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).

"Marriage wasn't supposed to be like this! I want to go back to those days and start my life over!” The story begins when the protagonist suddenly travels back in time and replaces his wife. In the fifth year of marriage, when both the husband and the wife are no longer able to care for one another like the early years, they have only one common way of thought.” Why did I marry this person…? While realistically and comically portraying the frustrations and regrets that everyone has in their marriage, the story is told through the protagonist, who has achieved a miraculous life after his shocking wish ‘to return to that day’ which somehow comes true. "What kind of person is important to you? " "What does it mean to spend a lifetime with someone else?" The story pursues such an universal theme for couples…

Yamashita Tomo is just an average junior high school girl...but her father is a "NEET" (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and her mother is an "old man"?

Yamashita Tomo is just an average junior high school girl...but her father is a "NEET" (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and her mother is an "old man"?

Mikoshiba Reiji is an attorney who will do anything to win with his unscrupulous ability. Kusakabe Yoko is a clerk who gets a job at his office. By accident, Yoko discovers that Mikoshiba committed a heinous crime as a boy. What is the meaning of justice? What is atonement?

~~ Adapted from the novel “The King of the No Return” by Shichiri Nakayama.

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…

Oshii Takashi is a detective with excellent reasoning power. Unfortunately, he usually misses the criminal in front of him and other detectives get recognition for the capture. He is transferred to the Utobashi Police Station.

Oshii Takashi goes to a record company CEO's house. The CEO's third son was burned to death. The police are set to conclude that his death was an accident, but Oshii Takashi thinks otherwise. Oshii Takashi begins to investigate.

The main character Himi Ko is a lawyer who is an expert in the field of crisis management. Her main area of activity is not in a courtroom but within the shadows of many of the big scandals. As a genius "spin doctor", she has managed to solve 99.9% of her client’s issues and requests. If need be, she would even manage to reverse falsehood into justice. And most of all, she has a strong belief in supporting women, especially those who are stuck in a crisis and will go all the way to solve some of the most tricky cases. This is a drama which depicts such a determined character who takes whatever step she needs to help people who are at the edge of their lives!

Season 2 of this drama starts off with Machi being married to Dai Yashiro, while Kenji Rusudo is a rival real estate agent.

A once exclusive hotel in the outskirts well-known to only people in the know, is now on the brink of bankruptcy with a debt of 300 million yen, under the management of incapable and unmotivated staff. The diligent, rookie general manager Sakuri Sana is too young, the new patissier Hourai Haru cannot read situations, the sous chef Eguchi Ryuji is obsessed with boat racing, the cleaner Yoshimura Naomi is an amenities thief, the bartender Edakawa Kozue is always drunk and the assistant general manager Tokisada Masao is suspected of embezzlement. Then an unlikely young man Ukai Naoya shows up as a mysterious guest, and the staff who only have an abundance of pride, regard him disagreeably. No one knows just yet that his arrival will overturn everything about this hotel...

Kyosuke Yakumo works as a reportage writer. His fiance is Yuriko Matsuda and they will marry soon. For his next book, Kyosuke Yakumo begins research on a burned to death murder case involving a beautiful blind woman. The suspect in the case is photographer Zakayudai Kihara.

Based on the novel "Kyonen no Fuyu, Kimi to Wakare" by Fuminori Nakamura.

Dojima Otaro works as a popular host. Because of a past incident, he believes that love makes people unhappy. He now only pursues money and power.

A mysterious woman appears in front of Dojima Otaro. The mysterious woman has a pale face with red lips. She kisses him and he dies, but the next moment he regains consciousness. He realizes he is now 7 days in the past. The mysterious woman alsofollows him. Due to her kiss, Dojima Otaro dies and goes back to the past over and over again.

Saigo Takamori, the hero of the Meiji Restoration, was born to a poor, low-ranking samurai family in the Satsuma domain (present day Kagoshima Prefecture). His simple honesty caught the attention of its charismatic feudal lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Nariakira. Nariakira’s assertion that the love of people is what will enrich and strengthen the nation captivated Saigo who took on Nariakira’s secret mission and eventually became a key person for Satsuma. Not a portrait of him survives today and much of his life is a mystery. He is a man who was twice exiled and thrice married. He overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate with exceptional bravery and action. Although he accomplished the restoration, he lost his life in a fight with the new Meiji government.

Based on the novel "Sego Don" by Hayashi Mariko.

What would happen if Otaro wouldn't be able to go back in time with a kiss and be revived?

A real world like parallel timeline about what happens after Otaro's deaths.

In June 2015, Kyogoku suddenly woke up after being in a coma for 30 years due to an accident during an investigation. It has been a year since he and the young detective, Mochizuki Ryota of Yokohama Chuo Police Precinct, drove the violent criminal called Kagura as well as the organisation Kyogoku was pursuing 30 years ago to destruction and closed this chapter from the past. Kyogoku and Ryota are still living together in the same place. Although Ryota and Yui have been dating for close to a year, Kyogoku stubbornly refuses to approve their relationship. In this one year, Kyogoku and Ryota have led the police in solving numerous heinous crimes. Ryota has also undergone an unbelievable transformation from a year ago. The investigation methods of the two of them occasionally create trouble. But because their arrest rate and contributions are the highest in the Kanagawa area right now, their maverick, overbearing behaviour is tolerated. They are the “stadium jumper and skinny macho” pair of the Yokohama Chuo district.

Remake of German TV series "The Last Cop" (Der letzte Bulle) [2010].

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department creates a new division which consists of 5 female detectives. The new division is called Higanbana which is a flower with a poison root. The 5 female detective have their own specialties and sensitivities. The women try to solve a murder that took place at the wedding of a female doctor.

Detective Nagisa Kinomiya is a member of Higanbana. She has the special ability of sensing a criminal’s murderous intent and ill will.

A large real estate company’s social gathering is held on board the cruise ship ‘Poseidon’ as it goes around Tokyo Bay. Then the company president Kudo Ryoko (Nakano Yuta) is fatally stabbed. The ship never once stopped and it is impossible for someone to board from the sea. In other words, the murder scene is a “locked room aboard a ship”. The suspects are three employees Takase Minami (Takimoto Miori), Mitsumine Yoko (Nakagoshi Noriko) and Narita Koki (Tonesaku Toshihide) who were together with Kudo. They unanimously complain of being “put to sleep by sleeping pill” and “waking up after the murder occurred”. Detective Hagami Kyoko (Zaizen Naomi) of the First Investigative Division proceeds to investigate the case together with the young detective Kaburagi (Kiriyama Ren). However, a series of tragedies occur right in front of them. Mystery engenders mystery, darkness sucks in darkness. This is the “punishment” meted by Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, to those who do wrong. Internal trouble, baffling human resources and gruesome cases that vanish in the vortex of time. Then the perfect crime of a lifetime. Will Kyoko be able to get to the criminal?

The young, genius scientist Takano Ryuzo (Saito Yusuke) has died in his home. He was a leading authority on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells together with his older wife Misuzu (Shimizu Misa). The cause of his sudden death is determined to be a heart attack, but insurance agent Tomonaga Masahiko (Hamano Kenta) approaches his wife Kuriko (Ueno Juri), who is also researcher in iPS cells, about Takano’s sudden death that leaves questions unanswered. He had been insured for a large sum of money. Furthermore, the crime scene is a perfect locked room. These increases Masahiko’s suspicions that it was a murder. Kuriko, the research geek, corners the “invisible criminal” with a wealth of knowledge unique to a female scientist and feminine deduction.

Following the death of their mother Kyoko (Nakamura Yuri), three sisters Chiaki (Dan Rei), Haruna (Kimura Midoriko) and Natsui (Watanabe Makiko) gather at the home where they were born and raised for an all-night vigil. Third sister Chiaki recalls memories of the time she was a girl when she sees something that was inserted into the coffin. After the end of the war, their father Hiroshi (Mashima Hidekazu) brought Toru, their youngest brother who is not related by blood, home. Then one day, Toru suddenly disappeared as if he had been spirited away. Who was responsible and where did he go? As the three sisters begin to trace back distant memories, a young man (Nakajima Ayumu) comes. He greets them with the words, “It’s been a long time since I last saw you, sisters …” The sisters piece together their memories and what starts to emerge is their father’s betrayal and mother’s secret. The 40-year-old truth that their mother had kept to herself is about to be revealed.

One day, the current prime minister of Japan, Muto Taizan, and his useless son, Sho, suddenly discover that they have switched bodies.

With no known cause or solution at hand, Sho reluctantly ends up appearing in the Diet on his father’s behalf. But he completely cannot follow the deliberations as well as the questions and answers because it has been his routine to skip his studies. He is also repeatedly caught making childish responses or misreading kanji in documents. However, untainted by the adult world, Sho’s straightforward opinions and genuine feelings start to mobilise the Diet and the public.

On the other hand, Taizan has to lead the life of a university student and search for a job on behalf of his son, but with the brains of a prime minister. He refutes arrogant interviewers with his overwhelming knowledge and debating skills. Although Taizan wins the war of words, he is an absolute failure in the interviews itself. Furthermore, several peculiar girls whom Sho has had relationships with appear and makes Taizan more bewildered.

Story 1: Chichi to Ko

Synopsis: Toho Akihiro (Ishimaru Kanji) opposed his boss and resigned from the large consulting firm he had been working for. His father, Hideo (Takahashi Gentaro), is the owner of a convenience store in the countryside. It is his daily routine to talk to regular customers and he also gets along well with his staff. Because business has been poor, he seeks his son’s help. Akihiro comes to revamp the store by making use of his experience as a consultant. At first, sales increases, but father and son clash over the complete change in management policy which disregards regular customers. Then Hideo collapses and Akihiro works the night shift. He is confronted with an electricity disruption around the store due to a downpour. He realises something that his father had prized above running the store while under pressure to deal with the situation.

Cast: Ishimaru Kanji, Takahashi Gentaro

Story 2: Daifuku Obasan

Synopsis: Igarashi Satomi (Yoshida Yo) has been absent from part-time work at a convenience store for about two months because she has had to take care her mother who had fallen sick. Right after her return, she is informed that an elderly lady (Matsubara Chieko) had been coming to the store daily since a month ago and constantly picked on the staff. The lady is an ordinary customer whom Satomi had occasionally seen before, but she does not understand the reason for her becoming a complainer. Satomi recalls some incident from the woman’s daily visit to the store to purchase daifuku, and decides to go to her house in order to talk to her personally. She learns new facts from her conversation with the lady … …

Cast: Yoshida Yo, Matsubara Chieko

Story 3: 10.30 pm no Jousei Kyaku

Synopsis: Inubushi Kazuma (Mizobata Junpei) works the night-shift at a convenience store. He dreams of becoming a photographer and had been an assistant for a famous photographer, but could not tolerate the hardships of training and stopped going to work one month ago. Kazuma fancies a customer Oikawa Chihiro (Kojima Haruna), who always comes to the store at the same time every night to buy cafe latte. He accidentally learns that her dream is to become a designer. As he hears this, he enthusiastically talks about his own dream despite giving up on it. At some point, Kazuma eventually vents his feelings of depression to Chihiro. This would kick off their future in a big way.

Kusakabe Gengo, a patrol officer of the Tsukigase domain in Western Japan, gets a visit from his son-in-law, Tsuda Iori. Tsuda probes if it is true that Gengo and the chief retainer, Matsuura Shogen, are truly childhood friends. Gengo and Shogen were childhood friends and went to the same kendo training school. 40 years ago, the two men were bound by such a firm friendship that they avenged Shogen’s parents together. However, they had differing opinions regarding an uprising raised by a mutual friend, Juzo, and fell out 20 years earlier. Gengo is handed a command from the lord of the domain to assassinate Shogen. Shogen, who quelled the uprising with ruthless methods, rose to become the chief retainer, but the rumours are that he has incurred displeasure because he is hindering the rise of the lord of the domain. However, Shogen is known to the public as an artist so it would look bad if he were publicly executed. Gengo, who has been ordered to handle it as a fight due to a personal grudge, searches for the place for Shogen to die. He decides to visit Shogen for the first time in 20 years. When the paths of the two men cross again as they approach old age, fate starts moving again.

Adapted from the 2007 historical novel "Ginkan no Fu" by Hamuro Rin.

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.

The drama has Okada playing the part of Shiba Kengo, a pure-hearted young surgeon who is dedicated to his work. He gets transferred from a prestigious university hospital to a financially troubled hospital, but there he meets a capable and cool-headed chief nurse named Kasugai Yuka (Nakatani), who teaches him the reality of the medical world. The pure Kengo must face various obstacles and challenges as he tears off the “masks” of respected professionals – doctors, nurses, and educators – and uncovers their true natures.

Actor Hasegawa Hiroki plays the manager of a major group that operates schools, while Kato Ai plays his wife and the sister of Yuka.

Based on a 1993 novel by Naoki Award-winner Sato Jiro, the film revolves around a top secret mission to hide Japanese treasures near the conclusion of World War II which would currently be valued at around 200 trillion yen.

Sakai Masato stars as Major Mashiba, an intelligence officer with Japan's Imperial Guard. Together with First Lieutenant Koizumi (Fukushi Seiji) and Master Sergeant Mochizuki (Nakamura Shido), Mashiba attempts to execute secret orders to hide the treasures from the occupying forces of Douglas MacArthur in the hopes of funding the nation's reconstruction at some point in the future.

Out of necessity, 20 young schoolgirls are enlisted to help with the mission without being informed of the details. Santamaria Yusuke plays the girls' teacher and Yachigusa Kaoru plays one of the girls in the present day.

When a mysterious plague spreads ancient Japan, a pure young man named Yoshihiko (Takayuki Yamada) is chosen to save his village. He sets out with his friends to find a legendary plant to stop the plague and also find his father who never returned after embarking on the same journey.

Robot maker, Kronos Heaven, finally develops "Night Tenjo", the perfect male humanoid programmed to be devoted and completely loyal to his lover. The company chooses temp worker Izawa Riko to take part in a 5-day free trial. At first, Riko only sees Night as a household appliance. But when she finds out how deep Night's devotion to herself is, Riko finds herself falling in love with him. Joining the love triangle is Asamoto Soshi, a distinguished young executive at her company who has feelings for her.

Filming began on 2008-April and finished 2008-June.

Todo Maki, a rookie lawyer, joins a law office run by seven female attorneys who work to help women who have become victims of crime. Todo eagerly goes to work, but when her boss Sugimura Misako assigns her to a case, she discovers there is still much to learn about practicing law. Under the guidance of her six more experienced colleagues, she discovers what it means to be a lawyer.

The story features a team of four sleuthing sisters.

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.

In February 1972, five members of the Japanese Red Army lock themselves up in a mountain lodge in Karuizawa called Asama Sanso, taking the wife of its proprietor hostage. Sassa Atsuyuki (Koji Yakusho) of the National Police Agency is put in charge by his chief (Makoto Fujita), and rushes to the scene. The case is supposed to be resolved in a few days, but the police do not get permission to use guns, and in addition, there is the severe cold and continuous antagonism between the Metropolitan Police Department and the Prefectural Police, making things extremely complicated. On the tenth day, in an attempt to force a breakthrough, they eventually use a wrecking ball that is operated with a crane truck to break down the outside wall of the lodge, then start to charge in. However, the crane breaks down halfway through, hampering the continuation of this strategy and the ranks fall into confusion. After the head of the riot police sacrifices his life, Sassa takes his place at the forefront and continues the siege. Under his command, the riot police finally raids the room where the kidnappers are. The radicals are all arrested on the spot, and the hostage is safe and unharmed.