Asian Drama

Meet Tanaka Maririn, just graduated from college and beginning her life in the workforce… at the bottommost rung. She’s not expected to know much (and she doesn’t) and she’s not expected to last long, but few at first are aware that not only does she have an upbeat attitude, but a sarcastic streak a mile long and a fearlessness to match with it. Sometimes she wears slacks instead of a skirt. She WILL succeed, and she WILL find that handsome man she saw only briefly on her first day of work after her orientation. Don’t even think you can stop her…

Meet Tanaka Maririn, just graduated from college and beginning her life in the workforce… at the bottommost rung. She’s not expected to know much (and she doesn’t) and she’s not expected to last long, but few at first are aware that not only does she have an upbeat attitude, but a sarcastic streak a mile long and a fearlessness to match with it. Sometimes she wears slacks instead of a skirt. She WILL succeed, and she WILL find that handsome man she saw only briefly on her first day of work after her orientation.

Don’t even think you can stop her…

Won the 15th Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 1991 (tied with Kachou Shima Kousaku).

Shibusawa Eiichi was born in 1840 to a farmer’s family. He grew up helping his family with work, which was to manufacture and sell indigo production and also silk farming. He left his hometown at the age of 23 and began working for the government. He later traveled to Paris and learned about banking. Upon his return to Japan, he helped build up the first modern bank in Japan. He eventually became a founder or supporter to about 500 companies and was involved with about 600 public services, including education for women.

The Mobile Investigative Unit (known as "MIU") of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department attempts to solve cases within 24 hours.

Detective Shima Kazumi is selected as a new member of MIU. He is intelligent, with excellent observation and communication skills. Yet, he does not trust other people. He is unable to find a partner in MIU and is ordered to partner with Police Officer Ibuki Ai, who works at a police substation. Ibuki applied for MIU, but he failed. He is in excellent physical condition, but he lacks knowledge and experience as a detective. Shima learns about Ibuki's background and he becomes more nervous. Finally, Shima has his first meeting with Ibuki.

Arimura Kasumi suddenly gets a break from filming and returns to her hometown for the first time in a long while. Her mother Yumiko comes to the train station to pick her up and they head for the family home. She is idly chatting with her mother at home when a male stranger comes to visit. His name is Ueshima Makoto. He puts his hands together in front of Kasumi’s father’s tablet. Then her mother asks him to repair a bicycle. At Yumiko’s invitation, the three of them have dinner together.

A gathering of the top brass of the prefectural police headquarters, dubbed “Entaku Kaigi” or roundtable conference, is held in a special private room at Tamayoshien, the most exclusive Chinese restaurant in W Prefecture. One woman is summoned to this tremendously powerful roundtable, which is the highest decision-making body. She is an inspector called Matsunaga Nahoko. Nahoko pushes herself every day with the intention of becoming a member of this roundtable in order to pave the way for female police officers in the prefectural police which remains chauvinistic and old-fashioned. Her job is a position that can be called “police among the police” and she exposes mistakes and the truth about cases to clean up issues before they become detrimental to the prefectural police. She holds her own with female police officers in the various police precincts, making full use of her powers of observation and insight. However, none of them are easy women. Even so, Nahoko is broad-minded enough to be tolerant with an eye toward joining the Entaku Kaigi. But each woman seems to have some sort of secret…

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.

Kousaku Aizawa, Megumi Shiraishi, Mihoko Hiyama, Kazuo Fuikawa and Haruka Saejima have worked and pursued careers down different paths.

Kousaku Aizawa left the hospital emergency room. He now works as a brain surgeon. Megumi Shiraishi works hard as a staff leader for flight doctors at a hospital emergency room. Mihoko Hiyama wanted to become a flight doctor in th past, but she left the hospital emergency room and now works as an ob-gyn. Kazuo Fuikawa works as a emergency physician specializing in orthopedics and works with Megumi Shiraishi. Haruka Saejima still works as a nurse for flight doctors.

They each live fiercely and face new situations.

July 1590, Odawara. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had surrounded the Odawara Castle for over three months, hoping to conquer this last obstacle to his dream of the country's unification.

Standing at the gate of the castle, a lone man facing the menacing guards shouted out: "Do not throw your lives away. Treasure living!". Not long after, the castle gates opened and the reigning lord surrendered. The name of that man is Kuroda Kanbee. An excellent military strategist, he worked hand-in-hand with Hideyoshi to unify the country.

Kanbee's family had fled to Harima, and were relatively poor. As the protege of Kodera Masamoto, Kanbee was very much trusted and relied upon by his lord liege. However, Kodera was suspicious of Kanbee's father, Mototaka, thinking that he was trying to usurp his power. One day, Kodera decided to match-make Kanbee with the daughter of Kushihashi, another one of his vassals. Kushihashi's son, who was of the same age as Kanbee, intensely disliked Kanbee and objected to the match. Since this was the order of Kodera, they had no choice but to marry the youngest daughter, Teru, to Kanbee. On Kuroda clan side, in order to assuage their lord liege's suspicions, Mototaka decided to step down, and made Kanbee the head of the clan. Kanbee was but 22 years old. Kanbee and Teru were married, and they were blessed with a son soon after, but when many years had passed and yet Teru couldn't seem to conceive a second child, Kanbee decided to adopt the young children of his vassals as his proteges who became known as "Kuroda's warriors".

When Kanbee turned 30, a revolutionary young lord was slowly laying siege to all the various shogunates, aiming for a unified Japan. Harima became the place where the clash between Oda and Mori Terumoto was set. Kanbee was very attracted to Oda's unification plans, and had gone to Gifu Castle to meet up with him. There, he became acquainted with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and soon became Hideyoshi's right-hand man, marking the birth of Gunshi Kanbee.

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.