Date: From 9.00 p.m., 15 September 2019
Scriptwriter: Todayama Masashi (Keiji Zero, Ishi Tsubute, Specialist Series)
Cast: Sawamura Ikki, Takimoto Miori, Terajima Susumu, Yokoyama Daisuke, Nekoze Tsubaki, Watanabe Ikkei, Zaizen Naomi, Takeda Tetsuya, Daito Shunsuke (guest star), Ono Nonoka (guest star), Namioka Kazuki (guest star), Hasegawa Tomoharu (guest star)
Synopsis: Tokiya Rekihiko (Sawamura Ikki), Sasou Tomoka (Takimoto Miori) and the other members of the Thirteenth Section at Kyoto Prefectural Police’s First Investigation Division set off on their annual company trip. This year, the theme is mystery tour so they are led to a hotel near the summit of Mt Rokko in Kobe without knowing their destination. However, despite the large size of their lodgings, the only hotel guests besides the members of the Thirteenth Section are a group of six people who seem distant. When a suspicious Tokiya asks them, they reveal that they just met today. They are all acquaintances of Kuroe Michiru, a university student who died nearby seven years ago – psychiatrist Sone Kazumi (Daito Shunsuke); model Akashi Mai (Ono Nonoka); events company executive director Anzai Tatsuki (Namioka Kazuki); freelance writer Miyaura Itsuo (Hasegawa Tomoharu); cram school teacher Kasagi Toko (Miyaji Mao); and flower shop manager Hagimura Shigekazu (Nagashima Toshiyuki). All of them came here after receiving mysterious invitations from the hotel. In fact, seven years ago, an IT company CEO who stayed in this hotel, was murdered in a forest nearby. The next day, a wooden shed behind the hotel went up in flames and Michiru’s body was discovered in the charred ruins. At first, it was believed that the two cases were the work of a murder-robbery criminal who is on the run. However, the wife of the CEO turned out to be the true culprit. She not only killed her husband for his money, but also appeared to have murdered Michiru who happened to stay at the same hotel because she presumed Michiru had seen through her fake alibi. The next morning, the members of the Thirteenth Section leave the hotel and head to the hot springs. But Tomoka has come down with a fever. Fearing that his memory loss would be exposed if she is not around, Tokiya also decides to remain in the hotel. However, someone destroys the tunnel leading from the hotel to the town, making it impossible for vehicles to pass through. The antenna and phone lines have also been cut off leaving them with no way of communicating. In other words, there is no way to ask for help. Tokiya, Tomoka and the other six guests are confined in this hotel which has become an “isolated island”. Right after that, Mai’s dead body is found suspended from the “Bell of Eternal Love” at a sightseeing spot close by and everyone is shocked. Then another murder occurs within the premises of the closed hotel. Even Tokiya himself eventually feels threatened and this causes his missing memories to return … …?!
Official Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/keiji-0

Related Post:

• Keiji Zero

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Natsuzora^*UPDATED*
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, Kiyohara Kaya, Ihara Rikka, Kawashima Akira, Kote Shinya, Kinoshita Houka, Kadono Takuzo, Toda Naho, Uchimura Teruyoshi
Synopsis: 9-year-old Okuhara Natsu (Awano Sari) lost her parents (Uchimura Teruyoshi, Toda Naho) in the war and was separated from her older brother Saitaro (Watanabe Ao) and younger sister Chiharu (Tanaka Noa). 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 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 (Okada Masaki) is working in Tokyo. The day when she leaves draws near … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/natsuzora
Preview: Natsuzora Introduction

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
Preview: Shousetsu Ou CM

Yasuragi no Toki ~ Michi
Date: From 12.30 p.m., Mondays – Fridays, 8 April 2019 (for two seasons)
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, Issey Ogata (guest star), Nakagoshi Noriko (guest star), Uchiyama Rina (guest star), Yamamoto Maika (guest star), Sato Megumi (guest star)
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, Jinbo Satoshi, Wakatsuki Yumi, Hasegawa Tomoharu, Shibuya Kento, Okumura Kae, Sumida Kyoka, Aoyama Megu, Naritto, Sato Ryuta, Namase Katsuhisa
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, Tomita Yasuko (guest star), Suzuki Jin (guest star), Hotta Mayu (guest star), Zaizen Naomi (guest star), Shirasu Jin (guest star), Kawashima Ririka (guest star), Kirishima Reika (guest star), Tonesaku Toshihide (guest star), Saeki Daichi (guest star), Omura Ayako (guest star), Kaneda Akio (guest star), Umezawa Masayo (guest star), Tanaka Kotaro (guest star)
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, Asano Atsuko (guest star), Ichikawa Yui (guest star), Konno Mahiru (guest star), Matsui Jurina (guest star), Kakei Miwako (guest star), Imai Yuki (guest star), Matsumoto Marika (guest star), Washio Machiko (guest star), Maya Kyoko (guest star), Kokubu Sachiko (guest star), Yamazaki Shigenori (guest star), Kurashina Kana (guest star), Okubo Kayoko (guest star)
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, Horii Arata (guest star), Terawaki Yasufumi (guest star), Kurosawa Asuka (guest star), Yamamoto Koji (guest star)
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

Yuri da no Kan da no
Date: From 24 May 2019 (updated on Fridays)
Station: Fuji on Demand
Scriptwriter: Nojima Shinji (Kareshi o Loan de Kaimashita, Papa Katsu)
Cast: Baba Fumika, Kojima Fujiko, Zaiki Takuma, Nakao Yuka, Tomaru Sayaka, Kasahara Hideyuki, Miyamoto Maki, Ishiguro Ken
Synopsis: University student Shinohara Yuri (Baba Fumika) is troubled by a stalker and decides to move because of continuous harassment such as used tissue stuffed inside her mailbox at home. At the real estate company, Yuri is recommended a new property. She is called Yuri-chan by Ninomiya Kairi (Kojima Fujiko), the female employee who shows her around, and told that they were elementary school classmates. Yuri recalls that Kairi was a junior idol back then. The two of them hug each other and rejoice in their reunion. However, Yuri feels something more than the joy of meeting again in Kairi’s words and the length of her hug, and experiences discomfort … …
Website: –
Preview: Yuri da no Kan da no 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

Daifugou Doushin
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Fridays, 10 May 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriters: Komatsu Eriko (Nukemairu, Itsumade mo Shiroi Hane, Hanamoyu), Ito Yasuro
Original Work: Daifugou Doushin by Ban Daisuke
Genre: Period
Cast: Nakamura Hayato, Shinkawa Yua, Ikeuchi Hiroyuki, Ishii Masanori, Ishiguro Hideo, Ozawa Hitoshi, Murata Takehiro, Yanagishita Tomo, Watanabe Ikkei, Inamori Izumi, Ryu Raita
Synopsis: Unokichi (Nakamura Hayato), the grandchild of Edo’s wealthiest merchant Mikuniya Tokuemon (Ryu Raita), becomes a constable in an unexpected turn of events. His immense wealth and detached manner amazes his colleagues. However, Unokichi does not care at all. He is hopeless with the sword, cannot run and is afraid of the dark. Although he is totally unsuitable for the job, he keeps causing misunderstandings with the people around him as he solves many cases that occur in Edo with their help.
Website: www4.nhk.or.jp/P5543

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, Kazama Morio (guest star), Aijima Kazuyuki (guest star), Masana Bokuzo (guest star), Mizuki Arisa (guest star), Matsumoto Wakana (guest star), Yoshikawa Ai (guest star), Kizu Takumi (guest star), Yamanaka Takashi (guest star), Tokito Saburo (guest star), Kiyohara Sho (guest star), Nukumizu Yoichi (guest star), Ishii Masanori (guest star), Okayama Hajime (guest star)
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, Owada Shinya (guest star), Ota Rina (guest star), Aoyama Noriko (guest star), Kiriyama Ren (guest star), Mizushima Marina (guest star), Chibana Kurara (guest star), Kosakai Kazuki (guest star), Tonesaku Toshihide (guest star), Yamazaki Hajime (guest star), Nakajima Hiroko (guest star), Adachi Yumi (guest star), Hasegawa Tomoharu (guest star), Kobayashi Takashi (guest star), Fuse Eri (guest star)
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

Digital Tattoo
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 18 May 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Asano Taeko (Tasogare Ryuuseigun, Gomen Aishiteru, Hapimari ~ Happy Marriage!?)
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Takahashi Katsumi, Seto Koji, Karata Erika, Ibu Masato, Takezai Terunosuke, Asaka Mayumi, Iida Kisuke, Yashima Norito, Konno Hiroki, Ike Nwala, Kubota Sayu, Arai Atsushi, Kondo Koen, Nakamura Yasuhi, Nakagoshi Noriko, Tokunaga Eri, Yada Akiko
Synopsis: Iwai Kentaro (Takahashi Katsumi) was a prosecutor with the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office’s Special Investigation Department. A graft case that he pursued ended with the suicide of a politician’s secretary (Takezai Terunosuke). He quit in despair and became a lawyer. One day, a young man called Taiga (Seto Koji) visits Iwai. He is a popular YouTuber who makes tens of millions annually. However, he says one of his videos stirred up a storm online and he was shoved by someone on a train platform. Iwai is asked to identify the person who warned of killing Taiga. When Iwai begins investigating, he discovers that Taiga is the son of that politician (Ibu Masato) he pursued as the mastermind in the graft case. He has misgivings about Taiga’s story and intentions. But first this analogue man must start grappling with the internet … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/dodra/tatoo
Preview: Digital Tattoo CM

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

Kamen Dosokai
Date: From 11.40 p.m., Saturdays, 1 June 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Yamaoka Junpei (Perfect Crime, Daisy Luck, Seigi no Se)
Original Work: Kamen Dosokai by Shizukui Shusuke
Genre: Crime suspense
Cast: Mizobata Junpei, Takimoto Miori, Sano Gaku, Kimura Ryo, Hirose Tomoki, Hinagata Akiko, Nagai Masaru, Watanabe Hiroyuki
Synopsis: Shintani Yosuke (Mizobata Junpei) is a salesman for housing equipment. After graduating from high school, he left his hometown. There are two reasons for this. He wanted to leave behind memories of his older brother who died in an accident 18 years old and of an abominable teacher who cast a shadow over his life in his youth. However, due to a personnel transfer, Yosuke returns to the very hometown he had fled as if he were running away from his past several months earlier. He happens to meet Takenaka Misato (Takimoto Miori), an ex-classmate whom he admired, again and is invited to a high school reunion. He reluctantly attends the event and has a lively conversation with childhood friends Minagawa Kiichi (Sano Gaku), Omi Kazuyasu (Kimura Ryo) and Kataoka Yamato (Hirose Tomoki). The four of them relive their younger days and plan to get their revenge on their former disciplinary teacher Kashimura Sadashige (Watanabe Hiroyuki) who controlled students with brute force. They kidnap and punish Kashimura, and then disperse. They intended it as a prank. But the next day, that teacher is found death at some other place. Did one of the four of them return to the crime scene and kill him? Everyone denies this but they are filled with doubts and fears. This case will cause their beliefs to crumble.
Website: tokai-tv.com/kamendosokai
Preview: Kamen Dosokai Teaser

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
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

Nodoka no Niwa
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 2 June 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriters: Arai Shuko (Pretty ga Oosugiru, Tsubaki Bunguten, Mother Game), Obayashi Rieko (Inochi Urimasu, Karikare, Kuro no Onna Kyoushi)
Original Work: Nodoka no Niwa by Akiyama Kaori
Genre: Romance
Cast: Hashimoto Ai, Kudo Asuka, Nakamura Yurika, Nishida Naomi, Hiraizumi Sei, Saito Yuki, Tanaka Min
Synopsis: Asahina Motoko (Hashimoto Ai) is a 23-year-old graduate student who is learning German literature. Because she always attends school dressed entirely in black, she is called “Schwarz”, which means black in German, by her classmates Tanaka Ren (Kudo Asuka) and Tomioka Juri (Nakamura Yurika). One day, Motoko falls in love with a professor called Sakaki Ikuo (Tanaka Min) who is 41 years her senior.
Website: www4.nhk.or.jp/P5850

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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Kansatsui Asagao
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, Kazama Shunsuke, Shida Mirai, Nakao Akiyoshi, Morimoto Shintaro, Sakanoue Akane, Totsugi Shigeyuki, Hiraiwa Kami, Yamaguchi Tomoko, Ishida Hikari, Miyake Hiroki, Itao Itsuji, Emoto Akira, Takahashi Tsutomu (guest star), Ukaji Takashi (guest star), Kamio Yu (guest star), Kanno Misuzu (guest star), Okada Yoshinori (guest star), Yamamoto Mirai (guest star)
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 (Ishida Hikari) 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

Boku wa Mada Kimi o Aisanai Koto ga Dekiru
Date: From 15 July 2019 (updated on Mondays)
Station: Fuji on Demand
Scriptwriters: Arai Yuka (Kimi wa Petto (2017), Watashi no Uchi ni wa Nanimo Nai, Tokyo Sentimental), Koga Fumie (Kimi wa Petto (2017), Itazurana Kiss 2 (2014))
Original Work: In Time with You by Mag Hsu
Genre: Romance
Cast: Adachi Rika, Shirasu Jin, Asaka Kodai, Matsumoto Kiyo, Sakuma Yu, Nagano Munenori, Saori, Nakamura Kumi, Hirokawa Mitsunori, Kato Kazuko
Synopsis: Mitari Yo (Adachi Rika) is a career woman who works for a shoe maker. She finds her work rewarding and has successfully advanced in her career. But she keeps having her heart broken and her romantic life has not gone very well lately. Ishida Ren (Shirasu Jin) works for a developer and is Yo’s best friend. An ex-classmate from both high school and university days, he understands her the best and is the only person she pours her heart out to. On Yo’s 29th birthday, the two friends place a wager to give 300,000 yen as a congratulatory gift to the one who is the first to get married by the last day they are 30. Although they declare that it is impossible for them to fall in love with each other, this wager as well as advances by Ren’s junior in the company and Yo’s reunion with her ex-boyfriend Mizusawa Ryusei (Asaka Kodai) lead to gradual changes in the relationship of the two best friends.
Website: www.cinemart.co.jp/dc/j/bokumada
Preview: Boku wa Mada Kimi o Aisanai Koto ga Dekiru CM

Legal Heart ~ Inochi no Saiken Bengoshi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Mondays, 22 July 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Nishiogi Yumie (Joshu Seven, SPEC Series, Tamiou)
Original Work: Inochi no Saiken Bengoshi ~ Kaisha to Kazoku o Ikikaeraseru by Muramatsu Kenichi
Genre: Legal
Cast: Sorimachi Takashi, Koike Eiko, Horii Arata, Wakui Emi, Hashizume Isao, Matsumoto Rumi, Mizusawa Rintaro, Tabata Shima, Ishiguro Ken (guest star), Takahashi Hitomi (guest star), Takashima Masahiro (guest star), Yada Akiko (guest star), Horiuchi Keiko (guest star), Tokushige Satoshi (guest star), Matsui Rena (guest star), Hayashi Yasufumi (guest star), Shibuya Kento (guest star), Masu Takeshi (guest star), Sendo Nobuko (guest star), Tajima Reiko (guest star), Amano Kosei (guest star), Takeda Kohei (guest star), Mizuhashi Kenji (guest star)
Synopsis: Murakoshi Seiichi (Sorimachi Takashi) is a lawyer who rescues small and medium-sized companies that are on the brink of bankruptcy. He tries to impart knowledge to the people involved to protect their livelihoods, give them courage and hope, and draw out the strength to take the step towards turning around the company. As long as there is just 0.01% of hope, Murakoshi will sometimes use surprisingly legal methods to save people from bankruptcy as he tenaciously faces off with their creditors.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/legalheart

Two Weeks
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 16 July 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Yamaura Masahiro (Miss Devil, Zenigata Keibu Series, Umi ni Furu)
Original Work: Two Weeks by MBC
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Miura Haruma, Yoshine Kyoko, Higa Manami, Miura Takahiro, Inagaki Kurumi, Kondo Koen, Suzuki Jin, Buffalo Goro A, Kamio Yu, Kubota Yuki, Isomura Hayato, Hara Sachie, Ikeda Tetsuhiro, Takashima Masanobu, Kuroki Hitomi
Synopsis: Yuki Daichi (Miura Haruma) previously served time for attempted murder and now feels no hope in life. He spends each day just living for the moment. Then one day, his girlfriend Aoyagi Sumire (Higa Manami), who was the only one he ever loved deeply but told him they were over due to some incident, shows up. She says that she gave birth to their daughter whom she calls Hana (Inagaki Kurumi). Hana is now 8 years old and has leukemia. Although Yuki is bewildered this sudden revelation, he feels fondness as a father when he meets Hana for the first time at the hospital. As luck would have it, Yuki learns that he is a match with Hana and this gives him meaning in life once again. However, he is framed by someone and ends up getting arrested for a murder. With the bone marrow transplant surgery scheduled to take place two weeks later, Yuki goes on the run in order to save Hana’s life.
Website: www.ktv.jp/twoweeks
Preview: Two Weeks CM

Heaven? Gokuraku Restaurant
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 9 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, Taguchi Hiromasa, Uchida Chika, Oshige Wataru, Matsumoto Shishimaru, Katsumura Masanobu, Yashiba Toshihiro, Ueda Haruka, Tachi Hiroshi, Danta Yasunori, Kishibe Ittoku, Zaizen Naomi (guest star), Yamauchi Takaya (guest star), Koyanagi Yu (guest star), Takenaka Naoto (guest star), Maruyama Tomomi (guest star), Kaga Mariko (guest star)
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 scouts Iga for the French restaurant that she is going to open soon. “My staff need to have originality. You’ll certainly be a good service guy,” she tells him. 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 (Danta 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
Preview: Heaven? Gokuraku Restaurant CM

Scams
Date: From 1.28 a.m., Wednesdays, 3 July 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Tsugita Jun (Giver, Deadstock)
Original Work: Roujin Kui by Suzuki Daisuke
Cast: Sugino Yosuke, Maeno Tomoya, Yamamoto Maika, Tozuka Junki, Fukuyama Shodai, Mizuma Ron, Wakabayashi Takuya, Hanamura Asuka, Yanagi Shuntaro, Yamanaka Takashi, Wada Masato, Nishida Naomi, Sugimoto Tetta
Synopsis: After graduating from a prestigious private university, Kusano Seiji (Sugino Yosuke) gets a job at a big company and lives the life of a winner. However, he is one of the new graduates axed merely six months into his job because of the economic downturn precipitated by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. At the same time, Kusano’s father falls sick and has to undergo expensive treatment that is not covered by insurance. To make matters worse, he cannot find another job and is pressed by the bank to repay his student loan. Kusano feels despair. He ends up doing a shady part-time job where he can make hundreds of thousands a day. He is the front man who takes the cash that old people targeted in fraud involving phone calls feigning distress have deposited from ATMs. After Kusano shows his mettle, he is forced to be the caller who makes the phone call to the old people. Although Kusano is conflicted by his rapid progress as a fraudster, he attempts to make a quick buck and break free from the underworld but … …
Website: www.mbs.jp/drama-scams
Preview: Scams CM

Gisou Furin
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 10 July 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Eto Rin (Survival Wedding, Nodame Cantabile Series)
Original Work: Gisou Furin by Higashimura Akiko
Genre: Romance
Cast: Anne, Miyazawa Hio, Nakama Yukie, Seto Toshiki, Tahihara Shosuke, Megumi, Tanaka Michiko, Natsuko, Izawa Hiroshi, Asaka Mayumi
Synopsis: Hama Shoko (Anne) is a temporary employee in her 30s. She is single, lives with her parents (Izawa Hiroshi, Asaka Mayumi) and has grown weary of looking for a marriage partner. One day, she meets Banno Joe (Miyazawa Hio), 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 Joe and not pure love, she gradually falls too deep. Can this happiness be called true happiness?
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/gisouhurin

Zenra Kantoku Season 1
Date: From 8 August 2019
Network: Netflix
Scriptwriter: –
Original Work: Zenra Kantoku Muranishi Toru-den by Motohashi Nobuhiro
Cast: Yamada Takayuki, Morita Misato, Mitsushima Shinnosuke, Tamayama Tetsuji, Emoto Tokio, Ito Sairi, Tomite Ami, Goto Takenori, Yoshida Kotaro, Itao Itsuji, Yo Kimiko, Koyuki, Lily Franky, Kunimura Jun, Ishibashi Ryo
Synopsis: Muranishi Toru (Yamada Takayuki) was called the AV king during the bubble era in the 1980s. He had seven prior convictions, owed 5 billion yen and US law enforcement sought a 370-year sentence for him. Muranishi saw an opportunity to succeed in adult videos back when he was in the depths of despair. His company had gone bankrupt and his wife had cheated on him. He broke into the world of porn with his buddies Toshi (Mitsushima Shinnosuke) and Kawata (Tamayama Tetsuji). Although Muranishi rose to fame overnight, the interferences of his business rivals drove him into a corner. That was when he met a university student Emi (Morita Misato) who had suppressed her true self because of her strict mother. This encounter between the two will upend society’s norms.
Website: www.netflix.com/jp/title/80239462
Preview: Zenra Kantoku Season 1 CM

Sign ~ Houigaku Yuzuki Takashi no Jiken
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 July 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriters: Habara Daisuke (Spiral, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Godan), Kosaka Takafumi (Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Season 3, Genkai Danchi, Temisu no Kyuukei)
Original Work: Sign by SBS
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Omori Nao, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Iitoyo Marie, Takasugi Mahiro, Satsukawa Aimi, Fuchikami Yasushi, Yoshida Oolongta, Kokubo Toshihito, Yokoyama Ryo, Yanagi Miki, Ino Manabu, Morikawa Aoi, Kinoshita Houka, Rijuu Go, Nishida Toshiyuki (guest star), Nakamura Toru
Synopsis: The Japan Forensic Research Institute is co-managed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as well as the National Police Agency. The forensic pathologists listen to the silent voices of the dead but come up against the powerful who cover up inconvenient truths. One of pathologists is the eccentric Yuzuki Takashi (Omori Nao) will pursue the truth and justice without yielding to authority. Despite failures, setbacks, betrayals and intrigue, the pathologists and their associates press on in their quest for signs of the truth left on the bodies and justice. In every case, the “truth” they uncover exists side by side with the “truth” fabricated by those with power. They find themselves in a fierce fight to the finish as both sides try to establish that their “truth” is the actual truth. In the midst of this, a popular singer’s death leads to maneuvering behind the scenes by someone with immense power beyond imagining, and the “truth” that the pathologists have arrived at gets buried in darkness.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/sign
Preview: Sign CM

Lupin no Musume
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 July 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Tokunaga Yuichi (Strawberry Night Saga, Good Doctor, Keiji Yugami)
Original Work: Lupin no Musume by Yokozeki Dai
Genre: Romantic comedy
Cast: Fukada Kyoko, Seto Koji, Ozawa Maju, Kurihara Rui, Donguri, Fujioka Hiroshi (guest star), Kato Ryo, Onuki Yusuke, Sato Honami, Shida Masayuki, Marcia, Maro Akaji, Watabe Atsuro
Synopsis: Mikumo Hana (Fukada Kyoko) is the daughter of the big thief Lupin (Watabe Atsuro). Although she is more talented at stealing than anyone else in the family (Ozawa Maju, Kurihara Rui, Donguri, Maro Akaji), she declines to take over the family business and works as a librarian in order to live an ordinary life. Hana is seriously dating Sakuraba Kazuma (Seto Koji) who works at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Third Division which specalises in catching thieves. One day, Kazuma brings Hana home and she panics when she learns for the first time that he comes from a family of police officers. His parents Norikazu (Shida Masayuki) and Misako (Marcia) are opposed their marriage simply because Hana is not a member of the police force. Their long-cherished wish is to produce a detective with the First Investigation Division, and they will agree to his marriage on condition that he moves to the Division. So Kazuma hopes to distinguish himself by arresting Lupin’s family which is famous even within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department even though no one knows who they are.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/Lupin-no-musume
Preview: Lupin no Musume CM

Ubai Ai, Natsu
Date: From 11.00 p.m., Thursdays, 8 August 2019
Station: AbemaTV
Scriptwriter: Suzuki Osamu (Meishi Game, Nou ni Sumaho ga Umerareta!, Ubai Ai Fuyu)
Cast: Mizuno Miki, Koike Teppei, Matsumoto Marika, Kote Shinya, Tanaka Minami, Sugawara Dakichi, Asaka Mayumi, Otani Ryosuke, Minowa Kosuke, Matsuoka Rie, Ihara Aoi, Saburi Mayuna, Hamada Jun, Yoshimoto Yusuke, Oda Miori
Synopsis: “Marry me for 1 million yen!” Hanazono Sakura (Mizuno Miki), the CEO of the matchmaking app Love Next, makes this shocking proposal to the handsome Kiriyama Tsubaki (Koike Teppei) all of a sudden. Kiriyama works for the company’s PR department and actually has a girlfriend Sorano Anne (Matsumoto Marika) in the same team, but they have kept their relationship a secret in office. He evades Sakura’s persistent monitoring and continues to date Anne in secret. However, Sakura gets wind of this and begins to take drastic action.
Website: abema.tv/channels
Preview: Ubai Ai, Natsu Introduction
Related: Ubai Ai, Fuyu

Watashi Danna o Share Shiteta
Date: From 11.59 p.m., Thursdays, 4 July 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriters: Nishi Kosuke (Zettai Seigi, Napoleon no Mura, Mozu Series), Miura Kisa (Ghost Town, Kodaikei no Hitobito), Honda Takaaki (Silent Voice, Daishou, Retake)
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Koike Eiko, Ryou, Okamoto Rei, Akaso Eiji, Kuroki Keiji, Watanabe Makiko, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Natsuki Mari
Synopsis: Single mother Morishita Harumi (Koike Eiko) lived happily with her beloved husband Amaya Kyohei (Hirayama Hiroyuki) even though theirs was a common-law marriage. One day, the police notify her that someone murdered her husband. When Harumi rushes to the hospital, two other women, Ogura Kanako (Ryou) and Fujimiya Akane (Okamoto Rei), claiming to be his wives turn up. Furthermore, the three of them end up living together because of his will. A shocking fact becomes known. He will only leave 300 million yen to only one wife. Who is the person he loved the most?
Website: www.ytv.co.jp/danshare
Preview: Watashi Danna o Share Shiteta Introduction

Janus no Kagami
Date: From 16 August 2019 (updated on Fridays)
Station: Fuji On Demand
Scriptwriters: Aso Kumiko (Kakafukaka, Gosaigyou, Double Fantasy), Aoki Erika
Original Work: Janus no Kagami by Miyawaki Akiko
Cast: Sakurai Hinako, Shirasu Jin, Shiono Akihisa, Nimura Sawa, Mori Maria, Hagiwara Masato, Kokusho Sayuri
Synopsis: Ozawa Hiromi (Sakurai Hinako), a kind-hearted second-year high school student, lives with her strict grandmother Takako (Kokusho Sayuri) and her late mother’s older brother and wife. Grieved by the loss of her daughter, Takako’s education for Hiromi goes too far. Hiromi is robbed of her freedom by her grandmother and her high school life shrinks. Hiromi likes Shindo Kenichi (Shirasu Jin), the president of the student council. But at one point, Takako learns of Kenichi’s existence. In a fury, she locks Hiromi up in a storage room as punishment for the first time in years. An old mirror in the room triggers Hiromi’s flashbacks of the past and she faints. When she wakes up, she has changed into another person, Yumi, with a completely different personality.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/yanusu
Preview: Janus no Kagami CM

Coffee & Vanilla
Date: From 12.59 a.m., Fridays, 5 July 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Shimoda Yuko (Bungaku Shojo)
Original Work: Coffee & Vanilla by Akegami Takara
Genre: Romance
Cast: Fukuhara Haruka, Sakurada Dori, Kuroba Mario, Ogoe Yuki, Hama Shogo, Kita Noa
Synopsis: 20-year-old Shiragi Risa (Fukuhara Haruka) has just come up to Tokyo from her hometown in Kyushu to attend university. She is popular and treated like someone beyond the reach of the people around her. But she actually has no experience in love. Risa dreams of a tantalisingly sweet romance. One day, while she is having a problem with someone persistently hitting on her, a good-looking man (Sakurada Dori) in a suit shows up. He smartly rescues her and they end up going for a meal so that she can also thank him. This man is Fukami Hiroto, a businessman and they start to date. At first, Risa is estactic with her boyfriend but his hidden past, presence of a rival CEO, Akutsu Takaaki (Kuroba Mario), and love rivals Yoshiki Tsubasa (Ogoe Yuki) and Ichiyanagi Yuki (Hama Shogo), makes their love bitter sweet.
Website: www.mbs.jp/coffee-vanilla

Kafka no Tokyo Zetsubou Nikki^*NEW*
Date: From 12.59 p.m., Fridays, 13 September 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Asada Atsushi (Maji de Koukaishitemasu Series)
Original Work: Manga de Yomu Zetsubou Meijin Kafka no Jinseiron by Hiramatsu Akiko
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Suzuki Hiroki, Nao, Maehara Ko, Konno Anna, Kin Takao, Omura Namihiko, Miyata Sanae, Nakayama Kyuichiro
Synopsis: Novelist Franz Kafka (Suzuki Hiroki), one of the major figures of 20th-century literature known for the story The Metamorphosis, is living in an apartment in present day Tokyo for some reason. He works part-time at a bread shop since he is unable to support himself with his works. Kafka gets genuinely hurt, overwhelmed and eventually seized by despair over all sorts of incidents that occur daily such as the need for approval on social media, the hunt for a spouse or the cat boom. However, the more he spirals into depression, the more the people seeing this feel inspired by his honesty.
Website: www.mbs.jp/kafka-drama

Hotarugusa ~ Nana no Ken
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Fridays, 26 July 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriters: Watanabe Mutsuki (Ichiro, Challenged Series, Genya), Moriwaki Kyoko (Denshichi Torimonocho, Watashi o Mitsukete, Ginnikan)
Original Work: Hotarugusa by Hamuro Rin
Genre: Period
Cast: Kiyohara Kaya, Machida Keita, Tanimura Mitsuki, Matsuo Satoru, Hamada Mari, Ukaji Takashi, Takada Sho, Matsudai Koya, Minamisawa Nao, Kariya Shunsuke Ishibashi Renji, Nakahara Takeo, Issey Ogata, Honda Hirotaro, Kitamura Yukiya
Synopsis: 16-year-old Nana (Kiyohara Kaya) has gone into service with the Kazahaya family. The husband is Ichinoshin (Machida Keita) who treats his gentle wife Sachi (Tanimura Mitsuki) equally and the couple have two children. Nana is actually from a samurai family. Her father was about to expose wrongdoings within the domain when he was forced to commit ritual suicide by disembowelment for a crime he did not commit. After that, Nana hid her identity and sought refuge with her mother’s family. Sachi soon dies from tuberculosis, and Ichinoshin who intends to correct the wrongdoings of the domain, also ends up getting framed. When Nana learns that Todoroki Heikuro (Kitamura Yukiya), the person at the centre of this, is none other than her father’s enemy, she makes the decision to fight and protect Ichinoshin and his children just as Sachi had entrusted her to. Even Ichinoshin’s friends get ensnared by the enemy and the people who become Nana’s allies are nothing but difficult to deal with. However, Nana begins to challenge the enemy with their help as well as the evidence of misdeeds in the domain that her father left behind.
Website: www4.nhk.or.jp/P5823

Nagi no Oitoma
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 19 July 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Oshima Satomi (Boukyaku no Sachiko Series, Anata ni wa Kaeru Ie ga Aru, Machi Kouba no Onna)
Original Work: Nagi no Oitoma by Konari Misato
Cast: Kuroki Haru, Takahashi Issei, Nakamura Tomoya, Ichikawa Mikako, Takiuchi Kumi, Otsuka Chihiro, Fujimoto Izumi, Mizutani Kaho, Karata Erika, Shiratori Tamaki, Nakata Kurumi, Tani Kyosuke, Tamoto Soran, Katahira Nagisa, Yoshida Yo, Mita Yoshiko
Synopsis: 28-year-old Oshima Nagi (Kuroki Haru) works for a home appliance manufacturer in Tokyo. She conforms to her surroundings as she constantly gauges people’s moods. Because of that, her goal is to pass each day without incident. However, as a result of reading too much into situations and pushing herself too hard, she collapses from hyperventilation. One day, Nagi’s boyfriend Gamon Shinji (Takahashi Issei) says something that breaks her heart. This prompts her to reexamine her life, and she makes the decision to change it. She resigns from her company, cancels the contract for the apartment she is living in and also stops communicating with everyone including Shinji. She plans to reset her life in order to be happy and let her naturally curly hair, which she has a hang-up about, grow out as is.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/NAGI_NO_OITOMA
Preview: Nagi no Oitoma CM

Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen!
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 26 July 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriters: Watanabe Chiho (Holiday Love, Beppin-san, 5-nin no Junko), Fujihira Hisako (Tantei ga Hayasugiru, Miss Devil), Hiruta Naomi (Onna no Kigen no Naoshikata)
Original Work: Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen! by Aoki Yuko
Genre: Office
Cast: Tabe Mikako, Shigeoka Daiki, Ito Sairi, Kiriyama Ren, Matsui Airi, Kan Hanae, Kakuta Akihiro, Katase Nana, Moro Morooka, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Eguchi Noriko, Becky
Synopsis: Moriwaka Sanako (Tabe Mikako), a single young woman near 30, works for a soap manufacturer’s accounting department. Her motto in life is the same as a balance sheet – to balance everything in life. She checks the receipts and invoices that come to her. Only the amount of money and minimal reasons are written on each slip. However, when Sanako carefully scrutinises them, she is able to see questionable facts of the people involved or their troubles. Sanako actually does not want to go after something that is none of her concern. But it is impossible for her to overlook those who mix business with personal affairs. As a low-ranking employee in the accounting department, how will she approach these dishonest people and establish an equal relationship?
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/drama10/keihi
Preview: Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen! CM

Semi Otoko
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Fridays, 26 July 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Okada Yoshikazu (Monroe ga Shinda Hi, Hiyokko Series, Kibogaoka no Hitobito)
Genre: Romance
Cast: Yamada Ryosuke, Kinami Haruka, Imada Mio, Miyake Ken, Yamazaki Shizuyo, Yatsui Ichiro, Kitamura Yukiya, Sagawa Sawako, Dan Fumi
Synopsis: Semi (Yamada Ryosuke), the cicada, was born in the garden grounds connected to Utsusemiso, an apartment building in the outskirts of Tokyo. He grew underground for several years and when he finally emerged on the surface, he was nearly crushed beneath a woman who had fallen. She is Okawa Yuka (Kinami Haruka), a resident of Utsusemiso. Yuka works for a food company and has never had a day when good things happen to her. Although he was saved from being squashed by her quick wits, Semi senses her loneliness. Out of a burning desire to make her smile, he transforms into a human and appears before her. Semi proposes to be with Yuka for seven days and do anything to repay her for saving his life. This is the beginning of their limited time together, but … …
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/semio

Afro Tanaka
Date: From 12.00 a.m., Saturdays, 6 July 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriters: Sakai Yoshifumi (Sabori Man Kantaro), Ishida Yusuke
Original Work: Joukyou Afro Tanaka by Noritsuke Masaharu
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Kaku Kento, Kaho, Matsuo Satoru, Shiraishi Shunya, Ozawa Yukiyoshi, Murakawa Eri, Shimizu Hazuki, Konno Anna, Watanabe Eri
Synopsis: Tanaka Hiroshi (Kaku Kento) transfers to a high school in Saitama Prefecture.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/afrotanaka
Preview: Afro Tanaka Introduction

I Turn
Date: From 12.12 a.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Uchida Eiji
Original Work: I Turn by Fukuzawa Tetsuzo
Cast: Muro Tsuyoshi, Furuta Arata, Tanaka Kei, Suzuki Airi, Watanabe Daichi, Tezuka Toru, Watanabe Makiko, Kawahara Masahiko, Morita Misato, Hannya, Tamoto Soran, Aijima Kazuyuki, Sasano Takashi, Kuroki Hitomi, Yabe Taro (guest star), Kinoshita Takayuki (guest star)
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 Atsuko (Watanabe Makiko) and daughter behind and go alone to a “hellish town” 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 Kenji (Tanaka Kei), is absolutely furious. A single mistake is about to change Komae’s life dramatically. 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

Junichi
Date: From 1.55 a.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Sunada Asami
Original Work: Junichi by Inoue Areno
Genre: Romance
Cast: Shison Jun, Kaho, Fujii Mina, Eguchi Noriko, Makita Aju, Ito Marika, Harada Mieko
Synopsis: Junichi (Shison Jun) is a mysterious young man who instantly charms women from 16 to 62. Unemployed and homeless, he goes from one woman to another as he fancies. There is the pregnant Eiko (Fujii Mina); Tamaki (Kaho) who is sleeping with her younger sister’s husband; the widow Ayuko (Harada Mieko) who suspects her husband of infidelity; Chihiro (Eguchi Noriko) who is constrained by her husband; high school girl Rui (Makita Aju) who wants to lose her virginity; and Mika (Ito Marika) who hunts for a man every day … … Junichi shows up out of nowhere amidst their lonely daily lives and disappears just as he came … …
Website: www.ktv.jp/junichi
Preview: Junichi CM

W Kenkei no Higeki
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 27 July 2019
Station: BS Tokyo
Scriptwriters: Izumisawa Yoko (Dairenai, Itsumademo Shiroi Hane, Lunch no Akko-san), Inoue Tete (Uwasa no Onna, Massage Tantei Joe), Miura Hayato (Shitsuji Saionji no Meisuiri Series, Prison Hotel, Umi ni Furu)
Original Work: W Kenkei no Higeki by Hamanaka Aki
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Ashina Sei, Sato Hitomi (guest star), Satsukawa Aimi (guest star), Tanimura Mitsuki (guest star), Yuki Mio (guest star), Toda Naho (guest star), Suzuki Sawa (guest star), Tokoshima Yoshiko (guest star), Ito Kazue (guest star)
Synopsis: A gathering of the top brass of the prefectural police headquarters, dubbed “Entaku Kaigi” or roundtable conference, is held in a special private room at Tamayoshien, the most exclusive Chinese restaurant in W Prefecture. One woman is summoned to this tremendously powerful roundtable, which is the highest decision-making body. She is an inspector called Matsunaga Nahoko (Ashina Sei). Nahoko pushes herself every day with the intention of becoming a member of this roundtable in order to pave the way for female police officers in the prefectural police which remains chauvinistic and old-fashioned. Her job is a position that can be called “police among the police” and she holds her own with female police officers (Sato Hitomi, Satsukawa Aimi, Tanimura Mitsuki, Yuki Mio, Toda Naho, Suzuki Sawa, Tokoshima Yoshiko, Ito Kazue) in the various police precincts, making full use of her powers of observation and insight. However, none of them are easy women. Even so, Nahoko is broad-minded enough to be tolerant with an eye toward joining the Entaku Kaigi. But each woman seems to have some sort of secret … …
Website: www.bs-tvtokyo.co.jp/w-kenkei

Sagi Deka
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 31 August 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Adachi Naoko (Kinou Nani Tabeta?, Toumeina Yurikago, Daibinbo)
Genre: Detective
Cast: Kimura Fumino, Takasugi Mahiro, Mashima Hidekazu, Shimizu Hiroya, Adachi Rika, Tamaoki Reo, Nagatsuka Keishi, Tsurumi Shingo, Kagawa Kyoko, Aoki Munetaka, Endo Kenichi, Izumi Pinko (guest star), Tsutsui Mariko (guest star), Ito Shiro (guest star)
Synopsis: Detective Imamiya Karen (Kimura Fumino) belongs to the Second Investigation Division which is in charge of white-collar crime. She thoroughly and single-mindedly investigates and tracks down criminals wherever they are on her motorbike. Her secret investigation pays off, allowing her colleagues including Moriyasu Shingo (Mashima Hidekazu) to burst into a secret operations base and successfully arrest the criminals behind a bank transfer scam. However, this bunch are at the bottom of the organisation and do not know anything about the higher-ups who have the large sums of money. Imamiya’s section chief Tezuka Kenzo (Endo Kenichi) proposes that Imamiya let Kaji Hayato (Takasugi Mahiro) go free in the hope that he will make contact with the top. This is the start of Imamiya’s long “game” with Kaji. There is also another reason why Imamiya wishes to do whatever it takes to arrest the ringleader … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/dodra/sagideka
Preview: Sagi Deka CM

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, Watanabe Dai, Satoi Kenta, Takahashi Katsunori, Furuya Ikkou, Nakamura Shunsuke, Kirishima Reika, Hirai Rio, Fukuda Yuta, Miyazaki Yoshiko, Hirayama Yusuke
Synopsis: Katsuragi Keigo (Fujigaya Taisuke) is a 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
Related: Mirror Twins Season 1

Poison Daughter, Holy Mother
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 6 July 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, Yamashita Rio, Ochiai Motoki, Yamada Anna, Murata Hideaki, Tosaka Junichi, Kataoka Reika, Watanabe Makiko, Miyazaki Yoshiko, Takahashi Yuto, Misaki Ayame, Nakagawa Nozomu, Akizuki Mika, Minemura Eri, Sakai Maki, Yamada Maho, Wada Masato, Onoue Hiroyuki, Komakine Ryusuke, Komiya Takayasu, Nakamura Kumi, Hamano Kenta, Okuno Eita, Yanagi Yurina, Minosuke, Chiba Masako, Akama Mariko, Satsukawa Aimi, Uda Takaki, Kameda Yuki, Umezawa Masayo
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

Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2019
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Hamada Shuya (Zettai Reido Season 3, Yake ni Ben no Tatsu Bengoshi ga Gakkou de Hoeru, Chef)
Original Work: Voice by CJ ENM
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Karasawa Toshiaki, Maki Yoko, Masuda Takahisa, Kimura Yuichi, Ishibashi Natsumi, Tamura Kentaro, Yasui Junpei, Koichi Mantaro, Yahagi Honoka, YOU, Kikuchi Momoko, Yoshikawa Ai (guest star)
Synopsis: Higuchi Shogo (Karasawa Toshiaki) is a detective of the First Investigative Division. His wife Miki (Kikuchi Momoko) was struck in the head with a blunt object and murdered in brutal fashion. Right before she was killed, she had called the emergency command centre to ask for help as she tried to run away. But at that time, the centre did not have the capability to pinpoint her location. It called her back instead and this sound alerted the killer to where she was. Higuchi, who was pursuing a fugitive in another case, only learnt this devastating truth after everything had ended. The police was certain that the suspect Sagara Takuya was his wife’s murderer from the clothes found at Sagara’s house and he was tried. However, Tachibana Hikari (Maki Yoko), the police officer who received the emergency call, testified that the voice she heard at the time of the incident, was not his. She added that there was a faint clacking sound and asserts that the killer is someone else. As a result, Sagara was released and the case was never solved. Three years later, Higuchi has become a different man after his wife’s death, and transferred to work at a police box. Meanwhile, Hikari becomes the head of the emergency command centre. When Higuchi learns about this, he barges into the centre, demanding to know why she said that she could hear things no one else could. Hikari asks if he would believe her if she told the truth. At that moment, a call comes in from someone who says she has been kidnapped … …!
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/voice
Preview: Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu CM

Beshari Gurashi
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Saturdays, 27 July 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Tokunaga Tomihiko (Aibou Seasons 7 – 17, Dele, Keiji 7-nin Series)
Original Work: Beshari Gurashi by Morita Masanori
Cast: Mamiya Shotaro, Watanabe Daichi, Yamoto Yuma, Koshiba Fuka, Suruga Taro, Hotta Mayu, Onoue Hiroyuki, Asaka Kodai, Uehara Yuya, Nakagawa Chika, Yanagi Yurina, Osada Seiya, Maeda Koki, Shinohara Yukiko, Tokunaga Eri, Terajima Susumu
Synopsis: Azuma Keisuke (Mamiya Shotaro) is the king of laughter who loves making people crack up. He is willing to put his life on the line and do anything to make people laugh. One day, Tsujimoto Jun (Watanabe Daichi), who is a high school student yet also a former professional entertainer, transfers from Osaka to the same class as Keisuke. At first, the two of them clash but eventually form a comic duo called Kisoba Automatic and take the path towards the tough world of standup comedy.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/beshari

Dakara Watashi wa Oshimashita
Date: From 11.30 p.m., Saturdays, 27 July 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Morishita Yoshiko (Gibo to Musume no Blues, Onna Joshu Naotora, Tenno no Ryoriban)
Cast: Sakurai Yuki, Shiraishi Sei, Hosoda Yoshihiko, Matsuda Ruka, Kasahara Hideyuki, Tanaka Shuri, Matsukawa Akari, Amaki Jun, Sawabe Yu, Murasugi Seminosuke
Synopsis: Endo Ai (Sakurai Yuki), an office lady approaching 30, is a little exhausted and pushed to the limit amid the competition to look good on social media and appear superior to her friends every day. She feels anxious if she does not have other people’s affirmation and will not think something is good unless everyone says so. One day, Ai happens to go to a live event for an underground idol group, and sees the idol Hana (Shiraishi Sei), who flashes awkward smiles and is nothing spectacular. Ai feels irritated by how awkward Hana is, but she is moved by her earnestness and eventually comes to think of Hana as her favourite member. However, this is precisely the start of “swampy fandom”. Ai gets stuck deep in this morass which is a far cry from her days dressing as a office lady. But the more she gets hooked, the more their relationship begins to go wrong. Was their encounter good or bad fortune?
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/yoru/doruota

Sorezore no Dangai
Date: From 11.40 p.m., Saturdays, 3 August 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Horasawa Mieko (Kamogawa Shokudo)
Original Work: Sorezore no Dangai by Kosugi Kenji
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Endo Kenichi, Tanaka Misato, Shimizu Hiroto, Watanabe Ao, Nagase Riko, Nimura Sawa, Uchida Shige, Nashimoto Kenjiro, Meguro Yuki, Tanaka Misako
Synopsis: 14-year-old Shikata Kyosuke (Watanabe Ao), who behaves violently at home and cuts classes, is murdered by his classmate Yamaki Mitsuru (Shimizu Hiroto) one day. At first, Kyosuke’s father Kyoichiro (Endo Kenichi) is suspected by the police. He is even fiercely criticised by society for erupting in anger at Mitsuru. Mitsuru has been arrested but is protected by the juvenile law and will not be given fitting punishment for his crime. As his family (Tanaka Misako, Nagase Riko, Nimura Sawa) breaks up, Kyoichiro turns his hatred on Mitsuru’s mother Hatsumi (Tanaka Misato) and seeks her out. However, he realises that the woman he should not forgive is suffering from loneliness, and is greatly shaken. Kyosuke and Hatsumi who are carrying heavy crosses of their own, soon get close to each other in their search for momentary release and fall headlong into a forbidden love.
Website: www.tokai-tv.com/dangai
Preview: Sorezore no Dangai CM

No Side Game
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 7 July 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Ushio Kentaro (Shitamachi Rocket Season 2, Black Pean, Chiisana Kyojin)
Original Work: No Side Game by Ikeido Jun
Genre: Corporate
Cast: Oizumi Yo, Matsu Takako, Maeda Gordon, Sasamoto Rena, Amano Yoshihisa, Hirose Toshiaki, Saito Yuya, Hayashiya Tamahei, Koji, Kaku So, Murata Rin, Saigo Teruhiko, Otani Ryohei, Nakamura Shikan, Kamikawa Takaya, Takahashi Mitsuomi, Katsuyama Sho, Enomoto Teppei, Mayumi Yoji, Iino Yuki, Tanuma Hiroyuki, Tsurugasaki Yoshiaki, Kabuki Takayuki, Mizumoto Tatsuya, Hatamoto Taro, Kitagawa Yuji, Nakamura Shinsuke, Ibuki Seisuke, Morimoto Ryoma, Ishikawa Yuta, Itagaki Yuta, Hetsu Kanta, Konishi Masaru, Takahashi Gintaro, Iwatsume Wataru, Inoue Takuya, Arai Ryuichi, Akune Jun, Kudo Genki
Synopsis: Kimijima Hayato (Oizumi Yo) is a mid-level salaryman who works for a large manufacturer Tokiwa Motors. 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 Motors’ rugby team Astros (Amano Yoshihisa, Hirose Toshiaki, Saito Yuya, Tanuma Hiroyuki, Tsurugasaki Yoshiaki, Kitagawa Yuji, Nakamura Shinsuke, Akune Jun). 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. Saimon Takuma (Otani Ryohei) who has experience coaching university rugby clubs is invited to be the coach of Astros, and becomes Kimijima’s partner in rebuilding the team.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/noside_game_tbs
Preview: No Side Game Introduction

Kami no Te
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 23 June 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Tanaka Hiroshi (Yokokuhan)
Original Work: Kami no Te by Kusakabe Yo
Genre: Medical
Cast: Shiina Kippei, Sugimoto Tetta, Suzuki Sawa, Kitamura Yukiya, Hoshino Mari, Ashina Sei, Hayama Shono, Inoue Hajime, Sakai Maki, Kondo Masaomi
Synopsis: After surgeon Shirakawa Yasuo (Shiina Kippei) has tried every possible means for his 21-year-old patient Furubayashi Shotaro (Hayama Shono) who has terminal cancer, he makes the agonising decision and chooses euthanasia in the end. However, Shotaro’s mother Yasuyo (Suzuki Sawa), who is a journalist, 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
Preview: Kami no Te Teaser

Baby Sitter Gin!
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 30 June 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriters: Izumisawa Yoko (Dairenai, Itsumade mo Shiroi Hane, Lunch no Akko-san), Shimada Ureha (Diary, Zenryoku Shissou, Sumika Sumire)
Original Work: Baby Sitter Gin! by Yamato Waki
Cast: Ohno Takuro, Yuriyan Retriever, Takahashi Hitomi, Ryu Raita, Suzuki Anne (guest star), Watabe Gota, Kochi Machiko (guest star), Amano Kosei (guest star), Iketai Mion (guest star)　
Synopsis: Shimoochiai Gin (Ohno Takuro) is a baby sitter who dresses like an English lady even though he is a man. The unconventional looking Gin is sent to all sorts of homes by Shimoochiai Poppins Club which his younger sister Mimiko (Yuriyan Retriever) runs. He solves the parenting problems of all sorts of families with his own distinctive style.
Website: www4.nhk.or.jp/P5822
Preview: Baby Sitter Gin! CM

Soshite, Ikiru
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 4 August 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Okada Yoshikazu (Hiyokko Series, Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, Kibougaoka no Hitobito)
Genre: Romance
Cast: Arimura Kasumi, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Ji-young, Okayama Amane, Hagiwara Masato, Mitsuishi Ken, Minami Kaho
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 (Mitsuishi Ken) 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
Preview: Soshite, Ikiru CM

Banjo no Himawari
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 8 September 2019
Station: NHK BS Premium
Scriptwriter: Kuroiwa Tsutomu (Maison de Police, Monte Cristo Haku, Kizoku Tantei)
Original Work: Banjo no Himawari by Yuzuki Yuko
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Chiba Yudai, Renbutsu Misako, Otomo Kohei, Shibukawa Kiyohiko, Takenaka Naoto, Dan Fumi, Emoto Akira
Synopsis: In 1994, a skeleton is discovered in the mountains of Saitama Prefecture. Detective Ishiba Tsuyoshi (Otomo Kohei) from the prefectural police and Sano Naoko (Renbutsu Misako), who has become a police officer after withdrawing from the apprentice association under the Japan Shogi Association, search for the owner of a famous shogi piece that was buried together with the dead body. At the same moment, the maverick Kamijo Keisuke (Chiba Yudai), who has become a professional shogi player without going through the apprentice association after switching from the business world, challenges six-time title holder Mibu Yoshiki. He wins in the early stages of the game. As Kamijo is being interviewed by a shogi magazine, he recalls his childhood when he picked up a shogi magazine that was thrown out as rubbish in his hometown of Suwa in Nagano Prefecture. Back in 1972, Kamijo was a poor elementary school student. With the wholehearted support of a retired teacher called Karasawa Koichiro (Emoto Akira), he quickly grew fascinated with shogi. He soon met the legendary Tomei Shigeyoshi (Takenaka Naoto), who went by the nickname “demon slayer” and plays shogi for big money. This started turning the gears of their destinies.
Website: www4.nhk.or.jp/P5835

Anata no Ban desu ~ Hangeki-hen
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, Yokoyama Ryusei, Tanaka Tetsushi
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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Followers
Date: Beginning of 2020
Network: Netflix
Scriptwriter: –
Cast: Nakatani Miki, Ikeda Eliza, Kaneko Nobuaki, Itaya Yuka, Komu Ai, Nakashima Mika, 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

Kokoro no Kizu o Iyasu to Iu Koto
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 18 January 2020
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Kuwahara Ryoko
Cast: Emoto Tasuku, Ono Machiko, Hamada Gaku, Moriyama Naotaro, Cho Tamiyasu, Asaka Kodai, Kamikawa Shusaku, Hamada Mari, Hiraiwa Kami, Ishibashi Ryo, Kimura Midoriko, Kondo Masaomi
Synopsis: An Kazutaka (Emoto Tasuku) is a young, bashful psychiatrist whose jazz piano skills are as good as a pro. He also has a love for records and books. He searches for his place in the world in his youth. But when he meets the cheerful Shuko (Ono Machiko), who becomes his wife, he finally feels at peace with himself. Right after they have their first child, the Great Hanshin Earthquake strikes. Although his family is affected by the disaster, he begins to search for what he can do as a psychiatrist. As he listens to the stories of disaster victims, he realises that he can help not by treating them, but restoring their capacity to heal. Later on, he compiles his observations of the disaster-hit area as a psychiatrist into a book, and wins a prize for social sciences. He sees this as a positive sign. However, one day when he is 39, he discovers that he has cancer.
Website: –

Kirin ga Kuru
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Sundays, 5 January 2020
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Ikehata Shunsaku (Soroban Samurai Kaze no Ichibei, Natsume Soseki no Tsuma, Kamogawa Shokudo)
Genre: Period
Cast: Hasegawa Hiroki, Kadowaki Mugi, Okamura Takashi, Ishikawa Sayuri, Nishimura Masahiko, Takahashi Katsunori, Uesugi Shozo, Omi Toshinori, Ito Hideaki, Sawajiri Erika, Sometani Shota, Sakai Masaaki, Motoki Masahiro, Kimura Fumino, Minami Kaho, Murata Takehiro, Tokushige Satoshi, Kataoka Ainosuke, Dan Rei, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Takito Kenichi, Tanihara Shosuke, Mashima Hidekazu, Yoshida Kotaro, Ichikawa Ebizo (narrator), Ono Machiko, Mukai Osamu, Kazama Shunsuke, Ibuki Goro
Synopsis: After the Onin War, the world is plunged into chaos. Amid this situation, heroes of the warring states begin to emerge in an attempt to unify the country and rule in these turbulent times. In the mid-1540s, there is a young wandering samurai in Mino which is strategically located between the East and West. His name is Akechi Mitsuhide (Hasegawa Hiroki). At this time, there is plenty of internal strife within the Toki clan which rules Mino. Surrounded by the Oda of Owari, the Imagawa of Suruga and the Asakura of Echizen, Mino has constantly faced the risk of invasion. Mitsuhide is pulled into battle and destroys the enemy. His bravery as well as stratagem catches the attention of Saito Toshimasa, the chief retainer of the Toki clan, and he is singled out. This man who is also known as Saito Dosan (Motoki Masahiro) will go on to takeover the Toki and make Mino his own.
Website: –

Wake Atte Kasei ni Sumimashita ~ Erabareshi 4-nin^*NEW*
Date: January 2020
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Suzuki Osamu (Meishi Game, Ubai Ai Fuyu, Renai Dorama o Mouichido)
Genre: Comedy
Cast: –
Synopsis: Scientists pin the future of humanity on first sending a select group of four to Mars in order to make the migration to the planet in 2030 a reality.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/erabareshi4nin

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Date: From 9.00 p.m., 22 September 2019
Scriptwriter: Kasuga Mitsuo (Kurobara)
Original Work: Kurobara ~ Keijika Kyoukouhan-gakari Kamiki Kyoko by Futagami Go
Cast: Kanjiya Shihori, Kishitani Goro, Yanagiba Toshiro, Kawaguchi Satoru, Miyamoto Taisei, Kinoshita Houka, Mitz Mangrove, Ozawa Kazuyoshi, Oka Mitsuko
Synopsis: Kamiki Kyoko (Kanjiya Shihori) does office work at Kurokawa Police Precinct’s Administration Division. While on night shift one day, she is forced to conduct an initial investigation at the scene where an old woman who died an unnatural death was found. The body has already decomposed and it seems that the woman had died alone. However, Kyoko senses the possibility of murder too. In spite of this, medical examiner Yasuoka Akira (Miyamoto Taisei), who is on the elite track, shows up in the company of his staff Shimagaki Masaya (Kawaguchi Satoru). He shuts himself in the room alone and treats the cause of death as acute heart disease after he finishes performing the postmortem. Kyoko has no chance to offer her opinion. Yasuoka immediately leaves and all Shimagaki can do is to bow his head and apologise. Orihara Keisaku (Kishitani Goro), who has transferred from Rinka Police Precinct to Kurokawa Police Precinct, is suspected of stealing money from the home of an old woman who died alone. This false accusation angers him, and that is the unexpected way in which Kyoko is reunited with her former boss. In fact, money has gone missing from the scene that Kyoko had visited too. The person in charge of the postmortem was also Yasuoka. Does he confine himself at the scene to steal money under the guise of a postmortem? Yasuoka has advanced in his career since he was placed in the elite track six years ago. Questioning Yasuoka’s background, Orihara forces Kyoko to be his partner and starts to investigate. According to a former colleague of Yasuoka, Yasuoka accused Urabe (Akaya Banmei), a senior detective who was his partner, of stealing money from victims’ homes during investigations. Urabe was forced to resign. At that time, Yasuoka also had a part in the thefts but the top brass treated him like a hero, putting an end to the case. It seemed that Yasuoka’s rise through the ranks began after that. While Kyoko and Orihara are looking for Urabe, they receive a call about the discovery of Yasuoka’s murder. Although the face has been disfigured, he is identified from the business card and other cards on the body. Kyoko deduces that the unnatural injuries on the wrists could be a sign of punishment for a prior theft. Could it be someone such as Urabe who knows Yasuoka’s kleptomania? Kyoko and Orihara get in touch with Shimagaki. They are informed that a short while before Yasuoka died, he took a phone call from a caller with the characters “Ura…” displayed and behaved strangely after that. Did Yasuoka get blackmailed by Urabe and end up killed when he snapped and fought back? Then one day, Tsujii Yukinori (Yanagiba Toshiro), the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigation Division, arrives at Kurokawa Police Precinct and Kyoko is summoned. She is commended for her past efforts. As Kyoko watches Tsujii suggest her transfer to the head of the Criminal Affairs Division, she has a hunch that this is the work of Orihara. A dead man with Urabe’s wallet is soon discovered. According to the autopsy results, he died of a heart attack. However, the man only has one kidney. Could he have had a lot of debt and illegally sold his organ to make repayment? Orihara indicates the possibility that Yasuoka was involved in this organ trade. Meanwhile, Tsujii asks Kyoko to eradicate corruption in the police force. As Kyoko and Orihara continue with the investigation, they get deeper into the darkness within the police … …
Official Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kurobara2

Related Post:

• Kurobara 1

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Date: From 9.00 p.m., 24 September 2019
Scriptwriter: Furuya Kazunao (Innocence, Hagetaka (2018), Sumire Sumika)
Cast: Nagase Ren, Kitamura Takumi, Kuroshima Yuina, Kizu Takumi, Ogoe Yuki, Okura Koji, Matobu Sei, Terawaki Yasufumi, Kimura Midoriko
Synopsis: When Asakawa Chikara (Nagase Ren) boarded a plane as a child for a trip with his parents, he felt scared. But a female cabin attendant gave him encouragement. Chikara developed an interest in the world of cabin attendants because of his crush on her. He feels a closeness to aeroplanes and the airport as he grew up at his aunt’s house nearby. Over time, he became familiar with the airport and aeroplanes without even realising it. Chikara is now a new trainee and aspires to be a cabin attendant. He along with former Self Defence Forces member Goda Yuichi (Kizu Takumi), the gay Mayuzumi Shotaro (Ogoe Yuki) and ex-model Saotome Kaoru (Kitamura Takumi) are excited about the training. However, the role of a cabin attendant is extensive. Besides serving passengers, they have to clean the aircraft and conduct security checks. Kaoru is the only one out of the four who is not in a panic from the first day. Seeing this, Oshima Ayaka (Takahashi Haori) and other female crew members have harsh words for them. Meanwhile, Chikara walks in on the training of Takayama Tsubasa (Kuroshima Yuina) whom he happened to meet, and her serious expression catches his eye. It is hard to become a female pilot and Tsubasa agonises over the fact that she cannot overcome the obstacles before her final copilot test. Even so, she does not lose heart. Chikara decides that he cannot lose to her, and before he knows it, that sentiment gradually changes to love. Two months later, Chikara and the rest have finally become cabin attendants and are about to set off on their maiden flight. They are performing their tasks well. But Kaoru is later singled out by the training instructor Kirisawa Reiko (Matobu Sei) and looks for what he lacks as a cabin attendant as he considers the meaning of her words, “If you’re on a flight with Chikara, it’ll be a good lesson.” The aeroplane eventually arrives at its destination. While Chikara is seeing passengers off the plane, he notices one woman searching for something around her seat. He hears that the tiny necklace around the neck of her daughter’s doll has gone missing … …
Official Website: www.ktv.jp/fly

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Date: From 10.30 p.m., 29 September 2019 (followed by Hulu)
Scriptwriters: Magy (Mukai no Bazuru Kazoku, Kanna-san!, Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri), Sato Tomoharu (Black Scandal, Black Revenge, Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri)
Original Work: Himura Hideo by Arisugawa Arisu
Cast: Saito Takumi, Kubota Masataka, Yamamoto Mizuki, Makita Sports, Yamamoto Ai, Matsunaga Nagisa, Hasegawa Kyoko, Natsuki Mari, Takahashi Maryjun (guest star), Emoto Tokio (guest star), Maeda Goki (guest star), Namioka Kazuki (guest star), Hamada Mari (guest star), Hasegawa Hatsunori (guest star), Sato Ryuta (guest star)
Synopsis: A series of murders occur in Hyogo and Osaka. The victims have all been shot dead in the temple from close range. A person with the initial A at a place with the initial letter A, another person with the initial B at a place with the initial letter B and so on … … The fact that these serial murders in alphabetical sequence imitate Agatha Christie’s famous mystery, The ABC Murders, rocks society. Furthermore, a written challenge is addressed to the police and Himura Hideo (Saito Takumi) from the murderer who refers to himself as the ABC Killer. Himura and Arisugawa Arisu (Kubota Masataka) immediately begin to assist the police investigation. Himura’s landlady Shinomiya Tokie (Natsuki Mari) seems glad that a spark has returned to Himura’s eyes since he has had a tendency to stay at home recently. A newspaper journalist Inaba Joichiro (Sato Ryuta) shows up in front of Himura and Arisugawa all of a sudden, and provokes Himura. Then he tells them the connection between the two victims – the Shangri-La Crusaders, which has a link with Himura. It is a radical terrorist group led by Morohoshi Sanae (Hasegawa Kyoko) whose whereabouts are unknown. Meanwhile, case C takes place in Kyoto. Victim C’s ex-wife Hanai Yuiko (Takahashi Maryjun), who is a percussionist, persistently approaches Arisugawa for some reason. People of many mysteries keep turning up. Himura’s student Kijima Akemi (Yamamoto Mizuki) and her friends (Matsunaga Nagisa, Yamamoto Ai) are unable to hide their shock too. Wanting to be of help to Himura, Akemi pursues the case and ends up in a volatile situation with Inaba. The Hyogo, Osaka and Kyoto Prefectural Police (Hasegawa Hatsunori, Hamada Mari, Maeda Goki, Makita Sports), launch an all-out investigation, but show completely no progress. Then, case D happens. However, Himura has a strong feeling that something is wrong at the scene of the crime … …
Official Website: www.ntv.co.jp/himura2019

Related Post:

• Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri

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Date: From 9.00 p.m., 29 September 2019
Scriptwriter: Miki Satoshi (Atami no Sousakan, Jikou Keisatsu Series)
Cast: Odagiri Joe, Aso Kumiko, Yoshioka Riho, Isomura Hayato, Toyohara Kosuke, Eguchi Noriko, Fuse Eri, Hida Yasuhito, Mitsuishi Ken, Iwamatsu Ryo, Takeda Shinji (guest star), Kikuchi Rinko (guest star), Yo Kimiko (guest star)
Synopsis: Kiriyama Shuichiro (Odagiri Joe), who investigates cases that have reached the statute of limitation as a hobby, was sent to FBI. 12 years later, he unexpectedly returns to Sobu Police Precinct’s Statute of Limitation Management Division. Kiriyama also takes an interest in the Urashima gasoline stand fire case that took place 24 years ago. The gasoline stand in the deserted port town of Urashima was not only completely burned down. It caused a huge explosion and a badly burnt body was discovered from the charred pile of rubble. At that time, the police concluded that the victim was Sawamura Koji, a high school student who was a former part-timer, from the physique and the uniform button that the dead body had been holding. The investigation included the possibility of an accident, murder and suicide but the truth remained shrouded in darkness. Strangely, nine years ago, the statute of limitation for murders was abolished just one day before of the statute of limitation ran out. Kiriyama has had nothing in particular to do since he came back to Japan, and decides to try investigating this case. Mikazuki Shizuka’s (Aso Kumiko) romantic feelings for Kiriyama are rekindled. She volunteers to help in the investigation even though she is from the Traffic Division. In addition, the rookie detective Ayakumo Masora (Yoshioka Riho) pokes her nose into investigations of cold cases and her primary role in the Criminal Affairs Division takes a backseat. That weekend, Kiriyama and Mikazuki head to a police box in the town of Urashima to gather information on the case. They learn that the burnt body was found in a vacant room at that time, and Sawamura’s parents have divorced. The whereabouts of mother Kanako (Yo Kimiko) and father Shinichi are not known. Furthermore, that is all they are able to establish. The other day, a writer called Kuhonbutsu Sayaka (Kikuchi Rinko) showed up at the police box and asked about the case. Kiriyama is curious to know why she is investigating the same case as they are at the same time. He immediately gets in touch with Sayaka and finds out that she is not following Sawamura’s case. She claims to have visited Urashima in pursuit of Bimajo Fujiwara (Takeda Shinji), a widely popular personality who is 71 years old but has the body of someone in his 40s. She believes he is lying about his age. However, Kiriyama suspects a connection between Sawamura’s case and Bimajo from Sayaka’s nonchalant behaviour and presses ahead with the investigation. A shocking truth eventually emerges.
Official Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/jikou2019

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Date: From 9.00 p.m., 30 September 2019
Scriptwriter: Yoshida Noriko (Mistresses, Dying Eye, Kataomoi)
Original Work: Ano Ie ni Kurasu Yo-nin no Onna by Miura Shion
Cast: Nakatani Miki, Yoshioka Riho, Nakamura Aoi, Hashimoto Satoshi, Kanai Hiroto, Maehara Ko, Nagasaku Hiromi, Kaname Jun, Tanaka Min, Miyamoto Nobuko
Synopsis: There is an 80-year-old Western-style house in Tokyo’s Suginami ward, in the vicinity of Zenpukuji River. Embroidery artist Makita Sachi (Nakatani Miki) and her carefree mother Tsuruyo (Miyamoto Nobuko) live with Taniyama Yukino (Nagasaku Hiromi), Sachi’s friend with a sharp tongue, and Ueno Taemi (Yoshioka Riho), Yukino’s junior at work who is attractive and popular but somehow ends up liking useless men. There is also a mysterious old man Yamada Ichiro (Tanaka Min) who has been living in the guard house on the lush green grounds of the house for many years. Sachi runs embroidery classes. When she is busy, she will even skip bathing and changing clothes, and end up looking scruffy. She does not know her father Yukio who left home when she was born. That is a forbidden subject in the family. However, when Yukino butts in on it, the truth between Sachi’s parents comes to light and this changes their peaceful daily life. Sachi does not engage much with the world and has no boyfriend. As she struggles with work and her loneliness, love unexpectedly happens. Yukino continues to have troubles with a water leak and with men. Meanwhile, Taemi is being stalked by her ex-boyfriend Honjo Soichi (Nakamura Aoi). There is no shortage of funny and strange episodes in the Makita household, and the spate of incidents that occur brings them together.
Official Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anoie

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Date: From 29 September – 6 October 2019 (after NTV)
Scriptwriters: Magy (Mukai no Bazuru Kazoku, Kanna-san!, Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri), Sato Tomoharu (Black Scandal, Black Revenge, Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri)
Original Work: Himura Hideo by Arisugawa Arisu
Cast: Saito Takumi, Kubota Masataka, Yamamoto Mizuki, Makita Sports, Yamamoto Ai, Matsunaga Nagisa, Natsuki Mari, Emoto Tokio (guest star), Maeda Goki (guest star), Hamada Mari (guest star), Hasegawa Hatsunori (guest star), Sato Ryuta (guest star), Takashima Masanobu (guest star), Eguchi Noriko (guest star), Yamamoto Maika (guest star), Kinoshita Houka (guest star), Hishio Mari (guest star), Ono Rina (guest star), Ichikawa Tomohiro (guest star), Satoi Kenta (guest star), Matsumoto Hiroki (guest star), Matsunaga Hiroko (guest star)
Synopsis: Arisugawa Arisu (Kubota Masataka) is set to have a conversation with Shirafuse Masato (Takashima Masanobu), the author who gained popularity with the hit horror novel Nightmare Rising, due to overtures from his editor Katagiri Mitsuo (Emoto Tokio). Arisu is told something strange. There is a room of nightmares at Shirafuse’s home called Umemori-sou in a remote part of Kyoto, and any person sleeping in it will definitely have a bad dream. Shirafuse shows a strong interest in Arisu’s buddy Himura Hideo (Saito Takumi) and invites the two of them to his home. Himura who has been plagued by regular nightmares takes an interest in this room and decides to pay a visit. After having dinner with Shirafuse and his editor Ezawa Hatoko (Yamamoto Maika) at a French-style inn nearby, Himura and Arisu stay at the room of nightmares. That night, the road is cut off after lightning strikes down a tree and the whole area including Umemori-sou becomes an isolated island. The next morning, a shocking case is discovered. The dead body of a woman is found in a vacant house. This woman is Okita Yoriko (Matsunaga Hiroko). She had introduced herself as a friend of Shirafuse’s secretary Watase Shinya (Matsumoto Hiroki) who died of illness two years ago, and visited the empty house that Watase once lived in. In addition, Yoriko was not only pierced by an arrow in the neck, her right wrist was severed and taken away. The people gathered around Umemori-sou fall under suspicion. Detective Nishida Morio (Satoi Kenta) from Kameoka Minami Police Precinct starts questioning people including Shirafuse, Hatoko, Mitsuishi Ryohei (Kinoshita Houka), the owner and chef of the French-style inn, Mitsuishi’s wife Shizuyo (Nishio Mari), his niece Yumi (Ono Rina), regular customer Yuge Yoichi (Ichikawa Tomohiro) and neighbour Yahagi Moe (Eguchi Noriko) along with Himura and Arisu. Everyone seems unsettled as if they have secrets … …
Official Website: www.ntv.co.jp/himura2019

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• Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri 2019 ~ ABC Killer
• Rinshou Hanzai Gakusha Himura Hideo no Suiri

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