy man is found dead in his home. His throat has been cut and a blue flower placed within the wound. Also, the victim's wife Mayumi is missing. A newspaper then receives an email from Kurasuta 16, professing themselves as the murderer. The email also implies the location of Mayumi. Since Detective Hideaki Takano is soon to transfer to the Public Security Bureau, Toko Kisaragi feels more pressure and responsibility to solve the crime. ~~ Adapted from the novel "Chou no Rikigaku: Keishicho Satsujin Bunsekihan" by Asami Kazushi.

The murder of Sudo Isao, a used car dealer, occurs in Shizuoka Prefecture in 2008. Detective Kusaka Satoru of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police’s Susuno Precinct, checks his background. He learns that Sudo’s young son Obata Mamoru from a previous marriage, died in a kidnapping incident in Shizuoka in 1974. In 1988, with just one year before the statute of limitation on the kidnapping case ran out, a special investigation unit was formed under the instructions of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police’s police chief Hashibami Yasuhide. Shigeto Seiichiro, who rose to the rank of superintendent despite being a non-career officer, became the director and led a group of six capable detectives in the re-investigation. Kusaka cannot comprehend why Sudo, who lived in Tokyo more than 20 years after the death of his son, was murdered in Shizuoka Prefecture. He instinctively knows that delving into the kidnap and murder of the child will shed light on the case. Kusaka visits Shigeto who has left the police for a long time and searches for clues. He makes contact with Mamoru’s mother Saeko and her older sister Rie, and gradually draws near the real culprit.

Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.

Based on the novel "Sego Don" by Hayashi Mariko.

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.

Fumi becomes Genzui Kusaka’s wife. During the turbulent times of the closing days for the Tokugawa shogunate, she lives positively and tries to keep up Shoin Yoshida's will. Shoin Yoshida is her older brother and intellectual.

Amano Aki goes with her mother Haruko to her hometown in Kitasanriku during a summer vacation. There, she meets her maternal grandmother, Natsu, for the first time. Natsu is a woman diver aka "ama", and Aki thinks that is just so cool. Aki is a second-year high-school student, and she struggles to keep up with the fast-paced life in Tokyo. Having been confined indoors most of the time, everything she sees in the rural town is exciting to her. But most of all, seeing her grandmother diving under the fierce surf along the coastline, leaves a huge impact on her. "I think I would like to be a diver too..."

11 mysteries, 11 actors. Japan's favorite mystery author, the world of Higashino Keigo comes to life on screen through an assortment of short stories.

For every episode, there will be a different lead actor and story, it's themes varying from mystery to comedy to horror to human drama. Nakai Kiichi is the navigator as he takes you on a journey through each episode, seasoned with Higashino's authentic spices, failing your assumptions with vivid story composition and an even bigger betrayal before the finale. It's a weekly drama that will keep you hungry from episode to episode, like a special holiday event each and every time.

Based on a 1993 novel by Naoki Award-winner Sato Jiro, the film revolves around a top secret mission to hide Japanese treasures near the conclusion of World War II which would currently be valued at around 200 trillion yen.

Sakai Masato stars as Major Mashiba, an intelligence officer with Japan's Imperial Guard. Together with First Lieutenant Koizumi (Fukushi Seiji) and Master Sergeant Mochizuki (Nakamura Shido), Mashiba attempts to execute secret orders to hide the treasures from the occupying forces of Douglas MacArthur in the hopes of funding the nation's reconstruction at some point in the future.

Out of necessity, 20 young schoolgirls are enlisted to help with the mission without being informed of the details. Santamaria Yusuke plays the girls' teacher and Yachigusa Kaoru plays one of the girls in the present day.

The basis for the drama is the novel "Kashikogi" by author Cho Chang-in, which has sold 2 million copies in Korea since its publication in 2000. It has already been adapted as a television drama and a stage play in that country. On February 4, Shogakukan is publishing the book in Japan under the title "Good Life" Sorimachi plays the part of Daichi Sawamoto, a newspaper reporter who has always prioritized his work over his family. When his wife suddenly leaves him, he finally notices the love he has been receiving from his son. Just as he decides to answer back, it is discovered that his son has leukemia. Igawa plays Sawamoto's wife, Eikura plays a pediatrics specialist, and Ihara plays a doctor.

Nakamura Rui is a divorced but highly successful producer in publishing. She meets Suzuki Kou, an ambitious buisiness man 17 years her junior, and finds herself getting aggressively persued by him. Eventually they begin a steaming affair. Meanwhile, a young couple moves into the house next to Nakamura's and the wife (Suzuki Marie) begins to confide in her about the frustrations of their conjugal life.

Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru's mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru's in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life.

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