Asian Drama

In the year 1986, Ichiro Ogawa is a middle-aged man. He works as a PE teacher and the advisor of the middle school's baseball team. He is called the "Ogawa of Hell," because he is foul-mouthed and he repeats inappropriate behaviors. But at home, he is a single parent who has raised his daughter alone since his wife died due to a disease. He is an ordinary father who worries about his daughter acting out. Somehow, Ichiro Ogawa travels through time to the year 2024. There, he meets various people, including single mother Nagisa Inushima who works at broadcasting station.

Meanwhile and in the year 2024, Sakae Sakisaka works as a sociologist She is a flag bearer of feminism and frequently appears in the media to talk about gender discrimination or other gender issues. She and her son happen to time travel to the year 1986.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Episodes: 10

Duration: 54 min.

Airs On: Friday

Shoji Taishi is a new third-generation lawmaker who comes from a family of politicians and had a sheltered upbringing. The womanising and not particularly intelligent Taishi and his actress wife, Kurosawa Yui, who got her big break through a drama series, have been married for five years.

They act like a happily married couple for the sake of their work and public image, but their marriage has already broken down. Taishi and Yui barely have a conversation except when live streaming on social media and do not even see each other at home. Although they have grown disenchanted in their marriage, they cannot get divorced immediately due to pressure from their families and endorsement deals. The couple have no choice but to unite with the unshakeable goal of breaking up.

Arisu Ryohei and Usagi Yuzuha have been pursuing the mystery of “borderland”, risking their lives in games in order to survive and return to their world. The two of them encounter friends, foes and the mastermind who controls the game at a location believed to be the key to unravelling the mystery. They have collected the numbered cards each time they won a game. All that remains are the jack, queen and king cards. The games they face this round will be of greater difficulty than the ones that came before.

(Source: Jdramas Wordpress)

Adapted from the manga series "Imawa no Kuni no Alice" by Haro Aso.

Episodes: 8

Duration: 60 min.

Content Rating: 18+ Restricted (violence & profanity)

Aired On: Thursday

Kamijo Ren is the director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Liaison Division. His father is a former police officer. An incident in Ren’s childhood triggered his thirst for power and he has his sights set on heading the police force by becoming its Superintendent General someday. Ren believes topping the faction that he belongs to is the shortcut to fulfilling his aspiration. He is driven by ambition and has no qualms carrying out work, no matter how dirty it is. His childhood friend Mizuki Sawa, a senior detective in the First Investigation Division, often opposes his stance and mindset as a detective but is the only one who knows about his past.

Arisu—a listless, jobless and video-game-obsessed young man—suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive. In this strange world, Arisu meets Usagi, a young woman who’s navigating the games alone. Together, they set out to unravel one mystery after another as they risk their lives and confront what it means to live.

(Source: Netflix)

Adapted from the manga series "Imawa no Kuni no Alice" by Haro Aso.

Episodes: 8

Duration: 48 min.

Content Rating: 18+ Restricted (violence & profanity)

Aired On: Thursday

Arisu—a listless, jobless and video-game-obsessed young man—suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive. In this strange world, Arisu meets Usagi, a young woman who’s navigating the games alone. Together, they set out to unravel one mystery after another as they risk their lives and confront what it means to live.

(Source: Netflix)

Adapted from the manga series "Imawa no Kuni no Alice" by Haro Aso.

Episodes: 8

Duration: 48 min.

Content Rating: 18+ Restricted (violence & profanity)

Aired On: Thursday

"Mothers in Love" follows the lives of three mothers, who have sons that attend the same school.

An Ishiwatari lived with her husband and son. Her husband worked at a travel agency and An Ishiwatari lived in comfort. Her life changed after her husband went missing. An Ishiwatari now raises her son alone and sends him to a prestigious high school.

Yuko Hayashi is a successful career woman. Her husband is an unpopular novelist and he takes care of their home. Their son is a high school student. Yuko Hayashi's family seems to run smoothly, but she worries about her son.

Mari Kanbara lives with her husband and they have 3 children (1 son and 2 daughters). Her son attends the same prestigious high school as the sons of An Ishiwatari and Yuko Hayashi and her husband works at a law firm. Mari Kanbara appears to have an enviable life, but her husband is having an affair. Mari Kanbara is unable to even blame him for his infidelity.

Adapted from the manga by Fumi Saimon.

Goro Akechi is a private detective and his office is located near Omotesando in Tokyo. He is a big fan of gourmet food. It's important to Goro Akechi to eat delicious meals three times a day.

A client visits Goro Akechi’s private detective office. The client is a housewife. She suspects that her husband is having an affair and she asks for Goro Akechi's help.

The story is based on the life of a japanese composer named Yuji Koseki from Fukushima in the Showa Era.

In 1909, a long-awaited baby boy was born to a family which has run a dry goods store for generations in Fukushima Prefecture. He would later become the talented composer Koyama Yuichi who wrote many famous songs. Although Yuichi was brought up as the heir of the business, he was rather dreamy and considered a child with no redeeming traits by the people around him. However, when he encountered music, it sparked joy and unleashed his gift in composing music through self-study. As a youth, Yuichi secretly put his name down for an overseas songwriting competition. This would change his destiny. He won runner-up for the song he entered for the competition. As a result, he got to know a female student who wanted to be a singer. Despite the long distance between them – Fukushima and Toyohashi – the two of them tied the knot. When they came to Tokyo, they met all sorts of people and weathered a dark period to produce a number of hit songs. However, war broke out and Yuichi had to compose wartime songs at the army’s request. It pained him that young men died in battle after singing the songs he had written. After the war, the country began to recover amid the chaos. The couple made a new era of music in an attempt to encourage the wounded through the power of music.

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.

Ishibashi Taro is 38-years-old, single and works for a big bank. Miyoshi Reiya is 37 years old, divorced and works as a dentist. Iwakura Kazuhiko is 45-years-old, single and works as a lawyer. These three men are close friends and they enjoy their lives as single men, but they begin to think about marriage.

Kenji Amo is a 2nd generation Japanese-American. He was born in America but went to school in Japan. He returned to America to study at UCLA. Now, Kenji Amo works as a reporter for a newspaper in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles.

Charlie Tamiya also studied at UCLA with Kenji Amo. Charlie Tamiya has feelings for Nagiko who works with Kenji Amo at the same newspaper company. Knowing that, Kenji Amo holds complicated feelings. At this time, Nagiko's friend Emi Hatanaka asks Kenji Amo to marry her. He accepts her proposal, but the Pacific War begins. Circumstances surrounding Kenji Amo changes.

When high school student Tomura Naoki met piano tuner Itadori Soichiro at his school in Hokkaido, he could smell the forest from the piano tuned by Soichiro. Touched, the boy decides to work together with Soichiro at his musical instruments store. Naoki develops relationships with many people related to the piano and he meets sister pianists and high school students Kazune and Yuni.

Adapted from the novel "Hitsuji to Hagane no Mori" by Natsu Miyashita. The novel won the 13th Japan Booksellers' Award in 2016.

Takamori Azu discovers that her husband whom she trusts more than anyone else, is having an affair. Her peaceful everyday life suddenly transforms into days of endless worry. After an internal struggle, she decides to trust in him again. Her husband also rediscovers his love for her and the two of them are about to get back together again. However, each time they try to do that, they would be faced with all sorts of difficulties caused by her husband’s mistress.

Haraguchi Motoko works as a temp at a bank. To pay off debt that she inherited from her parents, she also works as a hostess at a club in Ginza. Motoko Haraguchi is finally able to repay the debt.

At this time, there's chatter that the temp employees will be laid off at the bank. Motoko Haraguchi decides to carry out a scheme she has prepared secretly. She transfers money from accounts opened illegally to her bank account. Altogether, Motoko Haraguchi embezzles 180 million yen. Using her “Kurokawa no Techo” (Black Leather Notebook) which has a list of the illegally opened accounts, she fights against bank branch managers and opens a club in Ginza.

Yuri Ishikawa and her team try to crack unresolved cold cases in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

The Japanese version of Warner Bros ‘Cold Case'.

drama

Plastic surgery, murder, intimidation… Uchibori Miwa, the president of cosmetic company Nympha Miwa, frequently gets coverage in the media due partly to her good looks. However, she finds a posting online that reads, “I know the real Uchibori Miwa” and feels shaken. Miwa looks like a successful person, but has a hidden past that was sealed off. She had once worked as a cleaner of the cosmetic surgery department and always wore a mask because she felt insecure about her own face. Her true face happens to be seen by the doctor Akizuki Yoshihiko, but when he wants to try a new surgical procedure, she undergoes cosmetic surgery for free. The surgery is a success and Miwa, who has obtained a beautiful face like a new person, soon gets married to Akizuki. However, happiness is short-lived. Akizuki had been kind so far, but his attitude suddenly changes. Miwa is forced to live without freedom. Meanwhile, Machida Takeharu, who goes in and out of the Akizuki household as a landscape gardener, encounters Miwa standing around alone in the garden. Having seen with his own eyes how Miwa is subjected to cruel treatment such as Akizuki’s violence, Machida instinctively invites her to his house and the two of them become romantically involved. One day, Miwa angers Akizuki because of something trivial and is severely assaulted. Then Machida arrives. She instructs him to kill her husband and the 50 million yen in the safe will be his. But Akizuki is standing behind them with a gold club. A scuffle breaks out, and the two of them end up murdering Akizuki. Miwa gives Machida money in order to cover up the murder, and tells him not to meet her ever again. Eight years go by. Miwa looks at the posting on the internet as she recalls Machida who probably hates her and her face goes stiff. At that same moment, Machida is staring at a poster of Miwa’s lecture in a town of Fukuoka Prefecture. Then Miwa meets Takeoka Yoshiko, a former investigator who says she is her fan. Hearing Yoshiko’s story about losing her job after the company went bankrupt, Miwa invites her to work in her own company. But in an unexpected turn of events, Miwa subsequently asks Yoshiko to do a background check on Machida.

Serina Hirakawa (Riisa Naka) is a deputy director at a public prosecutor's office. Her father (Yukijiro Hotaru) was a police officer, but killed. Kentaro was charged for murdering her father. Serina's father was investigating Kentaro and his involvement in a string of thefts inside of cars. Kentaro was found guilty for the murder. Serina Hirakawa admired Prosecutor Ryoji Tajima (Goro Kishitani) who extracted a confession from Kentaro.

Now, Serina works for Prosecutor Ryoji. One day, Kentaro insists he is innocent of the murder charge and kills himself in prison.

Several days later, Prosecutor Ryoji meets Attorney Kuromiya (Jiro Sato). The attorney defended Kentaro in the murder case. Attorney Kuromiya tells Prosecutor Ryoji about the real killer in the murder case. Soon, Attorney Kuromiya is found dead. Doubts about the death of Serina's father is aroused. Prosecutor Ryoji is suspected in the murder of Attorney Kuromiya. Serina is dumbfounded by the recent chain of events. She soon begins to investigate the two murder cases: her father's murder and the death of Attorney Kuromiya.

Mika (Riisa Naka) is a flight attendant on board an airplane scheduled to land at Haneda Airport. On the way to the airport the airplane's engine starts to burn. In order to save the 346 people on board the airplane, sea marshall Daisuke Senzaki (Hideaki Ito) and his team are called into action ...

Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) is a young woman who believes everything will be okay and always tries to help those around her. One day, she met an American man and wanted to help him. They became involved in a relationship and she moved with him to California. A little later, her boyfriend left her and Mitsuko returned to Japan alone. Her parents, who run a pachinko parlor, still think Mitsuko is living happily in California. Now, Mitsuko is nine-months pregnant, unmarried and almost broke. She has to move out of her apartment. Yet, Mitsuko still believes everything will be okay. Mitsuko doesn't know where she will go, but she lays downs on a bench and watches where the wind blows. Mitsuko then knows where she will go. She'll visit an elderly woman who was her parents' landlord many years ago. Mitsuko will also see again the boy (Aoi Nakamura) that held a life-long crush on her.

The story involves Katori playing a successful advisor at a marriage consultation agency that aims to bring together people looking for partners. Kuroki plays one of the agency’s clients, who is “so beautiful” that the manual he uses doesn’t apply to her, while Fujiki plays a rich and handsome lawyer who is also a client. Katori starts to fall for Kuroki, but as a professional, he pairs the two together.

Shinagawa Daichi used to be a good student who has now become a delinquent, while class president Adachi Hana was a delinquent who is now trying to move on. Her secret is discovered by Shinagawa, but she involves herself trying to correct his ways.

Reiji Kikukawa (Toma Ikuta), who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan. Reiji is ordered to become a "mole," an undercover cop. His target is Shuho Todoroki, the boss of the Sukiyakai gang. The group is the largest crime group in the Kanto area. Masaya Hiura, who works as a young boss of a Sukiyakai affiliated gang likes Reiji. While going through various hardships, Reiji works his way towards Shuho Todoroki.

Seven years ago, Terayama Kazuki died of cancer at the young age of 25, leaving behind his wife Tetsuko and father Rentaro. They live together and are a family, but theirs is a delicate relationship of daughter-in-law and father-in-law with no blood ties. Through the intriguing people Tetsuko comes into contact with who were linked by fate to her kindhearted husband, she is freed from the pain of the loss of a loved one and begins to start life again.

7 detectives, each with their own unique style in problem solving, work at the same detective agency. Each detective is in charge of their own case file until one day, the cases somehow seem to tangle up together into one big mystery. Inevitably, the detectives are left with no choice but to team up together in tackling the intriguing, but complex mystery. Despite differing opinions and amidst complications, the detectives work together to unravel the truth behind the suspect's agenda. Tokita Shuntaro is a freshman detective who has the tendency of sticking his head in things too far out of sympathy or excessive emotions towards his clients or research objects. This trait leads him to take unnecessary steps, ones that often times lead him to trouble. Contrary to Shuntaro, Nitta Teru is a well composed detective. He eyes Shuntaro with a cold stare and often times conflicts with his opinions. Watching over Shuntaro and Teru like a big brother is Asahi Junpei, a senior detective who goes in between the two and tries to settle their disputes but instead ends up complicating the situation. Filled with "action", "comedy", and "positive thinking", the action packed entertainment show is sure to appeal to the entire family from children to adults. The team of 7 detectives with differing opinions, bold character, laughs, thrilling moments and high scale action will keep you on your toes at all times. Not a moment shall be missed!

Fukada plays Mai Aida, a woman in her third year as an english teacher at a private all-girls high school. Due to declining enrollment, the school decides to admit its first male students. Those five freshmen initially feel they're in paradise, but the concerned Mai tries to help them adjust by creating a social dance club and inviting five girls. Those ten students become the focus of the drama, which is described as a story of love and adolescence.

Aoishi Hanae is a plain, inconspicuous office lady who has had no experience in love and no boyfriend. On her 30th birthday, she happens to end up drinking with Tanokura Yuto, a cool university student nine years her junior who is also a part-timer at her company, on the way home from a welcome party for new employees. Hanae gets drunk. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds a naked Yuto sleeping next to her. She has her first experience and first boyfriend out of the blue. Even when Hanae and Yuto go on to date, it is a daily process of trial and error because everything is a first for Hanae, including an amusement park date, a sleepover, Christmas Eve or a couple’s trip. To complicate matters, she also gets a proposal from Asao Yu, the CEO of an Italian food company who is popular with women, and a love triangle develops.

7 years ago, Kazuki died at the age of 25. While Kazuki’s wife, Tetsuko (Riisa Naka), and her father-in-law, Rentaro (Takeshi Kaga), live together, she slowly gets over her sadness by meeting people who were related to her late husband.

Patients are brought in one after the other. Being put in an environment where there is a race against time to save lives, all they can do is stand there doing nothing. Though they still have a lot to grow as a doctor and as individuals, will they be able to overcome adversity and one day be able to proudly identify themselves as being a doctor? --TBS

The story revolves around Kanzuki Shizuku, a young man who was estranged from his father, a world-famous wine critic. When his father passed away, he left behind a wine collection worth a fortune, but in order to inherit it, Shizuku must solve a series of puzzles left by his father to identify 6 wines. His competitor was Tomine Issei, a prominent wine critic, whom his father adopted before his death.

When Kaoru Kanzaki was a child, her mother’s restaurant went bankrupt. Her family became poor afterwards. Since graduating from middle school, Kaoru Kanzaki has worked hard and lived a thrifty life to escape poverty. As a result, she is able to save 1 million yen. Kauro though lends her colleague 1 million yen, which leads her to fall heavily in debt and her life spiral downward again.

At that time, Kaoru Kanzaki happens to meet members of Koshimizu Management Consultant and becomes a member. Kaoru Kanzaki struggles to get out of her desperate situation.

Kano Haruko is a charismatic shop assistant who has such excellent fashion sense that she has been featured in fashion magazines. However, she is unable to give up her dream of being a high school teacher. Haruko is asked by her former teacher to teach Japanese to foreigners for three months on the understanding that he would introduce her for the high school’s Japanese language teaching position. And so, she becomes a trainee teacher at a Japanese language school where she coaches nine foreign students with strong personalities, including an Italian anime enthusiast and a Swede who is in love with ninjas, according to her own convictions, while setting her sights on becoming a high school teacher.

A young couple start dating, but their happy days are interrupted by a single fact: she is planning to apply for a local university but he is not. The girl pleads with her boyfriend not to go away and he starts to think over the priorities in his life.

Sugata Kentaro used to be one of the most hopeful trainee to be a professional Shogi (Japanese chess) player, but fails at the final test. Now he has become a "Shinkenshi," a gambler who plays Shogi for money, and boasts his 182 wins in a row. But he is devastated when he is beaten completely by a young woman known as "Ukeshi" who takes any challenges and never loses. As Shogi means everything to him, he decides to train himself harder to become the strongest player. Based on a popular comic, this comedy drama is about a young man's exciting journey to reorganize his life through a series of tough challenges in Shogi guided by a mysterious girl.

Koyama Kazumi is a poor but optimistic college student who firmly believing that there are more important things than money. Despite his own poverty he ends up taking on other people's debts and faces various challenges to pay off those debts