Asian Drama

Adapted from the manga series "Gifted" (ギフテッド) written by Amagi Seimaru (天樹征丸) and illustrated by Amamiya Rima (雨宮理真).

Episodes: 8

"I want to be loved, as a person, and as a woman." Nakamichi Misaki is a teacher who has been married for 5 years to her attractive husband. She appears to have a life that many would be envious of. However, the truth is that she has been concerned about her marriage due to the lack of intimacy. Her husband only sleeps with her once a year, on the day of their wedding anniversary. As she continues to question her husband's sexual desire for her, their next anniversary arrives... and she receives a shocking confession from him!

Adapted from the manga series "Watashi to Otto to Otto no Kareshi" (私と夫と夫の彼氏) by Ayano Ayano (綾野綾乃).

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Kota Shimoda, Nao Nakamura and Norisuke Uehara live within the same apartment complex in a provincial city. They are also good friends. Kota Shimoda works as a public officer. He bluffs that he is good at fighting, but he has never been in a fight before. Nao Nakamura wants to become a Hollywood celebrity. She is a bright and outgoing person. Norisuke Uehara's dream is to become a K-pop artist, but he doesn't make any effort in achieving his dream. They are bored easily and look for stimulation around them.

When the three friends see a resident with concerns sitting on a bench, they approach the person and ask about their concern. They listen to their concerns and give advice. They soon help other people around them.

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Shimura Takafumi is a detective, who works under an obsessive level belief that criminals must be punished. He will resort to any means to arrest criminals. Due to his excessive behavior, he has been demoted to a special investigation team that works on unsolved cases. He is ordered to work with Kiriko.

Kiriko is known as Invisible, the crime coordinator in the underworld. She mediates transactions for organized criminals. Kiriko flies under the radar of many and even only a few in the police department are aware of her existence. One day, Kiriko suddenly offers to help the police arrest criminals. She is willing to provide information on unsolved cases and violent criminals. Her only condition is that she wants to work with Shimura Takafumi.

With youth, beauty, and wealth, Aizawa Rina is living a life that everyone envies. Rina should be living happily, but somewhere deep in her heart, she always remembers her former classmate, Ichijo Ren

Adapted from the novel "Koi to Yujo no Aida de" (恋と友情のあいだで) by Tokyo Calendar Web.

Habu Seiichi is a member of the mysterious outlaw group Avalanche. The group exists at a time when moral hazards run rampant among politicians, bureaucrats, businesses and even among ordinary people.

Wada Masao who works at an electrical manufacturer on weekdays and plays the bass in a band on weekends; having been single for the past 3,000 days, Wada sets out to create delicious dishes for his non-existent girlfriend in his imaginary world so as to earn her praise.

Ruri, who is a beautiful woman and can also work, is thought to have a lot of love experience by the people around her, but in reality she is a beginner in love for 15 years without a boyfriend. Because of such a lapis lazuli, he decided to give a love affair to his junior Ryo, who is "perfect in appearance and content" but continues to be shaken.

Amamiya, Nakauchi, and Kobayashi were once high school classmates. The former was class president and an honors student, Nakauchi was quiet and reserved with a penchant for cooking, and Kobayashi was a womanizing charmer. Ten years after their graduation, fate reunites them. Nakauchi has gone on to become a budding chef, but he had to quit his job after losing his sense of taste. He runs into Amamiya, works as a bartender in a quiet establishment called the Three Star Bar in Tokyo’s Nishi Ogikubo District.

Kobayashi who became an overnight sensation as a writer with his debut novel, but has been in a slump ever since, was bequeathed the bar from his grandfather, the previous owner, with the agreement that he would keep the place running until he and Amamiya finished all of the canned food that was left stocked in the pantry. Kobayashi and Amamiya convince Nakauchi to join them as their canned food “chef.”

The trio is a great success: Amamiya is always ready to lift the mood with a cocktail, the barfly-like Kobayashi is always on hand with sage words of advice, and Nakauchi cooks up a storm in the kitchen. The place becomes a hit with appreciative customers who come with problems, but usually leave with them solved, thanks to these remarkable men. But what will happen when the canned food begins to run out?

Adapted from the manga series "Nishiogikubo Mitsuboshi Youshudou" (西荻窪 三ツ星洋酒堂) by Asai Sai (浅井西).

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.

Katagiri Sayo is an office lady at a large IT company who believes she can get everything if she works hard for it. Morimoto Miharu is a nurse whose hopes of getting married to her long-time boyfriend Ryota are fading. Yamashita Miwa is an office lady at a bank with such low self-worth that she immediately gives her body if asked while Matsuoka Akane is a confident and proud company secretary with some past although she is so stunningly beautiful that people would turn around. These four women begin searching for their marriage partners in a bid to secure their own happiness. The government’s secret organisation Peanut Butter Sandwiches, which supports matchmaking, starts to take action. Are these four women with different views of marriage waiting for encounters that will change their lives, or…?

"Nobu" is a bar located on a not so busy street in Kyoto. The front entrance of the bar is connected to the alternate world of "Aiteria,” which is like medieval Europe. People from Aiteria visit the bar Nobu.

Nobuyuki Yazawa was once a chef at a high-end restaurant, but he is now the owner of Nobu. Shinobu Senke works as a waitress for the bar. She is bright, smart and pretty. The bar's cold beer "Toriaezu Nama" becomes popular and the bar thrives. Customers from Aiteria with various backgrounds like soldiers, merchants, and noblemen have a good time at Nobu.

Shirakawa Keita works as a building inspector. He is a single father, who has raised his 14 year-old-daughter Hitomi alone since his divorce with ex-wife Sendai Yukiko. Yukiko works as a corporate lawyer for a large construction company. After his ex-wife left, Keita placed his daughter as a priority, making him the ideal father. One day, Keita receives a phone call. The caller informs him that "I have your daughter. If you want to save her life, go to your ex-wife." While looking for his daughter, Keita uncovers secrets about his daughter and ex-wife.

A school called “Tokyo Metropolitan Water Trade School” is a fictional trade-school that specializes water trade (nighttime entertainment business) education! Naoki Asbesto (Ryusei Ryo), who is in the midst of job hunting, finds a job teaching water trade.

Ibuki Hiiragi works as an art teacher. He began teaching at his current high school two years ago. He is the homeroom teacher of 3rd Grade A Class. 10 days before graduation day, Ibuki Hiiragi stands in front of his 29 students, and tells them "From now on, you are hostages."

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.

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.

Ogikubo, Hachimanyama, Chitose Funabashi, Futako Tamagawa, Kaminoge, and Denen Choufu... Loop line 8 travels along these six towns. Despite the short distance, it is necessary to change trains and take a circuitous route. There are women living in each of these towns who waver over love that has not turned out as they wish such as one-sided love, domestic violence, and affairs. Like “neighbors” who have to go a long way around, their relationships are loosely connected. They are somehow only able to see each other’s appearances maybe because of the nature of these relationships and then wonder why things are not going well for them personally. They worry and compare with others but still wish to look ahead.

Adapted from the 2015 novel "Kanjou 8-go Sen" by Hatano.

Kasahara Sachiko’s (Kitagawa Keiko) parents died young and she lives in a Tokyo apartment with her only sister Nobuko (Koike Eiko), a journalist for a newspaper’s cultural department. She has not found a job and has been interviewing at a number of companies. On this day, Sachiko bids farewell to Nobuko who is leaving for a holiday at Lake Towada in Tohoku, and sets off for another company interview. This should have been the usual scene of the two sisters who share a close relationship. But that night, Sachiko gets news that Nobuko was killed in an accident, and for some reason, Nobuko lost her life in Nagano which is a different place from what she had told her. Nobuko’s colleague and fellow journalist Yoshii Ryoichi (Mukai Osamu) suddenly shows up before a grieving Sachiko. He sets out to investigate the mystery of Nobuko’s death together with Sachiko, but she does not know his true intentions. Meanwhile, Sachiko starts to work at the newspaper as her sister’s replacement and goes to meet the cultural figures that Nobuko had been in charge of when she was alive. Among these people with habits which are unimaginable from their glamorous appearances, is the pediatrician Nishiwaki Mitsutaro (Sawamura Ikki) who writes a column for the newspaper. He seems to be the greatest philanderer in celebrity circles even though he has a wife (Nishida Naomi), and calls Sachiko out many times. But right after that, Machida Tomoe (Sakai Wakana), who had been her sister’s colleague in the same department, commits suicide. She leaves behind cryptic words for Sachiko regarding Nobuko’s death. “There is someone who should take responsibility”, “All the more if it is a famous person”. Sachiko’s hunch is that her sister’s death is connected to someone prominent that she had been dating while alive. However, the more she attempts to learn the truth, the more “suspects” meet suspicious deaths one after another until she no longer knows who is her friend or foe. Sachiko has unwittingly been sucked into a deep darkness as if she is wandering about in a dark, dense sea of trees with no exit.