Asian Drama

Set in the Heian period, Seimei Abe is a young student at Onmyoryo. The school raises students to become an onmyoji, who protect the city from curses and evil spirits. Seimei Abe is well known as a genius in the field of magic. Unlike his fellow students, who all aspire to become an onmyoji, Seimei Abe doesn't have any interest in becoming an onmyoji. One day, he is asked by Noble Hiromasa Minamoto to solve a strange phenomenon that hits royal family member Yoshiko. Seimei Abe and Hiromasa Minamoto work together to unravel the strange phenomenon.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the novel series "Onmyouji" (陰陽師) by Yumemakura Baku (夢枕獏).

Duration: 1 hr. 52 min.

Content Rating: G - All Ages

Tennoji Haru is an excellent communicator. He is loved by all people regardless of age or gender. He appears like an easygoing person, but he is actually ambitious and will do anything for success. Haru is offered a job with the nation's largest IT company "Dragon Bank", but he turns down the offer. Instead, he decides to start his own business with his friend Taira Manabu. His goal is to earn 1 trillion dollars.

Meanwhile, Taira is an excellent engineer with remarkable IT knowledge. Personality-wise, he is quite the opposite of Haru. He's passive and has a hard time communicating with people. Due to that, he failed his job interview with "Dragon Bank" and set a new goal of earning 1 trillion dollars with Haru.

Adapted from the manga series "Trillion Game" (トリリオンゲーム) written by Inagaki Riichiro (稲垣理一郎) and illustrated by Ikegami Ryoichi (池上遼一).

It tells the story of Detective Ma Seok Do and a gang in Geumcheon-seo, who are trying to clean up drug crimes in Incheon.

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6 people considered "losers" in life begin to live together in a mysterious share house.

Abiko Satoshi is a high school teacher. His life went by smoothly, until a case changed his life.

Oba Sakura is the chief editor of a fashion magazine. She is finalizing a divorce with her husband.

Hata Manta is a retail employee involved with product demonstrations. He considers himself an entertainer, but he is not popular at all.

Mochizuki Mai moved to Tokyo from Hakata. She works at a hostess bar.

Kurumizawa Midori is a civil servant. She is diligent at her job, but she is in mired in debt due to her gambling addiction.

Ikegami Ryuji worked at an advertising agency. He did his job very well, but he was dismissed from his job.

This series depicts the battle between the Kumoichi party, led by Nizaemon Kumo, and the fire thief's secretary-general, Abe Shikibu. The rare thief, Nizaemon, aims at the hidden money in Ooku, targeting Takiyama, who has great power in Ooku. Meanwhile, Shikibu approaches the secret hidden in Takiyama.

Adapted from the novel "Kumokiri Nizaemon" (雲霧仁左衛門) by Ikenami Shotaro (池波正太郎).

Following the ascension to power of Taira no Kiyomori, the Minamoto clan is exiled. Minamoto no Yoritomo meets Masako, the sister of Hojo Yoshitoki and later marries her. Following this marriage, the gears of Yoshitoki's destiny begin to turn.

In 2023 in Tokyo, Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama pushes for COMS at the World Environment Conference. COMS is a method to liquify pollutants and store it in the crack of the sea floor. Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama gathers young and talented bureaucrats and launches Japan Future Promotion Conference, which is to benefit the future of Japan. Keishi Amami of the Ministry of the Environment and Koichi Tokiwa of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry are members of that conference.

One day, Yusuke Tadokoro’s article is published in a weekly magazine. His articles warns that Kanto region will sink into the sea. Due to his article, groups begin to hold protests. To ease the situation, Keishi Amami meets with Yusuke Tadokoro, but Yusuke Tadokoro insists that in the near future, Izu Peninsula will sink and that will portend the Kanto region sinking. Around this time, Minori Shiina, who is a weekly magazine reporter, talks to Keishi Amami about possible corruption between a company and the Ministry of Environment. Keishi Amami is uncomfortable dealing with everything, but he takes part in his hobby and goes scuba diving with Koichi Tokiwa. There he faces a shocking event.

Adapted from a novel of the same name.

Aoba Ippei, a police officer in the Police Dog Section of the Forensics Division, and his police dog buddy, Oliver, take on a series of inexplicable cases. As they try to solve the cases, they find themselves in the midst of various conflicting incidents...

(Source: NHK)

Episodes: 3

Duration: 45 min.

Aired On: Friday

A high school with poor academic performance has various problematic students who cannot receive proper education due to abuse or poverty. The hot-blooded teachers here take the role of gathering these students and help them to get back on their feet.

Tokiko’s mother died 20 years ago and her father Tetsuya is now in his 70's. Her father has a free spirit and is cute. Tokiko is in her mid 40's and still single. She has a strong personality. In their past, Tokiko and Tetsuya did not have a good relationship. It got so bad that they almost ended their relationship, but now they occasionally meet. They go out to eat together and have conversations.

Tokiko decides to publish an essay about her father Tetsuya. To collect information for her essay, she meets Tetsuya and listens to various stories, but it's not just pleasant memories.

A comedy based on Hiroyuki Ohashi's manga "ZOKKI A" and "ZOKKI B", co-directed by Naoto Takenaka, Takayaki Yamada, and Takumi Saitoh, who are among Japan's leading actors and creators.

Hayami Teruya is a dedicated salaryman who does a workman like job as the chief editor for a magazine. He has personal charm, get along with both the publisher and subordinates and runs the ship well. Chatting with his direct boss he picks up a certain vibe. Did he misunderstand that the magazine is doomed and will be terminated? If so, he is not going down without a fight. He will fight to make it through and keep his, and the others', jobs.

In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.

In 2005, some Japanese orphans raised by Chinese parents and orphans’ descendants live in Nara, Japan. Back in the 1990s, these orphans were returned to Japan from China, but it was difficult for them to accommodate to the Japanese life due to differences in languages and ideas. Ozawa’s father is a Japanese orphan who chose to stay in China. As a second generation of a Japanese orphan, Ozawa decided to return to Japan when she was 26. She was diligent and hardworking, trying to assimilate into Japanese society. But one day, Mrs. Chen changed her life. Mrs. Chen is an adoptive mother of Japanese orphans and also a benefactor who raised Ozawa’s father. Her foster daughter Li Hua returned to Japan to seek her biological parents but, ever since she left in 1996, Mrs. Chen had not heard a word from her. The worried Mrs. Chen decided to go to Japan to find Li. Ozawa had to help Mrs. Chen. Yet, Ozawa thought that all she needed to do was to show Chen around for a couple days, and then Mrs. Chen would soon return to China. But grandma kept looking. One day the duo met Kazuo, a retired policeman, in a restaurant. Kazuo was deeply moved by their story and wanted to help them to find the left-behind orphan Li Hua. Since they did not know Li’s Japanese name and had little information about her, the search moved in a slow pace. Through messages and photographs, they searched from urban cities to rural areas, from factories to workshops. Finally, the truth of war-displaced Japanese orphans surfaced. Ozawa and Kazuo were moved by the love between the two people from the two countries. The search for Li Hua became a journey to search for their own values.

10 years since that day. Life is simple and difficult. Onodera Kiyoshi, the chef and owner of an Italian restaurant, lost his restaurant in the tsunami and became addicted to alcohol. He rebuilds the restaurant and invites his friends to a party on 11 March, 10 years after the disaster. Kiyoshi begins to explain his intention to his friends who are confused by the sudden invitation. As the party progresses, hidden stories of the decade following the disaster begin to emerge...

Rumors exist about the Aokigahara forest on Mount Fuji. The rumors say things like nobody leaves Aokigahara alive, they will be attacked by someone, and a village is there that holds a grudge.

In the near future where criminals are able to hack into your mind to commit crimes, the only people that can stop them are the Dream Raiders.

Single father Kenichi has raised his daughter Miki alone for the past 10 years. From when she attended nursery school until her graduation from elementary school. Kenichi is currently 30-years-old. His wife Tomoko died at a young age and he has raised Miki alone since that time. While raising his daughter alone, he has encountered various problems.

Based on novel "Step" by Kiyoshi Shigematsu.

The plot revolves around the meaning of life when a young man meets a mysterious beauty who is the incarnation of goldfish.

Adapted from the novel by Ogiwara Hiroshi.

Okuzono Akira suddenly loses her husband. She goes to her late husband’s hometown of Kagoshima with her 9-year-old step son Shunya. There, she meets her father-in-law Setsuo. The three of them begin to live together. Akira looks for a job. She decides to become a railway driver which is what her father-in-law does for a living and what her late husband dreamed of becoming when he was a child.

A remake of the American tv show, Suits.

Shogo Kai is an arrogant lawyer at one of the biggest law firms in Japan. He is excellent at his job, and only cares about winning his cases. He is close to becoming a senior partner at his firm, but his bosses are concerned with his sole focus on winning. As a condition for him becoming a senior partner, his boss requests that he hires a young lawyer as an associate. Shogo Kai interviews a variety of prospects but none really capture his attention until he meets Daiki Suzuki...

Daiki Suzuki has had a rough childhood, having lost his parents at a young age and then being raised by his grandma. Despite his hardships, he is an extremely intelligent young man with a remarkable memory. He works a variety of part time jobs in order to financially support his grandmother, and also doing odd jobs here and there like taking the University Entrance exam for others. Once this is discovered, he is kicked out of school and barred from ever taking the bar exam. Once he moves to Tokyo, he continues doing petty crimes. However, when his grandmother's health takes a turn for the worse, he need to start making real money in order to pay her hospital bills. That's when he meets Shogo Kai...

Junoshin Kake (Gou Ayano) is a ronin. To get hired by the Kurokaze Han, he lies and tells them that a religious group is trying to destroy them. He gets hired by the Kurokaze Han, but they learn that Junoshin Kake lied. Junoshin Kake is given the death sentence and he must think of an escape plan.

Edward Elric, a young, brilliant alchemist, has lost much in his twelve-year life: when he and his brother Alphonse try to resurrect their dead mother through the forbidden act of human transmutation, Edward loses his brother as well as two of his limbs. With his supreme alchemy skills, Edward binds Alphonse's soul to a large suit of armor.

A year later, Edward, now promoted to the fullmetal alchemist of the state, embarks on a journey with his younger brother to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. The fabled mythical object is rumored to be capable of amplifying an alchemist's abilities by leaps and bounds, thus allowing them to override the fundamental law of alchemy: to gain something, an alchemist must sacrifice something of equal value. Edward hopes to draw into the military's resources to find the fabled stone and restore his and Alphonse's bodies to normal. However, the Elric brothers soon discover that there is more to the legendary stone than meets the eye, as they are led to the epicenter of a far darker battle than they could have ever imagined.

Following the showdown with his arch nemesis Ando, Detective Ango Ishikawa takes on a new case with his uncanny ability to communicate with the dead.

In the fictional town of Moriou, Josuke Higashikata is the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar. He possess a Stand (super power), called Crazy Diamond, that allows him to restore or fix broken objects or animals. Josuke and his friends go to war with other Stand users.

Akatsuka Detective Agency stands inconspicuously at Shimo Akatsuka in Tokyo’s Itabashi ward, right above a small snack shop run by their landlord. Akatsuka's eccentric chief Kaze Kaoru founded it with her two investigators Goro and Gure in order to take on odd cases that others are reluctant to do anything about. Their motto is "to be compassionate and meddlesome", which leads them to get involved in strange situations with their clients. Sometimes they're motivated by the potential to sell a sensational story to the press, but sometimes they end up working pro bono. They may be rough around the edges and always a little short on rent, but they always find a creative solution by diving into the mystery with their hearts even when they aren't sure if they'll succeed. They're joined by the Ranko, who first comes to them as a client, and other friends they meet along the way.

It is a warring period in feudal Japan. The warlord, Oda Nobunaga, is rapidly vanquishing his foes on a quest to pacify and unify the country under his rule. However, there is one domain that he forbids to lay a hand on, that of the Iga ninja, whom even the great Nobunaga fears most. The Iga are known to wield extraordinary and supernatural powers as invincible weapons of war who will assassinate anyone for money, and money only. They don’t think of people as human and are dubbed “the killer clan”. But there is one Iga ninja, Mumon, who while peerless inability is indolent and taken to task for an inability to earn much of an income. In the fall of the year Tensho 7, Nobunaga’s second son, Oda Nobukatsu, decides to ignore his father’s orders and attack the Iga country, partly encouraged by Taizen Heki, a man who had once turned on his master and was now employed as a vassal of Nobukatsu. Shimoyama Heibe, whose brother had been killed by Mumon also seeks revenge on the 12 Iga ninja core, including Momoji Sandayu and Shimoyama Kai. Amid various colliding interests and schemes, ultimately, a major bloody showdown is coming between Oda’s army and the Iga ninja.

Keisuke Ninomiya, who works as a construction consultant, becomes acquainted through his work with yakuza Yasuhiko Kuwabara. One day, film producer Koshimizu brings a movie investment proposal to yakuza leader Shimada. Shimada decides to invest in the film and he assigns Yasuhiko Kuwabara to oversee his investment. When Koshimizu runs away, Keisuke and Yasuhiko struggle to get Shimada’s money back from him.

Within a seemingly peaceful village, a plague of mysterious & violent deaths suddenly take place. The police conclude poisonous wild mushrooms are the cause of the deaths. Police Officer Jong Goo hears a rumor from a coworker about a mysterious Japanese man living nearby. The rumor fingers the Japanese man as the one causing these mysterious & violent deaths. Jong Goo, while on duty, meets Moo Myeong who tells him that she saw the Japanese man where the last deaths took place. Jong Goo's doubts about the man begin to waver. To his despair, his daughter Hyo Jin then comes down with the crazed symptoms similar to what the other villagers had before their deaths. Jong Goo heads out into the mountains to find the old Japanese man's home. Meanwhile, his mother-in-law calls in a shaman, Il Gwang, to perform an exorcism on Hyo Jin. Death lingers in the air.

Sakisaka Kento is a lawyer with an outstanding career. He seems cool and handsome, but he is a zealous person who will confront things that are unreasonable and wrong head-on. There are times when he values the words of a single person and not a lawyer. Sakisaka is regarded as the ace of the law firm, but his only weak point is a lawyer at the same firm who also happens to be his ex-wife Natsume Yoshie. He has been raising their daughter Mizuki as a single father since their divorce. A stylish lawyer who holds her head high, Yoshie is down-to-earth and a perfectionist. These two rival lawyers often have well-reasoned legal arguments regarding the cases of their clients. However, when they wander off topic, they will call each other “papa” and “mama” the moment they lose their cool and start quarreling like a couple.

Episodes: 9

Duration: 42 min.

Aired On: Thursday

Nui is lost after the sudden death of her adoptive father Shimada Mataemon. Her own father met an untimely death when he was about to expose the corruption of the shogunate. She is determined to expose the collusion between Kannouji, and the unforgivable relationships between the ladies in waiting of the inner palace and the monks. Nui is undertaking this undercover investigation without regard for the danger she is putting herself in, for the sake of Shinnosuke whom she secretly loves.

The movie follows the story started in the first Attack on Titan live-action movie.

Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans.

Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind.

Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans.

Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind.

Set in Abashiri, Hokkaido. Tsukasa (Keiko Kitagawa) got into a severe car accident when she was a high school student. She still suffers from the aftereffects of that accident, with memory impairment and needing to use a wheelchair. Nevertheless, she tries to live life to the fullest. Tsukasa then falls in love with taxi driver Masaki (Ryo Nishikido), who likes playing basketball. Even though they have various difficulties, they try to make a happy family together, but they encounter another serious situation.

April 4, 1959 in the early morning Detective Fujisawa Rokuro of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was walking his dog along the banks of Tokyo's Musashino district, and found the body of a young woman. Her handbag, an express delivery envelope, and other possession were stil with her, her identity was immediately confirmed as airline stewardess Ikuta Setsuko. Initials her death was considered a suicide due to the visual evidence of a lack of struggle, and the peaceful expression on her face. Upon further examination the cause of her death was determined as suffocation. semen was also found at the scene leading detectives to believe the crime occurred shortly before the body was found.

Fujisawa unable to forget the peaceful expression on Setsuko's face makes a direct appeal to the head of criminal investigations. He is order to work in combination with young detective Ichimura Yoshitaka. Fujisawa is the ace of the MPD, but he tends to go off on his own and that sometimes gets him into trouble. Manager Takaku Ryo takes it upon himself to monitor Fujisawa and Ichimura's behavior.

Eventually it is discovered that a blue Renault with a foreign license plate was seen one the night of the incident near the crime scene. The owner of the blue Renault, a young preist,mis found the be the sender of the express envelope found with the body. The young priest is the prime suspect, but this situation could become an international problem if handled incorrectly. One day while Fujisawa is on a stake out at the Church of Villiers were the young priest preaches a mysterious woman comes and speaks to the Chief Priest. The atmosphere around her seems to repel people.

Based on the novel "Kuroi Fukuin" by Seicho Matsumoto.

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!

Haruki Hanyu, who worked as a prosecutor, changes sides and becomes an attorney. He opens his law office "NEXUS". In court, pursues solutions where the plaintiff and defendant can come to a mutual understanding. This differs completely from Kensuke Komikado, who believes only the winner is right. At work, Haruki Hanyu has confrontation a with Machiko Mayuzumi, but still holds personal feelings for.

One day, Ryota receives a phone call from the hospital. The hospital informs Ryota that his 6-year-old son is not his biological son. After his birth, two babies were switched. Ryota and his wife become torn by the news.The couple must decide whether to take back their biological son or keep the son they have raised for the last 6 years.

Muto (Jun Kunimura) and Ikegami (Shinichi Tsutsumi) are two gangsters who hate each other, but Ikegami is in love with Muto's actress daughter Michiko (Fumi Nikaido). Meanwhile, Muto attempts to make his wife Shizue's (Tomochika) dream come true which is to have their daughter appear in a movie.

Koji (Gen Hoshino), who is just a passerby, is mistaken for a movie director. Koji then requests to independent film director Hirata (Hiroki Hasegawa) to cast Michiko as the leading actress in his film. Their situation soon goes completely wrong.

1. Screenplay for "Why Don't You Play in Hell?" was first written by Sion Sono 15 years ago as an action film.

The film revolves around two men, Mutoh and Ikegami, who are fierce enemies who feel nothing but hatred for one another. However, Ikegami unexpectedly falls in love with Mutoh’s daughter, aspiring actress Mitsuko.

Mutoh wants to celebrate the release of his wife Shizue from prison by giving their daughter her debut, so he decides to produce his own movie specifically to that end.

Soon, a movie buff named Koji is hired to direct after being mistaken for a filmmaker and an actual indie film director named Hirata is recruited to help.

Complicating matters even further, Ikegami soon injects himself into the chaos of his hated rival’s production.

Sawako was dumped by her husband and since then she has raised her three sons alone. One day, she happens to meet a young man who is dying. She falls in love with him at first sight. The young man also suffers from memory loss. Sawako names him Hoshio. Taking advantage of his memory loss, she decides to make him live with her as the father of her three sons.

Now, Sawako, her three sons, her grandmother and Hoshio all live together. Sawako hopes Hoshio never regains his memory. Hoshio also begins to develop feelings for her. Whenever Sawako has troubles, Hoshio helps her out with his mysterious ability. Hoshio's past is also mysterious. A mystery that is finally revealed.

During the late Heian era, a youth who did not know his birth parents was raised by the Heike (also known as the Taira), a samurai clan of emerging influence. Taira no Kiyomori (Matsuyama Kenichi) was in truth the illegitimate son of Emperor Shirakawa. With his adoptive father, Tadamori (Nakai Kiichi), he got rid of the pirates in the Seto Insland Sea, and was trained to be a samurai. In a period where the samurai were being discriminated by the aristocrats of the upper echelons of society, Kiyomori, who was adept at winning hearts and minds, controlled the pirates. He worked to reform the aristocracy, persisted with the way of life of the samurai and built up the mighty Taira clan (Nakamura Baijaku, Kamikawa Takaya, Fujimoto Takahiro, Daito Shunsuke). Before long, he rose from a senior courtier of the third rank to become the chief minister and the ruler of Japan.

Nomi plays a samurai named Kanjuro who decided to give up his sword after a certain incident. He wanders aimlessly with his daughter (Kumada Sea), but because he abandoned his position as a samurai without permission, a price is put on his head and they're eventually captured. However, a notoriously eccentric feudal lord offers Kanjuro a unique opportunity to earn a full acquittal.

At the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Headquarters, the core of the Japanese Police, an unprecedented hostage situation in the history of MPD breaks out. The hostages are 12 top executives of the MPD: Superintendent-General Tamaru, Deputy Supt-Gen Hasegawa and bureau chiefs. The conference room, where the perpetrator and the executives are held hostage, is completely surrounded by Riot Police Squad and Special Investigation Team (SIT). The perpetrator’s motives are unknown and he makes no demands.

Meanwhile, two gunshots echo from the conference room. Ignoring Sugishita’s strong opposition, Nakazono orders Riot Squad and SIT to storm the conference room. What they find there is Yaegashi, shot and dead. Gunpowder residue is found on all the hostages, but who fired the gun? This cannot be determined. While released from captivity, all 12 hostages become suspects.

In response to Supervisor Okouchi’s questioning, all the hostages give ambivalent testimonies that the gun went off while they struggled to neutralize the perpetrator, and that they do not know who pulled the trigger. Concerning Yaegashi’s demands, all remain silent. Becoming strongly suspicious of this, Sugishita and Kanbe gains cooperation of Chief Kakuta and others, and undertake their own question of the executives, who were taken hostage.

On the other hand, receiving the report of the hostage case, National Police Agency Director Onoda, along with National Police Agency Commissioner Kaneko, begins to make disturbing moves.

A quirky story of a Japanese woman and an American man as they enter into a relationship and eventually marry. Saori is a manga artist. She meets language geek Tony, who has arrived in Japan after falling in love with the language. As the couple become closer, Saori is inundated with strange questions about the language from Tony. Are these weird questions a trait of his foreign background? Or is it because of his linguist preoccupation? More importantly, can their relationship survive?

Set in Edo period, Japan, a women risks her life to keep her true love. Ito (Keiko Kitagawa), daughter of a clan official, encounters Magoshiro Eguchi (Shuntaro Miyao). Magoshiro is a low ranking samurai sparks an attraction with Ito. Ito challenges Magoshiro to a sword match using bamboo sticks. Mahoshiro accepts. The pair's duel causes sparks to fly an attraction from both sides. Meanwhile, Ito faces an arranged marriage with Saisuke Katagiri (Masahiro Komoto) and Magoshiro is with Kayo (Ayumi Ito) .

Makabe Rokurota (Hiroshi Abe), a loyal retainer of Princess Yuki-hime (Masami Nagasawa), has been commissioned to transport Yuki-hime and Akizuki's ample treasury of gold bars safely to the politically stable Hayakawa. They disguise themselves as humble firewood peddlers, hiding the gold bars inside the logs they are carrying so as to pass safely through roadblocks set up by Yamana, which is under the control of Takayama Gyobu (Kippei Shiina), whose attire bears a striking resemblance to that of Darth Vader.

Along the way, Rokurota comes across Takezo (Jun Matsumoto) and Shimpachi (Daisuke Miyagawa), who have escaped from forced labor in a gold mine. Takezo and Shimpachi first frown on joining the journey, but eventually agree to help out in the hope of escaping Yamana's oppression and cashing in on the gold reward Rokurota offers them.

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…

This drama pits two protagonists against each other. On the one hand there's Makoto, a woman who believes that the TV program is a product and that viewer ratings are the proceeds, and who believes any method is fair in getting those ratings. On the other hand there's Hiromi, a flashy sort of guy who claims that life is to enjoy and boasts that the program is simply a tool in that process. He loves wine, women and gambling. Such a pair is bound to mix like oil and water, but following a fateful reunion, they come to understand each other in the midst of confrontation.

Hiroki Sakai adjusts pins in pachinko machines for a living. It's a dull existence, but Sakai seems to have made his peace with it. One day he runs into his former co-worker, Mizuguchi, a twitchy sort who managed a parlor before yakuza goons beat him up and robbed the place. Now he is obsessed with the thought of vengeance against his assailants. Soon afterward, he runs into Rie -- the daughter of his boss - who has suddenly blossomed into voluptuous womanhood and who is eagerly hoping to improve her relationship with Sakai. Later, he finds himself the target of yakuza aggression when the gang's boss comes to believe that Sakai is the bearer of a coveted envelope. Though a sensible and retiring sort by nature, he realizes that the only way to end this unwanted adventure is to rescue his boss, Tsumura, from the clutches of the yakuza.

Since Shigeki’s wife passed away, he has raised his daughter Ema alone. Ema is now a high school student. Like most father and daughter relationships, they sometimes have arguments, but they still rely on each other. One night, Ema does not return from her part-time job. She is found dead. Shigeki falls into deep despair. A couple of days later, Shigeki receives a phone call. The caller gives him the name and address of the man who killed his daughter. After hesitating, Shigeki goes to the apartment that the caller told him about. There, Shigeki discovers a video showing his daughter's brutal murder. He then faces Atsuya, who just came home to his apartment. Shigeki kills Atsuya. The media goes into a frenzy covering the story. Public opinion is divided between Shigeki's actions. Shigeki chases after the main culprit Kaiji. ~~ Adapted from the novel "Samayou Yaiba" by Higashino Keigo.