Asian Drama

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Minato Kanae (湊かなえ).

In 1999, a general trading company in Tokyo celebrates because Shinkansen of Japan wins priority negotiating rights for the Taiwan High-Speed Rail. Tada Haruka has been working at the general trading company for 4 years and she is sent to Taiwan for work. When Tada Haruka was a university student, she visited Taiwan for the first time during the summer. During that time, she happened to meet a young Taiwanese man Eric and he showed her Taiwan for a day. She lost contact with him after that and she could not find him again. She then sealed away her thoughts about him in her mind. 6 years later, Tada Haruka arrives in Taiwan again.

Adapted from the novel "Ru" by Shuichi Yoshida.

Suda Tamio is an ordinary salaryman. He experiences various stress throughout his daily life. His only pleasure is to set out on trips to find "Zetsumeshi." Zetsumeshi refers to endangered meals, that may no longer exist in the future. While his wife Kanae and child go attend concerts by their favourite idol groups, he leaves home on Friday after work and returns home Saturday night.

Manabu runs a ranch on a mountain in Shimane prefecture where he grew up. In his town, there is a dance called 'KAGURA', which is said to be the origin of kabuki. Local teenagers make their debut at the annual festival. The dance is the pride of the local community. His son, Tatsuya, is supposed to make his debut at the festival this year, but he is skipping Kagura practice. Manabu worries that his son will leave the region like many young people do. Meantime, the town decides to close the elementary school that he graduated from because of the decreasing number of children. Population decline due to the outflow of young people to cities is one of the major problems in the region. As a result, not only Kagura, but also the transmission of many traditions and crafts unique to the region, is in a critical state. A story of people who, in the midst of a region where the population drain cannot be stopped, earnestly try to live while preserving the tradition, pure as a clear stream.

Putting down unwanted animals is a daily job for Makita Hiroshi and his fellow doctors, Hataeda Aki and Shiga Satoshi. All three do what’s requested of them, suffering from pangs of conscience. The situation will change with the arrival of a new shelter head, who is bringing her own vision of how the animals should be treated.

Episodes: 1

Sawatari Ichiko was supposed to be a high-powered career woman working for the planning department of IT company, Madarame Corporation. But one day, she is suddenly ordered by her company president, Madarame Haruhiko, to go over to Hinode Pro, an entertainment production company that Madarame Corporation has entered into a venture with. This gives Ichiko, an impulsive, arrogant woman who is good at her job, but does not understand people’s feelings, a shock. When she visits Hinode Pro, she discovers that it is a small entertainment production company run by a man called Namiki Masao. Ichiko is alarmed by the dispirited, struggling one-hit singer and third-rate talents. She goes back to Madarame Corporation to protest against her secondment, and offers to quit after Madarame discloses that this is a demotion. However, Ichiko takes the first step toward becoming an artiste manager, which was something she had never expected, on condition that she be reinstated to a core department at Madarame Corporation if she succeeds in turning a declining Hinode Pro around. Believing that she has to find a newcomer in order to rebuild Hinode Pro, she scouts the handsome but rude Sakisaka Ryo who works as a traffic warden at a construction site. Ichiko makes every effort to groom him to be a star. At the first audition, she is disappointed by Ryo who shows no enthusiasm. However, she gives him a taste of being an extra at the Namiki’s suggestion. Ryo becomes conscious of the joy of acting and wins his first role with a line in a drama starring the great actress, Nakazato Reiko. Although Ryo is hostile to Ichiko, he soon rises to become a star and Ichiko learns for the first time the joy of making people feel happy. The two of them keep having conflicts, but are aware that each person is an indispensable partner to the other. Ichiko and Ryo overcome all sorts of trials and set their sights to be the best in the entertainment world. They gradually become “comrades in arms” and start to be drawn to each other.