Asian Drama

Takano Tsumeko carries herself confidently and speaks with a calm voice. Even though she appears very competent, which helped her pass her job interview at her current company with ease, she is shockingly incompetent. She doesn't know how to turn on a computer or use a copier machine. When it comes to negotiating with clients, her aura of competence allows her to gain their trust and close contracts one after the other. Meanwhile, Hiwada Michito is a rookie employee who joined the company at the same time as Takano Tsumeko. Unlike Takano Tsumeko, Hiwada Michito is actually good at his job but he appears to be incompetent. He is forced to team up with Takano Tsumeko.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the manga series "Muno no Taka" (無能の鷹) by Hanzaki Asami (はんざき朝未).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 60 min.

Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

Airs On: Friday

Takano Tsumeko carries herself confidently and speaks with a calm voice. Even though she appears very competent, which helped her pass her job interview at her current company with ease, she is shockingly incompetent. She doesn't know how to turn on a computer or use a copier machine. When it comes to negotiating with clients, her aura of competence allows her to gain their trust and close contracts one after the other. Meanwhile, Hiwada Michito is a rookie employee who joined the company at the same time as Takano Tsumeko. Unlike Takano Tsumeko, Hiwada Michito is actually good at his job but he appears to be incompetent. He is forced to team up with Takano Tsumeko.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Adapted from the manga series "Muno no Taka" (無能の鷹) by Hanzaki Asami (はんざき朝未).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 60 min.

Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

Airs On: Friday

Kamizuru Ryoko, a brilliant female detective who is a master in disguises, teams up with Takayama Nobuhiko, a young man who has an IQ of 140 but is uncomfortable in the presence of women. She fulfils all manner of requests except for murder and assault cases, but her request fee is a high price at 2 million yen.

Kiyama joins the agency after a chance encounter, and though he appears perfect at first glance, he has an extreme area of weakness when talking to women. He is drawn in by the absurdly unpredictable methods of the Detective Agency and utilizes his brilliant mind to support Kamizuru, who is willing to use any means at her disposal, and the combination of the two leads them to solve cases in the most lively way.

Adapted from the novel "Goritekini Arienai: Tantei Kamizuru Ryoko no Kaimei" (合理的にあり得ない ～探偵・上水流涼子の解明～) by Yuzuki Yuko (柚月裕子).

Mihoshi Taiyo is the CEO of investment company Sunshine Fund and self-proclaimed human investor. He holds the belief that "Assets are people. No investor will dispose of their assets." Mihoshi Taiyo approaches people who are having difficulties in their personal lives or business career. He talks to them and proposes doing a start-up together, allowing them to dream again.

Adapted from the manga series "Stand up Start" (スタンドUPスタート) by Fukuda Shu (福田秀).

Mihoshi Taiyo is the CEO of investment company Sunshine Fund and self-proclaimed human investor. He holds the belief that "Assets are people. No investor will dispose of their assets." Mihoshi Taiyo approaches people who are having difficulties in their personal lives or business career. He talks to them and proposes doing a start-up together, allowing them to dream again.

Adapted from the manga series "Stand up Start" (スタンドUPスタート) by Fukuda Shu (福田秀).

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

Shinmachi Ryotaro is a 37-year-old professional soccer player. He devoted his life to the sport and he was a member of the national soccer team. After an injury, his play has been in decline. This led to him playing for the J3 League. Now, he is forced to retire as a soccer player. All he knows is soccer, but, at the age of 37, he must find a regular job like other people and work like them. His daughters are extremely proud of him because he plays soccer, so he isn't able to tell them about his retirement. Shinmachi Ryotaro then finds sports management company Victory. He decides to work there and work hard for the company, but, in his mind, he still has a hard time accepting his playing career is over. He faces a big problem at work.

The story facilities on the medical professionals within the radiology division of a hospital.

Adapted from the manga series "Radiation House" (ラジエーションハウス) written by Yokomaku Tomohiro (横幕智裕) and illustrated by Mori Taishi (モリタイシ).

Nakagoshi Maho works as a wedding planner. She is in charge of the wedding for Isikawa Akihito and Nitta Haruka. On the day of their wedding, Nakagoshi Maho faces various problems like the appearance of Nitta Haruka's ex-boyfriend Yashiro Yuya at the wedding. Can Nakagoshi Maho, who never says no to her clients as a wedding planner, solve all the problems that come her way and have Akihito and Haruka enjoy the best wedding possible?

Hiroto Miyama works with rookie lawyer Honoka Kono on a team that specializes with criminal cases for Madarame Law Firm. Atsuhiro Sada has become the director of the law firm. One day, the law firm receives a request about a case that took place 15 years ago. The case was about a poisonous wine incident.

A murder case happened in Chiba closely resembles the serial murders of seven years ago. However, the murderer has already committed suicide in prison. Is he falsely accused? Is it a copycat? The detective uncovers the shocking truth.

Taeko Sugimoto moves in with her daughter Natsuki and granddaughter Mizuki. They begin a lively life together. In the midst of it all, Taeko sees her former self in Mizuki. The bitter taste of the first pineapple she ever ate, the disastrous score on a math test, the awakening of her acting spirit at a school performance. As Taeko recalls her elementary school days, she unleashes a dream that she had long given up on and sealed away. I'm going to be on stage! Taeko immediately auditions and devotes herself to rehearsing for a Shakespeare play. But just then, the theater where she was planning to perform goes bankrupt. But just then, the theater where she was going to perform goes bankrupt, and she is forced to give up on her dream again!

Adapted from the manga series "Only Yesterday" by Okamoto Hotaru.

Michinari Shiga works as a deputy editor for weekly magazine Shukan Jiryu. The magazine has seen a rise in its sales by breaking numerous scandals. Michinari Shiga lives his life faithfully as a journalist, but his life suddenly changes. His son, who attends a university, kills someone he has stalked and then kills himself. Instead of chasing after scandals, Michinari Shiga now finds himself the target of other journalists. He is also demoted to another magazine and his relationship with his wife deteriorates. He falls into a desperate situation, but he approaches the truth behind his son's case.

Adapted from a novel of the same name by Shichiri Nakayama.

One day, a popular YouTuber called Taiga visits ex-prosecutor Iwai after being attacked on the subway station following a death threat. Iwai, who was asked to identify the person behind death threat, discovered that Taiga is the son of a politician who he had been previously investigated for corruption. Who is targeting Taiga? Is it true that once your information is posted online, you are branded with digital tattoo and you can never start over? Iwai, an analog person, wants to change that for his clients.

To solve the country's low birthrate problem, the Japanese government set up Otona Koukou (Adult High School). Adults over 30 and have no sexual experience are forcibly enrolled into Otona Koukou by the government.

Eito Arakawa (Haruma Miura) is a 30-year-old single man. He graduated from a prestigious university and works at a bank. He has received recognition for his work there. He is also physically attractive, but he has never had sex.

One day, he receives an entrance guide to Otona Koukou.

With next year's university entrance exams looming, high school senior Yoshiyama Mihane is beginning to feel the blues. She recently joined the school's photography club. As she walks by the science lab one day after school, she smells the aroma of lavender. From that moment on, she acquires the ability to leap freely through time and the days ahead are marked with bizarre occurrences...

Fukamachi is Mihane's classmate and childhood friend. Or at least that's what everyone thinks. The truth is, Fukamachi came from the future, where he is a brilliant researcher who develops a drug that enables time leaps. He uses the drug to visit the year 2016 but loses it and is unable to return for the time being.

Her romantic feelings for a boy that came from the future lasts but a few days, and those memories are now beginning to fade.

At the Playboys Private Detective Agency, all the members are men older than 55. The director of the private detective agency is an ex-detective. The members of the agency have varied backgrounds like a former taxi driver, physician and ex-Olympic athlete. Koichiro Iwase (Katsumi Takahashi) worked in the sales department of a consumer electronics company, but he now works as a private detective. He tries to solve clients' request, while sometimes cooperating and sometimes opposing the other members of the Playboys Private Detective Agency.

11-year-old Yusuke and his classmates camp in the woods and see a strange light. They discover a small metallic object like a robot which talks, calls himself Tetra and knows Yusuke's name. Tetra can create wonderful gadgets but actually has...

In this unusual story, Matsuda plays a child welfare official working at a child consultation center, while Takahashi Katsumi (50) plays a charitable yakuza boss. These two lead completely different lives, but one day, their souls are suddenly switched. As a result, Matsuda begins dispensing odd advice about the “rules of society” and other things. While his colleagues naturally see this as a problem, the children gradually come to rely on him.

Yanagida Kiriko (Horikita Maki) works at a food processing factory in Kita Kyushu as she lives a modest life with her intellectually disabled younger brother, Masao (Furuhata Niino). When work at the factory ends, she declines invitations from her colleagues, and waits for half-price at the supermarket so that she can buy Masao’s favourite squid rings. Then she heads straight home where her brother is waiting. Masao stuffs squid rings into his mouth with child-like delight as Kiriko fondly gazes at his smile. The next day, Masao is overjoyed to get his salary. On the way home, Kikue who is seeing off a young man from a house nearby, spots Masao counting the notes inside an envelope. She has an uncomfortable smile on her face when she jams 10,000 yen into his pay packet and asks if he can keep quiet about this. His hand is taken by Kikue and placed on her chest. A shaken Masao is left speechless. Hearing that he had accepted 10,000 yen from Kikue, Kiriko admonishes him. He is not supposed to take money from other people for no reason. Kiriko is about to go and return it, but Masao says he will go alone tomorrow. The next day, Masao visits Kikue’s home. His heart unexpectedly races as he recalls her behaviour yesterday. However, Kikue has been murdered by someone and Masao is detained as a suspect. Getting word of this, Kiriko desperately asserts, “My brother is different from an ordinary person!” But the police officers do not listen to her. On the other hand, Masao trembles in the interrogation and is not able to give an answer. If this goes on, he could end up becoming the murderer. A fretful Kiriko is reminded of the activities of the famous lawyer Otsuka Kinzo (Shiina Kippei) whom she had seen in the news and goes to Tokyo on her own. She pounds on the door of Otsuka’s law firm. Otsuka, who has been extremely busy, is exhausted. He has cleared a big court case and is going on a holiday with his lover, Kouno Michiko (Kimura Yoshino). That is when Kiriko comes to visit. “Can you help my brother? Please!” Otsuka seems moved by Kiriko’s emotional appeal, but Michiko has already come to get him. When he snubs Kiriko, telling her that his fees will go up in price even for cases in faraway places. She concludes, “I see, so you won’t help the poor” and leaves. Bile rises up in Otsuka … … Returning home Kiriko scrambles about for Masao’s sake, but he is sentenced to life in prison at the trial. Even so, Kiriko tries to save him. However, her brother dies of heat stroke while in prison. The abysmal conditions of the cell resulted in his death. Kiriko does not even shed tears in front of Masao’s dead body. She feels an emotion seething within her and vows revenge on Otsuka.

In a modern society in which violent crimes are on the rise, there is a team that tries to resolve cases without bloodshed. It is the metropolitan police's special team, known by the abbreviation SIT (Special Investigation Team). The SIT doesn't get into action after a case but heads to the site just as a crime is being committed. They are on the front-line of risky missions, facing off against criminals; tenaciously conducting negotiations with criminals. As a result of the rigid police hierarchy that can curb the conduct of negotiators, the SIT is also a male-dominated society controlled with strict discipline. There is one female negotiator, Usagi Reiko, who bravely fights at the frontline. She is isolated in the male world of the SIT but courageously fights against crime as well as her organisation.

Akiho Takeda (Eikura Nana) is assigned to #3 investigation team for The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. On her first day at work, a burglary takes place at a jewelry store in Shibuya. The case though is taken by the #1 investigation team which Akiho hoped to join. Nevertheless, Akiho goes secretly to the jewelry store where the theft took place. There she sees a man with piercing eyes among the onlookers. That man is veteran detective Shuichi Hagio (Takahashi Katsumi), who also works for the #3 investigation team. They become partners and work together. Later, a safe at a jewelry store in Roppongi is broken into. The safe breaking case is assigned to the #3 investigation team. Shuichi and Akiho go to the jewelry store in Roppongi. They learn that the safe was protected by a secret code and a high tech fingerprint authentication system. Stolen from the safe is the diamond called "Besu". The "Besu" is one of three diamonds that makes up the "Kuraida Family's Three Sisters". The other two diamonds are "Ani" and "Kyasari". The diamond "Ani" was stolen from the jewelry store in Shibuya, that occurred a few days earlier. Several people believe the two diamond thefts were done by the same person(s), but Akiho mentions the techniques used by thieves are different. Yet, Akiho believes there must be a connection between the two cases. --Asianwiki

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.

Ryoro Kurojima (Sadao Abe) is the director of a Tokyo apology center. His job is to teach others how to apologize. Ryoro Kurojima solves problems by using his apology techniques on anything from simple arbitration to a national crisis. 

Domoto Tsuyoshi plays the lead character Tenma who has inherited the power to get into contact with spirits but is afraid of his ability to do that. Out of no choice, he has to take on the position of the president of an exorcism company. Kawaguchi Haruna and Minagawa Sarutoki will be Tenma's assistants in his "ghost-busting" missions. Serina will play an elder woman in the neighbourhood who chases Tenma around while Sato Jiro plays Tenma's late father who communicates with Tenma through his dreams.

Biblia Second-hand Bookstore has been quietly open for business in some corner of Kamakura. Its owner is Shinokawa Shioriko, a young, pretty but introverted girl who is extremely shy around strangers and cannot interact well with people she meets for the first time. However, when it comes to knowledge of old books, no one can to compare to her. Talking about books makes Shioriko forget her shyness. In fact, she becomes eloquent and passionate. She unravels the mysteries and secrets associated with many old books with her vast knowledge and keen eye.

Adapted from the novel series "The Biblia Antiquarian Bookstore Case Files" (ビブリア古書堂の事件手帖) by Mikami En (三上延).

Fujiwara stars as a man who was in an accident on a snowy mountain 46 years ago. His frozen body is discovered in the present day, and despite being actually 71 years old, he has the appearance and personality of a 25-year-old. He also learns that at his old home in Oshiage, Tokyo, his son is now 52 years old and is raising two children of his own – a 25-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter.

Episodes: 8

Duration: 22 min.

Ratings: 7.2

Aired On: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Hula Girl is a true story set in the 60s. Stricken by the recession due to the adoption of oil as a primary energy resource, the charcoal mine of Joban, in Iwaki city, decides to relay on tourism and to use the hot springs on its territory to create the 'Joban Hawaian Center', spa resort and theme park of Hawaian inspiration. To fulfill this project, the mine direction creates a hula dance troop, facing the incredulity and even the opposition of the majority of the population.

Hula Girl tells the struggle of those young women who chose to enter the dance troop.

Tetsu Susumu, an introspective, somewhat rebellious teen who lives with his family on a Hokkaido animal ranch. Owned and operated by his feisty mother Saori and his bumbling stepfather, the ranch is essentially an animal talent agency, since the family rents out their animals to television stations and movie studios to put food on the table. Unfortunately, Tetsu's unconventional home life makes him the target of constant harassment by his classmates, who claim he stinks of animals. Clearly, Tetsu's days at school aren't exactly the best days of his life.

But as the family business starts to take a turn for the worse, Saori decides to take a risk to improve the situation, selling a few of her barnyard creatures in order to buy an animal she's wanted for years - an elephant! Tetsu quickly bonds with Mickey the elephant, essentially becoming an "Elephant Whisperer" with a knack for communicating with the giant beasts. Soon, a second elephant is added to the mix, but Little Randy proves to be more than the family bargained for, as Tetsu himself finds him difficult to train. A solution presents itself when Tetsu learns of a special school in Thailand for "Mahouts" (elephant trainers). After some initial resistance from Saori, she eventually gives in to her son's demands, allowing Tetsu to make the journey to Chang Mai.

In this challenging new phase in his life, Tetsu must learn Thai, win over his skeptical fellow students, and tame a wild little elephant named Farr to prove his mettle. After completing his stay in Thailand, Tetsu returns to Japan with the dream of one day establishing a sanctuary for elephants. Along the way, he develops a romance with a local girl named Emi and tries to mend the already strained relationship he has with his mother and stepfather.

Yumi (Takeuchi Yuko) is a 23-year-old office worker. Out of the blue, she is fired from her job. A few days later, wearing kimono, she is rushing to an interview for some part-time work at a publishing company. She was at a friend's wedding that went on a bit longer than expected and she has no time to change from her kimono.

In another room at the publisher, popular comic book writer Reijiro Sakurai (Abe Hiroshi) is having an editorial meeting with some staff. He is planning to lock himself away at a hot spring for the next three months to concentrate on his next project. Yumi stumbles into the room, looking for somewhere to change out of her kimono. Sakurai comments that if Yumi were to join him he wouldn't mind being away for so long...

Three apparently unrelated suicides occur on the same day in Tokyo. One involves a young athlete, one a groom at his wedding reception, and the third an elderly man celebrating his wife's birthday. A middle aged detective investigating one of the cases begins to suspect a connection between the three when he discovers that each person mentioned a "green monkey" before they died. With the help of a young psychiatrist he formulates the theory that hypnosis is somehow involved. In the mean time other bizarre "suicides" are reported and the mystery intensifies. Who will be next? What is the truth? Can more deaths be prevented? Written by Infofreak.

The drama tells the story of a hostess turning 30 years old.

After graduating from college, Yuuji lands the job of his dreams at the company that manufactures his favorite running shoes. The complete sincerity and selflessness that Yuuji shows everyone he meets causes many to dismiss him as naive or simply stupid. But when his good deeds start paying off, his co-workers begin to come around to the idea that nice guys don't have to finish last.Theme song: Serori (Celery) by SMAP, adapted from manga "Ii Hito " by TAKAHASHI Shin.

The story is set in the devastated area of Kamata, Tokyo, in 1945 just after the end of the war. Horikita plays Shimomura Umeko, the youngest of three siblings whose father is a doctor at a university hospital. Compared to her outstanding sister Matsuko and brother Takeo, she lacks self-confidence, but an incident makes her determined to become a local doctor. However, her path is fraught with failures. --Tokyograph 

The story is set in the devastated area of Kamata, Tokyo, in 1945 just after the end of the war. Horikita plays Shimomura Umeko, the youngest of three siblings whose father is a doctor at a university hospital. Compared to her outstanding sister Matsuko and brother Takeo, she lacks self-confidence, but an incident makes her determined to become a local doctor. However, her path is fraught with failures. --Tokyograph 

The story is set in the devastated area of Kamata, Tokyo, in 1945 just after the end of the war. Horikita plays Shimomura Umeko, the youngest of three siblings whose father is a doctor at a university hospital. Compared to her outstanding sister Matsuko and brother Takeo, she lacks self-confidence, but an incident makes her determined to become a local doctor. However, her path is fraught with failures. --Tokyograph 

The story is set in the devastated area of Kamata, Tokyo, in 1945 just after the end of the war. Horikita plays Shimomura Umeko, the youngest of three siblings whose father is a doctor at a university hospital. Compared to her outstanding sister Matsuko and brother Takeo, she lacks self-confidence, but an incident makes her determined to become a local doctor. However, her path is fraught with failures. --Tokyograph