Asian Drama

In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush in the wilderness of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it! Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive.

(Source: BakaUpdates)

Adapted from the manga "Golden Kamui" (ゴールデンカムイ) by Noda Satoru (野田サトル).

Duration: 2 hr. 7 min.

Content Rating: 13+ - Teens 13 or older

Sanpuu Minami is a popular shojo manga artist who is believed by many to be a woman. In actuality, though, his real identity is Eichizen Gotaro, a single father with two children. One day, he receives a notification from the court that he has been appointed as a prosecutor's office examiner. With the deadline for his manga approaching, he requests a withdrawal but this is declined due to a lack of special circumstances.

He joins 11 other people randomly selected from ordinary Japanese citizens, who each have unique personalities and give off the impression that they would like to get this over and done with. At first, Gotaro has a negative attitude towards the Prosecution Review Board, but as he gets closer to the thoughts of those behind the case, he starts to appreciate how important this job is.

(Source: Drama-Otaku)

Episodes: 10

Duration: 54 min.

Airs On: Friday

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) submarine sank in a maritime accident near Japan. Japan was shocked by the news that the survival of all 76 crew members, including the captain, Second Lieutenant Shiro Kaieda, was hopeless. However, the crew actually survived. They were selected as crew members for a nuclear submarine built in top secret by Japan and the United States.

(Source: Japanese = silent-service.jp)

Adapted from the manga series "The Silent Service" (沈黙の艦隊) by Kawaguchi Kaiji (川口開治).

Set in China, during the Warring States Period. The powerful neighboring country of Zhao suddenly attacks Qin. Shin, who dreamed of becoming a great general, fights against Zhao.

(Source: Asianwiki)

Adapted from the manga series "Kingdom" (キングダム) by Hara Yasuhisa (原泰久).

Duration: 2 hr. 9 min.

Content Rating: G - All Ages

Satoshi Kubo has been dubbed the "God of Death" since he was a child. Whether relatives or friends, as long as they get close to him, they are bound to suffer a catastrophe that is enough to lose their lives. Over time, in order to protect friends and relatives, Satoshi gradually got used to the life of being alone. By chance, Satoshi rescued a girl named Mizuki Sawai. Satoshi's silence and mystery gradually attracted the strange personality Mizuki, who launched a fierce attack on her. In order to protect Mizuki, Satoshi decided to hide his throbbing feelings. However, Mizuki's bravery and perseverance allowed Satoshi to finally accept this dangerous feeling. He hoped that true love could break the curse on him. The good times didn't last long, Mizuki contracted cancer and eventually died in pain. Satoshi could no longer find a reason to continue living, he decided to end his life.

Based on Kenichi Kawakami's novel. 8-year old boy, Shinpei, who loves fishing and painting, lives with his beautiful mother, surrounded by nature. His mother, Satsuki, has a weak constitution and lost her husband years ago. She takes care of her son lovingly but sometimes strictly, on her own. Shinpei's childhood sweetheart, Sayuri, is deaf, but somehow they can understand each other and they always spend time together. One day, big news comes to their town: Shinpei's picture received the Grand Prize in a Children's Pictures Exhibition in Paris. On the night that Sayuri's father, Takakura, holds a celebration party for Shinpei, Satsuki leaves her son in Takakura's care and goes out of the house. Feeling uneasy, Shimpei goes to look for her but finds his mother dead, lying calmly and peacefully in the beautiful, white snow...Fast forward to the future, Shinpei has been offered a fake job in Tokyo. Sayuri's father arranged everything so that Shinpei would not interfere with Sayuri's marriage.

Hino Miharu, a dull man who has been working part-time at the convenience store Pawson Nerima Kitaguchi for three years, suddenly kidnapped by a man wearing a black Santa suit, saying, "It's a job offer! I'll be counting on you from today". When he wake up, there is a mysterious company in the North Pole, Santa Claus House. Miharu starts working as a black Santa who distributes presents to children around the world with his colleague with a strong personality, but this company has a secret.

Adapted from the manga "Black Night Parade" (ブラックナイトパレード) by Nakamura Hikaru (中村光).

Private Detective Kiyoshi Mitarai and Miyuki Ogawa arrive in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture. They are interested in a case which involves discovered bodies. The bodies were found drifting in the Seto Inland Sea, where the currents repeat every 6 hours.

Hana, the daughter of psychotherapy director Kubo Shiro, suffered a traffic accident with her mother and sister, leaving her legs badly hurt, her mother in a vegetative state, and her sister suffering from a severe burn on her face. Yotsui Jun, a high school student, appears in front of Hana, he is investigating the cause of her mother's loss of mind. Hana gradually communicates with Jun, but one day Shiro suddenly returns home with her mother who has awakened from her vegetative state after 5 years. Shiro rejoices at the family reunion after a long time, saying, "A miracle has happened," but Hana feels uncomfortable. "She's not my mom."

Narusawa Haruto is the president of a gaming company while his wife Michiru is a SNS influencer. When their daughter is kidnapped, the couple use their own ways to save her without depending on the police.

“Try stopping my murders with words.” This is the line in a letter delivered to Ippongi Toru, a roving reporter for Taiyo Shimbun’s local news desk, and the random serial murders which have shaken the Tokyo metropolitan area are described in detail. The criminal designates Ippongi and demands a public debate in the newspapers. Using a journalist’s power of words, Ippongi goes head to head with the criminal who warns of another murder. The unprecedented dialogue between the serial killer and newspaper reporter eventually rocks society.

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.

An original spinoff of the Gokushufudo drama, where Tatsu teaches a home economics class.

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.

Immortal Tatsu the legendary yakuza who single-handedly defeated a rival gang with a lead pipe, is a name known to strike fear in both hardened police officers and vicious criminals. Soon after his sudden disappearance, he resurfaces with a slight change in profession. Now equipped with an apron, Tatsu has given up violence and is trying to make an honest living as a house husband. While adapting to mundane household tasks, Tatsu finds that being a house husband has its own challenges, from the battlefield known as supermarket sales to failures in the kitchen. Despite living peacefully, misunderstandings seem to follow him left and right. Gokushufudou follows the daily life of the comically serious ex-yakuza as he leaves behind his dangerous previous life to become a stay-at-home husband. ~~ Adapted from the webcomic series "Gokushufudo" by Kousuke Oono.

Not long after twin brothers Ryuichi and Ryuji were born, they were abandoned by their own parents. They were then adopted by the Yoshie couple, who ran a small shipping company. Sometime later, the Yoshies gave birth to their daughter Misa. Ryuichi and Ryuji enjoyed pleasant days with their adopted parents and younger sister Misa. When Ryuichi and Ryuji were 15-years-old, their parents experienced extremely dark days because of Genpei Kirishima, who ran a competing shipping company.

Genpei Kirishima tried to expand his business nationwide at this time and he tried to deprive business of the company owned by the Yoshies. Due to Genpei Kirishima, the Yoshies fell into heavy debt and eventually killed themselves. Ryuichi and Ryuji vowed to get revenge on Genpei Kirishima.

7 years later, Ryuichi has become a new person through plastic surgery and using someone else's identity. He takes part in the criminal world. Meanwhile, Ryuji works for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, to supervise shipping companies.

Adapted from the novel Ryu no Michi by Shirakawa Toru.

Story takes place over a 24 hour period.

In the southernmost part of Japan, 20 fishing boats of an unknown nationality suddenly fire upon and occupy parts of the Hateruma archipelago. Members of the Japan Coast Guard are detained. Under the extremely tense situation, the Japanese government sends Aircraft Carrier Ibuki and an escort fleet to the area. Ryota Akitsu (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is the captain of the Aircraft Carrier Ibuki and Toshiya Niinami (Kuranosuke Sasaki) is second-in-command. It is now 6:23 am. and Japan faces one day which they never have before.

Newspaper journalist Akiba Shunsuke is transferred to the cultural desk and put in charge of shogi. He meets Sanada Nobushige, a 33-year-old aiming to be a professional shogi player by achieving the rank of 4-dan or more. Sanada is over the age limit as he could not achieve 4-dan by the age of 26, and is now trying to take an exam for admission to 3-dan. Akiba supports Sanada's attempt to become a professional shogi player and becomes interested in the game...

Shirato Takamasa is a detective at the Investigation Cooperation Section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. His job is to catch wanted criminals by only relying on their faces. One day, he sees Sunami's face who was a senior detective, but had a mysterious death 4 years ago.

An environmental analyst is asked by the police to determine if two deaths by hydrogen sulfide poisoning are an accident - or a murder. But when he meets a young woman at both sites, a scientific mystery begins.

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.

Shortly after the end of World War II, Noriko Oba starts a small dressmaking class in the Kansai region. She opens a school for dressmaking and their ornaments. Noriko gains recognition in the fashion world, but, at the same time, she is not welcome there due to jealousy and vanity.

~~ Based on a novel by Toyoko Yamasaki (1961).

Toyama Kinshiro is a 30-year-old newly-appointed police chief at Kitamachi Police Station who firmly believes his mission as a policeman is to listen to every voice of innocent citizens and protect the peace in the community. He comes off as aloof and a bit quirky at first, but in fact he has brilliant investigative instincts and spots clues that no one else can detect. Unlike his elite career bureaucrat colleagues, Kinshiro doesn't dress or act like a stereotypical Chief Police. Rather than sitting behind a desk, Kinshiro leaves the office and literally goes around town to do the investigation work, and go the extra mile to solve any crime regardless how small or trivial. However, his unorthodox approach generates a lot of antagonism from his subordinates at Kitamachi Police Station.

A pet groomer at a salon in Shirogane, Nogami Meiko has a lot of celebrity dog-lovers as customers. She cheerfully serves customers with care, and her skills are tried and tested. The salon's owner, Kotomi, has a strong faith in her, and she is admired by her colleagues. Meiko leads a quiet and fulfilling life… however, there is another side to her. She has a plan for revenge that she must accomplish. In truth, when she was 19, she was imprisoned for murder but there was also another side to this case. And just as she's about to execute her plan, she meets a man named Mashima Takuro. She acts mysteriously around him and for some reason, he makes her feel better. Is he the only miscalculation to her? Or a reckoning?

The genius Mitarai Kiyoshi (Tamaki Hiroshi) is a neuroscientist and famous sleuth. The author, Ishioka Kazuki (Domoto Koichi), is his good friend. One day, Ishioka starts to tell him about a mystery which he had heard on the radio. It is something that a listener had witnessed one day. A long-haired woman wearing a white dress was walking in the pouring rain with a closed umbrella. She held a small plastic bag in her hand and stood at a traffic intersection. However, the woman showed no sign of crossing the sidewalk even when the traffic light turned green. Just as the traffic light was about to change, she placed the folded umbrella on the road and hid in the shadows of a wall. Cars stayed clear, so she put it in the middle of the road. When a car finally ran over the umbrella, the woman picked up the bent umbrella and left in the rain. Ishioka is pleased to be able to share a story with an air of mystery that Mitarai seems to like. However, Mitarai figures out the woman’s mysterious behaviour in an instant and says with absolute certainty that a very bloody murder should have taken place near the place where this woman had walked. Despite the late hour, he contacts the police about the supposed murder in order to prove his own hypothesis. Then the next morning, the police receives a call from the first person to discover the dead body, just like Mitarai had hypothesised. Mitarai and Ishioka conduct an investigation of the crime scene together with the police. Like Mitarai’s hypothesis, the body of an old man who was stabbed to death, lies inside the apartment that is the crime scene. However, there is more. The dead body of a woman in a white dress, whom Mitarai regards as the murderer, is also in another room of the apartment … …

Locked away deep in his home and hiding a secret that keeps him there, Detective Kozaburo Himuro remains ever vigilant in his duties of police work. But how does the wunderkind detective investigate crime scenes without ever stepping out of his home? Enter traffic cop Kurumi Ayaki. She's a young lady who's about to marry and resign from the force when tasked with being Himuro's eyes and ears on the beat. While on the scene of the crime their only means of communication is via mobile phone. Together they investigate a series of mind-boggling murder mysteries that put them, particularly Kurumi, in constant danger. Can Kurumi keep up with Detective Himuro, and the fast-paced and dangerous work of criminal investigation?

Smart, good-looking guy with an appealing personality, Haruno Yoichi thought himself as "perfect husband." However, ever since he and his wife had their first baby, he feels that his wife gives him less and less attention, but he can't figure out why or how to solve the problem. Soon the status of his existence at home has fallen to the level of good-for-nothing, "disappointing husband." His wife Chisato was polite, good-natured and always cheerful – a type of woman that anyone would view as "ideal Japanese wife." Then everything changed after the baby arrived. Now she easily gets irritated by Yoichi’s words and actions and often goes hysterical. Yoichi thinks Chisato somehow has turned into a "monster wife," so to speak. As Yoichi and Chisato face the "Postpartum Crisis" putting their marriage in jeopardy, how will they overcome their conflicts and save their relationship? Will they be able to grow together as husband and wife, as well as father and mother?

Haruka Tsubaki hops on a plane from New York to Tokyo. She will be filling in the newscaster position on a news program that will begin airing on CNB Television. Haruka used to work as an anchor and was called "the legendary anchor" until she was involved in an incident that forced her to lose her position there. She flew to America alone to pursue her career as a journalist. It is Katsutoshi Shibata, the Senior Executive Director of the News Department that brushed aside strong oppositions and invited Haruna back. He tells her, "Do whatever you like. I'll take the responsibility." At the headquarters of CNB, producer Shokichi Ichiba, director Kensuke Kanihara, announcer Mei Nohara, and the other crew are standing by for a meeting with Haruka. With great fear, they await the arrival of the legendary anchor. But when the door opens, only Katsutoshi is standing. He says Haruka headed to check out the news studio as soon as she arrived at CNB. The crew try to extend their greetings to her, but she pays no attention. Instead, she dismisses the programming strategy she was given, and insists, "Go for scoops." What's more surprising is that Haruka appoints Nozomi Asuka — who was scheduled to deliver weather forecasts — as her assistant. She tells Asuka that it's the assistant's job to work alongside her for 24 hours and wake her up every morning. "Why do I have to spend my private time with her...?" Full of doubts, Nozomi heads to Haruka's apartment with her luggage. What awaits her?

Megumi Noda, or "Nodame" is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend’s lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies. Shinichi Chiaki, is Momogaoka’s top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy, he feels mired in Japan because of a childhood phobia. They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame’s unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Because of Nodame, Chiaki got the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible.

Haruki Kenji is the manager of the Winter Sports section of a large sporting goods company. On a ski trip in New Zealand with his friend Shintani Goro (who is also his boss) and Shintani's new secretary, Aoi Yuki. Upon returning to Japan he finds that he has a new neighbor in the apartment next to his. It is Aoi. While watching the movers he sees a photograph drop from new girl's luggage. Looking at the photo he sees it is a picture of a group from a female bicycle gang and upon looking closer he sees it is a picture of Aoi. Haruki finds her putting on a façade and fooling everyone at work with her nice girl persona. But at home she is anything but nice, dating lots of men and using them to get what she wants. This continues until one day Aoi comes home drunk and without her keys. Kenji lets her into her room via the door connecting their apartments. Aoi accidentally drops a video tape into Haruki's apartment. When he discovers the tape he watches it. On it Aoi has recorded a message to herself. Seeing this serious message, Haruki begins to view Aoi in a completely different light.

According to a national census, the number of unmarried women between the age of 30 to 40 has been increasing and is now at the highest. Compared to 10 years ago, the rate of unmarried women have increased by 6.7% and 8.5% for woman in their early 30’s and late 30’s, respectively. Why are they not getting married? The women appearing in this drama are unmarried for various reasons including, they have high expectations, are not able to be themselves in front of men, become attracted to losers, think being single is much more easier, or they think men are unreliable. They’re almost about to lose all hope, however, it’s not that they don’t want to get married, it’s just... things just don’t work out, they don’t know if they’re getting married for themselves or to please others, or they question whether there really is a reason to get married. This drama will realistically portray the trials and tribulations of love, friendship, and work of these women. ~ Fuji TV

Aoishi Hanae is a plain, inconspicuous office lady who has had no experience in love and no boyfriend. On her 30th birthday, she happens to end up drinking with Tanokura Yuto, a cool university student nine years her junior who is also a part-timer at her company, on the way home from a welcome party for new employees. Hanae gets drunk. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds a naked Yuto sleeping next to her. She has her first experience and first boyfriend out of the blue. Even when Hanae and Yuto go on to date, it is a daily process of trial and error because everything is a first for Hanae, including an amusement park date, a sleepover, Christmas Eve or a couple’s trip. To complicate matters, she also gets a proposal from Asao Yu, the CEO of an Italian food company who is popular with women, and a love triangle develops.

Based on the best-selling serial novels by Higashigawa Tokuya, the drama is about private investigator Ukai Morio, a man who talks much. The story starts with Morio and policeman Tomura Ryuhei at a gorgeous mansion with three gentlemen and two ladies, and a murder to solve.

'Subete wa Kimi ni Aeta Kara' follows various different people and couples in 6 loosely connected stories. All of the stories are set at Tokyo Station and take place just before Christmas. The different characters range from a company president who distrusts human beings, to a train driver who just received the shocking diagnosis that he has only half a year left to live. # "Eve no Koibito" ('Christmas Eve Lover') - A company president (Tamaki) meets a woman (Takanashi), who just lost a beloved person, in a restaurant at Tokyo Station. He thinks that all women only like his money and enjoys being alone. She originally moved to Tokyo to become an actress, but now she is planning to go back to her hometown right after her short play at an orphanage. # "Enkyori Renai" ('Long Distance Relationship') - A love-dovey couple that is going through a long distance relationship. She (Kimura) is an aspiring fashion designer in Tokyo and he (Higashide) is a construction worker in Sendai. Will their hectic schedules allow them to at least meet each other on Christmas? # "Christmas Present" - Ichikawa plays a woman who works in an orphanage. That day she is waiting for the new mother of the 7-year-old Akane to come and pick her up. # "Nibun no Ichi Seijin Shiki" ('A Half Coming-Of-Age Ceremony') - A train driver (Tokito) who cannot bring himself to tell his son that he only has half a year left to live. The train driver's wife is played by Otsuka. # "Christmas no Yuuki" ('Christmas Courage') - A part-timer (Honda) at a cake shop has a crush on her senior at work, but she lacks the courage to approach him. # "Okurete Kita Present" ('Belated Present') - The owner of the cake shop at Tokyo Station (Baisho) gets reminded of a promise that she made with a certain someone (Kobayashi) 49 years ago.

During the late Heian era, a youth who did not know his birth parents was raised by the Heike (also known as the Taira), a samurai clan of emerging influence. Taira no Kiyomori (Matsuyama Kenichi) was in truth the illegitimate son of Emperor Shirakawa. With his adoptive father, Tadamori (Nakai Kiichi), he got rid of the pirates in the Seto Insland Sea, and was trained to be a samurai. In a period where the samurai were being discriminated by the aristocrats of the upper echelons of society, Kiyomori, who was adept at winning hearts and minds, controlled the pirates. He worked to reform the aristocracy, persisted with the way of life of the samurai and built up the mighty Taira clan (Nakamura Baijaku, Kamikawa Takaya, Fujimoto Takahiro, Daito Shunsuke). Before long, he rose from a senior courtier of the third rank to become the chief minister and the ruler of Japan.

In the late 1930's (Show Period 14), two sides in Japan are conflicted between joining Germany and Italy in a military alliance. At this time, Isoroku Yamamoto, who strongly opposed the alliance, is appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet. The following year, on September 27, Japan, Germany and Italy form the Axis alliance.

Isoroku Yamamoto leads the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The attack's main purpose is to gain an early peace settlement. The surprise military strike appeared successful and caused massive damage, but US aircraft carriers were not damaged in the assault. After the attack, the Axis alliance initially saw advances without any defeats.

By April 18, 1942 (Show Period 17), formations of U.S. B-25B bombers, flown from an U.S. aircraft carrier, attacked the Japanese mainland for the first time. The Japanese military responded by carrying out their Midway operation, but the mission failed, and the Japanese military lost 4 aircraft carriers.

The U.S. army were encouraged by their victory at Midway and proceeded to carry out a landing operation on Guadalcanal. The Japanese and U.S. military fought fiercely. Besides the toll from fighting the U.S. military, the Japanese military suffered from starvation, dehydration and diseases while on Guadalcanal. The Japanese military were nearing collapse on Guadalcanal before Isoroku Yamamoto gave the order to withdraw to save more lives.

After the completion of the withdrawal from Guadalcanal, Isoroku Yamamoto flew on an airplane to make moral boosting visits to soldiers on the front line. His plane would be intercepted by the U.S. military.

In the year 1716 a mysterious epidemic stickens men in the country of Japan, dropping the population of men to 1/4th of its prior state. With the drastic reduction of men, the gender roles have become reversed in Japan. Woman become the dominant members of society and males are sought out for the ability to produce childre

The story alternates between the past and present, linked by a fateful song. During World War II, Japanese submarine I-77 battles an American destroyer off the coast of Okinawa. Before heading to war, the captain received a final present from his lover, the score to a song titled Manatsu no Orion. Sixty-four years later, his granddaughter discovers the score and the significance behind the song.

Usami Kei is a salaryman who has risen in status due to his engagement with Mei, the wealthy daughter of his company's president. Shortly after she breaks off the engagement, a power failure leaves him stuck in the elevator of his apartment building. Trapped with him are three others living on the same floor - Airu, a trilingual interpreter, Ojiro, a model photographer, and Masato, a psychiatrist. While waiting, their conversation hits upon their love lives and the question of whether there is truly only one fated partner for everyone. As a result, they decide to try "shuffling" their relationships with each other.

Asato is a sensitive young man with the ability to transfer other people's wounds to his own body. His strange healing powers lead to friendship with the troubled Takeo.

Forced out of his research group after conflicts with his colleagues, Ogawa Takanobu takes up an offer to teach at a girls' high school in Nara. When taking roll call on the first day one of his students, Hotta Ito, sneaks into class late, claiming a bogus excuse - that she got a ticket after trying to park her deer in front of the train station. He makes immediate enemies with Hotta when he tells his superiors about her tardiness and attitude. In the following days, he begins to notice something unusual about Hotta, but he can't seem to put his finger on it.

With an odd group of colleagues who live together with him, Ogawa slowly accustoms to life in slow-paced Nara, where there seem to be as many deer as people. Walking through Nara Park one day, he begins to befriend the local deer population, feeding them rice wafers. After being confronted by a talking deer who commandeers him to prevent the destruction of Japan, he fails in his first mission and the talking deer exacts punishment--looking into the mirror the next day, he discovers he has turned into a deer from the shoulders up. Ogawa slowly begins to piece the puzzle together: the talking deer, the mysterious student, and a recent series of earthquakes that could spell doom for Japan...

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.

Sabu and Eiji were best friends since they were small. They served as poor trainees in a traditional umbrella store. When they grew up, it was time for them to turn on a new leaf and live on their own. Unforturnately, Eiji was falsely accused as a thief. He was then isolated in a deserted island and forced to work as a coolie. Eiji was very angry and upset. He kept on thinking of ways to take revenge on the person who falsely incriminate him. During this period, Sabu kept on supporting Eiji and visiting him in jail. At the beginning, Eiji was jealous of Sabu and became hostile to him. As time went by Eiji met many pals in the jail and they worked hard to fight against many difficults. Finally, Eiji learnt to compromise to his fate. After many years of isolation, when Eiji was about to recover his freedom, a cruel fact was revealed to him by Sabu and it drove Eiji crazy.....