Asian Drama

Hiroshige Akihisa works for a karaoke company. When he is interviewed about the past 30 years of Japanese music industry, he gets confused when he is asked about his high school student days. An incident happened 29 years ago that caused him to suppress his memories that have now come back.

On March 20, 1995, the Tokyo subway sarin attack took place. At that time, Akihisa was a high school student who got good grades and was well mannered, but the Tokyo subway sarin attack led him to face the death of someone he knew and shook his world. Around that time, he was suddenly called out by his classmate Suzuki Shotaro, whom he wasn't very close to. Shotaro asked him if he wanted to live vacantly into his adulthood and then die? Would he be happy living that type of life? Akihisa then joined Shotaro’s group and hanged out with them in Shibuya. One day, Shotaro is attacked by someone. Akihisa decides to take revenge on the attacker and begins to search for him.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the novel "95" by Hayami Kazuma (早見和真).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 49 min.

Airs On: Monday

Set in modern-day Japan, “House of Ninjas,” tells the story of the Tawara family, the last ninja clan. It had abandoned its roots after an incident in the past, but now the family must take on the greatest crisis in Japanese history, one that threatens to shake the nation to its core.

(Source : Variety)

Episodes: 8

Duration: 55 min.

Aired On: Thursday

The Earth receives an influx of X refugees, who were deported from their home planet due to a dispute. Countries on Earth agonize over how to deal with the influx of these interplanetary immigrants. The U.S. government announced that they would accept X refugees, and the Japanese government announced that they would also accept X refugees.

The X refugees transform their appearance into human beings and live among ordinary humans. Residents in the host countries are unable to distinguish X refugees by appearance, and they have no idea if any of them live among them. People become anxious, confused, and afraid of the X refugees, and they try to find the refugees who may live among them.

Sasa Kentaro is a weekly magazine journalist. For a story, he hides his identity as a journalist and approaches Kashiwagi Ryoko, who is suspected of being an X refugee. He gets close to her and begins to have feelings for her, but he's not certain if she is human.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the novel "Rinjin X" (隣人X) by Pallus Ayako (パリュス　あや子).

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Adapted from the manga series "Shomonai Bokura no Renairon" (しょうもない僕らの恋愛論) by Hara Hidenori (原秀則).

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A man becomes the new Ultraman.

Yasuo grew up as an orphan. He married a woman he loved and they had a son Akira. Yasuo's life seemed great at the time, but his life totally changed after his wife died in an accident. Since that time, Yasuo, who never experienced his parents' love himself, has to raise his son Akira alone.

Adapted from the novel "Kite" (とんび) by Shigematsu Kiyoshi (重松清).

A large monster attacks Japan, but dies suddenly. It's only a matter of time that a gas explosion will take place from the carcass of the monster, which could cause the country to collapse. Tatewaki Arata is assigned to lead a special force team into the critical area. Amane Yukino appears in front of Tatewaki Arata. She is the secretary to the environment minister and also the ex-fiancee of Tatewaki Arata.

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

Japan, 1944. Trained for intelligence work, Hirō Onoda, 22 years old, discovers a philosophy contrary to the official line: no suicide; stay alive whatever happens; the mission is more important than anything else. Sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines where the Americans are about to land, this role will be to wage a guerrilla war until the return of the Japanese troops. The Empire will surrender soon after, Onoda 10,000 days later.

Yamada Atsuhisa is an ordinary man, with a wife and a 5-year-old daughter. He is close to his childhood friend Takeda. One day, Atsuhisa leaves his office during work hours and goes back home early. There, he witnesses his wife and an unknown man having sex, but Atsuhisa is unable to express his feelings like anger, frustration, and depression. His relationship with his wife and his friend Takeda becomes distorted.

Shogo Kai is a partner at a law firm in Marunouchi, Tokyo. He brings back Daiki Suzuki to his law firm from Boston. Shogo Kai then assigns Daiki Suzuki to a case. The case involves a large publishing company as they are sued by a former contract worker. The former contract worker insists her idea for a novel was stolen by the publishing company.

(Source: Asianwiki)

Remake of the American TV series "Suits" [2011].

Episodes: 15

Takahata Isao’s animated artistry in Only Yesterday (1991) comes to life in Hakota Yuko’s delicate story of a woman’s mnemonic journey. Trapped in her anemic career and love relationship, a 30-year-old TV commercial director returns to her countryside home in the company of a free-spirited friend. In a bittersweet reunion with an alienated family, her childhood memories of freedom and yearnings creep in the dreamlike blue hour, transcending into a lyricism of self-realization – at once whimsical, agonizing and yet hopeful.

Endo Kenichi is rumoured to have announced his retirement from acting. Staff head somewhere to uncover the truth, only to see a shocking sight. Endo has concealed his identity and been working at little-known as well as famous hot springs in various regions across the country as a male attendant. He pokes his nose into the affairs of the imperfect beauties he encounters there and runs around trying to solve their problems. However, he loses his heart to them and gets involved in trivial incidents. Why on earth is he doing this?

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.

When he was just seven-years-old, Suei's mother blew herself up with dynamite in a love-pact suicide with the neighbor's son. Suei worked at a factory in the city after graduating from high school and then quit to go to Tokyo, where he plunged into the world of adult magazines after working as an illustrator and cabaret sign painter.

Hiroto Miyama is a poor lawyer who takes on criminal cases, but unable to make money. He pursues the truth for the 0.1% out of Japan's 99.9% conviction rate. One day, Hiroto is scouted by Haruhiko Madarame. Haruhiko Madarame is the head of Madarame Law Firm which is one of the biggest law firms among the 4 big law firms. Hiroto Miyama begins to work with Atsuhiro Sada. Atsuhiro Sada is a lawyer specializing in civil cases and makes lots of money for the law firm. He doesn't have any interest in criminal cases which can not make money.

Mikami, a journalist, and Mai, a rookie assistant director of a satellite broadcasting station, close in on the truth of the unsolved serial murders of five little girls which took place 27 years ago. At the time of the murders, DNA analysis dealt a decisive blow and a man was apprehended as the murderer. But there were several contradictory points surrounding this arrest. Mikami and Mai begin re-investigating the cases with doubts about his culpability. They are eventually faced with the chilling truth of false charges and enormous state power. However, they begin to expose the truth which was shrouded in darkness through true journalism.

20-year-old Hokuto is being detained as a murderer and tells his court-appointed lawyer Takai Soichi to get him the death penalty. Hokuto was actually severely abused by his parents in his childhood and starved of love. He met Kondo Ayako who became his foster mother through child welfare services and learned love for the first time. Released from the darkness of his mind, he started to feel like a new person but he is made sport by bizarre fate and becomes a murderer.

Keyaki Academy private school, the homeroom of Year-3 class-C. As the students arrive the find the remains of their homeroom teacher, Tokuyama Daigorou, and the group descends into chaos. "He might still be alive", "Can anyone do CPR?" The students find a knife on his back and confirm his death. This will look bad, we have to hide it. Shit, there's no time. "He might fit in there," one girl says, pointing to an area inside the classroom. "He might not be found there!" "Will he fit" "Maybe if you cut off his hands and legs..?" The bitter, callous female students of this class. A strange school life begins as the students work hard to hide the presence of their teacher's corpse in their classroom. Other teachers from the Academy, their homeroom teacher's wife, his mistress, police, and reporters... One-by-one they visit the classroom and the students face the risk of being discovered. Is it possible to continue to hide it?! And who was it who killed him?!

Two kids, fourteen-year-old Eriko and her thirteen-year-old brother Daigo, suddenly find themselves trapped in a parallel universe. Most things are the same as in their own world, but their parents are missing from home and are only contactable when using...

Hiroto Miyama is a poor lawyer who takes on criminal cases, but unable to make money. He pursues the truth for the 0.1% out of Japan's 99.9% conviction rate. One day, Hiroto is scouted by Haruhiko Madarame. Haruhiko Madarame is the head of Madarame Law Firm which is one of the biggest law firms among the 4 big law firms. Hiroto Miyama begins to work with Atsuhiro Sada. Atsuhiro Sada is a lawyer specializing in civil cases and makes lots of money for the law firm. He doesn't have any interest in criminal cases which can not make money.

One day, Inspector Shibasaki Reiji of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's General Affairs Department is made to take responsibility for the inexplicable suicide of a direct subordinate and demoted to a police precinct despite being among a small number of elite candidates in the police force. Reiji received a phone call from his boss Nakata instructing him to allow his subordinate Kazuhiko Kido, who previously suffered from depression, to take part in shooting training. Reiji followed the instructions, but Kazuhiko killed himself soon after receiving a handgun from him. Reiji was interrogated, but his boss denied making the phone call regarding Kazuhiko. Who made the phone call?

While Reiji showers love on his wife and child, he has had no qualms about using intimidation on fellow police officers in order to get ahead in his career. Realising that he has been set up, he devises a plan not only to shed light on the truth, but make a return to the career track.

Sakurai Taro’s parents died young. His grandmother, Akiko, has been making great effort to protect her struggling candy store, Sakuraya, in the old part of Tokyo, but it's not easy. Taro eats candy with regular customers such as chilhood friend Saegusa Hiroki who aspires to be a scriptwriter, and talk nonsense, like in their youth. However, they realize this unfettered, comfortable existence will end some day with the passage of time. Then Taro’s ex-classmate, Kimura Reiko, comes back home with her son after a divorce. He and his friends start to notice what is truly important to them as they face up to their pasts, dreams and pains.

"Kazunari Katsuki (Gaku Sano) lied to his classmate that Tokyo stinks. Because of his comment, he goes to Tokyo alone. On his way back, he misses his flight back to Kumamoto. Kazunari only 3,400 yen in his pocket. He becomes confused about his missed flight. At that time, Masami Tanaka (Kaoru Sugita), who works at an airport souvenir shop, talks to Kazunari. On Kazunari's unusual trip back to Kumamoto, he meets many different adults and begins to think about his life."

Set along a backdrop of a fictitious second world war at an international city in Asia.

In Japan, Lieutenant Colonel Yuki recommends the creation of spy training school "D Kikan". Meanwhile, Kato is facing capital punishment for his refusal to follow a superior's order. Kato is then scouted by "D Kikan". He goes through a harsh training regiment and faces his first mission as a spy.

In order to seize American ambassador Graham's confidential documents "Black Note", Kato infiltrates into an international city. A battle to gain possession of the "Black Note" ensues between Kato, a mysterious woman named Rin, the British Spy Agency, the Soviet Spy Agency and the radical army in Japan.

Detectives Sakurai Shintarou and Hikage Koichi are partners. They are also corrupt and often blackmail criminal groups and seize their money. One day, the Chief of Police becomes aware that 2.5 million yen in seized money is missing. He orders Shintarou and Koichi to bring the money in by tomorrow morning. Shintarou and Koichi are in big trouble. They then read an article about a pension fund embezzlement case involving 6 billion yen. The prime suspect of the pension fund embezzlement case spent most of that money, but he has 2.5 billion yen left.

Rookie detective, Sahara Natsuki, is assigned to the Investigation Division of Ginza police station. Here he has an unexpected reunion with his father and veteran detective, Akimura Shimao, whom he has been estranged from since his parents' divorce. They find themselves unwilling partners, butting heads repeatedly. Over time, however, Natsuki learns more about how to be a good detective from his father and possibly how to let go of their past as well.

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.

A mystery unfolds with a woman named Madoka (Maki Horikita), who is a killer, and Ataru (Masahiro Nakai). The woman possesses the same extraordinary memory and deductive reasoning abilities as Ataru.

Certain circumstances have made 25-year-old Suzumiya Miki desire secure employment. So, she became a public servant. However, her job is the most detested in the world. It is that of a national tax collector who collects taxes from those who default on payments. The special national tax collectors handle the worst of these cases.

Miki is assigned to the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau’s Tax Office as a new tax officer under her superior, Kagami Masachika, a special national tax collector whose coldheartedness has no equal and is called “god of death” by the people around him. Miki thus runs about each day as Kagami’s assistant to collect taxes from tax defaulters.

(Source: IMDb)

Adapted from the novel “Tokkan -Special Tax Collector-” (トッカン -特別国税徴収官-) by Takadono Madoka (高殿円).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 54 min.

Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

Aired On: Wednesday

Ratings: 7.1

The murder of Emili, a young girl, leaves the inhabitants of a small Japanese village in shock. The raped body of Emily is found by the four classmates with whom she was playing. The murder is never solved. Emili's mother Asako is torn by grief and puts a curse on the four girls when they claim that they don't remember the killer's face. Each of the girls, in their own way, will do their penance for their silence. Deeply struck by the words of Asako and burdened with her curse, the four girls are forced into adulthood which eventually triggers a tragic chain of events.

Adapted from the novel by Kanae Minato.

Ito Kaiji erased all of his debts by successfully navigating through death-defying games one after the other. A year later though, he's back in the same debt-ridden situation. Kaiji then gets a chance to clear himself of his 200 million yen debt, but he has only 2 weeks. Kaji then decides to take on the mother of all pachinko machines named "The Swamp". The top winning payout is over 1 billion yen. "The Swamp" is controlled by an illegal casino operation named Teiai. Meanwhile, Ichijo Seiya, controls the machine from a remote location to ensure the machine never pays out the jackpot. Kaiji recruits the help of Ishida Hiromi, whose father was killed by Teiai, Kotaro Sakazaki a fired employee of Teiai, and Yukio Tonegawa who lost his position at the hands of Teiai. They all join Kaiji to take down "The Swamp," but their lives are at stake.

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.