Kakushou ~ Keishichou Sousa 3-ka
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Mondays, 15 April 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Takahashi Katsumi, Eikura Nana, Shitara Osamu, Yamamoto Ryuji, Yanagishita Tomo, Kurokawa Tomoka, Nishio Mari, Washio Machiko, Matsuda Satoshi, Nakamura Yasuhi, Izumiya Shigeru, Nakajima Tomoko, Kadono Takuzo, Kondo Masaomi (guest star), Bengal (guest star), Yoshida Yo (guest star), Miyakawa Ichirota (guest star)
Synopsis: The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Third Investigative Division handles thefts which make up 70 percent of criminal offenses. On Takeda Akiho’s (Eikura Nana) first day at work at the Third Investigative Division, a robbery occurs at a Shibuya jewellry store. Akiho, who originally wanted to be in the First Investigative Division, is impatient, but is warned by Section Chief Ino (Yamamoto Ryuji) that robbery cases is the work of the First Investigative Division. However, when she secretly leaves the office and heads to the crime scene, she notices a sharp-eyed man among the crowd of curious onlookers. This man is to be Akiho’s superior, Hagio Shuichi (Takahashi Katsumi). Hagio is a veteran of the Third Investigative Division. Akiho becomes his partner and is taught the fundamentals as a specialist in thefts.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/sousa3
Galileo Season 2*UPDATED*
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 15 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Fukuyama Masaharu, Yoshitaka Yuriko, Sawabe Yu, Kitamura Kazuki, Watanabe Ikkei, Shibasaki Kou (guest star), Yoshikura Aoi, Onozuka Hayato, Tamoto Soran, Imai Takafumi, Aizawa Rina, Osawa Takao (guest star), Kawaguchi Haruna (guest star), Miyamoto Taisei (guest star), Hizuki Hana (guest star), Oshima Yuko (guest star)
Synopsis: Genius Teito University physicist Yukawa Manabu (Fukuyama Masaharu) is good looking, excels at sports and has a brilliant mind but dislikes children and is an argumentative person whom the people around him call “eccentric Galileo”. Yukawa’s capable new partner, detective Kishitani Misa (Yoshitaka Yuriko) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division, has a strong personality and commanding attitude.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/galileo
Houkago Groove
Date: From 12.20 a.m., Mondays, 22 April 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Takanashi Rin, Yo Kimiko, Okayama Amane, Shimizu Hiroya, Kusano Ini, Dennis, Hagiwara Minori, Uehara Miku, Koizumi Aoi, Owada Shinya
Synopsis: Kiryu Makoto (Takanashi Rin) is a young junior high school teacher in charge of physical education. She joined a bike gang and dropped out in her second year of high school. But after that, she straightened herself out. She went on to university from part-time high school and became a teacher. Her philosophy is that if a teacher (adult) is taken for granted, everything is over. Armed with her outstanding athletic ability, she mentors students. However, the compulsory course she ends up teaching is dance which is the only thing she dreads. She makes every effort so that this secret will not be exposed to her students, but … …
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/groove_neo
Kamo, Kyoto e Iku ~ Shinise Ryokan no Okami Nikki
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 9 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Matsushita Nao, Shiina Kippei, Wakamura Mayumi, Horiuchi Keiko, Daito Shunsuke, Takasugi Ko, Koyanagi Yu, Maruyama Tomomi, Kusumi Kaoru, Okamoto Azusa, Sano Gaku, Sayako, Yagi Nanaka, Sasano Takashi, Ibu Masato, Ichige Yoshie, Matsudaira Ken (guest star), Katase Rino
Synopsis: Ueba Kamo (Matsushita Nao), a graduate of Tokyo University and career bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance, is a “super” elite. She abhors the fact that her odd name originates from Kamogawa River. The sudden death of her mother who had been the proprietress of the famous Kyoto ryokan Uebaya suddenly transforms her into the new proprietress and she comes under pressure to run the ryokan. Furthermore, it is mired in debt. Although it irks Kamo that she has to let go of the freedom and success she has worked so hard for and take over the family business, she believes that with her brains, a makeover of the ryokan is a simple matter. She gets busy with the business of being a proprietress which she knows nothing about. The reputation of the ryokan that her mother built, plunges sharply. Furthermore, its employees hate her. Even so, she persists and tides through it with her inflated sense of self and energy. At that moment, Kinugawa Shuhei (Shiina Kippei) from a foreign consultancy appears. This rather devious, shrewd Kyoto native has idiosyncrasies but is impossible to hate. While they claw at each other’s throats, cheat and sabotage each other, an odd friendship is gradually formed and they face the challenge of rebuilding the ryokan together.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/kamokyo
Kasukana Kanojo
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 9 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Katori Shingo, Anne, Maeda Atsuko, Kitayama Hiromitsu, Morimoto Shintaro, Jinguji Yuta, Iwahashi Genki, Takashima Masahiro, Maya Miki
Synopsis: Kamiyama Satoshi (Katori Shingo) is a quiet and cool-headed junior high school mathematics teacher with the ability to sense the supernatural which have lost their way. He hates ghosts. They are gloomy, melancholy, selfish, appear in photos that hold pleasant memories and stay in people’s houses even though they do not pay rent. He thinks the world must not let ghosts get carried away. They should brush them off or sprinkle salt. But one day, he encounters a strange ghost. A female ghost called Akane (Anne) who is clumsy, meddlesome and does not know how to swim with the tide. Kamiyama has no interest in his profession. But his encounter with Akane leads him to develop a passion for teaching and tackle problems like bullying which occur in school.
Website: www.ktv.jp/kasuka
Daini Gakushou
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 16 April 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Hada Michiko, Itaya Yuka, Tanihara Shosuke, Tanaka Kei, Kadowaki Mugi, Kuze Seika, Kubota Maki, Ogo Suzuka, Arai Moe, Shirakawa Yumi, Kushida Kazuyoshi
Synopsis: Shirase Mari (Hada Michiko) and Endo Natsumi (Itaya Yuka) were violinists in an orchestra. They pursued their dreams together and had a friendly rivalry. Then Natsumi’s pregnancy put her out of action. She married Endo Kazuto (Tanihara Shosuke) and built a happy family. Kazuto was a cellist in the same orchestra but retired from the orchestra with Natsumi and has been working at a travel company. On the other hand, Mari won the position of soloist and is now shining on stage as the orchestra’s concert master. The two of them were out of contact for 17 years but meet again by coincidence. They are each envious of the other’s circumstances. Mari’s feelings for Natsumi’s husband are rekindled while Natsumi is envious of Mari’s success and glory. Kazuto’s feelings for the orchestra and Mari are reawakened because of the reunion between the two women.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama10/dainigakushou
Iryu Sousa Season 3
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 17 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Kamikawa Takaya, Saito Yuki, Yashima Norito, Okada Yoshinori, Masana Bokuzo, Mashima Hidekazu, Namioka Kazuki, Komoto Masahiro, Nishimura Masahiko, Miyake Yuji
Synopsis: -
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/iryu
Related: Iryu Sousa Season 2
Kazoku Game
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 17 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Sakurai Sho, Kamiki Ryunosuke, Kutsuna Shiori, Uragami Seishu, Itao Itsuji, Suzuki Honami
Synopsis: Yoshimoto Koya (Sakurai Sho) is a weird, mysterious and unconventional home tutor who is sent to the Numata family in order to improve the grades of their second son Shigeyuki (Uragami Seishu), a junior high school student who refuses to go to school after moving up to the third year and stays at home. Labelled a dropout in comparison to his outstanding older brother Shinichi (Kamiki Ryunosuke), a second year high school student who excels at both studies and sports, Shigeyuki can barely advance to high school and is even bullied. He is a problem child. Successive home tutors that his parents (Itao Itsuji, Suzuki Honami) found gave up on him. What Yoshimoto, his sixth tutor, teaches is more than studies. This scary, inscrutable home tutor has a big influence not only on the second son but the whole dysfunctional family, and gradually transforms them.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/kazoku-game
Kumo no Kaidan
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 17 April 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Hasegawa Hiroki, Inamori Izumi, Kimura Fumino, Hagiwara Masato, Aoyagi Sho, Yuki Mio, Hankai Kazuaki, Kimura Midoriko, Kaga Mariko, Takigawa Yumi, Otomo Kohei, Naito Takashi
Synopsis: On an underpopulated island on the Izu chain of islands, Aikawa Saburo (Hasegawa Hiroki) a clerk at a clinic troubled by a shortage of doctors, is invited by the clinic’s director to try his hand at operating on a patient with appendicitis under his supervision. While Aikawa knows that it is illegal to do so without a doctor’s license, he makes remarkable progress in learning various medical treatments because of his manual dexterity, earnestness and quick wit. The even islanders start calling him “young doctor”. Despite his discomfort, he tells himself that it is okay if it does not get out of the island and as long as he can help people. Suzuki Akiko (Inamori Izumi), the nurse at the clinic loves Aikawa and is determined but to support him. But an encounter with Tasaka Akiko (Kimura Fumino), the daughter a Tokyo hospital director (Naito Takashi) changes their destinies. Aikawa wavers between the two Akikos.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/kumonokaidan
Meshibana Keiji Tachibana
Date: From 11.58 p.m., Wednesdays, 10 April 2013
Station: TV Tokyo
Cast: Sato Jiro, Suzuki Mirai, Nukumizu Yoichi, Umegaki Yoshiaki
Synopsis: Tachibana (Sato Jiro), a middle-aged detective of Josai Police Precinct, displays an unbelievably profound knowledge and experience of Japanese B-gourmet like stand-up soba, packet ramen and beef bowl.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/official/meshibana
Keiji 110 kg
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Thursdays, 25 April 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Ishizuka Hidehiko, Nakamura Shunsuke, Hoshino Mari, Ishimaru Kenjiro, Jinnai Sho, Inoue Waka, Takeshita Keiko (guest star), Takahata Atsuko
Synopsis: Hanazawa Taro (Ishizuka Hidehiko) is a policeman at one of the police boxes in Kyoto City. He gives directions to tourists without being asked, picks up “lost children” even though they are not crying, forcibly carry the small packages of the elderly. At a glance, he appears to be a meddlesome patrol officer. But how does he know tourists have lost their way, perceive that children have strayed or sense that the packages of old people are heavy? Behind this is a keen insight and people-watching skills that detects the kind of difficulties someone is in. This talent is discovered by Nishikori Reiko (Takahata Atsuko), the first female chief of Kyoto Prefectural Police’s First Investigative Division, and Hanazawa is suddenly transformed from a rookie police officer at a police box to a detective to the chief of the First Investigative Division.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/110kg
Doubles ~ Futari no Keiji
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 18 April 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Ito Hideaki, Sakaguchi Kenji, Natsuna, Uchida Yuki, Kondo Yoshimasa, Muroi Shigeru, Sugimoto Tetta, Hiraizumi Sei, Hashizume Isao, Yamaguchi Daichi, Hayashi Tantan, Hasegawa Tomoharu, Horibe Keisuke, Isaka Shunya, Kazami Shingo
Synopsis: Shinjuku Central Police Precinct is said to be the country’s busiest and toughest due to the frequency of a wide variety of violent crimes including murders, robberies, rapes, abductions, hostage-takings in the jurisdiction. In order to deal with the crimes, a new Special Investigations Team has been set up under Shinjuku Central Police Precinct’s Criminal Affairs Division. It is a unit which has assembled the best detectives within the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. However, the team is called “Zero Section” because it was formed with the help of the police chief whose favourite phrase is “Reexamine everything from ground zero.” On the other hand, there are also rumours that it was only created so the police chief can show the outside world that the police is making an effort. Therefore, the expectations are zero … … Detectives Yamashita Shunsuke (Ito Hideaki) and Tashiro Keiichi (Sakaguchi Kenji) are assigned to the Special Investigations Team. Yamashita is initially pleased with the words “the best and brightest”, but feels conflicted when he hears the reality that every precinct had refused to let go of their outstanding people. Yamashita and Tashiro have opposing opinions on many things but they are united in their belief in justice. While they may argue, they eventually cooperate and take on difficult cases.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/doubles
Sennyuu Tantei Tokage
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 18 April 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Matsuda Shota, Matsuoka Masahiro, Renbutsu Misako, Mimura, Yamamoto Ryosuke, Kimijima Asaya, Kimino Yuma, Mitsuishi Ken, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Endo Kennichi, Ito Shiro
Synopsis: Tokage (Matsuda Shota), a former Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department First Investigative Division detective, is uncooperative and does not trust others. He is shunned by the people around him, but is recognised for the number of difficult cases he has cracked with his extraordinary photographic memory and devastating physical ability. However, he made a fatal error in one case and his only partner lost his life. Although he miraculously survived, he took responsibility and resigned from his post as detective. He has been working as an investigator at a detective agency but due to the pressure from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department which wants to increase its arrest rate for crimes, he ends up returning to investigation as an undercover investigator for unsolved cases. Tokage is assisted by the tough and cute Mochizuki Kaori (Renbutsu Misako). Brought up as the daughter of a high-class family, entered the detective agency for a reason and has been training under Tokage but her toughness means that she often rescues Tokage. With Kaori’s help, Tokage identifies criminals with his astounding memory. On the other hand, Tokage’s rival is First Investigative Division detective Terajima Shuji (Matsuoka Masahiro) who is the complete opposite of Tokage. A kind-hearted, popular person, he has a strong sense of rivalry with Tokage due to the loss of a trusted superior in the past because of Tokage.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/tantei_tokage
Last Cinderella
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Shinohara Ryoko, Miura Haruma, Otsuka Nene, Iijima Naoko, Nanao, Hashimoto Satoshi, NAOTO, Takizawa Saori, Hirata Kaoru, Nogawa Yumiko, Fujiki Naohito, Endo Shozo
Synopsis: 39-year-old Toyama Sakura (Shinohara Ryoko), a stylist and assistant manager of a salon, is very devoted to her work. However, she is indifferent to fashion and has no sexual charms. She has not had a boyfriend or sex in 10 years and is scared of love. Because of a hormone imbalance, she sees one, two strands of beard growing when she looks at the mirror one day. Realising that she is turning masculine, she sets her mind on becoming a woman in love. Saeki Hiroto (Miura Haruma) is a handsome, young BMX rider who meets Sakura at a party and gets attracted to her. Then, there is Tachibana Rintaro (Fujiki Naohito) with whom Sakura can talk about anything and whose relationship transcends the bounds of gender.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/Last_Cinderella
Detarame Hero
Date: From 11.58 p.m., Thursdays, 4 April 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Sato Ryuta, Tsukamoto Takashi, Motokariya Yuika, Hara Mikie, Akimoto Rei, Kohinata Fumiyo
Synopsis: Good-for-nothing lowlife Kuzumi Kenta (Sato Ryuta) does not have a steady job, hates trouble, pesters women for money and leads a life of indifference. One day, he learns that his elder sister, who is his only immediate family but has been out of touch for more than 10 years, died in a traffic accident. She was a single mother and left behind a son Daichi, a third grade elementary school student. Daichi is all alone in this world but Kenta adopts Daichi for the insurance money. However, contrary to what he thinks, there is almost no cash left after the accident that his sister caused is compensated. He grudgingly brings Daichi home. When he tastes one of the strange sugar drops that Daichi has through an unexpected turn of events, he notices that he gains superhuman physical ability and heightened senses for just 10 minutes. Learning about this, Kenta’s good friend Tanba Shuji (Tsukamoto Takashi), who is a police officer, forcibly turns him into a “hero” kitted out in tights and goggles, and makes him solve cases in order to perform feats of his own. On the other hand, Kenta schemes to make money with the mysterious drops but … …
Website: www.ytv.co.jp/hero
Tsuma wa, Kunoichi
Date: From 8.00 p.m. Fridays, 5 April 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Ichikawa Somegoro, Takimoto Miori, Wakamura Mayumi, Horibe Keisuke, Wada Soko
Synopsis: It is the late Edo period. Futaboshi Hikoma (Ichikawa Somegoro), the Hirado domain’s astronomer, is an eccentric who likes stargazing more than eating. A beautiful bride, Orie (Takimoto Miori), comes to him through an introduction by his superior. Hikoma vows to himself to cherish her in his lifetime, but his new wife disappears in less than a month. In truth, Orie is a female ninja that the shogunate has sent because of its suspicions about the domain’s illegal trading and activities. Not knowing this, Hikoma goes to Edo in search of his wife. Although Hikoma and Orie are drawn to each other, they are not allowed to meet … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/jidaigeki/kunoichi
Yoidore Kotoji
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Fridays, June 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Takenaka Naoto, Tsugawa Masahiko, Honda Hirotaro
Synopsis: Akame Kotoji (Takenaka Naoto), who made the acquaintance of the paper merchant (Tsugawa Masahiko) through the uproar over the stolen lances, settles down at a tenement house in Edo that he owns with the intention of spending the rest of his days quietly. However, because of the incident over the lances, Tajiri Tojiro (Honda Hirotaro) the chief vassal of the Mitsushima family, one of the domains that fell victim to Akame, hates Akame and is bent on revenge. A wandering samurai Sudo Heihachiro is sent in as the assassin. Believing Tajiri’s words that he will be employed as the Mitsushima domain’s fencing instructor if he defeats Akame, Sudo carries an infant to attack Akame. At the end of the fierce fight, Akame beats Sudo but does not know what to do with the infant left behind. He is helped by the residents of at the tenement houses. Another person who supports the dispirited Akame is Oryo, a lady-in-waiting at the mansion of the Mizushima family which is a vassal to the shogun. Oryo, who intends to gain her own independence as a poet, and Akame gradually become close. While Akame deals with love and child rearing for the first time in his life, he begins to find meaning in life … …
Website: -
Related: Oyari Haishaku ~ Yoidore Kotoji Tomegaki
Ooka Echizen
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Fridays, 30 March 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Higashiyama Noriyuki, Katsumura Masanobu, Kuninaka Ryoko, Hira Takehiro, Terajima Susumu, Harada Natsuki, Emoto Tokio, Matsubara Chieko, Kato Takeshi, Tsugawa Masahiko
Synopsis: Ooka Echizen (Higashiyama Noriyuki) was an Edo magistrate who supported the Kyoho Reforms advanced by the eighth shogun, Tokugawa Yoshimune (Hira Takehiro). Other than administrating the the town of Edo, Ooka also had a seat on the judicial council, managed local government affairs as well as temples and shrines. He punished evil that brought suffering to the common people, making judicial decisions with humanity and fairness that came to be known as “Ooka Sabaki”.
Website: -
Take Five ~ Oretachi wa Ai o Nusumeru ka
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 19 April 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Karasawa Toshiaki, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Matsuzaka Tori, Rokkaku Seiji, Irie Jingi, Chiba Yudai, Eda Yuka, Fukuda Ayano, Eda Yuka, Abe Shinnosuke, Suruga Taro, Denden, JUJU, Baisho Mitsuko, Inagaki Goro, Kuroki Meisa, Yuzuki Reon, Ouki Kaname, Ryu Masaki, Kurenai Yuzuru, Asumi Rio, Matsumura Hokuto
Synopsis: Homura Masayoshi (Karasawa Toshiaki) is a psychology professor at one of the universities in Tokyo. He is extremely popular among students for his witty speeches at his lectures on love psychology. However, there is another side of Homura which no one knows. He and his father were actually members of Take Five, once called the greatest gang of theives in history, which hit on bad fellows for large sums of money. But 20 years ago, an incident led the members to wind up Take Five and retire. Then one day, Homura finds a suspicious-looking brown envelope on his desk after a lecture. It contains a photograph of Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous portrait of Lucrezia Borgia. A homeless lady (Baisho Mitsuko) is staring at him when he glances out of the window. Sensing that she is the owner of the envelope, Homura calls out to her. She says the painting in the photograph is in a secure facility of Tohto Bank. Moreover, she behaves as if she knows that he is a robber. This incident leads to the regrouping of Take Five (Karasawa Toshiaki, Inagaki Goro, Matsuzaka Tori, Rokkaku Seiji) and the addition of a new member, Hioka Tamotsu (Irie Jingi) … …
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/TAKE-FIVE
Otenki Oneesan
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Fridays, 12 April 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Takei Emi, Okura Tadayoshi, Sasaki Nozomi, Fueki Yuko, Maruyama Tomomi, Danmitsu, Naito Risa, Nomura Masumi, Takachi Noburu, Sasaki Kuranosuke
Synopsis: Abe Haruko (Takei Emi) is a genius weather forecaster who obtained her certification at the age of 11. Haruko, who is a weather caster on a morning programme, has earned the nickname “explosive low-pressure girl” for her surly attitude and is met with hostility from the programme’s staff and casters. On the other hand, she uses her vast knowledge of the weather including geology and astronomy to solve cases from a viewpoint that differs from the police and thoroughly corner criminals. Rookie detective Aoki Gota (Okura Tadayoshi) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division gets partnered with Haruko. He is the complete opposite of Haruko. But it is precisely because of this pairing that truth comes into view and pulls them towards unexpected reality. Haruko also unleashes Gota’s surprisingly special ability as a detective … …
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/otenki
Vampire Heaven
Date: From 12.52 a.m., Fridays, 12 April 2013
Station: TV Tokyo
Cast: Omasa Aya, Honda Tsubasa, Hiraoka Yuta, Eguchi Noriko, Sasai Eisuke, Tomiura Satoshi, Okamoto Anri
Synopsis: Good friends Sakurako (Omasa Aya) and Komachi (Honda Tsubasa) are vampires of great beauty. Komachi saved Sakurako who was courted by the vampire earl and the two of them were banished to the human world for violating a taboo of the vampire world. In the human world, they encounter a man called Hayato (Hiraoka Yuta). Sakurako falls in love with him in a heartbeat. However, the more a vampire likes its partner, the more it desires the partner’s blood. Sakurako notices that when she plays music, her bloodsucking tendencies are strangely dispelled. So she strums the guitar and thinks of her loved one. Komachi worriedly watches Sakurako. But Hayato gradually starts to develop an interest in Komachi … …
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/official/vampire
35-sai no Koukousei
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Yonekura Ryoko, Mizobata Junpei, Katase Nana, Masu Takeshi, Tonesaku Toshihide, Aiba Hiroki, Ikushima Sho, Yokoyama Megumi, Enoki Takaaki, Katono Taikou, Kitayama Shiori, Kojima Fujiko, Shinkawa Yua, Suda Masaki, Takasugi Mahiro, Nishii Yukito, Nomura Shuhei, Hirose Alice, Fujiwara Reiko, Mizuno Erina, Miyazaki Karen, Morikawa Aoi, Yamazaki Kento
Synopsis: It is the new school term and one transfer student comes to join third-year high school girls at a full-day high school. She appears to lead an ordinary high school high school life; wearing regular school uniform, doing school work and also participating in physical education. Even so, she is a world apart from her 17-year-old classmates. In the morning, she arrives at school in a luxury foreign car, at lunch break she takes a puff in the smoking room for teaching staff and after school she drains a can of beer. This female high school student Baba Ayako (Yonekura Ryoko) is 35. She has returned to school after 18 years but the reason why she is redoing high school again at this age is not known. Shrouded in mystery and a loner, she hates turning a blind eye and laying blame on others. Ayako crushes the darkness of bullying and truancy which runs rampant in schools of today with her daring behaviour, and changes the students as well as the school precisely because she is not a parent, teacher but just a fellow student who has had a taste of the real world.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/35jk
Goen Hunter
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Mizuki Arisa, MATSU, Otsuka Nene, Imoto Ayako, Kyono Kotomi, Nakajima Hiroko, Saiki Shigeru, Asaji Yoko, Terawaki Yasufumi
Synopsis: Hasumi Rika (Mizuki Arisa), a permanent employee of a medium-sized mail order company, is around 40. The supervisor in charge of the customer centre, she is called the “customer centre fortress” within the company. Her father has passed away and because her younger sister married first, she lives in the family home with her mother. She has always thought to herself that it is her part to look after her mother Tomoko (Asaji Yoko) in her old age. One day, Tomoko declares that she is remarrying and the situation suddenly changes. Rika signs up at a marriage hunting website because she is worried about her mother, but gradually gets into the “marriage hunting market” and becomes involved in it. At first, she makes light of it, thinking that a person like herself will be able to find a good partner immediately. But she sees with her own eyes the marriage hunting situation of a female around 40 and is made to realise her own value on the “marriage hunting market”. However, her competitive spirit and the encouragement of fellow marriage hunters makes her continue marriage hunting. As Rika does so, she learns what kind of person she is, what she truly wants and what really matters in life. Just as she is starting to look once again at the marriage and future that she wishes for … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/dodra/goen
Sodom no Ringo ~ Lot o Koroshita Onnatachi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 23 March 2013
Station: WOWOW
Cast: Terajima Shinobu, Kimura Fumino, Mizobata Junpei, Maya Kyoko, Okuda Eiji, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Murakami Jun, Nukumizu Yoichi, Doguchi Yoriko, Hamada Mari, Ishibashi Anna, Nomura Shuhei, Tayama Ryosei, Oshinari Shugo, Tokui Yu, Uchida Shungiku, Ayata Toshiki, Muramatsu Toshifumi, Watanabe Makiko
Synopsis: The editor Shitara Mari (Kimura Fumino) is shocked to hear that Miwa Yoshio (Oshinari Shugo), the boyfriend she split up with over a quarrel, has committed suicide. She also learns that there was another woman at his funeral. That woman’s name is Miyajima Megumi (Terajima Shinobu). Bothered about Megumi who had promised marriage after meeting Yoshio through an online dating site, Mari poses as a male (Okuda Eiji) and registers with the website. She successfully makes contact and when she goes to Yoshio’s apartment, she sees Megumi being taken away by the police. Megumi exudes a distinct air. As Mari attends Megumi’s trial, she gets completely absorbed in her. In order to find out her motive, Mari travels to the island where Megumi was born with the investigative reporter Kitano Kengo (Mizobata Junpei). Megumi’s home was a community where the descendants of clandestine Christians lived during the Tokugawa period. According to Megumi’s classmate, she had been the “island’s prettiest girl” while in her teens (Ishibashi Anna). Mari and Kengo are surprised by the information. It is hard to imagine from Megumi’s present looks. And so, they search for the reason for the twist in her fate. Then, Mari finds a painting in a church on the island. It is of two nude women waiting on an old man. Dreadful misgivings surface from that … …
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/sodom
Machigawarechatta Otoko
Date: From 11.10 p.m., Saturdays, 13 April 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Furuta Arata, Nakamaru Yuichi, Toda Naho, Sato Megumi, Kimura Ryo, Mikura Kana, Kaneda Akio, Okochi Hiroshi, Ishida Eri
Synopsis: Sawaki Yujiro (Furuta Arata) is a compassionate, mediocre petty thief who keeps failing because of his sentimentality. He and his underling Yasu (Nakamaru Yuichi) sneak into Sushi Masa in the old district of Kuramae but they are tragically discovered and viciously beaten until they black out. Contrary to expectations that they have come to the end of their rope, what is in store for the two of them when they come round is a welcome tempest. The people at Sushi Masa have completely mistaken Sawaki for their master chef Teru (Furuta Arata) who stormed out of the shop 10 years ago, due to his uncanny resemblance to Teru. Sawaki and Yasu weather the situation and try to flee. However, their innate goodness become the obstacle … …
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/wrongman
Tenshi wa Mop o Motte
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Saturdays, 4 May 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Kitano Kii, Owada Kensuke, Noguchi Goro, Nakayama Shinobu
Synopsis: All sorts of incidents occur at travel agency where new employee Kajimoto Daisuke (Owada Kensuke) works. Documents get lost, a female employee falls … … Kiriko (Kitano Kii), a professional cleaner, appears at the agency to solve these bizarre incidents. With her colourful outfits and angelic, cute appearance, Kiriko seems scarcely like a cleaner. She cleans up not just the office but also the worries and difficulties of society.
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Shima no Sensei
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 25 May 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Nakama Yukie, Iura Arata, Tanaka Misato, Aoyama Noriko, Fujimoto Takahiro, Kunihiro Tomiyuki, Hidari Tokie, Daichi Yasuo, Ishizaka Koji
Synopsis: Children and students from Tokyo and Osaka with problems such as bullying and truancy in urban schools come to study at a small elementary and middle school on a remote island. These children who live with host families number no more than a dozen. They grow up surrounded by the kindness and warmth of the islanders, feel wanted in this world and begin to grasp at life again. Natsumura Chihiro (Nakama Yukie), who works as a teacher in the school, also experienced life on this island during her junior high school years when she was anguished over her relationship with her biological mother. As Chihiro attempts to solve her students’ problems together, she also encourages them to make a fresh start in life, but … …
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Mayonaka no Panya-san
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 28 April 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Takizawa Hideaki, Kiriyama Akito, Tsuchiya Tao, Ito Ayumi, Rokkaku Seiji, Maeda Aki, Muro Tsuyoshi, Tomosaka Rie
Synopsis: Kurebayashi Yosuke (Takizawa Hideaki) is the owner of Boulangerie Kurebayashi, a mysterious bakery located in some nook in Tokyo that only opens in the middle of the night. It is a bread shop that saves people who simply have difficulty living. This is because bread is always equally tasty to everyone even if they are without a warm table and family. Six months ago, Yosuke suddenly went from high-flying salaryman to owner and apprentice of this newly started bakery. He seems unskilled but looks happy learning to make bread. It is not just that. He looks happy being a baker. But what started him on this path?
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/mayopan
Kogure Shashinkan
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 31 March 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Kamiki Ryunosuke, Narumi Riko, Matsushita Yuki, Ishiguro Ken, Horii Arata, Sasano Takashi, Tanaka Misato, Lily
Synopsis: Hanabishi Eiichi (Kamiki Ryunosuke) is a second-year high school student who moves to a house that was a former photo studio without refurbishing the building on a whim of his father (Ishiguro Ken). One day, Eiichi passes by what appears to be a ghost in front of the house and an uproar ensues, but he later learns that “it” is a female high school student from the neighbourhood. The girl hands over something as she complains about Eiichi. It is a photograph developed at Kogure Photo Studio which she had obtained through unexpected circumstances. In fact, this photograph of a female’s crying face can only be described as ghost photography. More and more of such photographs are brought in. The Hanabishi family, friends and the real estate agent (Narumi Riko) who brokered the sale and purchase of the photo studio all get involved, and Eiichi sets out to solve this mystery.The hidden pasts each of these people are connected to the present … …
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Soratobu Kouhoushitsu
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 14 April 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Aragaki Yui, Ayano Go, Mizuno Miki, Kaname Jun, Takahashi Tsutomu, Muro Tsuyoshi, Kiriyama Ren, Shibukawa Kiyoshi, Mikura Mana, Maeno Tomoya, Okawa Ai, Kiritani Kenta (guest star), Abe Joji, Ikeuchi Hiroyuki, Namase Katsuhisa, Shibata Kohei
Synopsis: The beautiful Inaba Rika (Aragaki Yui) is a director at Teito TV Network and a highly-regarded up-and-comer. It has been her dream to be a reporter ever since she was a child. She believes in the style of holding out a microphone and cracking at her interviewees to the point that they get angry. Her mission is to uncover the hidden side of society. She might have a sense of duty and passion but often gets into trouble with interviewees because of her overly aggressive interviews. In her fifth year at the network, she is transferred against her will to be the co-director of an evening information programme. She is put in charge of a special feature on uniformed personnel and ordered to interview the Self Defence Forces. First Lieutenant Sorai Daisuke (Ayano Go) became a fighter pilot but injured his foot in an accident and had his childhood dream of sitting in the Blue Impulse shattered. He was assigned to a department which he was unprepared for, the Air Staff Office’s Public Relations Department. Ever since the accident, he has never once shown his feelings. However, Daisuke’s superior Sagisaka (Shibata Kohei) saw through his “benign, mild” facade and placed Rika in his care even though the people around him said he was still not ready for it. It chafes at Rika to have her dream destroyed and she psyches herself for a comeback as a reporter by getting a scoop. With that in mind, she is constantly provocative in her speech and conduct towards the members of the Public Relations Department, especially Daisuke. And she says something to Daisuke that she never should … …
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/soratobu-tbs
Haitatsusaretai Watashitachi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 12 May 2013
Station: WOWOW
Cast: Tsukamoto Takashi, Kuriyama Chiaki, Hasegawa Kyoko, Horibe Keisuke, Emoto Tasuku, Suda Eito, Nishioka Tokuma, Arimori Narimi, Ishiguro Ken, Sato Jiro, Kurotani Tomoka, Kyono Kotomi, Kaito Ken, Daichi Yasuo, Nakao Akiyoshi, Yanagishita Tomo, Nakamura Ikuji, Negishi Toshie
Synopsis: 32-year-old Sawano Hajime (Tsukamoto Takashi) is blessed with a wife Masami (Hasegawa Kyoko) and 6-year-old son Teru but he suffers from depression. He loses his job, has no dreams or desire to live. His relationship with Masami also starts to get strained and he cannot build bonds with Teru. One day, with the intention of committing suicide, he visits an abandoned building that was a former movie theatre. He picks up seven letters that were dumped there 7 years ago. Deciding to deliver those letters to countdown his life, he first passes a letter to Yu (Kuriyama Chiaki) who runs a hair salon. It is from her mother who had abandoned a young Yu and her father … … Through meetings and partings with the people at the delivery addresses, he encounters various human dramas … …
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/haitatsu
Anata ni Nita Dareka
Date: May 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Osugi Ren, Motokariya Yuika, Enami Kyoko, Sasano Takashi, Yamamoto Koji, Nakagoshi Noriko, Cunning Takeyama, Yamamoto Gaku, Takuma Takayuki, Okunuki Kaoru, Tokunaga Eri, Izumi Pinko
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