Official Website
www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/kinounanitabeta

Broadcast
From 1.12 a.m., Saturdays, 5 April 2019

Network
TV Tokyo

Story
Kakei Shiro is a lawyer who works at a small law firm. His daily routine is to leave work on time and head to a discount supermarket in the neighbourhood where he closely studies the best buys for cooking ingredients and puts together the dinner menu. He deftly prepares a spread of well-balanced, home-made dishes is a good cook and has a meal together with Yabuki Kenji, a hairdresser at the hair salon Form. They are actually gay partners who call each other Shiro-san and Kenji. Shiro is a meticulous and thrifty person who keeps the monthly food budget to 25,000 yen while the affable Kenji leaves meal preparations to him. The two of them share a two-bedroom apartment and the finer points of two men living together comes up at the dining table every day.

Cast
* Nishijima Hidetoshi as Kakei Shiro
* Uchino Masaaki as Yabuki Kenji
* Makita Sports as Miyake Hiroshi
* Isomura Hayato as Inoue Wataru
* Chan Kawai as Uemachi Osamu
* Marin as Tominaga Michiru
* Tanaka Misako as Tominaga Kayoko
* Yashiba Toshihiro as Tominaga
* Takaizumi Atusko as Uemachi Mie
* Nakamura Yurika as Koyama Shino
* Shiga Kotaro/Tayama Ryosei as Kakei Goro
* Yamamoto Koji as Kohinata Daisaku
* Kaji Meiko as Kakei Hisae

Scriptwriter
Adachi Naoko (Toumeina Yurikago, Daibinbo, Shitsuren Chocolatier)

Original Work
Kinou Nani Tabeta? by Yoshinaha Fumi

Related Post:

• Kinou Nani Tabeta? CM

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Official Website
www.ktv.jp/perfectworld

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 16 April 2019

Network
Fuji TV

Story
Kawana Tsugumi dreamt of becoming an illustrator when she was a student and promised her father that she would return to Nagano Prefecture once she graduates. She entered a Tokyo university but did not go back to her hometown even after graduation. She now lives with her younger sister Shiori while doing clerical work at an interior design firm. One day, Tsugumi is asked by her superior Azuma Michiyo to represent her at a meeting with an architect firm. This is where she meets her first love and former high school classmate Ayukawa Itsuki. Itsuki is an architect who works for Watanabe Tsuyoshi’s architect firm. Tsugumi’s heart skips a beat at this chance meeting and tells all present about Itsuki’s high school days when he was the captain of the basketball club. She innocently asks “You’re not playing basketball anymore?” and in the next instant, she sees him in a wheelchair and is lost for words. In fact, Itsuki suffered spinal injury while he was in university and can no longer walk. The next day, Itsuki takes a mortified Tsugumi, who had come to his office to apologise for her insensitive remarks, to a park up on a hill. Tsugumi listens to Itsuki’s passion for his work, she realises that apart from his disabilities, he is still the same old Itsuki. One thing leads to another and it is decided that he will go with Tsugumi to an art exhibition that she had intended to attend alone. On the day of the appointment, Koreeda Hirotaka, a former classmate of both Tsugumi and Itsuki, visits Tsugumi’s apartment after she leaves. Hirotaka has had a secret crush on her since high school days and is shocked to hear from Shiori that Tsugumi has gone out with Itsuki. However, at that moment Tsugumi is made to realise the difficulty of an outing in a wheelchair rather than delight in her “date”. She is also disconcerted when she learns that he broke up with Yukimura Miki, his girlfriend since high school, after the accident and has no intention of being romantically involved with anyone again. Itsuki and Tsugumi are attracted to each other. However, they face problems including disapproving parents, the appearance of a love rival and illness as they search for the meaning of happiness.

Characters
Matsuzaka Tori as Ayukawa Itsuki
A registered architect with a first-class licence at Watanabe Architects. He was a top basketball player during high school days but got involved in an accident when he was in his third year in university and became paralysed from waist down due to a spinal cord injury. He broke up with his girlfriend Yukimura Miki and felt despaired of the future. However, with the support of the people around him, he fulfilled his dream of being an architect. Now at the age of 29, he is in charge of designing homes that are free of barriers. He thought that he had given up on romance and basketball, but … …

Yamamoto Mizuki as Kawana Tsugumi
A clerk in charge of administrative work at the interior design company Cranberries. She meets Ayukawa Itsuki, whom she had a secret crush on when she was a high school student, again by chance. Even though she is shocked that he is wheelchair-bound, she wants to support him. She used to belong to the art club back in high school and aspired to enter an arts college. However, she did not have confidence in her own abilities and gave up on the entrance exam.

Seto Koji as Koreeda Hirotaka
Kawana Tsugumi’s former classmate. He runs a company in Tokyo that creates apps. Because he is a childhood acquaintance of Tsugumi’s, he decides to confess his feelings once his business is doing well. Owing to bad timing, Tsugumi and Ayukawa Itsuki reunite and he ends up going back to his position as her confidant once again. Even though he gently watches over Tsugumi, he is unable to move past his feelings for her.

Nakamura Yuri as Nagasawa Aoi
A helper who provides home nursing care. She visits Ayukawa Itsuki’s apartment several times a week. When she was a nurse, she encouraged and got a depressed Itsuki, who was hospitalised, back on his feet again. She treats Kawana Tsugumi who appeared all of a sudden harshly because she saw Itsuki’s suffering. She got married after Itsuki was discharge but is currently in the midst of divorcing her husband.

Kimura Yuichi as Watanabe Tsuyoshi
The head of Watanabe Architects. Nicknamed Nabe-san, he has been researching and promoting architecture that is free of barriers. He was introduced to Ayukawa Itsuki by the nurse Nagasawa Aoi when Itsuki was hospitalised because of an accident and felt depressed about his future. He understands Itsuki very well and has also become his confidant.

Aso Yumi as Ayukawa Fumino
Ayukawa Itsuki’s mother. She is an insurance agent in Nagano Prefecture. Although she wishes to send for her son and live together with him, he flatly refuses. So she goes to Tokyo feeling concerned. She yearns for her son’s happiness even if it means someone has to sacrifice.

Matsushige Yutaka as Kawana Motohisa
Kawana Tsugumi’s father. He lives in Nagano Prefecture. He works at the municipal office’s Welfare Division where he takes the lead in town planning to create a livable environment for the elderly and persons with disabilities. He dotes on Tsugumi and is also overprotective. He made her promise that she would return to Nagano if she was still single at 30 in exchange for his permission to advance her studies in Tokyo.

Scriptwriter
Nakatani Mayumi (Tonari no Kazoku wa Aoku Mieru, Jimi ni Sugoi Series)

Original Work
Perfect World by Aruga Rie

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Post:

• Perfect World Teaser

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Official Website
www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kintori

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 April 2019

Network
TV Asahi

Story
Several months after full visibility of every interrogation has been implemented, top officials of each police precinct gather together at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. They are given extreme training to take the edge off the way suspects are treated. However, while they are taking a tour, Kintori’s interrogator Makabe Yukiko furiously shouts at an unrepentant suspect. She ends up being ordered by Kikuchi Reiko, the first female counsellor of criminal investigations at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, to give her full attention to newly appointed trainers and cut back on interrogations for a while. Meanwhile, Nomoto Yudai, who has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for bodily injury resulting in death and disposal of a body, escapes while under police escort. He takes a housewife Fujisawa Saori hostage and holes up in a Japanese-style house. For some reason, Nomoto asks for Reiko to be the negotiator. The case unexpectedly develops into a situation that rocks the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department when Reiko bursts into the house alone and fires at Nomoto to kill him. While the view that she had no choice but to do it in order to save the hostage spreads among the public, the Kintori start Reiko’s interrogation to put the sequence of events of the case on record. Reiko is composed the whole time as the members of Kintori watch. Her statement about the situation at the time Nomoto was killed matches up with Saori’s and it does not appear that she infringed the law governing police officers in the line of duty. However, the reason why she was named as well as short duration from the time she rushed in to the time she fired her gun somehow bother Yukiko and the other members of Kintori. In addition, Reiko fired two shots without a warning shot for some reason … …

Characters
Amami Yuki as Makabe Yukiko
A detective of Kintori of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division. She was the first female head of the SIT. However, she failed in the negotiations with the criminal in a certain case. She was then assigned to the Kintori. She used to be a loner but felt the sense of solidarity in Kintori through investigations and values each team member’s role. She detests crime due to an unsolved case that occurred in the past and approaches interrogations with the belief that she will “strip suspects bare”.

Tanaka Tetsushi as Kajiyama Katsutoshi
The director who presides over Kintori of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s First Investigative Division. He struggles with being tied down by the rank conscious police organisation and web of turf wars, but plots to get ahead in his career. Although he is a non-career officer, he has been promoted time and again because of his ability to make hard-headed decisions and get things done. He is a man who leads his subordinates with decisiveness. He has known Makabe Yukiko well for ages, and had his eye on her expert negotiation skills. He selected her to be a member of Kintori and has immense trust in his team members.

Hayami Mokomichi as Watanabe Tetsuji
A detective of the First Homicide Investigation Section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s First Investigative Division. He and section head Kenmotsu Daijiro are a team and called Motsunabe Combi by the people around them. A man of superhuman strength who has no sense of fear or subtlety in tactics. He readily obeys anything that his boss Kenmotsu orders. He is an outstanding detective who gets glimpses of his rational side.

Suzuki Kosuke as Kenmotsu Daijiro
The head of the First Homicide Investigation Section of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s First Investigative Division. He is hostile towards Kintori which intercepts the criminals that he and his subordinate Watanabe Tetsuji have arrested. A petty man who is easily flustered. Although he gradually recognises the real ability of the Kintori, his favourite phrase is still “We’re not errand boys”.

Okura Koji as Iwaki Kazuhisa
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s head of criminal investigations. He has made “Open Police” his motto in order to dispel mistrust and criticism of the police due to past injustice. He regards Kajiyama Katsutoshi as a rival and is privately uninterested in the activities of Kintori which Kajiyama leads. However, he takes advantage of them in his attempt to solidify his own position.

Denden as Hishimoto Susumu
A detective of Kintori of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s First Investigative Division. Because the majority of his detective life was devoted to yakuza groups, his appearance as well as his manner of speech is like a yakuza’s. A walking encyclopedia on crime, he is a seasoned and wily professional at nailing criminals with flattery, threats and deals. He used to think female police officers are a hindrance. Now he makes fun of Makabe Yukiko as a “middle-aged woman”, but he recognises her capability.

Kohinata Fumiyo as Koishikawa Haruo
A detective of Kintori of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s First Investigative Division. He is the most intellectual of the team members. Although he is gentle with suspects, he actually corners them with keen insight. He is usually all smiles but no one thinks he is truly smiling. While he may mock and make wisecracks about Makabe Yukiko, he acknowledges her as a capable colleague.

Scriptwriter
Inoue Yumiko (Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Series, Pandora Series)

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Posts:

• Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Season 2
• Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Season 1

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Official Website
www.wowow.co.jp/drama/tokyo23ku

Broadcast
From 12.00 a.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2019

Network
WOWOW

Story
Freelance writer Harada Ririko and her senior, Shimano Hitoshi, a former lecturer on folklore go around to Tokyo’s hidden spots with horror stories. They encounter many apparitions in places that everyone knows about in the 23 wards.

Shibuya-ku no Onna
Synopsis: Ririko (Shimazaki Haruka) and Shimano (Okayama Amane) sense some strong pulse on the streets crowded with young people in Shibuya ward. Under their feet and the asphalt covered streets, a river hidden from the surface and enclosed in the darkness of subterranean drains flows freely. A sad truth has also been concealed. Meanwhile, Ryoko (Kurashina Kana), a bride-to-be, receives an email that says her missing mother Kasumi (Tsukifune Sarara) wants to meet. She enters the subterranean drains on her own in search of her mother and meets a mysterious man (Sano Shiro).
Cast: Kurashina Kana, Tsukifune Sarara, Sakata Masanobu, Sano Shiro

Koto-ku no Onna
Synopsis: In the past, the whole of Yume no Shima in Koto ward was once a landfill. Now Yume no Shima Park is a place where families can relax but what was buried in the vast landfill that is sealed in darkness? One night in 1974, Nobuko (Adachi Yumi) and her lover Shiro (Hasegawa Tomoharu), who is the owner of a traditional Japanese restaurant in Fukagawa, arrive at this place to dump a big bag. Then a shocking outcome surprises Nobuko who is carrying his child.
Cast: Adachi Yumi, Kamimura Ami, Kuno Makiko, Hasegawa Tomoharu, Suzuki Sawa

Teshima-ku no Onna
Synopsis: The fate of the “Ikebukuro woman” dates back to the Edo Period. Ririko meets a man (Kohinata Fumiyo) who is searching for his missing daughter Mio (Sakuraba Nanami). She discovers Mio in Higashi Ikebukuro Chuo Park which is rumoured to be a massive grave site created after the end of World War II to bury the many war criminals who were executed. However, Mio tells Ririko that she is not that man’s daughter.
Cast: Sakuraba Nanami, Fujiwara Kisetsu, Kohinata Fumiyo

Minato-ku no Onna
Synopsis: The driver (Takenaka Naoto) of the taxi that Kie (Dan Mitsu), a fashion designer, got into asks her a curious question, “Do you know why Odaiba has ‘o’ affixed to it?” However, this driver roams various parts of Minato-ku after dark without heading to the destination. Kie’s life flashes before her like a revolving lantern. Why can’t the taxi get to its destination? Kie’s cruel reality and a shocking outcome are gradually revealed.
Cast: Dan Mitsu, Onishi Shima, Takenaka Naoto

Itabashi-ku no Onna
Synopsis: A tree which is effective in severing ties between man and woman has been enshrined in a corner of Itabashi ward’s main street since ancient times. Kaoru (Nakayama Miho) suspects her husband (Ogi Shigemitsu) of infidelity and tails him. She sees her husband visit the tree and leave a wooden votive tablet with characters like code. To Kaoru, the tree is a place with a “connection” to her, and her confusion and misgivings are amplified. The shocking truth of the code concealed in the votive tablet and the true form of the terrifying thing that has possessed her are revealed.
Cast: Nakayama Miho, Mafia Kajita, Asakawa Yu, Ogi Shigemitsu

Shinagawa-ku no Onna
Synopsis: The remains of the Suzugamori execution grounds dates back to the Edo Period. Police officer Kiuchi (Shirasu Jin) who works in a police box in the Shinagawa ward, sees a mysterious woman at crime scenes on numerous occasions. This woman is Ririko. Kiuchi questions her about entering the Suzugamori execution grounds but she begins talking about the facts of an unexpected case. What is the identity of the person who has been watching Kiuchi intently and the secret surrounding Ririko?
Cast: Shimazaki Haruka, Shirasu Jin, Yamasaki Mami, Fujiki Yuki, Okayama Amane

Scriptwriter
Nagae Toshikazu

Original Work
Tokyo 23-ku Onna by Nagae Toshikazu

Click here for photos from the press conference.

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Official Website
www.tbs.co.jp/shudan-sasen

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 21 April 2019

Network
TBS

Story
Kataoka Hiroshi is an ordinary salaryman who works for Mitsutomo Bank, a large bank. One day, he receives a promotion to be the manager of the bank’s Kamata branch. Kataoka is delighted by the sudden appointment before his 50th birthday. However, his joy is doused once he learns that the branch is slated to wind up business. Managing director Yokoyama Teruo aims at complete rationalisation and Kataoka is told that he does not have to achieve the quota since the branch will be closed down within six months. In addition, he is informed that he does not need to put in hard work and is promised preferential treatment. Once the branch is closed without a hitch, he will return to headquarters. Kataoka is uncomfortable with being told not to work hard and meet the quota for the first time in his life. He wonders if it is fine to wait for the decision to wind up. On his first day of work as branch manager, they are contacted about the disappearance of the CEO of a company that the Kamata branch had made a loan of 50 million yen to. While Kataoka searches for this CEO, Yokoyama’s words cross his mind. Two days later, deputy branch manager Mayama Toru calls to inform him that headquarters will be coming to check on the branch’s loans. Kataoka cannot bring himself to tell the unsuspecting employees at the branch who will be laid off. He is conflicted about his position and as he sees their efforts, he begins to think that it is impossible to do as he was told. This is the start of his battle.

Characters
Fukuyama Masaharu as Kataoka Hiroshi
He joined Mitsutomo Bank, a major bank, and had been working at its headquarters. However, he is promoted to be the manager of the bank’s Kamata branch, which was the head office of the former Daishowa Bank as he approaches 50. His personality is such that he hates to lose and can get too heated up. For that reason, he cannot stand unreasonable things and will even make his opinions known to his superiors. He sometimes gripes about things he cannot say at the bank while at a stone sauna after work with his childhood friends Aoshima Kenji and Suzuki Masayuki, and lets the stress out.

Kagawa Teruyuki as Mayama Toru
He joined Daishowa Bank and became an employee of Mitsutomo Bank after the merger. He does not express his feelings very much. When he was young, he was a workaholic who battled round the clock. He delivered results and found meaning in helping small and medium enterprises that had difficulties getting loans. But there came a point when he started to stop what he was doing for the day and leave on time no matter how busy he was. Kataoka Hiroshi does not know whether he is a foe or ally.

Kamiki Ryunosuke as Takigawa Koji
A bright young man who joined Mitsutomo Bank after graduating from elite schools. He is handsome and outstanding in both studies and sports. He was a candidate for an executive position and in charge of corporate sales at the bank’s Shinjuku and Osaka branches, but dropped out because of some incident.

Nakamura Anne as Kida Mieko
A former delinquent who dropped out in the fall during her first year of high school. She is actually a hardworking person who made it to university after taking the university entrance exam. She hates anything dishonest as well as old men who reek of cheap cologne. She tends to be treated with great caution because she does not mince her words. She beat up her boss for sexually harassing her and was demoted to the Kamata branch as a result. She is stylish, cheerful and ambitious. She is studying English because she is interested in working overseas.

Ichimura Masachika as Fujita Hideki
The president of Mitsutomo Bank. He comes from Daishowa Bank so the real power is held by the chairman Goda Narimichi and vice president Nanko Masaru who come from Mitsutomo Bank. He feels compelled to approve the personnel retrenchment in recent years to cut costs, for the sake of the bank’s future.

Sakou Yoshi as Yadori Masashi
Kataoka Hiroshi’s ex-boss. Although he is not able to do much work, he is politically savvy and good at finding and ingratiating himself with people who are likely to haul him up. He feels uneasy about Kataoka, who has defied him at every turn.

Hashizume Jun as Nanko Masaru
The vice president of Mitsutomo Bank. He comes from Mitsutomo Bank. He conspires with Yokoyama Teruo with the intention of closing down all Daishowa Bank-affiliated branches. He feels threatened by Yokoyama’s existence and always thinks that it is good that he is a junior.

Omi Toshinori as Umehara Takashi
He joined the Mitsutomo Bank at the same time as Kataoka Hiroshi. An elite who has experience as the manager of the bank’s major Osaka and Nagoya branches. However, something also happens to Umehara. That is … …

Mikami Hiroshi as Yokoyama Teruo
A managing director at Mitsutomo Bank. He joined the bank after graduating from university. He is an aggressive man who can instantly distinguish foe from ally. He uses honorific expressions with everyone. He is extremely cautious and is said to be a man without any demerit points in the personnel evaluation. He is currently pushing through a large-scale streamlining exercise based on two pillars – elimination and consolidation of bank branches and retrenchment of employees.

Scriptwriter
Izumi Yoshihiro (Todome no Kiss, Aogeba Toutoshi, Death Note)

Original Work
Shudan Sasen! & Shinsouban Ginkou Shitenchou by Ebato Tetsuo

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Post:

• Shudan Sasen! CM

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Kansatsui Asagao^*NEW*
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 8 July 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Nemoto Nonji (Fruits Takuhaibin, Ten Tenhodori no Kaidanji, Izakaya Fuji)
Original Work: Kansatsui Asagao by Kagawa Masahito
Cast: Ueno Juri, Tokito Saburo
Synopsis: Maki Asagao (Ueno Juri) is a rookie forensic pathologist who works at Kouun University’s Department of Forensic Medicine in Kanagawa Prefecture. While she is still a novice, she possesses outstanding skills and a wealth of knowledge that has earned her the respect of the people around her. She is a loving, compassionate and sincere young woman who cares more about others than herself. However, Asagao not only lost her mother in the Great East Japan Earthquake but continues to feel raw grief that the body has not even been found. This sorrow has given her an unshakeable conviction as a forensic doctor to never allow a death to go unidentified. She lives with her father Taira (Tokito Saburo), who is a veteran detective. One day, he unexpectedly transfers to a police precinct’s investigation unit which has jurisdiction over Kouun University. If a dead body is found, the police will bring it to the department where Asagao works. So Asagao now has to work with her father.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/asagao

Heaven? Gokuraku Restaurant
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, July 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Yoshida Erika (Hana Nochi Hare, Dansui)
Original Work: Heaven? Gokuraku Restaurant by Sasaki Noriko
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Ishihara Satomi, Fukushi Sota, Shison Jun, Katsumura Masanobu, Dante Yasunori, Kishibe Ittoku
Synopsis: Iga Kan (Fukushi Sota) has been working at a French restaurant. He is serious and inflexible. Because he cannot even smile for the sake of customer service, both his colleagues and customers have a low opinion of him. However, a mysterious woman named Kurosu Kanako (Ishihara Satomi), who has a high regard for him, shows up. She is scouting Iga for the French restaurant that she is going to open soon. She tells him, “My staff need to have originality. You’ll certainly be a good service guy.” Iga is moved by her words and decides to work at her restaurant. But this restaurant is located in a cemetery far from train stations, shopping districts and even residential areas. In addition, the employees that Kanako has assembled are all novices – Kawai Taichi (Shison Jun), a former trainee hairdresser; Tsutsumi Keitaro (Katsumura Masanobu), a manager of a beef bowl shop for five years; Yamagata Shigeomi (Kishibe Ittoku), a retired banker who is a qualified sommelier – with no prior experience with the exception of Ozawa Yukio (Dante Yasunori), a talented chef who has had the misfortune of working in restaurants that all subsequently closed down. Why has Kanako brought them together and will the restaurant be able to open without incident?
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/Heaven_tbs

Gisou Furin
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, July 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Eto Rin (Survival Wedding, Nodame Cantabile Series)
Original Work: Gisou Furin by Higashimura Akiko
Genre: Romance
Cast: Anne
Synopsis: Hama Shoko (Anne) is a temporary employee in her 30s. She is single, lives with her parents and has grown weary of looking for a marriage partner. One day, she meets a charming, handsome younger man on an plane as she sets off a solo trip. The two of them end up having a meal together at the destination. However, Shoko ends up lying to him that she is already married, wanting to pretend that she is someone’s woman instead of a spinster. She gets an unexpected chance at romance with this “married” tag when he proposes that she have a fling with him during this trip. Shoko learns the joy of romance for the first time through this “limited-time romance”. Although she tells herself that this is an affair to him and not pure love, she gradually falls too deep. Can this happiness be called true happiness?
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/gisouhurin

Soshite, Ikiru
Date: Summer 2019
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Okada Yoshikazu (Hiyokko Series, Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, Kibougaoka no Hitobito)
Genre: Romance
Cast: Arimura Kasumi, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Ji-young
Synopsis: Ikuta Toko’s (Arimura Kasumi) parents died in a traffic accident when she was three years old. She was adopted by her father’s older brother who runs a barber shop in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and grew up happily. Toko was sometimes active as an idol and eventually aspired to become an actress. Then when she turned 19, Toko decided to try for an audition that was being held in Tokyo. However, on 11 March 2011, the day before her performance, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. That autumn, Toko participates in volunteer activities in Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture together with a Korean coworker Han Yuri (Ji-young) at the cafe. This is where she meets Shimizu Kiyotaka (Sakaguchi Kentaro), a Tokyo University student who is a executive committee member of a student volunteer group. Kiyotaka runs operations on the ground quietly and systematically, but Toko feels something is off about his smile for some reason. She has no way of knowing his own cruel fate. As Toko and Kiyotaka spend time together in Kesennuma, they begin to develop special feelings for each other.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/ikiru

I Turn
Date: From 12.12 a.m., Saturdays, July 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Uchida Eiji
Original Work: I Turn by Fukuzawa Tetsuzo
Cast: Muro Tsuyoshi
Synopsis: 45-year-old Komae Mitsuo (Muro Tsuyoshi) is a salesman who works for an advertising company. He gets demoted from the head office and transferred to a small branch office in the countryside. He has to leave his wife and daughter behind in and go alone to this “hellish town” which controlled by gangsters. Komae becomes the manager of the branch office which only has a pathetic two employees. He is stuck with the unreasonable demand to boost performance or face immediate closure and dismissal. With a home loan and his daughter’s further education to consider, Komae plans to increase sales with the skills he honed back at headquarters. Meanwhile, he receives a sudden phone call from a client regarding the production of new flyers they have undertaken. The CEO, Ryuzaki, is absolutely furious. A single mistake dramatically is about to change Komae’s life. He discovers that his client is a company run by a gang called Ryuzaki-gumi. This is the beginning of a nightmare.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/iturn

Mirror Twins Season 2
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 8 June 2019 (continues from first season on Fuji TV)
Networks: Fuji TV & WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Takahashi Yuya (Hi no Ko, Angel Heart, Tenshi to Akuma)
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Fujigaya Taisuke, Kurashina Kana, Takeda Rina, Watanabe Dai, Nukumizu Yoichi, Murakami Tomoko, Sakurai Atsuko, Nakamura Kumi, Satoi Kenta, Takahashi Katsunori, Ishiguro Ken
Synopsis: Katsuragi Keigo (Fujigaya Taisuke) is detective with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division. The only evidence discovered at the scene of a case that he is investigating, is DNA that is exactly the same as his and he finds himself under pursuit. He wonders if the criminal is his older twin brother Yugo (Fujigaya Taisuke) who was abducted and went missing as a child. Despite having the same genes, their lives have turned out like two sides of a mirror. That is why deep in their hearts, each twin thinks that he is different from the other. Which one is truly evil and which one is righteous?!
Website: mirror-twins.com

No Side
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, July 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Ushio Kentaro (Shitamachi Rocket Season 2, Black Pean, Chiisana Kyojin)
Original Work: No Side by Ikeido Jun
Genre: Corporate
Cast: Oizumi Yo
Synopsis: Kimijima Hayato (Oizumi Yo) is a mid-level salaryman who works for a large manufacturer Tokiwa Motor. He is said to be leading the field of candidates for an executive position. However, he is relegated to be the administrative manager of a regional plant as a result of opposing an acquisition led by his boss. This transfer is against his wishes but this is also the fate of a salaryman. As a disconsolate Kimijima takes up his position at the plant, he is ordered to double as the general manager of Tokiwa Motor’s rugby team Astros. Astros was once a mighty team. However, it has been mired in a slump. Rebuilding a team is a heavy burden for Kimijima who lacks knowledge and experience in rugby. He begins his battle to make a comeback with a struggling rugby team and no hope for career advancement.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/program/nichi201907

Kami no Te
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 23 June 2019
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Tanaka Hiroshi (Yokokuhan)
Original Work: Kami no Te by Kusakabe Yo
Genre: Medical
Cast: Shiina Kippei
Synopsis: After surgeon Shirakawa Yasuo (Shiina Kippei) has tried every possible means for his 21-year-old patient Furubayashi Shotaro who has terminal cancer, he makes the agonising decision and chooses euthanasia in the end. However, Shotaro‘s mother Yasuyo brings a charge against him. Was it murder or manslaughter? While this becomes the talk of the town for consecutive days, it makes the legalisation of euthanasia, which had already been debated, seem very real. Behind the scene are groups seeking to pass a bill legalising euthanasia and drastic medical reforms, doctors opposed to mercy killing and Yasuyo who plans to make use of the mass media. Shirakawa soon gets engulfed this torrent.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/kaminote

Poison Daughter, Holy Mother
Date: Summer 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Shimizu Yukako (Reverse, Fukigenna Kajitsu (2016), Onna Sore o Yurusanai)
Original Work: Poison Daughter, Holy Mother by Minato Kanae
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Terajima Shinobu, Adachi Rika, Kiyohara Kaya, Nakamura Yuri, Kurashina Kana, Ito Ayumi
Synopsis: Actress Fujiyoshi Yumika (Adachi Rika) has been troubled by her mother Yoshika (Terajima Shinobu) since young. She regards her mother who tries to control her the way she wants, as a toxic parent. Yumika runs to Tokyo in an act of rebellion but she is unable to break free. Yoshika’s machinations cause her to split up with a man and lose important work. Learning about this, Yumika accuses her mother on a talk show and this generates tremendous response. Meanwhile, the people who know Yoshika, regard her as a caring mother and certainly not a toxic parent. Yoshika reflects on her own life after hearing what Yumika said, and decides to let go of her daughter. But … …
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/poison

Anata no Ban desu
Date: From 10.30 p.m., Sundays, July 2019 (continues from last season)
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Fukuhara Mitsunori (Gokudo Meshi, Makanai-sou Series, Shikaku Tantei Higurashi Tabito Series)
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Harada Tomoyo, Tanaka Kei, Nishino Nanase, Asaka Kodai, Nao, Yamada Maho, Mikura Kana, Otomo Karen, Kanazawa Miho, Tsubokura Yoshiyuki, Nakao Masaki, Koike Ryosuke, Isaka Ikumi, Araki Towa, Hakamada Yoshihiko, Katagiri Jin, Matobu Sei, Wada Soko, Nomaguchi Toru, Hayashi Yasufumi, Kataoka Reiko, Minagawa Sarutoki, Tokui Yu, Tanaka Yoji, Nagano Satomi, Sakata Masanobu, Okata Hisako, Minemura Rie, Takenaka Naoto, Ando Masanobu, Kimura Tae, Namase Katsuhisa
Synopsis: A newlywed couple move into an apartment near the Sumida River in Tokyo. Tezuka Nana (Harada Tomoyo) is a designer of sportswear. She was pursued by sports gym trainer Shota (Tanaka Kei) whom she met through work and they got married despite their 15-year age gap. What they share in common is a love of mysteries. Seeing the close families and couples, they imagine a bright and happy future for themselves. However, the fates of the Tezukas are rocked by a residents meeting that Nana attends. The residents of the apartment building start dying around them. Those with motives to kill have alibis and the murderers cannot be arrested in any of the cases. The riddle lies in a game that the residents are playing among themselves. 13 of them have written down the people they want to kill for offending them and started this murder game where these slips of paper are randomly drawn. At first, it was something that none of them took seriously. Then the people whose names were written started getting killed one after another and another threatening note is delivered with the warning, “You are next”. There is no turning back even if they have regrets.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/anaban

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Official Website
www.tv-asahi.co.jp/tokyo-dokushin-danshi

Broadcast
From 11.15 p.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2019

Network
TV Asahi

Story
38-year-old Ishibashi Taro, who works for a major bank; 37-year-old Miyoshi Reiya who heads an aesthetic dental clinic; and 45-year-old Iwakura Kazuhiko, a lawyer with his own practice, have fulfilling work and personal lives. They are satisfied doing everything by themselves and are not insecure or unhappy about remaining bachelors. These three men with better than average looks and qualities hang out together at Taro’s apartment every night and enjoy the freedom of being single. But one day, Taro happens to meet Takeshima Mai, an ex-girlfriend whom he once considered proposing to. He regrets breaking up with her three years ago when she went overseas. At the same time, Miyoshi is happily divorced, but faced with problems relating to his own identity and feels anxious while Iwakura finds himself at a critical juncture when his father falls ill in his hometown. Incidents that happen to each of the three, moves their hearts and they develop a strong awareness of marriage. With the complete reversal in their bachelor lives which were going smoothly until now, they find themselves at the crossroads. But what lies ahead of them is an outrageous “world of marriages with difficulties”.

Characters
Takahashi Issei as Ishibashi Taro
He works for a major bank and is a well-balanced organisation man with great analytical skills and insight. Although he is hardworking and enthusiastic about his work but his sharp eye gets in the way of romance. While he does not see the merits of marriage since he can do everything by himself, he calculates in advance and is unable to honestly enjoy romance. That is why he is mocked by his friends. However, he is jolted when his ex-girlfriend Takeshima Mai, whom he broke up with three years ago after she went overseas, shows up all of a sudden one day.

Saito Takumi as Miyoshi Reiya
The head of an aesthetic dental clinic and one of Ishibashi Taro’s bachelor buddies. He is good looking, but is actually divorced because he is way more individualistic than anticipated. His ex-wife’s attitude changed as soon as they got married and she became a woman who spent money like water on brand names and trips. On the day he submitted the divorce papers in the name of “Independence Day”, he shouted, “I’m free!” and made a comeback to the “singles market”. He has been enjoying his greatest popular phase. But one day, he is faced with problems regarding his own identity and quickly gets consumed with worry.

Takito Kenichi as Iwakura Kazuhiko
A lawyer with his own practice. He has many acquaintances in political and business circles. The large law firm that he runs has been doing extremely well and his annual income continues to grow. He has a younger girlfriend whom he has kept waiting for a long time. He is successful man in everything and a wise man to Ishibashi Taro and Miyoshi Reiya. However, his life completely changes when his father falls ill. He is overwhelmed by the first adversity in his life and the “harshness of life” and “dread” is also brought home to Taro and Reiya.

Naka Riisa as Miyoshi Kazuna
Miyoshi Reiya’s younger sister who is in charge of the reception desk at her brother’s aesthetic dental practice. A sensible and practical woman, she is actually the person who runs the clinic behind the scenes. She often visits Ishibashi Taro’s apartment and is an absolute treasure who makes caustic comments from the female perspective to the three dreamers. In fact, she has secretly had feelings for Taro a long time. However, at that time Taro already had a girlfriend whom he was going to marry, and she has maintained her position as his closest girl friend but … …

Takahashi Maryjun as Takeshima Mai
A tour coordinator who works for a travel company. Ishibashi Taro’s ex-girlfriend. Three years ago, they broke up when she left for London. However, she recently returned to Japan and looks Taro up. This reignites the romantic feelings that he has kept a lid on.

Sakurai Yuki as Hibino Toko
A beautiful, capable lawyer who belongs to Iwakura Kazuhiko’s firm. She is sharp at work and overwhelms the bachelors with her bold behaviour outside of work.

Scriptwriter
Kaneko Arisa (Chugaku Seinikki, Final Cut)

Click here for photos from the press conference.

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• Tokyo Dokushin Danshi CM

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Scarlet
Date: From 8.00 a.m., Mondays – Saturdays, 30 September 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Mizuhashi Fumie (Haha ni Naru, Hayami-sensei Kekkon Surutte Hontou desu ka?, Sharehouse no Koibito)
Cast: Toda Erika, Mizobata Junpei, Sakuraba Nanami, Fukuda Mayuko, Oshima Yuko, Sato Ryuta, Hayashi Kento, Mizuno Miki, Kitamura Kazuki, Tomita Yasuko, Zaizen Naomi
Synopsis: Shortly after the end of the war, Kawahara Kimiko (Toda Erika) moves to Shigaraki, a pottery town in Shiga Prefecture, from Osaka. The eldest of three girls, she is a hardworking person who has supported the family (Sakuraba Nanami, Fukuda Mayuko, Kitamura Kazuki, Tomita Yasuko) since she was a child. Having grown up around Shigaraki ware, Kimiko eventually plunges into the male-dominated world of ceramics where she proceeds to blaze a trail as a pioneering female ceramic artist. She falls in love and gets married to her husband who is also a ceramic artist. United by their aspiration to be the ideal creative couple, they strive to create unique Shigaraki ware with their own kiln. She becomes a mother of two children and also cultivates many disciples.
Website: –

Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Season 2^*NEW*
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, October 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Ozaki Masaya (Signal, Chinmoku Houtei, Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Season 1)
Genre: Romance
Cast: Abe Hiroshi
Synopsis: Kuwano Shinsuke (Abe Hiroshi), a successful architect, is well-to-do, knowledgeable and good-looking. He is now 53, still lives alone in the same apartment, which has the latest gadgets, and enjoys single life. Although he fell for Hayasaka Natsumi, the doctor who treated him and changed his perspective toward marriage, and even dated, they later broke up. So Kuwano’s heart is shut firmly to love again. He is even more eccentric now, and feels a little anxious when he thinks about the future. One day, the wheels of fate start to move all of a sudden after a chance encounter with some women.
Website: –

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Official Website
www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/sakaie

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 27 April 2019

Network
WOWOW

Story
Yamazaki Risako leads a peaceful life with her husband Yoichiro and their 3-year-old daughter Fumika. One day, she receives a notice from the court that she has been selected as a lay judge for a shocking criminal case. The defendant in the case is Ando Mizuho, a full-time housewife who is the same age as Risako. She is on trial for child abuse that resulted in the death of her 8-month-old daughter by dropping her into the bathtub. Through an interview in court, Risako was chosen to be an alternate judge who will take the place of any juror that is forced to withdraw for reasons such as a sudden illness. As a mother herself, Risako feels repulsed that Mizuho killed her own child. However, after the trial opens, Mizuho’s circumstances gradually remind Risako of her own past. The words exchanged between couples and parents and children behind closed doors cuts like a knife sometimes. Risa soon becomes confused with the chaotic feelings that have lain dormant in her.

Characters
Shibasaki Kou as Yamazaki Risako
A full-time house wife who is bringing up her 3-year-old daughter Fumika. She has been leading an uneventful life. But one day, she gets chosen to be an alternate judge for a case of child abuse that resulted in the death of an infant.

Tanabe Seiichi as Yamazaki Yoichiro
Yamazaki Risako’s husband. An elevator system technician. He dotes on their daughter. He worries about his wife being chosen to be an alternate judge.

Mizuno Miki as Ando Mizuho
The defendant in the trial. A full-time housewife who caused the death of her eight-month old daughter through abuse.

Mashima Hidekazu as Ando Hisashi
Ando Mizuho’s husband. He changed to a company that pays a high salary after he got married to Mizuho and they had a child.

Ito Ayumi as Haga Mutsumi
The chief editor of a female magazine. She was chosen to be a juror in Ando Mizuho’s trial. She and her husband Naoto, who works for an advertising agency, appear to be the perfect couple, but they are actually troubled about infertility and long for a child.

Baisho Mitsuko as Ando Kunie
Ando Mizuho’s mother-in-law. A calligraphy instructor. Her husband died young and she raised their only son on her own.

Takahata Atsuko as Misawa Michiko
Yamazaki Risako’s mother who lives in Niigata Prefecture. She decides what is right based on her own set of values and ties her daughter down.

Fubuki Jun as Yamazaki Satoko
Yamazaki Risako’s mother-in-law. A housewife. Because she is old-fashioned, she takes care of her husband Kazuhiko and son Yoichiro hand and foot.

Scriptwriter
Shinozaki Eriko (Hanzai Shokogun Series, Rakuen, Copyface)

Original Work
Saka no Tochuu no Ie by Kakuta Mitsuyo

Click here for photos from the press conference.

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• Saka no Tochuu no Ie CM

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Date: From 9.00 p.m., 28 April 2019
Scriptwriter: Omori Mika (Mikaiketsu no Onna, Kono Koe o Kimi ni, Asa ga Kita Series)
Original Work: Hiiro no Signal Keishichou Bunsho Sousakan Episode Zero by Asami Kazushi
Cast: Haru, Sawamura Ikki, Kudo Asuka, Takada Junji, Mitsuishi Ken, Endo Kenichi, Suzuki Kyoka, Tanihara Shosuke (guest star), Takeda Shinji (guest star), Nakamura Shunsuke (guest star)
Synopsis: Detective Yashiro Tomo (Haru), who belongs to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Sixth Special Investigations Unit, visits the Kyoto Prefectural Police along with senior detectives Narumi Risa (Suzuki Kyoka) and Kusaka Shinji (Endo Kenichi). Three days earlier, Takemura Yusuke (Kaai Gamon), a cafe owner in Kyoto City, was found dead. He had three of the same kanji characters for “man” in a row and in red ink on his body. Strangely enough, two people in the IT industry were killed one after the other in the Tokyo metropolitan area five years ago. The characters “bug” and “item” were also left behind in red ink at the respective crime scenes but both cases were never solved. This strange but common point between the cases draws the attention of Tomo and Risa. They speculate that the latest crime was committed by the same criminal after a five-year gap. However, they are brushed aside by their boss Koga Kiyonari (Sawamura Ikki), who heads the unit, for twisting facts. Kunikida Tetsuo (Tanihara Shosuke), a detective of the Kyoto Prefectural Police’s First Investigative Division, shows skepticism towards investigation. Even so, Tomo and Risa are not discouraged and try to find out the missing piece that connects the three cases. However, they do not discover a connection between the victims and are unable to make the desired progress in the investigation. Then Kunikida obtains information that Takemura had worked at WTechnos, Tokyo’s largest software company until four or five years ago, after taking a fresh look at his past. In addition, it turns out that Takemura had met Wakui Toru (Nakamura Shunsuke), the CEO of WTechnos, two days before he was killed. Tomo and Kunikida head to WTechnos in search of other clues. However, they are turned away by the CEO’s secretary Komesu Masato (Takeda Shinji). Meanwhile, another murder occurs in Tokyo. Risa takes a look at the character in red ink that was left behind at the crime scene and the look in her eyes suddenly change … …
Official Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/mikaiketsu

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• Mikaiketsu no Onna

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Eru
Date: Spring 2020
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Hayashi Koji (Headhunter, Sniffer Series, Cold Case Season 1)
Cast: Kubota Masataka
Synopsis: 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 (Kubota Masataka) 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.
Website: –

Followers^*NEW*
Date: 2020
Network: Netflix
Scriptwriter: –
Cast: Nakatani Miki, Ikeda Eliza, Kaneko Nobuaki, Itaya Yuka, Komu Ai, Yutaro, Uesugi Shuhei, Natsuki Mari
Synopsis: Nara Rimi (Nakatani Miki), an established and popular photographer, meets Momota Natsume (Ikeda Eliza) who has come to Tokyo with dreams of becoming an actress. Although Natsume suffers setbacks, she grows from these experiences in this story about the lifestyles of women whose lives intersect in this world dominated by social media.
Website: www.netflix.com/jp/title/80233221

24
Date: 2020
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: –
Original Work: 24 by 20th Century Fox
Genre: Action suspense
Cast: –
Synopsis: The Japanese adaptation depicts a female prime ministerial candidate who is a terrorist target and the 24 hours until she becomes Japan’s first female Prime Minister. Jack Bauer’s previous missions include the rescue of Japanese nationals held hostage overseas and blowing up a chemical weapons factory used by terrorists.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/24japan

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Natsuzora
Date: From 8.00 a.m., Mondays – Saturdays, 1 April 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Omori Sumio (Frankenstein no Koi, Seirei no Moribito Series, Nezumi Edo o Hashiru Series)
Cast: Hirose Suzu, Okada Masaki, Kusakari Masao, Matsushima Nanako, Fujiki Naohito, Kiyohara Sho, Fukuchi Momoko, Kobayashi Takashi, Otoo Takuma, Yasuda Ken, Takahata Atsuko, Yamada Yuki, Yoshizawa Ryo, Totsugi Shigeyuki, Kobayashi Ayako, Sendo Nobuko, Hirao Nanaka, Tomita Miu, Inukai Atsuhiro, Emoto Tasuku, Nakahara Takeo, Kitano Kii, Yamaguchi Tomoko, Higa Manami, Kondo Yoshimasa, Lily Franky, Toda Keiko, Suzuki Anju, Mizutani Kaho, Kudo Asuka, Iura Arata, Kanjiya Shihori, Nakagawa Taishi, Sometani Shota, Watanabe Mayu, Ihara Rikka, Kawashima Akira, Kote Shinya, Kinoshita Houka, Kadono Takuzo
Synopsis: 9-year-old Okuhara Natsu lost her parents in the war and was separated from her older brother Saitaro (Okada Masaki) and younger sister Chiharu. In the summer of 1946, she is taken to Tokachi in Hokkaido by her adoptive father Shibata Takeo (Fujiki Naohito) who was her father’s comrade in arms. The Shibatas who are dairy farmers from the Hokuriku region. As Natsu helps out with dairy farming, she regains her cheerfulness. She begins to learn about the spirit of the settlers and the importance of life from Shibata’s father-in-law Taiju (Kusakari Masao), a first-generation immigrant to Hokkaido. In elementary school, Natsu is introduced to animated films, which had become popular in America at that time, by a youth called Yamada Tenyo (Yoshizawa Ryo). She is moved by this dreamlike world. Under the influence of Tenyo who aspires to be an artist, Natsu (Hirose Suzu) hopes to get a job where she can draw. However, Shibata wants her to marry his only son Teruo (Kiyohara Sho) and take over the farm. At this point, Natsu is informed that her brother is working in Tokyo. The day when she leaves draws near … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/natsuzora
Preview: Natsuzora Teaser

Takane to Hana
Date: From 18 March 2019 (updated every Monday)
Station: Fuji on Demand
Scriptwriters: Takeda Juri (Juken no Cinderella, Rikon Bengoshi), Nishikori Iyo, Yamamoto Nana
Original Work: Takane to Hana by Shiwasu Yuki
Genre: Love comedy
Cast: Takasugi Mahiro, Takeuchi Aisa, Ito Asahi, Tozuka Junki, Kirizasaki Eiji, Endo Kenshin, Nagami Rea, Miyazaki Yu, Nishihori Ryo, Nito Yuko, Deguchi Arisa, Okada Koki, Shinagawa Toru
Synopsis: 26-year-old Saibara Takane (Takasugi Mahiro), the scion of the Takaba Group, has the perfect looks and perfect career but is a snob. One day, he is introduced to Nonomura Hana (Takeuchi Aisa), an ordinary high school student 10 years his junior, at an arranged marriage meeting. Disguised as her older sister Yukari (Deguchi Arisa) who refused to meet him, Hana intends to end things amicably. However, she is so infuriated with Takane’s haughty attitude and insulting words that she shouts defiantly at him and leaves. Takane is intrigued by Hana who is unaffected by his appearance and status while Hana accepts the match to bring him to his knees. As the two of them trade barbs, and run hot and cold, glimpses of pure love can be seen.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/takanetohana
Preview: Takane to Hana CM

Shousetsu Ou
Date: From 22 April 2019 (updated every Monday)
Station: Fuji on Demand
Scriptwriters: Koyama Shota (Zettai Reido Season 3, Inochi Urimasu, Career), Hikawa Kayo (Strawberry Night Saga, Cecile no Mokuromi, Kirawareru Yuuki)
Original Work: Shousetsu Ou by Hayami Kazumasa
Cast: Shirahama Aran, Koyanagi Yu, Sakuraba Nanami, Kajihara Zen, Nishioka Tokuma, Ono Yuriko, Morita Kanro, Rokkaku Shinji, Ikeda Ryo, Nagami Rea, Sudo Ren
Synopsis: Writer Yoshida Toyotaka (Shirahama Aran) is a one-hit wonder who once won a big award in the past but lived in obscurity after that. Feeling the limits of his talent, he is about to end his writing career when he meets Koyanagi Shuntaro (Koyanagi Yu), a third-rate editor who is actually a childhood friend that drifted apart, and Sakura Haruko (Sakuraba Nanami), a fan. Yoshida and Koyanagi try to change the publishing industry slump through the power a book.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/shosetsuoh

Yasuragi no Toki ~ Michi
Date: 12.30 p.m., Mondays – Fridays, 8 April 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Kuramoto Sou (Yasuragi no Sato, Kaze no Garden, Haikei Chichiue-sama)
Cast: Fubuki Jun, Seino Nana, Ishizaka Koji, Asaoka Ruriko, Kaga Mariko, Mickey Curtis, Yamamoto Kei, Kamijo Tsunehiko, Fuji Tatsuya, Nadaka Tatsuo, Kusakari Tamiyo, Itaya Yuka, Kazama Shunsuke, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Miyata Toshiya, Kishimoto Kayoko, Hashizume Isao, Yanagiba Toshiro (guest star)
Synopsis: Kikumura Sakae (Ishizaka Koji) begins writing a script based on the late “princess” Kujo Setsuko (Seino Nana/Fubuki Jun) from his recollection of a script set in a mountain village in Yamanashi Prefecture about a couple who lived through the Showa and Heisei periods, that was rejected in the past.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/yasuraginotoki

Radiation House ~ Houshasenka no Shindan Report
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 8 April 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Okita Haruka (Good Doctor, Keiji Yugami, Sukina Hito ga Iru Koto)
Original Work: Radiation House by Mori Taishi
Genre: Medical
Cast: Kubota Masataka, Honda Tsubasa, Hirose Alice, Suzuki Nobuyuki, Endo Kenichi, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Asano Kazuyuki, Wakui Emi, Hamano Kenta, Maruyama Tomomi, Yano Masato
Synopsis: Igarashi Iori (Kubota Masataka) is a talented radiographer who believes the “truth” is definitely captured in CT and MRI images. He and radiologist Amakasu An (Honda Tsubasa) work at a hospital’s radiology department where they determine the causes of patients’ illnesses and injuries.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/radiationhouse

Spiral ~ Machikoujou no Kiseki
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Mondays, 15 April 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Habara Daisuke (Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Kurokawa no Techou (2017), Godan)
Original Work: Hagetaka 4.5/Spiral by Mayama Jin
Cast: Tamaki Hiroshi, Kanjiya Shihori, Tozuka Junki, Fukushi Seiji, Nonami Maho, Mizusawa Erena, Maehara Ko, Watanabe Kunito, Shima Takeaki, Toyama Toshiya, Hasegawa Jun, Takarabe Kahomi, Ono Takehiko, Hiraizumi Sei, Mashima Hidekazu, Maya Miki, Kunimura Jun
Synopsis: Shibano Takeo (Tamaki Hiroshi) is a corporate restructuring expert. He shifts from a major electronics manufacturer to a small metal moulding factory called Majitech upon the sudden death of his benefactor, the talented inventor Fujimura Tokio (Hiraizumi Sei). Majitech is on the brink of bankruptcy and he has to turn it around. Shibano battles together with the late Fujimura’s daughter Asako (Kanjiya Shihori), her younger brother Nozomu (Tozuka Junki) who feels a sense of inferiority, Fujimura’s right-hand man Okemoto (Kunimura Jun) and others to save the factory. However, a vengeful Murao Koichi (Mashima Hidekazu), who had a connection with Shibano in the past, and a foreign fund Horizon headed by CEO Naomi Tominaga (Maya Miki), attempt to take over Majitech for some purpose.
Website: www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/spiral

Itsuka, Nemuri ni Tsuku Hi
Date: From 12.00 a.m., Tuesdays, 12 March 2019
Station: Fuji on Demand
Scriptwriter: Motoyama Kumiko
Original Work: Itsuka, Nemuri ni Tsuku Hi by Inu Jun
Cast: Otomo Karen, Koseki Yuta, Kai Shoma, Kita Noa
Synopsis: Morino Hotaru (Otomo Karen) is a second year high school student who has had an unrequited crush on Otaka Ren (Kai Shoma) since junior high school. One day, while on a school trip with Ren and her good friend Yamamoto Shiori (Kita Noa), their bus gets into an accident. When Hotaru wakes up, she is told by Kuro (Koseki Yuta) who is dressed fully in black, “I’m your guide. Morino Hotaru, listen carefully. You are dead.” Hotaru learns that if she does not get over her attachment to three things within 49 days, she will end up becoming a ghost bound to a specific physical location. And so, Hotaru sets out to settle the three lingering regrets with the limited time she has, in the company of Kuro.
Website: fod.fujitv.co.jp/s/genre/drama/ser4g87

Atama ni Kitemo Aho to wa Tatakauna!
Date: From 12.59 a.m., Tuesdays, 23 April 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Fukihara Kota (Yube wa Otanoshimi deshite ne, I”s, 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi Series)
Original Work: Atama ni Kitemo Aho to wa Tatakauna! by Tamura Kotaro
Genre: Semi-autobiographical
Cast: Chinen Yuri
Synopsis: Tanimura Kotaro (Chinen Yuri) was granted an early entry into Cambridge University in the UK and returned to Japan after obtaining his MBA. He joined an established toy manufacturer as a new recruit. He has big ambitions but there the fools that he must deal with on the road to success – fools that rob people like him of precious time, energy and opportunities and get in his way. This passionate young man will have to use his wits and energy to deal with the fools of this world without a fight as he paves the way to his future.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/Ahodrama
Preview: Atama ni Kitemo Aho to wa Tatakauna! CM

Perfect World
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 16 April 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Nakatani Mayumi (Tonari no Kazoku wa Aoku Mieru, Jimi ni Sugoi Series, Last Cinderella)
Original Work: Perfect World by Aruga Rie
Genre: Romance
Cast: Matsuzaka Tori, Yamamoto Mizuki, Seto Koji, Nakamura Yuri, Matsumura Hokuto, Kimura Yuichi, Mizusawa Erena, Horiuchi Keiko, Toyota Maho, Aso Yumi, Matsushige Yutaka
Synopsis: Architect Ayukawa Itsuki (Matsuzaka Tori) is paralyzed from waist down. Although he was the ace of the basketball club back in high school, he injured his spinal cord in an accident while in the third year in university. After that, he decided that he would not play basketball or fall in love ever again because he is wheelchair-bound. Itsuki was Kawana Tsugumi’s (Yamamoto Mizuki) classmate and her first love. Tsugumi liked drawing and her ambition was to get into art college. But she lacked confidence and gave up on the entrance exam. Even though she got into an interior design firm, it is a clerical position. Itsuki and Tsugumi happen to meet again at a work-related drinking session. The two of them are attracted to each other. However, they face problems including disapproving parents, the appearance of a love rival and illness as they search for the meaning of happiness.
Website: www.ktv.jp/perfectworld
Preview: Perfect World Teaser

Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 16 April 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriters: Okudera Satoko (Reverse, N no Tame ni, Yakou Kanransha), Shimizu Yukako (Aino Kekkon Soudanjo, Reverse, Fukigenna Kajitsu (2016))
Original Work: Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu by Akeno Kaeruko
Genre: Office
Cast: Yoshitaka Yuriko, Mukai Osamu, Nakamaru Yuichi, Emoto Tokio, Izumisawa Yuki, Shishido Kafka, Sakurada Dori, Eguchi Noriko, Kajihara Zen, Sakai Toshiya, Uchida Yuki, Santamaria Yusuke
Synopsis: 32-year-old Higashiyama Yui (Yoshitaka Yuriko) is a director at Net Heroes, a web production company. Her motto has been to leave work on time ever since she suffered some past trauma when she was a fresh graduate. Yui does not believe in living for work. She tries to be effective and productive while at work and cherishes her personal life, enjoying beer at her regular Chinese restaurant after she leaves office. However, when a new department manager Fukunaga Seiji (Santamaria Yusuke) comes on board, Yui’s life starts to change. She struggles between her boss and colleagues Taneda Kotaro (Mukai Osamu), her workaholic ex-fiancee; Azuma Toru (Emoto Tokio), the inefficient front-end engineer who lives in the office; Kurusu Taito (Izumisawa Yuki), the unmotivated newbie who always talks about quitting; Mitani Kanako (Shishido Kafka), a fellow web director with a perfect attendance, and Shizugatake Yae (Uchida Yuki), her mentor who has just had twins; but pulls off small miracles every day.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/watatei
Preview: Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu CM

Otto no Chinpo ga Hairanai
Date: From 20 March 2019
Station: FOD & Netflix Japan
Scriptwriter: Kurosawa Hisako (Minshuu no Teki, Tokyo Joshi Zukan, Arechi no Koi)
Original Work: Otto no Chinpo ga Hairanai by Godama
Cast: Nakamura Aoi, Ishibashi Natsumi, Ono Machiko, Sakai Maki, Eguchi Noriko, Hamano Kenta, Matsuo Satoru, Ochiai Motoki, Tsutsui Mariko, Harumi Shiho, Kunihiro Tomiyuki, Chiba Masako
Synopsis: Kumiko (Ishibashi Natsumi) enters university and begins dating Kenichi (Nakamura Aoi) who has moved into the same apartment. On the first night that they try to sleep together, Kenichi cannot perform at all. Even after that, the two of them are unable to make love. However, their desire to be together because they love each other is stronger and they decide to get married. Kumiko feels a strong sense of inferiority that she cannot do something normal like this while an anguished Kenichi thinks he is “defective” and cannot make her happy. The couple gradually drift apart.
Website: fod.fujitv.co.jp/s/genre/drama/ser4f47

Toritsu Mizusho! ~ Reiwa
Date: From 1.28 a.m., Wednesdays, 8 May 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Mori Hayashi (Himomen, Saki Series, Nou ni Sumaho ga Umerareta!)
Original Work: Toritsu Mizusho! by Murozumi Hikaru
Genre: School
Cast: Ryusei Ryo, Tsunematsu Yuri, Seto Toshiki, Kamio Fuju, Ohara Yuno, Iikubo Haruna, Ogura Yuka, Onodera Akira, Bhandari Asaya, Tomita Kentaro, Hamatsu Takayuki, Suzunosuke, Nagao Mariya, Hotta Akane, Matsui Rena, Masu Takeshi
Synopsis: It is a new era, Reiwa. A high school located in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward. Known as Toritsu Mizusho for short, it is a metropolitan school which provides education related to the night entertainment business. 23-year-old Ishiwata Naoki (Ryusei Ryo), who has been job hunting, finds employment in the night entertainment business for the title of “teacher” because of his girlfriend Haruka (Hotta Akane). After getting a job, he learns for the first time that this school specialises in the night entertainment business. It conducts four courses – cabaret, host, manager and soapgirl. Naoki feels uncomfortable after he learns the truth about the school such as “champagne calls” at morning assembly and the fierce competition at cabaret practice. He ends up being put in charge of Class 3C but quickly gets involved in unending and unexpected trouble caused by his students.
Website: www.mbs.jp/mizusho

Hakui no Senshi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 10 April 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Umeda Mika (Seigi no Se, 37.5°C no Namida, Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai Series)
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Nakajo Ayami, Mizukawa Asami, Kotaki Nozomu, Katase Nana, Suzuki Sarina, Komatsu Ayaka, Yamazaki Moka, Miyake Ryosuke, Yasuda Ken, Sawamura Ikki
Synopsis: Cheerful, unconventional Tachibana Haruka (Nakajo Ayami) used to be a delinquent but is now a rookie nurse. She is compassionate and easily moved to tears. She hates anything crooked and unreasonable. Although Haruka fulfilled her dream to become a nurse, she is constantly shocked by the gap between the world she had imagined and reality, and repeatedly makes blunders. Her supervisor is Mihara Natsumi (Mizukawa Asami), a veteran nurse who has the disposition of a caring big sister. Natsumi is trusted by their superiors, colleagues as well as patients. A hopeless romantic who wants to pampered by a man, she has been proactively hunting for a marriage partner so that she can quit being a nurse. But she has not been successful yet. As Natsumi guides Haruka, her feelings begin to change.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/hakui
Preview: Hakui no Senshi Teaser

Iyasaretai Otoko
Date: From 1.35 a.m., Thursdays, 11 April 2019
Station: TV Tokyo & Paravi
Scriptwriters: Yoshimoto Masahiro (Onna no Naka ni Iru Tanin, Kageri Yuku Natsu, Bokura Playboys Jukunen Tanteisha), Tanaka Shinichi (Sasurai Onsen, Fuhatsudan, Shitsuji Saionji no Meisuiri), Mizoi Eiichi Davis (Shogi Meshi, Hana no Zubora Meishi)
Cast: Suzuki Kosuke, Uno Misako, Takasaki Shota, Hankai Kazuaki
Synopsis: 44-year-old Akiyama Hiroshi (Suzuki Kosuke) is an ordinary salaryman who works for a small toilet manufacturer. He feels stressed daily as a middle manager, having to guide his subordinates (Uno Misako, Takasaki Shota) and clean up mess. As a way to relieve his stress, Akiyama targets the beautiful women he sees on the streets, at the convenience store and client companies, and has sexual fantasies about them. He is a pure pervert with the imagination of an average junior high school student. Akiyama often goes to a convenience store near his job. There, he meets a convenience store clerk and a married woman whom he gives the nicknames Puniko Irojiro and Mureko. His sexual fantasies now involves these women.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/iyasaretai
Preview: Iyasaretai Otoko CM

Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Season 3
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 April 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Inoue Yumiko (Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Series, Pandora Series, 14-sai no Haha)
Genre: Investigative
Cast: Amami Yuki, Tanaka Tetsushi, Hayami Mokomichi, Suzuki Kosuke, Okura Koji, Denden, Tsukaji Muga, Kohinata Fumiyo, Nakamura Shizuka, Ikushima Yuki
Synopsis: Makabe Yukiko (Amami Yuki) is a detective in the First Investigative Division’s Emergency Investigation Response Team. They are a team of interrogation experts that goes by the name of Kintori. Surrounded by idiosyncratic veteran interrogators (Tanaka Tetsushi, Denden, Osugi Ren, Kohinata Fumiyo), she pursues the truth hidden behind cases as she plays mind and word games with tough criminals.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kintori
Related: Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Season 2

Strawberry Night Saga
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 April 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriters: Tokunaga Yuichi (Good Doctor, Kuragehime, Keiji Yugami), Hikawa Kayo (Cecile no Mokuromi, Kirawareru Yuuki, GTO (2014)), Seki Erika (Gosaigyou, Kekkon Aite wa Chusen de, Hello Harinezumi)
Original Work: Himekawa Reiko Series by Honda Tetsuya
Genre: Detective
Cast: Kamenashi Kazuya, Nikaido Fumi, Hayama Shono, Shishido Kai, Nakabayashi Taiki, Shigeoka Daiki, Konno Hiroki, Kikuchi Momoko (guest star), Ibu Masato, Jinbo Satoshi, Yamaguchi Makiya, Okada Koki, Eguchi Yosuke
Synopsis: Himekawa Reiko (Nikaido Fumi) became an assistant inspector with the Tenth Homicide Section at the young age of 27 even though she was not on the career track. As the only female section chief in the First Investigative Division, she leads Team Himekawa, armed with her intuition, dramatic ideas and energy, and has solved many challenging cases. Her older subordinate Kikuta Kazuo (Kamenashi Kazuya), a sergeant, is initially skeptical of her when he is transferred to the team. However, he gradually comes to realise her competence and charm, and special feelings begin to grow. Reiko’s nemesis is Katsumata Kensaku (Eguchi Yosuke), an assistant inspector with the Fifth Homicide Section. Although he boasts an overwhelming lead in the number of arrests, his illegal investigation methods have also drawn suspicion.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/strawberrynight
Preview: Strawberry Night Saga Teaser

Mukai no Bazuru Kazoku
Date: From 11.59 p.m., Thursdays, 4 April 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Magy (Kanna-san!, Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri)
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Uchida Rio, Takaoka Saki, Shirasu Jin, Kinoshita Takayuki, Nachi, Ogawa Sara, Nagano Munenori, Yamanaka Takashi, Fujii Takemi, Ono Takehiko
Synopsis: Kagari Akari (Uchida Rio) is the manager of a cafe. An earnest young lady, she plays the good child who conforms to the expectations of the people around her. But on the internet, she is a completely different person and she keeps this “dark side” a secret from her family, friends and even colleagues. Then one day, Akari’s life totally changes with the sudden appearance of the perfect love and a video that can happen to anyone. She gets elevated to an influencer after the video goes viral on the internet, and upends her family’s quiet life.
Website: www.ytv.co.jp/buzz
Preview: Mukai no Bazuru Kazoku CM

Kakafukaka ~ Kojirase Otona no Sharehouse
Date: From 12.59 a.m., Fridays, 26 April 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Aso Kumiko (Gosaigyou, Double Fantasy, Yami no Bansosha Series)
Original Work: Kakafukaka by Ishida Takumi
Genre: Romance
Cast: Morikawa Aoi, Nakao Masaki, Yuki Kousei, Nakamura Risa
Synopsis: 24-year-old Terada Aki (Morikawa Aoi) failed in her job hunt and is going through an existential crisis when she happens to meet her ex-boyfriend, Hongyo Tomoya (Nakao Masaki) who was the first guy she slept with, at a sharehouse. They unexpectedly begin sharing a bed together.
Website: www.mbs.jp/kakafukaka

Shitsuji Saionji no Meisuiri Season 2
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Fridays, 19 April 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriters: Fujii Kiyomi (Keiji Yugami, Utsubokazura no Yume, Renai Jidai), Oishi Tetsuya (Kirawareru Yuuki, Shitsuji Saionji no Meisuiri Season 1, Scapegoat), Mira Shunsuke, Manabe Chiaki (Shitsuji Saionji no Meisuiri Season 1, Tokusou 9, Saikyou no Futari), Sakamaki Koji (Akuryo Byoto, Hontou ni Atta Kowai Hanashi Series 2015 – 2018)
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Kamikawa Takaya, Yoshiyuki Kazuko, Mizuki Arisa, Sato Jiro, Asari Yosuke, Morinaga Yuki, Satomi Kotaro, Furuya Ikkou, Hirayama Yusuke, Sakurano Ayane, Iketani Nobue, Asano Yuko (guest star), Princess Tenno (guest star)
Synopsis: Saionji Hajime (Kamikawa Takaya) 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 (Yoshiyuki Kazuko), the widow of the head (Satomi Kotaro) 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.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/shitsuji

Mushikago no Jomae
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 22 March 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriters: Shimizu Masashi (Otoko Meshi), Kodera Kazuhisa (Shinjuku Seven)
Original Work: Mushikago no Jomae by Narita Ryogo
Genre: Action suspense
Cast: Suzuki Hiroki, Kiyohara Sho, Uno Shohei, Kuroda Daisuke, Ikeda Akana, Hagiwara Minori, Sadamoto Fuma, Matsumoto Ukyo, Suzuki Shinsuke, Yamanaka Takashi, Murakami Wataru, Izawa Yuki, Akazawa Tomoru, Niina Motohiro, Chiba Masako, Tanigawa Shoichiro, Kobayashi Ryuju
Synopsis: A religious cult called Mushikago no Niwa that secretly developed hidden human potential existed in the past. However, one such person, whose potential was unleashed, rose in rebellion. After the cult was destroyed, the members dispersed and only the rumour of a vast fortune on the cult’s grounds is whispered in the underworld. Nanami (Kiyohara Sho) is a go-between and trades information with people of the underworld. One day, he meets Kagoroku (Suzuki Hiroki) who happens to be there when he is in a tough spot in a secret deal. The two of them eventually team up to solve all sorts of issues. They get involved in a fight between the former Mushikago no Niwa members that went through human experiments and the people of the underworld over the mystery of the cult’s assets.
Website: www.mushikago-pj.net

In Hand
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 12 April 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Yoshida Yasuhiro (Cold Case Series, Kounodori Season 2, Plage)
Original Work: In Hand by Akato Ao
Genre: Science mystery
Cast: Yamashita Tomohisa, Hamada Gaku, Nanao, Fujimori Shingo, Takahashi Haori, Sakai Takahiro, Taguchi Tomorow, Matsuo Takashi, Mitsuishi Ken
Synopsis: Himokura Tetsu (Yamashita Tomohisa) is a scientist who specialises in the study of parasites. He loathes people and is very sadistic. Tetsu bought a huge botanical garden in Hakone which he converted into his home and lab. He holes up in the conservatory where he researches his favourite parasites. His right arm is fitted with a black robotic hand. However, it is not known how this artificial hand came about. Tetsu is an eccentric genius who solves a series of difficult cases with astounding scientific methods.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/inhand
Preview: In Hand CM

Mistresses ~ Onnatachi no Himitsu
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 19 April 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriters: Yoshida Noriko (Kataomoi, Chuushingura no Koi, Henshin), Yokota Rie (Daisy Luck, Koi ga Heta demo Ikitemasu, Hairbrush Onna Tomodachi)
Original Work: Mistresses by BBC
Cast: Hasegawa Kyoko, Hyunri, Omasa Aya, Shinoda Mariko, Sugino Yosuke, Hosoda Yoshihiko, Mori Yusaku, Koshino Ena, Kanie Ippei, Kakei Miwako, Hotaru Yukijiro, Koyanagi Yukimi, Hashimoto Satoshi, Sato Ryuta, Yamadera Koichi, Yoshizawa Hisashi, Komoto Masahiro, Aso Yumi, Mizuno Miki
Synopsis: Four women who became close friends through a chance encounter have frequent gatherings where they drink, converse and vent their frustrations. However, they actually have serious issues which they cannot tell others. Shibasaki Kaori (Hasegawa Kyoko) is a doctor who feels burdened by the suicide of her lover Kido Koichiro (Hashimoto Satoshi). Although his son Takashi (Sugino Yosuke) suspects her involvement in his death, they are drawn to each other. Noguchi Tomomi’s (Mizuno Miki) husband went missing overseas and she recently received an insurance payout after he was deemed to be dead. She meets a new man who makes her feel excited about romance for the first time in a long while. Harada Saeko (Hyunri) discovers that her husband who wants children, is sterile. As they grow apart, she ends up having a one night stand. Mizushima Juri (Omasa Aya) has had a string of lovers. But when she meets a lesbian who is about to get married, she finds herself attracted to her and experiences true love for the first time in her life. Will the four women find their happy ever afters?
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/drama10/mistress
Preview: Mistresses CM

Kaseifu no Mitazono Season 3
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Fridays, 19 April 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Yatsu Hiroyuki (Rikuou, Kaseifu no Mitazono Series, Chiisana Kyojin)
Genre: Home
Cast: Matsuoka Masahiro, Ino Kei, Kawaei Rina, Hirata Atsuko, Yo Kimiko
Synopsis: Mitazono Kaoru (Matsuoka Masahiro) is a superb housekeeper who belongs to Musubi Housekeeping Agency. Although he is a male in an industry dominated by females, he handles housework such as cleaning, laundry, cooking and babysitting perfectly. However, it is not just the dirt in the house that Mitazono cleans. He learns the family secrets and exposes the family for who they really are. Then he gives the last push that breaks up relationships. However, this becomes the catalyst for the family to start again and solve the problems they have. This time Mitazaono is in the service of a family that drills for oil in Arabia. He is summoned back to Japan by Musubi Yoriko (Yo Kimiko) and is tasked with teaching her newphew Murata Hikaru (Ino Kei) to stand on his own two feet. And so Mitazono takes Hikaru and the young housekeeper Onda Moe (Kawaei Rina) and act as a trio.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/mitazono
Related: Kaseifu no Mitazono Season 1

Tokyo 23-ku Onna
Date: From 12.00 a.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2019
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Nagae Toshikazu
Original Work: Tokyo 23-ku Onna by Nagae Toshikazu
Genre: Horror mystery
Cast: Kurashina Kana, Tsukifune Sarara, Sakata Masanobu, Sano Shiro, Adachi Yumi, Kamimura Ami, Kuno Makiko, Hasegawa Tomoharu, Suzuki Sawa, Sakuraba Nanami, Fujiwara Kisetsu, Kohinata Fumiyo, Dan Mitsu, Onishi Shima, Takenaka Naoto, Nakayama Miho, Mafia Kajita, Asakawa Yu, Ogi Shigemitsu, Shimazaki Haruka, Shirasu Jin, Yamasaki Mami, Fujiki Yuki, Okayama Amane
Synopsis: Freelance writer Harada Ririko (Shimazaki Haruka) and former lecturer on folklore Shimano Hitoshi (Okayama Amane) go around to Tokyo’s hidden spots with horror stories. They encounter many apparitions in places that everyone knows about in the 23 wards. There is the office lady (Kurashina Kana) who wanders the subterranean drains of Shibuya ward in search of her missing mother. The mistress (Adachi Yumi) who hides a dead body in Koto ward’s Yume no Shima. The riddle of the Ikebukuro woman and romance in old age. The secret of the female CEO (Dan Mitsu) who encounters an apparition in a late night taxi plying Minato ward. The doctor’s wife (Nakayama Miho) whose fate is at the mercy of Itabashi ward’s tree which is supposed to severe ties between man and woman. The mystery of a woman and the Suzugamori execution grounds related to crime scenes in Shinagawa ward.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/tokyo23ku

Kinou Nani Tabeta?
Date: From 1.12 a.m., Saturdays, 5 April 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Adachi Naoko (Toumeina Yurikago, Daibinbo, Shitsuren Chocolatier)
Original Work: Kinou Nani Tabeta? by Yoshinaha Fumi
Genre: Food
Cast: Nishijima Hidetoshi, Uchino Masaaki, Makita Sports, Isomura Hayato, Yashiba Toshihiro, Tanaka Misako, Marin, Chan Kawai, Takaizumi Atusko, Nakamura Yurika, Yamamoto Koji, Tayama Ryosei, Sato Hitomi (guest star), Megumi (guest star),
Synopsis: Kakei Shiro (Nishijima Hidetoshi) is a lawyer who works at a small law firm. He is a good cook and a meticulous and thrifty person who keeps the monthly food budget to 25,000 yen. Shiro’s daily routine is to leave work on time and head to a discount supermarket nearby. His partner Yabuki Kenji (Uchino Masaaki) is the affable hairdresser. The two of them share a two-bedroom apartment and the finer points of two men living together comes up at the dining table every day.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/kinounanitabeta

Dying Eye
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 16 March 2019
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Yoshida Noriko (Kataomoi, Chushingura no Koi, Manmakoto)
Original Work: Dying Eye by Higashino Keigo
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Miura Haruma, Takahashi Maryjun, Matsumoto Marika, Kakizawa Hayato, Onozuka Hayato, Fuchikami Yasushi, Kimura Yuichi, Horiuchi Keiko, Namase Katsuhisa
Synopsis: One night, Amemura Shinsuke (Miura Haruma), a bartender at a Nishi Azabu bar in Tokyo, is attacked by a male stranger and loses a part of his memories. However, he soon learns that he caused the death of a woman called Kishinaka Minae (Takahashi Maryjun) in a traffic accident one and a half years ago. And the man who came to attack him and later committed suicide, was her husband Reiji (Kakizawa Hayato). For some reason, Shinsuke is frequently advised by the people around him that it is better not to recall bad things. He begins to have misgivings about the truth of the accident. Then when Shinsuke returns to the bar on one rainy night, Ruriko (Takahashi Maryjun), a woman in mourning clothes and of unworldly beauty, shows up all of a sudden. From the time of her appearance, Shinsuke descends into a world of madness and anguish. Does she truly exist or is she a figment of imagination conjured by a guilty conscience?
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/dyingeye
Preview: Dying Eye CM

Ore no Sukato, Doko Itta?
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 20 April 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriters: Sakurai Tomonari (Zombie ga Kita kara Jinsei Mitsumenaoshita Ken), Kato Takuya (Miki Clinic de Kanpai o)
Genre: School
Cast: Furuta Arata, Matsushita Nao, Nagase Ren, Michieda Shunsuke, Nagao Kento, Arakawa Yoshiyoshi, Okura Koji, Takahashi Hikaru, Jiro, Kiriyama Ren, Onishi Ayaka, Koichi Mantaro, Kataoka Yuki, Ito Asahi, Tanokura Yuta, Nakagawa Daisuke
Synopsis: 52-year-old Harada Nobuo (Furuta Arata) is a gay, cross-dressing Japanese language teacher who has joined a private high school that touts diversity. The wacky and extraordinary Harada is unbeatable in the face of authority and sets the hearts of students (Nagase Ren, Michieda Shunsuke, Nagao Kento, Takahashi Hikaru) free.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/oresuka
Preview: Ore no Sukato, Doko Itta? CM

Tokyo Dokushin Danshi
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Kaneko Arisa (Chugaku Seinikki, Final Cut, Watashi Kekkon Dekinai Janakuta Shinain desu)
Genre: Love comedy
Cast: Takahashi Issei, Takito Kenichi, Naka Riisa, Takahashi Maryjun, Sakurai Yuki, Saotome Taichi, Nishina Ai, Naito Risa, Miyamoto Mayu, Nozoe Seiji, Ono Takehiko, Saito Takumi
Synopsis: Ishibashi Taro (Takahashi Issei) works for a major bank. He is an organisation man with a fine sense of balance. However, his analytical skills and observant eye gets in the way of romance. Miyoshi Reiya (Saito Takumi) heads a dental clinic. He is a divorced man who was “released” after a two-year”sentence”. Iwakura Kazuhiko (Takito Kenichi), the ultimate bachelor, is like an older brother to Ishibashi and Miyoshi. He is a lawyer with his own practice. These three men with better than average looks and qualities, are not bothered about marriage. They hang out with like-minded buddies and enjoy single life. One day, Ishibashi happens to meet Takeshima Mai, an ex-girlfriend who broke up with him three years ago. He begins to feel quiet regret for the “marriage” he had once dreamt of. Although Miyoshi is happily divorced, he faces a serious problem about his own identity and feels anxious while Iwakura finds himself at a critical juncture when his father falls ill in his hometown and he starts to reconsider love and marriage.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/tokyo-dokushin-danshi

Fujoshi Ukkari Gay ni Kokuru
Date: From 11.30 p.m., Saturdays, 20 April 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Miura Naoyuki (Koekoi)
Original Work: Kanojo ga Sukina Mono wa Homo de Atte Boku de wa Nai by Asahara Naoto
Cast: Kaneko Daichi, Fujino Ryoko, Ogoe Yuki, Ando Tamae, Tanihara Shosuke
Synopsis: Jun (Kaneko Daichi), an 18-year-old high school student, has been hiding the fact that he is gay. One day, Jun comes across his classmate Miura-san (Fujino Ryoko) just as she is buying a comic on love between gays in a bookstore. He tells her this is fantasy and that gays in reality are filthy. She vehemently objects that he is being disrespectful to gays. Jun has also been hiding his sexual orientation from his mother Yoko (Ando Tamae). He is interested in Miura-san and accompanies her to an event for the fan magazine that she loves. Miura-san is drawn to Jun who has been sincere to her. The two of them quickly get close. One day, Miura-san finally confesses her feelings for Jun on a date set up by childhood friend Ryohei (Ogoe Yuki). The two of them start dating and get to the point where they are about to have sex but the situation becomes strained because of something unexpected and they head to a hot spring. However, Jun unexpectedly runs into his gay partner Makoto-san (Tanihara Shosuke) at the hot spring … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/yoru/fujoshi
Preview: Fujoshi Ukkari Gay ni Kokuru CM

Mirror Twins Season 1
Date: From 11.40 p.m., Saturdays, 6 April 2019 (followed by Season 2 in June on WOWOW)
Networks: Fuji TV & WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Takahashi Yuya (Hi no Ko, Angel Heart, Tenshi to Akuma)
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Fujigaya Taisuke, Kurashina Kana, Takeda Rina, Watanabe Dai, Nukumizu Yoichi, Murakami Tomoko, Sakurai Atsuko, Nakamura Kumi, Satoi Kenta, Takahashi Katsunori, Ishiguro Ken
Synopsis: Katsuragi Keigo (Fujigaya Taisuke) is detective with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division. The only evidence discovered at the scene of a case that he is investigating, is DNA that is exactly the same as his and he finds himself under pursuit. He wonders if the criminal is his older twin brother Yugo (Fujigaya Taisuke) who was abducted and went missing as a child. Despite having the same genes, their lives have turned out like two sides of a mirror. That is why deep in their hearts, each twin thinks that he is different from the other. Which one is truly evil and which one is righteous?!
Website: mirror-twins.com
Preview: Mirror Twins CM

Shudan Sasen!
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 21 April 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Izumi Yoshihiro (Todome no Kiss, Aogeba Toutoshi, Death Note)
Original Work: Shudan Sasen! & Shinsouban Ginkou Shitenchou by Ebato Tetsuo
Genre: Corporate
Cast: Fukuyama Masaharu, Kagawa Teruyuki, Kamiki Ryunosuke, Nakamura Anne, Inowaki Kai, Takahashi Kazuya, Sakoda Takaya, Masuda Shuichiro, Taniguchi Shota, Hashimoto Mami, Ichimura Masachika, Kote Shinya, Akahori Masaaki, Papaiya Suzuki, Sakou Yoshi, Hashizume Jun, Tsukayama Masane, Yagi Akiko, Nishida Naomi, Omi Toshinori, Mikami Hiroshi, Bengal (guest star), Umezawa Masayo (guest star), Hirayama Hiroyuki (guest star), Nakamura Shizuka (guest star), Lilico (guest star)
Synopsis: Banker Kataoka Hiroshi (Fukuyama Masaharu) is promoted to branch manager before his 50th birthday. However, his joy is doused once he learns that he is taking up a post at the bank’s Kamata branch which is slated to wind up business. He is told that he does not need to put in hard work since the closure of the branch has been decided, and he is promised preferential treatment by senior management. When the branch is closed without a hitch, he will return to headquarters. Kataoka is uncomfortable with being told not to work hard for the first time in his life. However, he cannot bring himself to say the same to the unsuspecting employees at the branch. He is conflicted about his position and as he sees their efforts, he begins to wonder whether he should leave things as they are.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/shudan-sasen
Preview: Shudan Sasen! CM

Saka no Tochuu no Ie
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 27 April 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Shinozaki Eriko (Hanzai Shokogun Series, Rakuen, Copyface)
Original Work: Saka no Tochuu no Ie by Kakuta Mitsuyo
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Shibasaki Kou, Tanabe Seiichi, Ito Ayumi, Mashima Hidekazu, Sakurai Yuki, Matsuzawa Takumi, Matsumoto Emika, Nishida Naomi, Baisho Mitsuko, Takahata Atsuko, Sato Megumi, Takizawa Saori, Riju Go, Sakai Miki, Mitsuishi Ken, Fubuki Jun, Mizuno Miki
Synopsis: Yamazaki Risako (Shibasaki Kou) lives with her husband Yoichiro (Tanabe Seiichi) and 3-year-old daughter Fumika (Matsumoto Emika). One day, she receives a notification from the court that she has been selected as an alternate member of the jury for a shocking criminal case. The defendant in the case is Ando Mizuho (Mizuno Miki), a full-time housewife who is the same age as Risako. She is on trial for causing the death of her 8-month-old daughter by dropping her into the bathtub. As a mother herself, Risako feels repulsed that Mizuho killed her own child. However, after the trial opens, Mizuho’s circumstances remind Risako of her own past and she soon becomes confused with the chaotic feelings that have lain dormant in her.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/sakaie
Preview: Saka no Tochuu no Ie CM

Wagaya no Himitsu
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 3 March 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriters: Watanabe Chiho (Holiday Love, Beppin-san, 5-nin no Junko), Arai Shuko (Pretty ga Oosugiru, Tsubaki Bunguten, Higanbana)
Original Work: Wagaya no Himitsu by Okuda Hideo
Cast: Sato Hitomi, Tanaka Naoki, Yashima Norito, Nagai Masaru, Kishitani Goro
Synopsis: An omnibus drama about four wives (Sato Hitomi), one addicted to internet auctions, the others anxious about their husbands who (Yashima Norito, Nagai Masaru, Kishitani Goro) keep changing occupations and starting businesses.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/pd/himitsu
Related: Wagaya no Mondai

Zekkyou
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 24 March 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Ikeda Natsuko (Shin Hannin, Miyazawa Kenji no Shokutaku, Algernon ni Hanabata o (2015))
Original Work: Zekkyou by Hamanaka Aki
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Ono Machiko, Yasuda Ken, Konishi Manami, Katagiri Jin, Maekawa Yasuyuki, Koyanagi Yu, Kaku Tomohiro, Hamatsu Takayuki, Okunuki Kaoru, Sakai Wakana, Kaname Jun, Aso Yumi
Synopsis: Suzuki Yoko (Ono Machiko) is an ordinary woman who grew up in a typical family. She was not loved by her mother who doted on her talented younger brother, and she concealed that loneliness as she worked as an office lady. However, Yoko’s life took a turn for the worse after her father disappeared one day. She was forsaken by society and turned to killing people for insurance money in order to survive.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/zekkyo

Dai Zenryoku Shissou
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 7 April 2017
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriters: Shimada Ureha (Zenryoku Shissou, Koekoi, Sumika Sumire)
Cast: Harada Taizo, Ogawa Tamaki, Yuki Mio, Asano Atsuko, Yamada Yuki, Tezuka Toru, Ishimaru Kenjiro
Synopsis: Seven years after his disappearance, Isoyama Takeshi (Harada Taizo), who returned home, runs a bakery with his wife Seiko (Ogawa Tamaki) and daughter Nanami (Yuki Mio), but it has been in the red. The only happy news is that Nanami is engaged to Shirokane Masaya (Yamada Yuki), the son of the family that runs a long-established trading company. However, Masaya’s father (Ishimaru Kenjiro) shows contempt for the poor Isoyama and wants to break off the engagement. One day, Isoyama happens to meet an old friend Kurebayashi (Osumi Kenya) again. He is asked by Kurebayashi, who seems to be in poor health to deliver something to someone and spends a night in his car. The next morning, Isoyama encounters Meguro Yuki (Yokomizo Naho) who says she wants to escape from her father’s abuse. In order to save her, he pretends that they are father and daughter and flee from Tokyo … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/pd/daizen
Related: Zenryoku Shissou

Oshii Keiji^*NEW*
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 5 May 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriter: Uda Manabu (Tantei ga Hayasugiru, 4-go Keibi, 99% Keiji Senmon Bengoshi Series)
Original Work: Oshii Keiji by Fujisaki Sho
Genre: Comedy mystery
Cast: Kazama Shunsuke, Inukai Atsuhiro, Ishikawa Ren, Tsurumi Shingo, Sano Shiro
Synopsis: Oshii Takashi (Kazama Shunsuke), the legendary detective with a 100% arrest rate, is transferred to scandal-hit Udobashi Police Precinct. Although he finds evidence through his exceptional powers of deduction and brilliantly corners criminals, the tables are always turned at the very end. He always falls a step short of clues which get snatched by colleagues. The way he is called by the people around him sounds like “disappointing detective”. How will Oshii be able to solve cases?
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/pd/oshii

Akuto ~ Kagaisha Tsuiseki Chousa
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 12 May 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Suzuki Kenichi (Bye Bye Blackbird, Medamayaki no Kimi Itsu Tsubusu?, Akuto Byouto)
Original Work: Akuto by Yakumaru Gaku
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Higashide Masahiro, Matsushige Yutaka, Shinkawa Yua, Aoyagi Sho, Renbutsu Misako, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Kanichiro, Shinohara Yukiko, Nakajima Ayumu, Watanabe Ikkei, Miura Masaki, Yamanaka Takashi, Namioka Kazuki, Emoto Tokio, Itaya Yuka, Masuoka Toru
Synopsis: Saiki Shuichi (Higashide Masahiro) is a former detective who now works for an investigation agency. His older sister Yukari was murdered in his childhood and he lives with the desire for revenge. One day, a couple (Watanabe Ikkei) asks him to track Sakagami Yoichi (Aoyagi Sho), the man who killed their son and has reintegrated with society after leaving a juvenile correctional institution. Saiki finds out that Sakagami has turned to crime and is involved in remittance fraud. With the help of a hostess called Haruka (Shinkawa Yua), Saiki gets to the villainous trio who drove his sister to her death years ago. What final action will the vengeful Saiki take?
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/akutou

Anata no Ban desu
Date: From 10.30 p.m., Sundays, 14 April 2019 (for two seasons)
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Fukuhara Mitsunori (Gokudo Meshi, Makanai-sou Series, Shikaku Tantei Higurashi Tabito Series)
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Harada Tomoyo, Tanaka Kei, Nishino Nanase, Asaka Kodai, Nao, Yamada Maho, Mikura Kana, Otomo Karen, Kanazawa Miho, Tsubokura Yoshiyuki, Nakao Masaki, Koike Ryosuke, Isaka Ikumi, Araki Towa, Hakamada Yoshihiko, Katagiri Jin, Matobu Sei, Wada Soko, Nomaguchi Toru, Hayashi Yasufumi, Kataoka Reiko, Minagawa Sarutoki, Tokui Yu, Tanaka Yoji, Nagano Satomi, Sakata Masanobu, Okata Hisako, Minemura Rie, Takenaka Naoto, Ando Masanobu, Kimura Tae, Namase Katsuhisa
Synopsis: A newlywed couple move into an apartment near the Sumida River in Tokyo. Tezuka Nana (Harada Tomoyo) is a designer of sportswear. She was pursued by sports gym trainer Shota (Tanaka Kei) whom she met through work and they got married despite their 15-year age gap. What they share in common is a love of mysteries. Seeing the close families and couples, they imagine a bright and happy future for themselves. However, the fates of the Tezukas are rocked by a residents meeting that Nana attends. The residents of the apartment building start dying around them. Those with motives to kill have alibis and the murderers cannot be arrested in any of the cases. The riddle lies in a game that the residents are playing among themselves. 13 of them have written down the people they want to kill for offending them and started this murder game where these slips of paper are randomly drawn. At first, it was something that none of them took seriously. Then the people whose names were written started getting killed one after another and another threatening note is delivered with the warning, “You are next”. There is no turning back even if they have regrets.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/anaban

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Official Website
www.ntv.co.jp/oresuka

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 20 April 2019

Network
NTV

Story
Gorinkan Academy’s Class 2/3 is due to have a new form teacher in the new school term. The students including Akechi Shuhei and Tojo Masayoshi, are gossiping what kind of teacher will come. At the private high school’s opening ceremony for the school term, the new form teacher is introduced but the person is question fails to show up. Just as the students are becoming restless, a cross-dressing middle-aged man in a skirt comes to the stage. This man is Class 2/3’s new form teacher, Harada Nobuo. Harada is a gay cross-dresser. Gorinkan Academy’s principal has brought in Harada who had worked at a gay bar so that students as well as teachers learn about true diversity. He encourages Harada to do as he pleases. Besides being late from the first day, Harada runs along the corridor and sticks to his own pace. The teachers including mathematics teacher Nagai Ayumi and world history teacher Satomi Moe are deeply troubled. Harada enters Class 2/3’s homeroom with assistant form teacher Tanaka Michiru. When he starts to introduce himself, the students mock him. Tojo asks why he is wearing such disgusting clothes, having decided that it is gross for a man to be in women’s wear. Harada responds and proceeds to explain LGBT. The students revolt against him. Tojo and Akechi plot to make Harada quit. Several days later, Harada happens to see one of his students, Wakabayashi Yuma, eating lunch behind the school building. Wakabayashi has trouble interacting with people and always hides his face with a masek. Harada tries to take the mask from him. After that, Wakabayashi causes a commotion in school. He screams, “I’ll make Harada-sensei resign!” and is about to jump of the school’s rooftop. What will Harada do? Outrageous and daring, Mr. Harada uses every ounce of his courage to fight back against the gigantic establishment and opens up the minds of his students.

Characters
Furuta Arata as Harada Nobuo
A newly appointed Japanese language teacher at Gorinkan Academy who is put in charge of Class 2/3. He is a gay cross-dresser and used to run a gay bar. He lives with his daughter Ito who is like a daughter, mother and wife to him.

Matsushita Nao as Nagai Ayumi
A mathematics teacher at Gorinkan Academy, she is also in charge of life coaching. She was headhunted by the principal five years ago for the mission of raising the deviation value. She constantly clashes with Harada Nobuo due to differences they have over the education policy.

Shiraishi Mai as Satomi Moe
A world history teacher at Gorinkan Academy. A teacher of two years. Although she has joined the profession she admired, what she sees in the classroom is quite different from her ideals.

Kiriyama Ren as Tanaka Michiru
A Japanese history teacher at Gorinkan Academy. The assistant form teacher of Harada Nobuo’s class. He is always put at a disadvantage every day by the wild and wacky Harada. Everything he does is left unfinished. He has a predisposition for getting caught up in situations.

Ito Seiko as Terao Tetta
The principal of Gorinkan Academy which has announced their diversity policy. He is famous in education circles and admired by educators across Japan. He has expectations of Harada Nobuo but … …

Nagase Ren as Akechi Shuhei
A second-year student of Gorinkan Academy. He is the commanding leader of Class 2/3 and takes a confrontational attitude towards Harada Nobuo.

Michieda Shunsuke as Tojo Masayoshi
A second-year student of Gorinkan Academy. He is a central figure in class, but he has mixed feelings.

Nagao Kento as Wakabayashi Yuma
A second-year student of Gorinkan Academy. Unlike Akechi Shuhei and Tojo Masayoshi, he quietly lingers around at the back of the classroom.

Scriptwriters
Sakurai Tomonari (Zombie ga Kita kara Jinsei Mitsumenaoshita Ken)
Kato Takuya (Miki Clinic de Kanpai o)

Related Post:

• Ore no Sukato, Doko Itta? CM

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