Asian Drama

The story follows Fushiki, a newbie employee from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare who is assigned to the department to work alongside Yukimura Kai, an 88-year-old vampire detective who still looks 18 due to his immortality. Together, they will investigate a series of murders by the “Ram Killer” that have been occurring every Christmas in the year of the Ram over a period of 70 years.

(Source: Drama-Otaku)

Episodes: 12

Duration: 30 min.

Airs On: Friday

Since his wife died, Masahiko has raised his daughter Hitomi by himself. Hitomi is now all grown up and an adult, but they still live together and rely on each other. On New Year's Day, they talk with each other like they usually do, but they both reveal bombshell news. Hitomi tells Masahiko that she is going to get married in 3 months. Masahiko tells Hitomi that he was informed that he has only 3 months left to live. They are both shocked by each other's news.

Masahiko is strongly opposed to his daughter's marriage because her future husband is an unpopular comedian and is 10 years older than her. Meanwhile, Hitomi tries to persuade her father to get medical treatment. Because they want each other to be happy, they can't give up their position and try to persuade the other person. In the end, they decide they don't want to waste the next 3 months and write down things they want to do. Hitomi writes down things she wants to do before she gets married, and Masahiko writes down things he wants to do before his death.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Episodes: 10

Airs On: Monday

N/A

Episodes: 12

Duration: 40 min.

Airs On: Saturday

While at sea, the loyal butler on a luxury cruise, Ubukata Suguru, and a mysterious woman named Banjaku Chizuru cross paths as they try to uncover a murder-mystery that occurs on the ship.

(Source: Variety)

Aiba Soichiro works in the tax department at city hall. His job is to get people to pay taxes that are past due. For that, he evaluates their financial situation and visits their home. Sometimes he seizes their property and urges them to pay their tax. While dealing with tax issues, he approaches them with his heart and tries to find ways to help them. Soichiro Aiba used to be a bureaucrat in the Ministry of Finance, but, for some reason, he quit his job there and began working as a tax collector.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the manga series "Zeicho! - Nouzeika Daisan Shuunoukakari" (ゼイチョー！～納税課第三収納係～) by Shin Yui (慎結).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 54 min.

Aired On: Saturday

A drama based on a true story of two comedians as they overcome their crippling insecurities on the path to fame.

They were two people who weren't even nice all the time. One of them is Wakabayashi Masayasu and the other is Yamasato Ryota. Shyness, self-consciousness, negative feelings of inferiority. Negative emotions that arise.

Everything went wrong. But there is passion. The survival of the two youths was like that.

Komatsu Kie, a magazine writer from Tokyo, teams up with Omine Sakura, an Okinawa native, to pursue the truth of a sexual assault case.

(Source: Drama-Otaku)

Episodes: 5

How will popular actor Sugisaka Hana spend her filming break? This is the 4th season in this omnibus series that focuses on how an actor spends their vacation in between the filming of dramas and movies.

On the morning of her break from filming, Sugisaki Hana listens to the horoscope on the radio. “If you are a Libra, tidy up all your clutter today. Your lucky item is a round object!” Hearing this, she tries to clear her laundry, but the washing machine just won’t work. Sugisaki has no choice but to go to the laundromat which she is unfamiliar with and does not know how to pay the 300-yen charge. What she brought with her is a credit card and a 1,000 yen note. Sugisaki follows another laundromat user’s suggestion to get small change from the vending machine outside. However, she ends up getting entranced by the voice of a street musician that she happened to hear and buys a CD with those 1,000 yen…

How will popular actor Sugisaka Hana spend her filming break? This is the 4th season in this omnibus series that focuses on how an actor spends their vacation in between the filming of dramas and movies.

On the morning of her break from filming, Sugisaki Hana listens to the horoscope on the radio. “If you are a Libra, tidy up all your clutter today. Your lucky item is a round object!” Hearing this, she tries to clear her laundry, but the washing machine just won’t work. Sugisaki has no choice but to go to the laundromat which she is unfamiliar with and does not know how to pay the 300-yen charge. What she brought with her is a credit card and a 1,000 yen note. Sugisaki follows another laundromat user’s suggestion to get small change from the vending machine outside. However, she ends up getting entranced by the voice of a street musician that she happened to hear and buys a CD with those 1,000 yen…

35-year-old gynaecologist Yukimiya Suzu works at a hospital in a peaceful seaside town. While she helps to bring new life into the world, she is emotionally worn out in this constrictive and suffocating society, and cannot be vulnerable to anyone. Suzu studied hard to become a doctor and as a result of working for money and status, she not only lost the friends who fought with her, but also the enthusiasm and dreams she once had. She learned that society is not always on the side of those who are right and she will only get fatigued if she fights.

Suzu decides to go camping alone to take a breather. As she drinks alcohol and looks up at the starry sky, Hiiragi Issei wordlessly moves towards her and takes a series of photos with his camera. Then he kisses her without warning. The next morning, when Suzu wakes up, the young man conveys something to her with hand gestures and leaves. This episode would become a irreplaceable fated encounter for each of them.

Issei lives in a world with no sound. He has many interests, friends all over the world and follows his heart’s desires. Although Issei is 10 years her junior, and strangely overbearing and immature at times, he has a glow that cannot be missed. As Suzu interacts with him, her heart is gradually set free.

Asahi is a 23-year-old boy who attracts everyone around him with his innocent smile, words and talent. Chatani Kashiko is a 35-year-old working for a small advertising agency and is someone who has low self-esteem. Meanwhile, Sato Wataru is an expressive woman and works as a backstage actress in a small theatre company run by her boyfriend, who sometimes uses her as a ghostwriter. Kashiko and Wataru used to be best friends in high school and unexpectedly reunite through Asahi.

Asahi is a 23-year-old boy who attracts everyone around him with his innocent smile, words and talent. Chatani Kashiko is a 35-year-old working for a small advertising agency and is someone who has low self-esteem. Meanwhile, Sato Wataru is an expressive woman and works as a backstage actress in a small theatre company run by her boyfriend, who sometimes uses her as a ghostwriter. Kashiko and Wataru used to be best friends in high school and unexpectedly reunite through Asahi.

Three old men meet up at the park after work to discuss and carry out "money-free" games that they can enjoy themselves.

Nitta Masaki is about to start work as a music teacher at a high school. The high school has experienced turbulence due to the missing person case of the prior music teacher. On the night before Nitta Masaki's first day of work, he visits the music classroom and plays the piano. There, he meets student Izumi Sae. She is his student in homeroom class. Through the missing person case, Nitta Masaki and Izumi Sae soon get closer to each other. Nitta Masaki doesn’t want to admit that his feelings for her has turned into love. Meanwhile, Izumi Sae has no doubt that her feelings for him is love. They then part ways.

5 years later, Nitta Masaki & Izumi Sae meet again. There doesn't seem to be any obstacles in front of them to prevent their love, except for one thing. That is Nitta Masaki is a married man, who has a wife.

Miyabe Arata, owner of the Roppongi Nidaime Miyabe bar, fights against those who have absolute power. His goal is to take revenge on Nagaya Holdings, a giant in the Japanese food industry. The owner of the holding companies, as well as his son, had a destructive influence on Miyabe Arata's life in the past.

Adapted from the webtoon "Itaewon Class" (이태원 클라쓰) by Jo Gwang Jin (광진).

A story about the friendship between a 17-year-old high school girl and a 75-year-old lady who met through BL manga.

Adapted from the manga series "Metamorphose no Engawa" (メタモルフォーゼの縁側) by Tsurutani Kaori (鶴谷香央理).

This work is a 12-year story of Mana, a woman who cannot accept the death of her best friend, staring at her as she tries to step forward while having deep sorrow.

Adapted from the novel "Yagate Umi e to Todoku" (やがて海へと届く) by Ayase Maru.

A love fantasy with a unique world view that depicts the love pattern of an alien, Mitsuru Higashiyama, disguised as a university lecturer, living on Earth while hiding his identity for the past 400 years, and a popular actress, with attitude problems, Sasahara Tsubaki.

In 2006, Sanada Rio lived in a country village where a missing person case took place. Rio later studied in the pharmacy department at a university in Tokyo. Now, at the age of 30, Rio takes the CEO position at Sanada Wellness, which is a subsidiary of Sanada Holdings. Rio’s mother runs Sanada Holdings. Rio receives attention from the media and public because of her young age as a CEO.

Rio then becomes a material witness in a series of murder cases. The murder cases took place recently and is somehow related to the missing person case from 2006. Three lawyers on Rio's side try to protect her. Meanwhile, a detective, whose first love was Rio, chases after the truth behind the cases.

Shin Karino is an unpopular manga writer and he is single. He lives in an apartment complex that has a rule forbidding children from living there. One day, Shin Karino's doorbell rings. When he opens his apartment door, he sees a small boy. The boy is 5-year-old Kotaro Sato. Kotaro Sato tells Shin Karino that he moved into the neighborhood. Shin Karino makes a weird face, because of the rule of his apartment complex. Kotaro Sato says that he lives by himself. At first, Shin Karino is annoyed by Kotaro Sato, but residents of the apartment building, including Shin Karino, become attached to Kotaro Sato.

Adapted from the manga series "Kotaro wa 1-ri Kurashi" (コタローは1人暮らし) by Tsumura Mami (津村マミ).

Kamijo Ren is the director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Liaison Division. His father is a former police officer. An incident in Ren’s childhood triggered his thirst for power and he has his sights set on heading the police force by becoming its Superintendent General someday. Ren believes topping the faction that he belongs to is the shortcut to fulfilling his aspiration. He is driven by ambition and has no qualms carrying out work, no matter how dirty it is. His childhood friend Mizuki Sawa, a senior detective in the First Investigation Division, often opposes his stance and mindset as a detective but is the only one who knows about his past.

Third season of Cold Case: Shinjitsu no Tobira.

Remake of the U.S. drama "Cold Case" (2003).

When Momoko Adachi was in high school, her parents died in an accident. She was left with her 3 younger siblings. To support her family, Momoko Adachi gave up on going to a university and picked up a job at a hardware store. 9 years later, she is now 27-years-old. Her 3 younger siblings are 20, 17, and 14-years-old. Momoko Adachi places her sibling's happiness before anything else. One day, she meets Yoshioka-san at work. She is attracted to Yoshioka-san, who smiles all the time, but he has a secret.

Tabata Kaede is a university student with poor social skills. He meets Akiyoshi Hisano, who attends the same university. She seems to lack common sense and is also an idealist. She talks about ending wars and having no more bullies. Kaede & Hisano have different personalities, but they are both outsiders. For their goal to change the world, they decide to make a secret club Moai. One day, Hisano suddenly disappears. Their secret club Moai also changes. Moai becomes a club for job finders and the club gets larger. Kaede decides to leave the club, but he then decides to take back Moai for its original mission, dreamt up by himself and Hisano.

A gourmet comedy featuring 12 girls who are fascinated by gourmet burgers. Two girls appear every episode and develop in omnibus format. In addition, all the stores that appear are real stores, and we pay particular attention to the lighting and the sound of baking patties, and depict the gourmet burgers at each store with a sizzling feeling

Gota is an unpopular scriptwriter. He has been married to Chika for 10 years and they have a daughter Aki. Their marriage life is not very good. Gota tries to make his relationship with Chika better, but Chika looks down on him for not being able to earn money. One day, Gota has a chance to travel to Kagawa Prefecture to write a screenplay. He persuades Chika and Aki to go with him to Kagawa Prefecture, but he faces an unexpected case.

The story is based on the life of a japanese composer named Yuji Koseki from Fukushima in the Showa Era.

In 1909, a long-awaited baby boy was born to a family which has run a dry goods store for generations in Fukushima Prefecture. He would later become the talented composer Koyama Yuichi who wrote many famous songs. Although Yuichi was brought up as the heir of the business, he was rather dreamy and considered a child with no redeeming traits by the people around him. However, when he encountered music, it sparked joy and unleashed his gift in composing music through self-study. As a youth, Yuichi secretly put his name down for an overseas songwriting competition. This would change his destiny. He won runner-up for the song he entered for the competition. As a result, he got to know a female student who wanted to be a singer. Despite the long distance between them – Fukushima and Toyohashi – the two of them tied the knot. When they came to Tokyo, they met all sorts of people and weathered a dark period to produce a number of hit songs. However, war broke out and Yuichi had to compose wartime songs at the army’s request. It pained him that young men died in battle after singing the songs he had written. After the war, the country began to recover amid the chaos. The couple made a new era of music in an attempt to encourage the wounded through the power of music.

It's a sad and humorous story about a man encounter with various women and slowly regaining his smile. The woman whom he loved most in his life, Asuka, made a living by selling saliva for perverts. The story will focus on his six years with Asuka

Based on the true story about Aizawa Hospital ( Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture ), where Nao Kodaira who won a gold medal at the 500m Woman's speed skating at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018 works, has received a miracle after falling into a bankruptcy crisis due to large debts.

Kazama Kimichika is an instructor at a police academy. He is keenly observant and watches over his students. He is calm as an instructor and has charisma, but strict. Students with various backgrounds attend the police academy with their own reasons of becoming police officers. They feel pressure having to follow the strict rules and have anxiety about getting kicked out of the academy. How many students will graduate among the 90 students? What is the real purpose of Kimichika Kazama giving hardship to the students?

Mio is 20-years-old. Her grandmother, who raised her instead of her late parents, is hospitalized. Mio leaves her hometown and goes to Tokyo to find a new job. She has a hard time adapting to life in Tokyo. Mio takes a job at a public bathhouse in an old shopping district. While working at the bathhouse, she interacts with the people in the area and begins to enjoy her time in Tokyo. Mio hears that the shopping district will be demolished.

The first youth story of Sato and Satoshi Takahashi. The original story of the movie of the same name released on Friday, November 1, 2019 will be developed in the same work as Hulu. At a high school, Soraku (Sato) has a class-like presence, and Nakaya (Takahashi) is a tune. Two people who are opposite to each other draw a figure to confront the “black school rules” of high school that respects discipline.

Shuichiro Kiriyama returns to Japan after working for the FBI [in America] for 12 years. Once again, he starts working with the Statute of Limitation Management Department. Since the statute of limitation for serious crimes like murder were abolished in April, 2010, the Limitation Management Department has become an easy, worthless job. As a hobby, Shuichiro Kiriyama begins to investigate the unsolved cases which are about to be abandoned due to the expiration of the statute of limitation. Shizuka Mikazuki joins him once again.

A man who investigates a case that became aging with a “hobby”, Shuichiro Kiriyama (Odagiri Joe) -One day after the legendary man was dispatched to the FBI, he suddenly entered the aging management section of the Sobu police station Came back. Moreover, Kiriyama became interested in the “Urashima Gas Station Fire Case” that occurred 24 years ago. In this incident, a gas station in a lonely port town, Urashima Town, burned down, and then a big explosion occurred, and a severely burned dead body was found in the burnt mark. The police decided at the time that the corpse was holding the buttons and physique of the uniform, and the victim decided with former high school student Koji Sawamura and investigated the possibility of accident, murder, suicide, but the truth was dark It remains covered. At least nine years ago, the murder was aged just a day before it was abolished.

Toko Ikuta lost her parents in a car accident at the age of 3. Afterwards, her uncle, who ran a barbershop in Morioka, raised her and she had a happy childhood. Toko Ikuta was active as a local idol and she dreamed of becoming an actress. At the age of 19, she is set to take an audition in Tokyo. The day before her audition, on March 11, 2011, the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hits Japan. In the autumn of 2011, Toko Ikuta works at a cafe. She goes with her Korean co-worker Han to do volunteer work in Kesennuma as the area recovers from the devastating tsunami. There, Toko Ikuta meets Kiyotaka Shimizu who is a university student from Tokyo and a member of a student volunteer group. While spending time together in Kesennuma, Toko Ikuta and Kiyotaka Shimizu develop feelings for each other.

The series follow the story of a high school boy who lives in Tokyo, and his childhood friend, Hakatano Donko-chan, who is from Hakata and really talks in Hakata dialect! People around her sometimes get confused because of it, but her dialect makes them smile!

A boy was trained to be a killer. Several years later, he is now an elite contract killer nicknamed 'Fable'. The man takes a year off from his job as an assassin in order to live like an ordinary person in Osaka.

Yamazaki Risako lives with her husband Yoichiro and 3-year-old daughter Fumika. One day, she receives a notification from the court that she has been selected as an alternate member of the jury for a shocking criminal case. The defendant in the case is Ando Mizuho, a full-time housewife who is the same age as Risako. She is on trial for causing the death of her 8-month-old daughter by dropping her into the bathtub. As a mother herself, Risako feels repulsed that Mizuho killed her own child. However, after the trial opens, Mizuho’s circumstances remind Risako of her own past and she soon becomes confused with the chaotic feelings that have lain dormant in her.

Himokura Tetsu is a scientist who specialises in the study of parasites. He loathes people and is very sadistic. Tetsu bought a huge botanical garden in Hakone which he converted into his home and lab. He holes up in the conservatory where he researches his favourite parasites. His right arm is fitted with a black robotic hand. However, it is not known how this artificial hand came about. He is an eccentric genius who solves a series of difficult cases with astounding scientific methods.

Itsuki Shinonome is transferred to the Internet Media Department and assigned to a story involving green caterpillars being found in instant food. She later finds a man who has posted about this issue on social media and talks to him. A fight between companies eventually draws her in.

Yuri Ishikawa and her team try to crack unresolved cold cases in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The story is about a reporter Kayama Satoshi searching for the truth of the death of his 2-year-old son in a tragic accident which also involves his wife, Kayama Mitsue.

Based on the novel "Ranhansha" by Tokuro Nukui.

During turbulent economic times in Japan, Masahiko Washizu leads a foreign investment fund and is criticized for being a vulture. He tries to buy a bank and another company that are experiencing financial depression.

When high school student Tomura Naoki met piano tuner Itadori Soichiro at his school in Hokkaido, he could smell the forest from the piano tuned by Soichiro. Touched, the boy decides to work together with Soichiro at his musical instruments store. Naoki develops relationships with many people related to the piano and he meets sister pianists and high school students Kazune and Yuni.

Adapted from the novel "Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori" by Natsu Miyashita. The novel won the 13th Japan Booksellers' Award in 2016.

After waking up from a month-long coma due to injuries sustained in a reckless, heated investigation, detective Yashiro Tomo quickly returns to work at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. She is ordered to transfer from the First Investigative Division’s Violent Crimes Unit to the Sixth Special Investigations Unit. Located in the basement, it is in charge of deciphering documents of unsolved cases. Despite Tomo’s bewilderment, she begins work in her new postalong with a brusque senior detective Narumi Risa who is called the expert of document deciphering for her unusual ability to predict the personality and thoughts of a writer from writings. However, the reality is that this kind of work is nothing more than that of a “storekeeper” of investigation materials.

Based on novel "Keishichou Bunsho Sousakan" by Kazushi Asami.

Kuki Fumihiro is a son from a wealthy zaibatsu (conglomerate) family. His father raises him to become pure evil. Kuki kills his father to protect his adopted sister Kaori.

Afterward, Kuki disappears. He undergoes plastic surgery and takes the identity of Koichi Shintani. He watches Kaori and faces the great evil that exists within the Kuki family.

Dojima Otaro works as a popular host. Because of a past incident, he believes that love makes people unhappy. He now only pursues money and power.

A mysterious woman appears in front of Dojima Otaro. The mysterious woman has a pale face with red lips. She kisses him and he dies, but the next moment he regains consciousness. He realizes he is now 7 days in the past. The mysterious woman alsofollows him. Due to her kiss, Dojima Otaro dies and goes back to the past over and over again.

What would happen if Otaro wouldn't be able to go back in time with a kiss and be revived?

A real world like parallel timeline about what happens after Otaro's deaths.

Snack bar owner and her regular patron tell 11 different stories about the worst day in the lives of people in their neighborhood of Shimokitazawa, Tokyo. One of those instances involve a Tokyo politician being kidnapped during an S&M session. ~~ 11 screenwriters contribute 11 different stories with different casts under the theme of “The worst day of their life.”

The 17-year-old Yatabe Mineko grew up in a family of seven in a mountain village in northeastern Ibaraki Prefecture. Her father Minoru has gone to Tokyo to work in order to earn extra money. However, her life completely changes when her father does not come back for the New Year. Mineko asks her family to let her go to Tokyo to find him and promises to send money home. In the autumn of 1964, she and two childhood friends Tokiko and Mitsuo are hired to start working at a small factory in Tokyo’s working class neighborhood. After work each day, Mineko searches for her father and gets disheartened at times. Mineko overcomes challenges and starts to lay down roots in Tokyo as she experiences many meetings and farewells amid the laughter and tears with regulars, people of the shopping street, friends, and colleagues. But will she be able to find her father?

Kenichi Endo, Ren Osugi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Susumu Terajima, Yutaka Matsushige and Ken Mitsuishi all receive offers to take part in a big budget drama series with a famous lead actor and world famous director. To study their roles and relationships, the director asks the six supporting actors to live together for 3 months at a share house. The actors begin their temporary living arrangement. An incident from 10 years ago though causes the actors to hold resentment.

Came to Mechang high school as a mathematic teacher of thousands of crane (apricot played) in order to make their own experience playing violin come into play, decided to join the so-called professional level of amateur orchestra, but accidentally came...

Yuri Ishikawa and her team try to crack unresolved cold cases in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The Japanese version of Warner Bros ‘Cold Case'.

Natsumi Kawai wants to become a photographer. She takes a bike which her late father left behind and goes to a forest to find a firefly she saw with her father. In the forest, Natsumi Kawai meets old mother Yasu and old son Jizo. They run a general store. Natsumi Kawai learns how to live in nature from them. She has happy summer days there. One day, Jizo tells her that he became estranged from his son in the past.

Takasugi Atsuro (Muro Tsuyoshi) had been a drama director of a production company. But his proposal was stolen by his boss Nezu Kazuhisa (Mitsuishi Ken) and he was also told that he would be absolutely worthless without the company. He...

Set in the year 1969 in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.

Noma Kyoko is a loving female high school student who takes part in campus protests. One day, she meets university student Domoto Wataru in the tea cafe Mubansou ("A Cappella"). Kyoko falls in love with him, but they get involved in an incident that leads to a shocking ending.

Hana (Kobayashi Satomi), who had been living in Tokyo, starts life in the countryside with her friend Toki (Ichikawa Mikako) and Toki’s daughter Toshi (Sasaki Haruka), an elementary school student. It is a life that they are unaccustomed to. Hana is a writer and goes to Tokyo occasionally for work, but realises anew the merits of the life she has just begun in the countryside. She also brings her troubled nephew Akira (Ito Seiya) who has just graduated from junior high school. The two women and two children are helped in their new makeshift family life by the supportive couple Gen (Mitsuishi Ken) and Shiori (Takahashi Hitomi), who live nearby and give advice in various ways such as how to tend the fields and raise livestock. Little by little, they get used to the daily work. Toki’s natural ability to make things also becomes essential to their lives. In the middle of this, a new family member, Tom the cat, arrives. Kept to get rid of rats, the mischievous black and white feline twists the humans around a little and breathes new life into their lives.

Every night, Master (Kaoru Kobayashi) is busy with customers at the restaurant he runs. He has a worried face, looking at the funerary urn which someone left at his restaurant. His customers also talk about the funerary urn.

A large real estate company’s social gathering is held on board the cruise ship ‘Poseidon’ as it goes around Tokyo Bay. Then the company president Kudo Ryoko (Nakano Yuta) is fatally stabbed. The ship never once stopped and it is impossible for someone to board from the sea. In other words, the murder scene is a “locked room aboard a ship”. The suspects are three employees Takase Minami (Takimoto Miori), Mitsumine Yoko (Nakagoshi Noriko) and Narita Koki (Tonesaku Toshihide) who were together with Kudo. They unanimously complain of being “put to sleep by sleeping pill” and “waking up after the murder occurred”. Detective Hagami Kyoko (Zaizen Naomi) of the First Investigative Division proceeds to investigate the case together with the young detective Kaburagi (Kiriyama Ren). However, a series of tragedies occur right in front of them. Mystery engenders mystery, darkness sucks in darkness. This is the “punishment” meted by Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, to those who do wrong. Internal trouble, baffling human resources and gruesome cases that vanish in the vortex of time. Then the perfect crime of a lifetime. Will Kyoko be able to get to the criminal?

The young, genius scientist Takano Ryuzo (Saito Yusuke) has died in his home. He was a leading authority on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells together with his older wife Misuzu (Shimizu Misa). The cause of his sudden death is determined to be a heart attack, but insurance agent Tomonaga Masahiko (Hamano Kenta) approaches his wife Kuriko (Ueno Juri), who is also researcher in iPS cells, about Takano’s sudden death that leaves questions unanswered. He had been insured for a large sum of money. Furthermore, the crime scene is a perfect locked room. These increases Masahiko’s suspicions that it was a murder. Kuriko, the research geek, corners the “invisible criminal” with a wealth of knowledge unique to a female scientist and feminine deduction.

Following the death of their mother Kyoko (Nakamura Yuri), three sisters Chiaki (Dan Rei), Haruna (Kimura Midoriko) and Natsui (Watanabe Makiko) gather at the home where they were born and raised for an all-night vigil. Third sister Chiaki recalls memories of the time she was a girl when she sees something that was inserted into the coffin. After the end of the war, their father Hiroshi (Mashima Hidekazu) brought Toru, their youngest brother who is not related by blood, home. Then one day, Toru suddenly disappeared as if he had been spirited away. Who was responsible and where did he go? As the three sisters begin to trace back distant memories, a young man (Nakajima Ayumu) comes. He greets them with the words, “It’s been a long time since I last saw you, sisters …” The sisters piece together their memories and what starts to emerge is their father’s betrayal and mother’s secret. The 40-year-old truth that their mother had kept to herself is about to be revealed.

Hiroshi (Kenichi Matsuyama) is now 30-years-old and lethargic, but Pyonkichi, the frog imprinted on his shirt, is always energetic. Sometimes Hiroshi does not wear t-shirts with Pyonkichi, but Pyonkichi always encourages Hiroshi.

Hiroshi (Kenichi Matsuyama) is now 30-years-old and lethargic, but Pyonkichi, the frog imprinted on his shirt, is always energetic. Sometimes Hiroshi does not wear t-shirts with Pyonkichi, but Pyonkichi always encourages Hiroshi.

Akiko, an editor at a publishing company, has been living with her mother all this while. One day, her mother’s sudden death and an unreasonable personnel transfer makes her decide to take over the eatery that her mother was running. She remodels the eatery to her tastes. The new store, called sandwich a, has a simple menu of breads and soups. It is a small, cosy cafe with Akiko and a helper, Shima-chan. Customers gradually start to come in. The florist Yamada also visits despite his confusion about the store change and stuffs himself with sandwiches. One day, a cat unexpectedly appears in front of Akiko as if someone had sent it. Then, there are the people of the local shopping district who joyfully take care of Akiko -jdramas.wordpress.com Based on the novel "Pan to Supu to Neko Biyori" by Yoko Mure

As a young child, 13-year-old Junichi Miyata was bullied at school and cried easily. He made a promise to himself that he would grow up into a "cool guy" - not so easily displaying his emotions. Now as a middle-aged man, Junichi Miyata (Ken Mitsuishi) works as a driver for a parcel delivery company. He lives with his two kids, unemployed 19-year-old Toshiya (Ryu Morioka) & 18-year-old Momoko (Jun Yoshinaga). Junichi's wife passed away from stomach cancer several years earlier. Junichi now finds it difficult to communicate with his kids and he's worried that he has cancer like his late wife. Junichi then visits old friend Sanada (Tomorowo Taguchi) to talk about his problems. Miyata hopes to graduate from college and build fond memories with his children before it's too late.

i've watched aoyamas latest movie 'sad vacation' just a few days ago. i was well aware that he intended it as a sequel to 'yûreka', but what i didn't know is that he refers much more to this one here than to his y2k masterpiece (at least as far as asano tadanobu and the main plot is concerned). so if you plan to see his new one, make sure you've seen his very first.

Set in a small restaurant in the corner of a shopping district. The unusual eatery is only open after midnight, and its standard menu consists of just a single choice. However, the customers still come for the amusing chatter and the proprietor's willingness to cook any dish that they request. This drama depicts the lives of the restaurant's patrons, including a yakuza, an unsuccessful actor, a group of office ladies, a newspaper delivery boy, and a stripper.

Ryu Sasakura (Masaki Aiba) is a bartending prodigy who won a European cocktail contest. He got into an argument with his instructor and was fired. In a state of dejection he came back to his native country of Japan. He finds work again in Tokyo and also meets Miwa Kurushima. Meanwhike, Ryu Sasakura is able to listen to his customer's problems and help alleviate their worries with his special cocktail mixes.

Set in a small restaurant in the corner of a shopping district. The unusual eatery is only open after midnight, and its standard menu consists of just a single choice. However, the customers still come for the amusing chatter and the proprietor's willingness to cook any dish that they request. Based on the manga series "Shinya Shokudo" by Yaro Abe

Set in freezing Japanese winter, Koroshi (=killing/film noir in Japanese) is a quite typically Japanese movie, first and foremost inspired by Melville and to a lesser extent by fellow countryman Takeshi Kitano. The main character is a normal Japanese worker who is now unemployed - a fact he hides from his wife by spending his day at a gambling hall and making "salary payments" to himself. One day he is contacted by a mystery man who offers him a job as a contract killer. The job is easy, just shoot at the neck, never look in the eyes. And then: run. The man accepts this and soon finds new meaning and joy in life... The movie is absurd, and a thoroughly original take on the morale in Japanese society. The images are beautiful, and the people are as cold as the snow that surrounds them. The take on Melville's "Samoraï" from -67 is obvious, but Kobayashi turns the image around and portrays the killer as the weakest person in the movie - haunted by his demanding wife and the moaning contractor, who is one of the most mysterious characters ever portrayed in a movie. Perhaps the sound is the most masterful feature of this film. The humming of the wind power stations and the creaking sound of snow under boots leaves you chilled and muted. I left 'Koroshi' freezing, but I can't wait to get back in. 

Rinka Umezawa is a housewife who pursues things that will bring her small happiness in life. Her husband Masabumi holds a stern belief that he will support his wife Rinka. The couple do not have children.

Rinka begins to work part-time at a bank. She visits her clients' homes. Sometimes, she even helps her elderly clients' with their house chores. This builds a strong level of trust with her clients.

One day, she visits client Kojo Hirabayashi's. At his home, she meets his grandchil Kota who came to ask for money. Her encounter with Kota changes her. Soon, Rinka embezzles one hundred million yen from her bank and runs away.

Two years later, Rinka's former high school friends Yuko Okazaki and Aki Nakaji trace her embezzlement case and face their own darkness.

Rinka Umezawa is a housewife who pursues things that will bring her small happiness in life. Her husband Masabumi holds a stern belief that he will support his wife Rinka. The couple do not have children.

Rinka begins to work part-time at a bank. She visits her clients' homes. Sometimes, she even helps her elderly clients' with their house chores. This builds a strong level of trust with her clients.

One day, she visits client Kojo Hirabayashi's. At his home, she meets his grandchil Kota who came to ask for money. Her encounter with Kota changes her. Soon, Rinka embezzles one hundred million yen from her bank and runs away.

Two years later, Rinka's former high school friends Yuko Okazaki and Aki Nakaji trace her embezzlement case and face their own darkness.

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!

Yamazaki Tetsuro (Oizumi Yo), an elite salaryman with Yotsui Corporation, returns to his hometown of Midorihara for the first time in years when his childhood friend, Kumazawa Kenji (Hirayama Koji), invites him to the class reunion. However, he can hardly recognise the Midorihara that he arrives at. The local town is experiencing a cash crunch. Tetsuro is asked by Kenji and others to rebuild Midorihara. He makes up his mind, resigns from his company and assumes the post of Midorihara’s mayor. Midorihara continued to inject money into financially unviable public work projects since the bubble era and now in debt to the tune of 15 billion yen. Tetsuro’s plan to save the town is to build a theme park for the elderly. It is an unprecedented proposal that Kamata Takezo (Emoto Akira), a senior town councilor, challenges. Tetsuro plunges ahead with transforming Midorihara into a ‘Platina Town’ where the elderly can live as they like, even as he faces a whirl of ulterior motives from proponents and opponents of the plan.

It is April at Kokubunkan Public High School which is known for being good at both studies and sports. Aoyagi Haruka, the rookie form teacher of Class 3D, swells with hope. However, the assistant form teacher is Takakura Yuko, the biology teacher with a poor reputation in school. Furthermore, the transfer student Toda Toshio suddenly accuses the class prefect Mochizuki Ryohei and others of bad deeds. There is a lot to sort out for the new school term. One day, Class 3D’s Yamagishi Rio is instructed by her boyfriend, Tatsuya, to collect the email addresses of her friends. Tatsuya attends a first rate university and has also passed the bar exam. He belongs to the “winners”, but is in truth a peddler who sells unregulated herbs. In order to keep her relationship with Tatsuya going, Rio caters to his demands even though she knows is it wrong. Before long, there is a spam email that starts the rumour of Rio offering email addresses and encouraging unregulated herbs. An inspection of Rio’s bag is carried out without warning. Rio seeks Haruka’s help and Haruka promises to keep it a secret from the school. However, Yuko points out that Rio is a mere tool of the peddler. In addition, there is a call about the collapse of the students of Class 3D after smoking the unregulated herbs. In an attempt to save an embattled Rio, Haruka asks Yuko for help. But Yuko coldly says that she will save Rio in exchange for Haruka’s first paycheck. Yuko, the classics teacher Uchida Sumire and art teacher Fujii Aya wear different faces from daytime. They are “black teachers” who solve problems in return for large sums of money.

The drama will use an original story that differs from the manga, revolving around 12 people who obtain a “future diary,” which allows them write down “predictions” of the future that will come true. However, they are all part of a game of survival, in which they must use their diaries to try to kill each other and be the last one remaining, earning a place on the “God’s seat.”

Okada plays Hoshino Arata, a lazy college student who doesn’t believe in spending effort or working toward the future. One day, he gets a diary (the “future diary”) on his mobile phone, and he becomes involved in the game of survival.

Set within the Tokyo underworld, Katsutoshi (Nao Omori) finds trouble at work and hides out at his friend Sekichi's (Ken Mitsuishi) night club "Tokyo Playboy Club." Kasutoshi's run in with a waiter (Yasushi Fuchikami) at the club and the waiter's girlfriend Eriko (Asami Usuda) leads to far bigger troubles & then unexpected consequences...

Young married couple Rie (Tomoyo Harada) and Sang (Yo Oizumi) move from Tokyo to Lake Toya in Hokkaido Prefecture to start a bakery restaurant named Mani. Sang bakes bread and his wife Rie makes food that complements the bread. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter, the customers leave in a happy state.

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.

Set in Tokyo, actress Touko leaves the filming set of her latest project. She then comes across three people by random chance. She gives a ride to a man named Nagano whom she has never met before. At a small theatre, Kouko runs into Kikuchi - a former screenwriter who now works in the small theatre. Lastly, Touko meets Yasuko at the zoo. Yasuko is a woman studying for her college entrance exam and applying for a job at the zoo.

Motoko (Meisa Kuroki) is a detective in tip-top physical condition, excels in physical combat and willing to kill a suspect if necessary. Misaki (Mikako Tabe) is a cerebral detective with a warm. Both of these women are members of the Metropolitan Police Department's S.I.T. (special investigation team) and work to track down criminal Jiu, the ringleader responsible for a series of brutal crimes. Motoko and Misaki both become involved in personal relationships that leaves them hurt...

Takenouchi plays an aquarium employee named Kengo, who seems ordinary at first glance but actually possesses a secret that he would sacrifice everything in order to protect. Meanwhile, Ueto plays Risa, a young woman working in the sex trade in order to pay off her brother's debt, though her situation has led her to contemplate suicide. These two characters, both full of despair, meet each other and end up entering a contract marriage purely for its benefits. However, as they overcome various troubles, their relationship begins turning into true love.

"Heita is an ordinary high school boy with a kind heart but no real interest in romance. His class is joined by a transfer student named Q10 ( pronounced "kyu-to" the same as "cute" ), who looks like a girl but is actually a robot. Together, the two end up causing trouble at school, and Heita even begins falling for Q10."

Filming began on 2010-October and finished 2010-December.

Ito Kaiji moves to Tokyo after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, vandalizing cars, and drinking booze. Two years later and his life no better, a debt collector named Endo arrives to collect money. The debt collector then offers two choices to Kaiji: spend 10 years paying off your loan or board a gambling boat for one night to repay your debt and possibly make a whole lot more. Meanwhile, the unscrupulous Endo is actually conning Kaiji, believing he won't come back from voyage. Kaiji is then up for the night of his life.

While on a fishing boat, Naoko is captivated by a boy running along the shore. Tragedy hits when Naoko falls off the boat and the captain of the ship, the boy’s father, dies saving her from drowning. Six years later Naoki meets Yusuke, now an elite runner, at a marathon competition and reintroduces herself. Later, when the opportunity to become co-manager of Yusuke’s team presents itself, Naoko takes it. Yusuke resents Naoko's presence, but slowly they embark on a journey of forgiveness and healing their sorrows from the past.

A Tokyo suburb with a middle American feel, the city of Fussa is home to a US military base with its wide avenues, second-hand clothing stores peddling American merchandise and bars catering largely to G.I.s.

Shiro is a 17-year-old Fussa native, fresh from high school graduation, who finds himself standing in that ambivalent "no man's land" between adolescence and adulthood, ready to strike out on his own but uncertain whether to trust his underdeveloped instincts. He shirks off college, much to the dismay of his conventional parents who barely register in his life, and takes a job at a gas station for no other reason than a vague ambition to do something with cars. For guidance and moral support, Shiro turns to his offbeat, septuagenarian grandmother, "Fujiko", a perennial "flower child" and pro-American who owns a local watering hole and celebrates life with a romantic corps de esprit that she's preserved since her halcyon youth. It is "Grandma" who wields the greatest influence on Shiro's spiritual and moral upbringing and she takes to the role of mentor with the passion of a sacred mission. "Working at a gas station's a great idea, " she tells him. "So full of romance. A rest stop for life's drifters. I'll handle your father on this one."

While Shiro still races around town on his bicycle and rents porn flicks with his boyhood pals, he's keenly reminded that this part of life is quickly ending when he sees his two best friends willingly trade in their childhood pursuits for college and "true love" − of the same girl. "I've yet to know what that feels like," confesses Shiro, who has a sense of the vital role love plays in a person's coming of age but feels personally removed from it. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, however, Shiro stumbles across a public breakup scene one evening between a man in a white car and a college girl, Noriko. Days later, Shiro is surprised to see the same girl arrive at the gas station as the newly-hired help, and even more alarmed at his loss of composure in front of her. He is love-struck, and his bittersweet initiation into adult life begins.

The 31st NHK Asadora Drama is Oshin. Oshin tells the story of a girl born in a very poor rural family in Japan, who through hard work and perseverance eventually triumphs over pain and adversity to achieve fame and success. Broadcast in the early 1980s when Japan had finally cast off the legacy of the post-war years and the Japanese were beginning to reap the benefits of economic development, the aim of the story was to recall the hardships the older generation had endured in order to pave the way for their children to enjoy their more affluent lifestyle. Viewers were drawn to the suffering of the main character Oshin - and then drew similarities between her story and their own home lives.

Some Japanese worried that showing Oshin abroad would give the country a bad profile - and would even be shameful because it showed the seldom glimpsed, poor, unequal side of Japan. In the event, the reverse proved true. Oshin gave viewers outside Japan - whose only image of Japan was formed by Japanese cars or electric goods, or through bitter memories of Japanese treatment during World War II - a far better understanding of the modern Japan and its people.