Asian Drama

The 63rd work of NHK Taiga Drama depicts the life of Murasaki Shikibu, a Japanese female poet who wrote "Tale of Hikaru Genji". This story is set in the mid-Heian period.

(Source: nhk.or.jp)

Episodes: 40

Nagumo Shuji played baseball for a long time. His life revolved around baseball, but while he played for his university baseball team, he was injured. Due to his injury, Nagumo Shuji quit baseball and dropped out of school. He then worked as a sports trainer, but he made the decision to pursue his dream of becoming a teacher. At the age of 32, he enrolled at a university again and studied to become a teacher. Now, Nagumo Shuji works as a social studies teacher at Etsuzan High School in Mie Prefecture. He is married to Mika, and they live with Mika's father and their two children. Their two children are Aozora, who is from Mika's previous relationship, and their daughter Nagisa.

Meanwhile, there is a baseball team at Etsuzan High School, but they have not had many winning seasons. Inuzuka Mikio is a rich man from a prestigious family. His grandson enters Etsuzan High School, and his goal is to play baseball professionally in the United States. For his grandson, Inuzuka Mikio supports the high school baseball team, and Nagumo Shuji becomes an advisor for the team.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Episodes: 10

Set in Kumamoto, one year after Iruma Michio was transferred out of “Ichikei”. Whilst Michio is busy vigorously conducting trials at the Kumamoto District Court 2nd Branch, a case of grievous bodily harm arises, revolving around a young man named Suwa Haruto who intervened in a gang fight and is in critical condition. The suspect, Uchida Wataru, pleads guilty to the charges, and on the surface, it appears to be a cut and dry case that will result in a suspended sentence. However, as the investigation proceeds, it becomes clear that Wataru initially denied the charges during his police interrogation. Sensing there is more to the story and doubting the suspects’ guilt, Michio activates his authority and begins his own investigation.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Komazawa Yoshio, the head judge of “Ichikei”, is deliberating over a personal injury case between employees of the large company "Hoshizumi Holdings." The employees belonged to factions of the next company president candidates, and the case resembles a war by proxy. The parties involved, Oyabu Shigeyuki and Shimazu Natsuko only care about ending the trial as quickly as possible, which makes Komazawa even more irritated.

From these two completely unrelated cases, an unexpected connection arises. When things finally come to trial, what dreadful heartbreak and deep darkness is hidden at the center of these cases?

(Source: Japan Program Catalog)

Adapted from the manga "Ichikei no Karasu" (イチケイのカラス) by Asami Rito (浅見理都).

Episodes: 1

Two years after Iruma Michio left first criminal court ("Ichikei") of the Tokyo District Court, he now works as a judge at Setouchi in Okayama Prefecture. He currently has an injury case involving Japan's youngest ever Minister of Defense.

Meanwhile, Sakama Chizuru works as a lawyer, following the system of judges' gain other work experience. She is currently working on a case involving a large local company. Her case is located in a neighboring town from where Iruma Michio works. Their two cases seem totally unrelated, but a secret is revealed between the two cases.

Adapted from the manga "Ichikei no Karasu" (イチケイのカラス) by Asami Rito (浅見理都).

A comedy focusing on Kondo Asami, a 33-year-old single woman who lives with her parents and works at the local city hall, and suddenly finds herself starting her life over from scratch. It happens out of a sudden and Asami finds herself on a bed in an obstetrics and gynecology clinic, where she meets her young parents and begins her life all over again.

Dispatched teaching staff member Nanami meets Tetsuya through SNS and decides to marry him. She doesn't have many relatives and turns to an agency called "Nandemoya", run by Amuro. She asks the agency to send people to her wedding and for some to pretend they are her relatives. Early in her marriage, Nanami finds Tetsuya having an affair, but her mother-in-law, Kayako, insists Nanami is having the affair. Due to this, Nanami has to leave her home. Amuro gives Nanami, who is in trouble, odd part-time jobs.

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An omnibus drama depicting the stories of 8 women and 8 unique chairs.

Takabayashi Matsuri learns that she only has 10 years to live due to an incurable disease. She decides to not dwell on her life and not to fall in love, but she meets Manabe Kazuto at a school reunion.

Adapted from the novel "Yomei 10 Nen" (余命10年) by Kosaka Ruka (小坂流加).

Rakugo has the image of a humorous story, but it is also a treasure trove of “scary stories”. Among them, this work boldly arranges a performance in which "human fear" stands out, and does it in an omnibus format.

There are four rakugo plays that will be drawn as a drama this time: "Kokoro", "Tatsumi's Tsuji Zou", "Konya Takao", and "Miyatogawa (upper / lower)".

Shishikari is a remote island, which is behind the times. The island suffers from a decreasing population and declining industries. Keita Izumi (Tatsuya Fujiwara) begins to produce black fig on Shishikari Island. Because of his well received product, the island is close to receiving a 5 billion yen grant from the government, which is part of the goverment's policy to reinvigorate rural economy. The residents of the island are excited, but their peaceful days changes by the appearance of Mutsuo Komisaka. Keita Izumi and his friends Jun Tanabe (Kenichi Matsuyama) and Rookie Police Officer Shinichiro Moriya are suspicious about him. One night, Keita Izumi's daughter goes missing. Due to that, Keita Izumi, Jun Tanabe and Shinichiro Moriya happen to kill Mutsuo Komisaka. They decide to hide Mutsuo Komisaka’s murder to protect the future of the island and their families. It turns out Mutsuo Komisaka was a psycho killer. Police officers come to Shishikari Island to catch Mutsuo Komisaka.

Adapted from the manga series "Noise" (ノイズ) by Tsutsui Tetsuya (筒井哲也).

Depicts the connection between people in a new era through the work, way of life, and romance of the people who work there, with the editorial staff of the news site as the main character.

Kanfuru News is an online news media website, run by a large publishing company. Their articles are written by the editorial team, who are all men, and consists mostly of rearranged stories and comments from other websites. Their goal is to only increase page views. One day, Seko Ririko is transferred to the editorial team from the accounting department.

Depicts the connection between people in a new era through the work, way of life, and romance of the people who work there, with the editorial staff of the news site as the main character.

Kanfuru News is an online news media website, run by a large publishing company. Their articles are written by the editorial team, who are all men, and consists mostly of rearranged stories and comments from other websites. Their goal is to only increase page views. One day, Seko Ririko is transferred to the editorial team from the accounting department.

Iruma Michio is a devil-may-care, unorthodox criminal judge at the Tokyo District Court’s first criminal court. He used to be a lawyer and was deeply involved in a past case that was behind his transformation into a judge. Iruma personally inspects crime scenes to prevent a miscarriage of justice and bring the truth to light. Although his demeanour is far from the image of a stuff judge, he is feared by lawyers as well as prosecutors because he is not bound by obligations, prejudices and preconceptions and has an inquiring mind that probes cases thoroughly. On the other hand, the judge Sakama Chizuru is the complete opposite of Iruma. A graduate of Tokyo University’s Faculty of Law, she is an elite among elites. She has been transferred to the first criminal court to reform it due to the unbelievably small number of cases that are closed. This is the equivalent of a company in the red to the extent of going bankrupt. As someone who takes great pride in maintaining public order by handling cases accurately and promptly, Chizuru cannot understand Iruma’s style which frustrates her to no end. However, when she realises that Iruma believes in treating a case as an individual’s life, she is faced with the question, “What can a judge do aside from issuing a ruling?”

In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of WOWOW, Matsuo Suzuki, the artistic director of Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon and the leader of Otona Keikaku in Tokyo, will write, direct, and perform in an original omnibus comedy drama. Each episode is 30 minutes long and is performed with an actress (Yoshida Yo, Kuroki Haru, Aso Kumiko, and Tabe Mikako).

Third season of Cold Case: Shinjitsu no Tobira.

Remake of the U.S. drama "Cold Case" (2003).

When Chihiro was a baby, she suffered from eczema. Her parents tried to find a cure, but nothing worked. Her father's co-worker then gave him some water from a strange religious group. Chihiro was miraculously cured by the water. Her parents began to follow the strange religion and became fervent followers. Chihiro is now in the 3rd grade of middle school and she faces changes in her life.

Adapted from the novel "Hoshi no Ko" by Natsuko Imamura.

Masashi is a photographer. He has his parents and an older brother Yukihiro. For Masashi’s photography school graduation project, he replicates a funny family moment from his childhood as adults. The photo is a huge success, and sparks a series of humorous, staged family photos, starting with his father’s dream of being a firefighter. This success continues into cumulating into a photobook that eventually wins a huge award. Afterwards, Masashi begins to travel throughout Japan taking family portraits, leading him to the prefecture of Iwate. It's after taking several more family portraits that the Great Tohoku Earthquake strikes, and Masashi is compelled to return to Iwate in search of the first family he photographed outside of his own. During his search he encounters Ono Yosuke, who is recovering photographs found in hopes of returning these memories to their families, and Masashi joins him.

Inspired by photographer Masashi Asada’s photography books “Asadake” and “Album no Chikara”.

28-year-old Oshima Nagi works for a home appliance manufacturer in Tokyo. She conforms to her surroundings as she constantly gauges people’s moods. Because of that, her goal is to pass each day without incident. However, as a result of reading too much into situations and pushing herself too hard, she collapses from hyperventilation. One day, Nagi’s boyfriend says something that breaks her heart. This prompts her to reexamine her life, and she makes the decision to change it. She resigns from her company, cancels the contract for the apartment she is living in and also stops communicating with everyone including her boyfriend. She plans to reset her life in order to be happy and let her naturally curly hair, which she has a hang-up about, grow out as is.

Based on manga series "Nagi no Oitoma" by Misato Konari.

Daisuke Goura is clearing his late grandmother's belongings and comes across an autographed copy of And Then by Sosuke Natsume. When he visits Biblia Antique Books for an appraisal, he meets the store's beautiful young owner Shioriko. Just by taking the book into her hands, Shioriko instantaneously reveals that it hides a secret that Daisuke's grandmother took to her grave: She once had a love affair with the owner of the book, and that man could probably be his grandfather. Impressed by Shioriko's analytical skills, he cuts a deal with her to help out at the store since she cannot do any heavy lifting due to a recent leg injury. As they are drawn to each other and become more intimate, Shioriko shares a surprising secret with Daisuke: Someone who is after her rare copy of The Final Years by Osamu Dazai, has been continually threatening her – and to make matters worse, he was the cause of her injury. Who is this mysterious man? And what happened to Daisuke's grandmother 50 years ago? The secrets of the antique books are to be revealed.

Kazuo’s younger brother went missing, leaving behind debt for Kazuo. To pay off his brother's debt, Kazuo works at the library during the day and works at a bread factory at night. His wife and daughter soon leaves him. One day, Kazuo wins 300 million yen from the lottery. He feels uneasy about the amount of money he has won. He decides to do research on other people who won the lottery and he learns a lot of the winners became miserable. Kazuo decides to visit his rich friend Tsukumo for advice. Tsukumo tells him that he doesn't know the meaning of money. They spend time together, but the next day Kazuo discovers that his 300 million yen winning is gone and so is his friend Tsukumo. To get the money back, he meets various people who worked with Tsukumo.

Noriko is a university student. By her mother’s recommendation, Noriko begins attending a Japanese tea ceremony near her house with her cousin Michiko. There, Noriko learns from Teacher Takeda. Noriko now has the Japanese tea ceremony in her life and it's there for her during moments when she is sad or happy.

30-year-old Shinkai Akira always smiles and she is perfect at work. She cares about those around her too much. 33-year-old Nemoto Kosei works as an accountant. He is friendly and popular among women. Nevertheless, he doesn't trust anyone and he does not fall in love easily. Akira and Kosei meet at a bar and become attracted to each other.

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.

Aoyama Takashi is a salesman who works in a company that exploits him. At first excited about finally gaining employment, he soon finds that his life as a salaryman is miserable. He is berated and hit by his superior, and forced to work unpaid overtime. Depressed and convinced that his joyless life is not worth living, Aoyama tries to throw himself in front of a train. However, he is saved by Yamamoto, a cheerful guy who claims to be Aoyama's childhood friend. Aoyama's life begins to change because of Yamamoto, but when he starts digging into Yamamoto's identity, he realizes that Yamamoto is not entirely what he seems.

Nobuko (Sayuri Yoshinaga) works in Nagasaki, Japan as a midwife. Her son died 3 years earlier from the atomic bomb. On August 9, 1948, her son appears in front of her again. Since that time, Koji (Kazunari Ninomiya) appears in front of her and they reminiscence about pleasant times. These happy, but bizarre moments seem eternal.

Asako (Rie Miyazawa) lives with two cats, named Gou Gou and Bi, in Kichijoji, Tokyo. She works as a popular manga artist. Her assistant Minami (Haru Kuroki) prepares to work independently as a manga artist. Iida (Atsuko Maeda) applies for Minami’s former assistant position.

On Christmas morning, a 14-year-old boy falls from the top of a school building. The police announce the boy's death as a suicide and his parents are in agreement with the report. Rumors though quickly spread about the boy's death....

A group of junior high school must find out the truth of their classmate's death is he was killed by someone or committed suicide.

Dispatched teaching staff member Nanami (Haru Kuroki) meets Tetsuya through SNS and decides to marry him. She doesn't have many relatives and turns to 'Nandemo Ya' run by Amuro (Gou Ayano). She asks the agency to send people to her wedding and for some to pretend they are her relatives.

Early in her marriage, Nanami finds Tetsuya having an affair, but her mother-in-law, Kayako, insists Nanami is having the affair. Due to this, Nanami has to leave her home. Amuro gives Nanami, who is in trouble, odd part-time jobs.

Tokuzo Akiyama is a young man from a rural area who is married with a child along the way. One day, he eats a delicious breaded cutlet which inspires him to strive to become a chef, specializing in Parisian cuisine. He travels to Tokyo, then Paris, France to learn the culinary arts. Despite facing discrimination and prejudice, he becomes a chef at the Hotel Ritz in Paris. At the age of 26, he becomes the Emperor of Japan’s personal chef.

Saori, Yukko, Garuru, Nakanishi and Akemi are high school students at a provincial city and members of a playgroup at their school. Yoshioka, who used to perform in plays when she was in college back in Tokyo, begins to work at the same high school as a new teacher. When the girls decide to compete in a play competition, with the goal to make it through the regionals, teacher Yoshioka tells them they're aiming low and that they should think about the national competition.

Seamstress Ichie inherits her grandmother’s dressmaking shop. She uses the shop’s old sewing machine to make western-style clothing which is extremely popular with locals, but continues on the path laid out by her grandmother by avoiding mass production or branding. Ichie gets plenty of business from the shop’s regulars, making custom dresses and mending vintage items as she interacts with customers and reflects back on her life.

Asako lives in Kichijōji, Tokyo. She works as a popular manga artist. Everyday, she is busy meeting deadlines, but suddenly her pet Saba dies. Since the death of her pet, Asako cannot draw or even eat. Her editor Omori recommends to Asako to try moving to a particular house. After she moves in, her life does not get better.

One day, when Asako walks in Inokashira Park, she meets a homeless person carrying a sick kitten. Asako wants to help the sick cat. Without telling the homeless person, Asako takes the cat to the hospital.

Born to a poor family in Yamanashi prefecture, in the year of 1903 at the age of 10, Muraoka Hanako was accepted by a Missionary school in Tokyo. It was her father's Ando Kippei, greatest wish that his daughter gets a higher education. The Missionary school was attended by daughters from noble families, and as a charity case, Hanako was reminded by her father to never be inferior to her rich schoolmates. As the classes were carried out in English, Hanako faced a culture shock when she started school. Unable to understand the teachers nor able to grasp the conversation of her peers, Hanako resolved to work really hard at her studies.This drama follows Hanako from her childhood, through her years at the missionary school, to her life as a school teacher and finally as the translator of L.M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables".

Born to a poor family in Yamanashi prefecture, in the year of 1903 at the age of 10, Muraoka Hanako was accepted by a Missionary school in Tokyo. It was her father's Ando Kippei, greatest wish that his daughter gets a higher education. The Missionary school was attended by daughters from noble families, and as a charity case, Hanako was reminded by her father to never be inferior to her rich schoolmates. As the classes were carried out in English, Hanako faced a culture shock when she started school. Unable to understand the teachers nor able to grasp the conversation of her peers, Hanako resolved to work really hard at her studies.This drama follows Hanako from her childhood, through her years at the missionary school, to her life as a school teacher and finally as the translator of L.M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables".

Ooejo agricultural high school is located in Hokkaido. Most students are from families involved in agriculture and their dreams are to continue working in agriculture. Meanwhile, Yuugo, who graduated from a prestigious middle school, applied to the Ooejo Agricultural High School just because the school has a dormitory. Yuugo, who grew up in the city, finds himself in an unfamiliar environment at Ooejo Agricultural High School, surrounded by nature and animals. Yuugo is also the only one who doesn't know what type of career he wants to pursue. Yuugo becomes impatient. He goes through struggles everyday, but he he also gets to know the other students and rural life in general. He begins to grow as a person.

Based on the manga "Gin no Saji Shiruba Supun" by Hiromu Arakawa.

Haruki Hanyu, who worked as a prosecutor, changes sides and becomes an attorney. He opens his law office "NEXUS". In court, pursues solutions where the plaintiff and defendant can come to a mutual understanding. This differs completely from Kensuke Komikado, who believes only the winner is right. At work, Haruki Hanyu has confrontation a with Machiko Mayuzumi, but still holds personal feelings for.

In the fictional town of Mahoro on the outskirts of Tokyo is Tada Benriken, a small business which does odd jobs. Its owner is the solemn and level-headed Tada Keisuke (Eita), and his unexpected guest, the easygoing but vague Gyoten Haruhiko (Matsuda Ryuhei), a former junior high school classmate who showed up one day and started to sponge on him. The two of them get on like oil and water, and yet are somehow inseparable. They receive queer, dubious incoming odd job requests which they accept, and what comes into view are the friendship between them as well as the backgrounds of their clients.

Set in Tokyo, actress Touko leaves the filming set of her latest project. She then comes across three people by random chance. She gives a ride to a man named Nagano whom she has never met before. At a small theatre, Kouko runs into Kikuchi - a former screenwriter who now works in the small theatre. Lastly, Touko meets Yasuko at the zoo. Yasuko is a woman studying for her college entrance exam and applying for a job at the zoo.