Asian Drama

Following the story of Ran, who confronts a mysterious organization by participating in a no-rules deathmatch after discovering her missing younger sister Yuzuki is involved in a crime. With danger at every corner, Ran must trade in her boxing gloves for brass knuckles. Will she save her sister?

(Source: Amazon)

Adapted from the webtoon "Knuckle Girl" (너클걸) written by Jun Sang Young (전상영) and illustrated by You Sang Jin (유상진).

Continuation from season 1.

Saionji Hajime serves the wealthy Ijuuin family. He graduated at the top of the London school for butlers. As the perfect butler, housekeeping skills and management of the mansion go without saying. He mastered martial arts and also has knowledge of all sorts of genres including science and history. Saionji has established a firm relationship of trust with Yuriko, the widow of the head of the Ijuuin family. He abides by the wishes of the inquisitive Yuriko and independently investigate difficult case. No matter how capable he is as a butler, he should be an amateur at investigating cases. However, nothing is impossible for Saionji who brilliantly figures out the mystery with his knowledge and skills.

Teenage girls Azami and Rie are leading a lifestyle full of delinquent behavior. One night, when they find a good hiding spot after being chased by mobs, Rie points out Tsukumodo, a place where they serve free food. There, they meet other people from various backgrounds with all kinds of personal problems, and the owner, a 52-year-old woman named Tsukumo Sakura. They discover that Tsukumodo, a secondhand bookstore which stands alone in Tokyo's Ota district, is a shop where people of all generations can enjoy manga, but also find comfort. At the back of the bookstore is a room called Tamariba, where people with nowhere to go gather and eat the delicious oyakodon Sakura cooks for them. She serves them for free without prying into their backgrounds or circumstances. Her meals fill stomachs and also seems to warm hearts. With their hunger satisfied, the people “with nowhere to go” slowly start to talk to Sakura about themselves and she listens to them. Sometimes she encourages them with a smile. At other times, she cries with them. She loves to say, “It’s all right to cry when you want to. The teardrops that fall will simply burst into flowers of happiness.” Meanwhile, Sakura herself has to face a tragic past. An incident 16 years ago spurred her to make oyakodon for free. When Azami and Rie visit Tsukumodo and Sakura decides to cook them a meal, time starts to rewind.

High school student Juri (Tao Tsuchiya) leaps to her death. Afterwards, Juri wanders to her house, school and street. She feels loneliness as nobody else is able to see her. She talks to those that she comes across including her mother & classmates, but nobody responds to her comments. Juri then sees a horrifying monster, which she never saw prior to her suicide. She calls the scary monster "Bug Man". When the mind of humans become weak, the Bug Man tempts those to commit suicide. One day, Juri walks along the street as usual. She then meets a girl that is able to see Juri. Juri names the girl Ringo-chan and plays at the park with her. Their happy moments does not last long. When they come back from the park, Juri sees Ringo-chan's mother with a grim face. The Bug Man is standing behind her mother.

In the past, Kyoka (Naomi Watanabe) was an excellent employee at travel agency Sunset Tours. She was called the "legendary travel master," but a conflict with her boss led to her transfer to a free department. Now, Kyoka works at a branch office for Sunset Tours in Kyoto. She teams up with rookie employee Ichiro (Yusuke Yamamoto) and divorced taxi driver Tetsuo (Susumu Terajima). Tetsuo is familiar with the roads in Kyoto.

The Young Kindaichi is back and better than ever! In this first of many cases, Kindaichi finds himself onboard a cruise ship in which the captain mysteriously disappears the day after a big party. A search of the ship finds nothing, except for little drops of blood on the light switch in the captain's room. Might it be a clue perhaps? You bet! When what looks to be a case of serious foul play unfolds, the ship's radio is found disabled-so much for contacting the authorities. So, far out at sea until they can reach land, it's up to Kindaichi and friends to find the killer - and stay alive!

The 35th NHK Taiga Drama is Hideyoshi, the story of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a daimyo warrior, general and politician of the Sengoku period He unified the political factions of Japan. He succeeded his former liege lord, Oda Nobunaga, and brought an end to the Sengoku period. The period of his rule is often called the Momoyama period, named after Hideyoshi's castle. He is noted for a number of cultural legacies, including the restriction that only members of the samurai class could bear arms. Hideyoshi is regarded as Japan's second "great unifier".

The drama won 11th Television Drama Academy Awards (1996-Dec-20) for best drama.