Asian Drama

N/A

Episodes: 10

Duration: 54 min.

Airs On: Saturday

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).

Will be the latest reimagining of one of Japan’s most iconic heroes. Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno will be at the helm.

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.

Osagami Kakeru is a master who is tasked with the mission of sealing the blades of filth called Kegareyaiba born from the dark sides of people's hearts.

This series depicts the battle between the Kumoichi party, led by Nizaemon Kumo, and the fire thief's secretary-general, Abe Shikibu. The rare thief, Nizaemon, aims at the hidden money in Ooku, targeting Takiyama, who has great power in Ooku. Meanwhile, Shikibu approaches the secret hidden in Takiyama.

Adapted from the novel "Kumokiri Nizaemon" (雲霧仁左衛門) by Ikenami Shotaro (池波正太郎).

Shunsuke works part-time at a cafe owned by his uncle Takehiko. One night, a woman, who is dressed like a traditional oiran (high ranking courtesan), appears in front of him. The woman's name is Senka. Apparently, she just travelled across time from the Edo period to the present day and she looks completely lost. Shunsuke takes her to his uncle's house where he also stays.

Senka stays at Takehiko's house and also begins to work part-time at his cafe. Senka gets people's attention due to her appearance and behavior. Meanwhile, Shunsuke goes to the library to find information about Senka. He learns that Senka was a legendary oiran in the Edo period.

In the year 2012, three delinquents including Atsuya discover that their hideout, a run-of-the-mill general store, was owned by an elderly man who gave free advice to worried people through letters. Something weird happens during late hours of the night and Atsuya realizes that a letter will be thrown into the mailbox at midnight. It is a letter asking for advice addressed to the Namiya General Store written by a person 32 years ago. Incredibly, the mailbox was connected to the past, in the year 1980. While confused, Atsuya writes a reply in place of the shopkeeper. The group keeps replying as another letter is sent, then another.

Eiichi Nishio is a young actor. He is not very popular and only receives offers to play dead bodies. One day, he wanders around Nakameguro, Tokyo and recognizes the restaurant/bar Izakaya Fuji. He saw pictures of Izakaya Fuji on a woman's Instagram account and decides to go in. There, he meets Nao Omori and other actors who are all regulars at Izakaya Fuji.

Adapted from the 2015 novel "Izakaya Fuji" by Kuriyama Keisuke.

Shinichi Sakurai (Sadao Abe) is married to Kanako (Kyoko Fukada) and they have a daughter named Kaori (Mikuu Yamada). Both, Shinichi and Kanako received only a middle school level education. Even though they don't have much money, they are a happy family. At work though, Shinichi experiences effects of only having a middle school education.

One day, Shinichi sees Kaori’s poor score for a national test. He freaks out and decides to improve Kaori's education. Thus, 41-year-old Shinichi begins studying with Kaori and instructs her for the upcoming middle school entrance exam.

Sakisaka Kento is a lawyer with an outstanding career. He seems cool and handsome, but he is a zealous person who will confront things that are unreasonable and wrong head-on. There are times when he values the words of a single person and not a lawyer. Sakisaka is regarded as the ace of the law firm, but his only weak point is a lawyer at the same firm who also happens to be his ex-wife Natsume Yoshie. He has been raising their daughter Mizuki as a single father since their divorce. A stylish lawyer who holds her head high, Yoshie is down-to-earth and a perfectionist. These two rival lawyers often have well-reasoned legal arguments regarding the cases of their clients. However, when they wander off topic, they will call each other “papa” and “mama” the moment they lose their cool and start quarreling like a couple.

Episodes: 9

Duration: 42 min.

Aired On: Thursday

Drama series depicts the lives of three men born in 1987 and oppose irrational things of the world through work, love and friendship. The men are from the Yutori generation when the Japanese government reformed the education system emphasizing a pressure-free environment referred to as Yutori education.

Since Masakazu’s (Masaki Okada) father passed away, he lives with his mother, older brother, older brother’s wife and younger sister. He studied hard in his school days and began working for a good company after college. He has worked in different divisions. This spring he is assigned to a bar franchise his company owns.

Kazutoyo (Tori Matsuzaka) is a elementary school homeroom teacher. His teaching style, derived from his own Yutori education, draws the ire of the school and parents. He is connected with a female university student who arrives at the school for teaching apprenticeship.

Maribu (Yuya Yagira) was born from an elite family. In his school days, he did well in his studies and sports. He applied for admission to Tokyo University, but was denied. 10 years later, he is now married and has a baby. His family still lives in a small place. Even though he is in a difficult financial situation, he is still trying to gain admission into Tokyo University.

The dashingly handsome Kishi Keiichitaro is Sobokai First General Hospital’s only pathologist. Described as intensely eccentric and very sharp-tongued, he is an extremely outstanding doctor. He would clash with the other party no matter who he or she is, for the sake of medical justice and the lives of patients. He is considered a nuisance by the doctors around him, but they never go against his judgments. Because he does not mince his words, he makes nothing but enemies. Rookie neurologist Miyazaki Chihiro, who works at the same hospital as Kishi, is lectured by a senior doctor Kosaka Hidetoshi every day. She has reservations about his emphasis on work efficiency but cannot refute.

Adapted from the manga series "Fragile - The Finds of Pathologist Keiichirou Kishi" by Kusamizu Bin and Megumi Saburou.

Episodes: 10

Duration: 56 min.

Content Rating: Not Yet Rated

Aired On: Wednesday

Ratings: 7.5

In the summer of 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. Ryoichi dreamed of becoming a punk rocker when he was younger but became a timid salaryman at a musical instrument parts company. He has feelings for her, but he can't tell her how he feels..

One day, he has a fateful meeting with a turtle on the rooftop of a department store. He names the turtle Pikadon and he adores it, but his co-workers laugh at him. Ryoichi throws Pikadon into the toilet. He regrets what he did. The turtle though goes through sewerage and meets an old man who lives underground. Something then happens.

Yowatari Wars is the ultimate online simulation game. It helps people with trouble communicating through the positive weapon of “praise words”. Three characters who call themselves Captain Stallone (Tezuka Toru), Strategist Mike (Emoto Tokio) and Data Analyst Risa (Kinami Haruka) appear in the game. Masters at flattery, they impart wisdom to the troubled, expertly compliment adversaries (business negotiators and personal acquaintances) who are hard to deal with and overcome difficulties. However, another drama lies behind these three flatterers

A wealthy married couple decide to ignore strict laws banning zombies in private homes and takes in a female zombie to groom as their housekeeper. When the zombie arrives, they also receive a note warning against feeding her any type of meat and also a loaded handgun. Meanwhile, the scarred zombie named Sara (Ayaka Komatsu) endures horrors, while longing for something from her past.

The beautiful mystery buff Umizuki Chinami and career elite has been assigned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division as a rookie detective. However, on her first day of work, she is told that she is not in their future plans. Chinami ends up partnered with the handsome detective Shitara Kyosuke who has a black belt in karate. The First Investigative Division’s ace, Kyosuke had a promising future until he winds up having the blundering Chinami as his partner. Even though the two of them are scolded by veteran detectives and made to feel like a burden, this curious duo confront and solve difficult cases, and save Japan. ~~ Based on original work 'Senryokugai Sousakan Hime Deka Umizuki Chinami' by Nitadori Kei.

Hanzawa Naoki works for Tokyo Chuo Bank as the head of the Loans Division at their Osaka Nishi branch. The overbearing branch manager, Asano, forces him to award an unsecured loan of 500 million yen to Nishi Osaka Steel. On the surface, Nishi Osaka Steel seems like a very reputable company, but in actual fact it is a company in deep trouble. Debt-ridden, the company accountants resort to window-dressing the financial statements in order to hide the truth from the public. Three months after the loan, Nishi Osaka Steel goes bankrupt and the ambitious and power-hungry Asano makes Hanzawa the scapegoat for the 500 million loss. Hanzawa is called to Tokyo to answer to the internal investigations team, where he vehemently denies responsibility for the loss, and swears to recover the 500 million yen. That is the only course of action for Hanzawa, if he wants to survive in the banking industry.

“A completely undetectable poison that kills 24 hours after consumed.” It is the rumour that has spread on the internet of a lethal drug that makes the perfect crime possible. It has even become a topic at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Special Crimes Unit which Sasamoto Naomi has been transferred to. The background of Professor Matsui Toichi who invented this poison at an East European university is obscure. What is known of him is a fuzzy picture on the internet and the digits inscribed on the back of his hand. Matsui has disappeared but starts to appear before people who are trapped by their problems and hands them the poison. “You are free to use it as you will,” he would tell them. Meanwhile, magazine journalist Akimoto Shunji who is engaged to Koide Reika, the daughter of the president of his company, learns of this poison too. He has a problem. It is the existence of Otsu Mayumi, a former high school classmate with whom he has been carrying on a relationship for half a year. She poses an obstacle to his marriage to Reika. And so, he attempts to broach a breakup with her, but is told that she is two months pregnant. On the way home, a troubled Akimoto is hailed by Matsui who passes him a small bottle with the poison. Later, Akimoto is invited to a meal at a posh restaurant by Reika’s father and forced to vow marriage to Reika. He puts a drop of the poison in Mayumi’s cup in order to protect his bright future even as he struggles with himself. Mayumi unsuspectingly brings that cup to her lips... On the morning two days after the incident, her dead body is found at an unexpected place.

Adapted from 1981 novel "Doku" by Akagawa Jirō.

Episodes: 13

Duration: 40 min.

Aired On: Thursday

Ratings: 7.0

Two transfer students, Atsuko Maeda and Onizuka Daruma came at the all-girls school Majisuka Gakuen. In this school violence and fighting are common among the Yankee students. Noisy and trouble maker Daruma made a fuss as soon as she entered the school, win in her first fight but then was beaten easily by another gang shortly after. In contrary to Daruma's bold-but-powerless attitude, Maeda who is truthfully a strong girl despite of her silent nature found Daruma is beaten by Team Hormon before her. The word "Majisuka?" (means are you serious?) instantly awaken her true nature and made her won the battle against Daruma's attackers easily, thus made a big fuss at the school and the news even reached the strongest fighting group, Rappapa. Afterwards, Daruma acknowledged Maeda as her boss and as a result the friendship between the two girls began to grow along with their fights with fellow students at their school.

Yoji is a young lonely factory worker who falls for an equally lonely girl co-worker, Sachiko, but is unable to tell her of his interest. However, later, a bio-mechanical monster, NecroBorg, starts take over human bodies and use their flesh to create weapons.

 Kazuko bumps into Tamaki on the way back from work. Tamaki is crawling along the sidewalk on crutches, having trouble with an ill-fitting shoe over her cast. After helping her back to her feet, Kazuko follows Tamaki back to her apartment, the two of them barely exchanging words. Tamaki later dismisses Kazuko, throwing her a bunch of keys to the apartment and the cryptic comment "I can recognise a person who is meant to return".