Namonaki Doku
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Mondays, 8 July 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Koizumi Kotaro, Fukada Kyoko, Maya Miki, Kuninaka Ryoko, Minimisawa Nao, Sugisaki Hana, Eguchi Noriko, Muro Tsuyoshi, Takahashi Mitsuomi, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Okamoto Rei, Morisaki Win, Kino Hana, Honda Hirotaro, Hirata Mitsuru, Muroi Shigeru, Hira Mikijiro
Synopsis: Sugimura Saburo (Koizumi Kotaro) is an ordinary salaryman married to the daughter of the chairman of Imada business group, Nahoko (Kuninaka Ryoko). A loving husband and father, he works at the company’s public relations office, editing the inhouse magazine. One day, he receives a request from his father-in-law Imada Yoshichika (Hira Mikijiro) concerning a man called Kajita Nobuo (Hirata Mitsuru). Kajita had been his father-in-law’s chauffeur and died in a hit-and-run accident. However, this request is complicated by circumstances … …
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/namonakidoku/
Summer Nude
Date: From 9.00 p.m. Mondays, 8 July 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Yamashita Tomohisa, Toda Erika, Karina, Nagasawa Masami, Katsuji Ryo, Kubota Masataka, Sato Shori, Yamamoto Mizuki, Chiba Yudai, Nakajo Ayami, Hashimoto Nanami, Takahashi Katsunori, Itaya Yuka, Watanabe Tetsu, Fukushi Seiji (guest star), Okubo Kayoko (guest star)
Synopsis: Mikuriya Asahi (Yamashita Tomohisa) is a photographer who works at a small photo studio in a seaside town. He used to dream of becoming famous as a professional photographer but is now a cameraman only roped in for local wedding ceremonies and school functions. Asahi has not got over his ex-girlfriend Kasumi (Nagasawa Masami) who suddenly left him without a reason three years ago and continues to wait for her even now. One day, Chiyohara Natsuki (Karina) shows up in front of Asahi. Natsuki is a manager at a popular Italian restaurant in Tokyo. Asahi happens to witness the moment when Natsuki’s beloved fiance Kota (Fukushi Seiji) leaves her at their wedding and even captures that crucial instant on film. Their acquaintance unfortunately starts off on the worst possible footing. And a broken-hearted Natsuki ends up spending this summer in the seaside town where Asahi lives. She uses her background as a professional chef to look after Aoyama, a seaside hut which is run by the wife of Asahi’s senior Shimojima Kenji (Takahashi Katsunori). Although Asahi and Natsuki met in the worst way, the two hurt souls are quickly brought closer. Then there is Asahi’s high school junior Taniyama Hanae (Toda Erika). The two of them have had an inseparable relationship since high school and are usually able to speak their mind with each other. Although Hanae is closest to Asahi and has always loved him, he takes no notice of her. While Hanae understands that he is still waiting for his ex-girlfriend, she only has eyes for him. Hanae’s feelings are painfully one-sided and cannot trump his old love … …
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/SUMMER-NUDE
Tenma-san ga Yuku
Date: From 12.28 a.m., Tuesdays, 15 July 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Domoto Tsuyoshi, Kawaguchi Haruna, Minagawa Sarutoki, Serina, Sato Jiro, Morisaki Hiroyuki
Synopsis: Tenma (Domoto Tsuyoshi) is a youth who possesses the ability to communicate with ancestors and ghosts but is a great coward despite this power. However, he has no choice but to inherit and run a company which undertakes ghost busting. Once a ghost busting request is received, Tenma would head to the scene and yet struggle with meeting the ghost. He eventually listens to what the ghost has to say, dispels the regrets it has left in this world, gently remonstrates and settles the matter through persuasion instead of extermination.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/tenma_neo/
Kyuumei Byoto 24-ji Season 5
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 9 July 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Matsushima Nanako, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Kazama Shunsuke, Ashina Sei, Haru, Kashiwabara Shuji, Kojima Kazuya, Okamoto Rei, Yamada Maho, Shukugawa Atom, Ito Yuko, Tezuka Toru, Anju Mira, Danta Yasunori, Tokito Saburo
Synopsis: Kojima Kaede (Matsushima Nanako) heads a team as the chief medical officer of the emergency and critical care centre at Minato University Hospital. However, the staff members of the centre are all skilled but idiosyncratic people with the emergency doctor Honjo Masaharu (Sasaki Kuranosuke) heading the list. It is a defective “team” which is not able to work together. Kaede herself is a more competent emergency doctor than anybody else but is unsure of leading the team. Meanwhile, the hospital management (Danta Yasunori) is frustrated with the emergency and critical care centre for not having a single organ donor since the organ transplant act was amended. They decide to get the unusual emergency doctor Natsume Mamoru (Tokito Saburo) to satisfy both a high percentage of lives saved and number of organ donors. Under continual pressure from daily tasks, Kaede has no time for that. But on Natsume’s first day at work, the worst ever major incident in history breaks out in Tokyo … …
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/kyumei24
Related: Kyuumei Byoto 24-ji Season 4
Starman ~ Kono Hoshi no Koi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 9 July 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Hirosue Ryoko, Fukushi Sota, Koike Eiko, Arimura Kasumi, Ishii Masanori, Yamada Yuki, Kenchi, Honda Daisuke, Muramatsu Toshifumi, Moto Fuyuki, Kuroda Hiroyuki, Igarashi Hinata, Onishi Ryusei, Yoshiyuki Kazuko, Kunimura Jun
Synopsis: 32-year-old Uno Sawako (Hirosue Ryoko) is a strong-minded single mother of three young boys. Her husband left because of her unrefined ways. One day, she happens to encounter a younger man (Fukushi Sota) who is on the brink of death. She instantly falls for him and saves him. However, he has lost his memory. So Sawako gives him the name Hoshio and decides to let him live together as the father of her children. This is the beginning a rather unusual pseudo family life … …
Website: www.ktv.jp/starman
Gekiryuu ~ Watashi o Oboeteimasuka?
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 25 June 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Tanaka Rena, Kiritani Kenta, Tomosaka Rie, Kuninaka Ryoko, Yamamoto Koji
Synopsis: An email message from a girl who had gone missing on a school excursion 20 years ago leads five former classmates to meet again and get embroiled in a baffling incident: 35-year-old Misumi Keiko (Tanaka Rena), an editor who was suddenly laid off from the literary department of the publishing company where she works; Midohara Takako (Kuninaka Ryoko), once adored by guys when she was a junior high school student and now a housewife involved in sex for money; Akiyoshi Miya (Tomosaka Rie), a musician facing a setback; Higashihagi Koji (Kiritani Kenta) who has become a detective but is content with being a sergeant forever; and Sabashima Yutaka (Yamamoto Koji), a divorced bank employee.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama10/gekiryuu
Glass no Ie
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 3 September 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Igawa Haruka, Saito Takumi, Nagayama Kento, Umefune Ariei, Kikuchi Momoko, Kataoka Ainosuke, Fujimoto Takahiro
Synopsis: Tamaki Rei (Igawa Haruka) lost her parents in a plane crash in France when she was a child. In her mid-30s, she visits the site of the plane crash in France for the first time and encounters Shibusawa Kazunari (Fujimoto Takahiro) whose wife died in the same accident. As the head of the Ministry of Finance’s Budget Bureau, Kazunari is an important and influential man and an elite among the elite who inhabits a different world from her. Rei falls in love with the much older Kazunari who has two grown-up sons, and they get married. His eldest son Hitoshi (Saito Takumi) has followed in his footsteps and works in the Ministry of Finance while his second son Kenji (Nagayama Kento) has graduated from law school and is currently studying to retake the bar exam. Rei does her best to fit in with the family of three men, but the Shibusawas start to experience a tempest with the appearance of the young and beautiful Rei … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama10/glass
Anata ni Nita Dareka
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Tuesdays, 13 August 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Osugi Ren, Sato Yumiko, Motokariya Yuika, Enami Kyoko, Sasano Takashi, Yamamoto Koji, Nakagoshi Noriko, Cunning Takeyama, Kaneda Akio, Yamamoto Gaku, Takuma Takayuki, Okunuki Kaoru, Tokunaga Eri, Izumi Pinko
Synopsis: A three-part omnibus drama about people who work hard and lead modest lives. Despite the ordinariness, their lives are full of ups and downs.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/anata
Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Gakari Season 8
Date: From 9.00 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 July 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Watase Tsunehiko, Inohara Yoshihiko, Hada Michiko, Nakagoshi Noriko, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Tsuda Kanji, Taguchi Hiromasa, Hara Sachie
Synopsis: -
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/9gakari
Shomuni 2013
Date: From 10.00 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 July 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Esumi Makiko, Becky, Ando Sakura, Honda Tsubasa, Mori Kana, Horiuchi Keiko, Miura Shohei, Katase Nana, Suzuki Kosuke, Yasuda Ken, Toda Keiko (guest star), Kyono Kotomi (guest star), Takahashi Yumiko (guest star), Sakurai Atsuko (guest star)
Synopsis: 10 years ago, the General Affairs Section 2 aka Shomuni was the department where employees branded by the company as useless trash were banished. However, there were those who enjoyed life in the dimly-lit room of the section. Tsuboi Chinatsu (Esumi Makiko) and five other females. They did as they desired which ended up helping the company as a result. Then Shomuni was done away and Chinatsu was not heard of … … 10 years later, Japan has been in a long recession and corporate restructuring. Naturally, it is the same at Manpan Shoji too … … One day, Chinatsu suddenly returns to Manpan. Meanwhile, a new Shomuni is restored by the Human Resource Department.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/shomu2
Woman
Date: From 10.00 p.m. Wednesdays, 3 July 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Mitsushima Hikari, Tanaka Yuko, Oguri Shun, Kobayashi Kaoru, Nikaido Fumi, Tanimura Mitsuki, Suzuki Rio, Usuda Asami, Takahashi Issei
Synopsis: Aoyagi Koharu (Mitsushima Hikari) is one of some 1 million single mothers in Japan. Her husband Makoto (Oguri Shun) was a globe-trotting mountain climber until he married her and they had children. He quit mountain climbing and switched to a safe job but ironically died in a freak accident. Koharu lives bravely for the sake of their two beloved children Nozomi (Suzuki Rio) and Riku despite the family’s poverty. One day, she is reunited with her mother Uesugi Sachi (Tanaka Yuko) whom she last met 10 years ago. Sachi divorced her husband and abandoned Koharu for love after a chance reunion with Kentaro (Kobayashi Kaoru), the man she liked from way back. Now she learns that she has two grandchildren … …
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/woman2013
Kodoku no Gurume Season 3
Date: From 11.58 p.m. Wednesdays, 10 July 2013
Station: TV Tokyo
Cast: Matsushige Yutaka
Synopsis: -
Website: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/kodokunogurume3
Kyoto Chiken no Onna Season 9
Date: From 8.00 p.m. Thursdays, 18 July 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Natori Yuko, Terajima Susumu, Osugi Ren, Masuoka Toru, Kubota Maki, Kataoka Shinwa, Wakisawa Kana, Maeda Aki, Kanie Keizo
Synopsis: Kyoto public prosecutor Tsurumaru Aya’s (Natori Yuko) weapon to solve difficult cases is her instincts as a housewife and female. Aya has been living with her daughter Rin (Wakisawa Kana) while her husband stays in Tokyo. But Rin is going to marry and spread her wings. Without Rin, Aya’s life undergoes big changes which also influences her perspective on cases. Then Inspector Narimasu Seigo (Terajima Susumu) daughter Tomoko (Maeda Aki) suddenly comes back from overseas studies in America, and bunks in with Aya instead of her family. The reason for her return is to take the bar exam. It appears that she desires to be in the legal profession just like Aya but … …
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kyoto
Asaki Yumemishi ~ Yaoya Oshichi Ibun*NEW*
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Thursdays, 19 September 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Maeda Atsuko, Ikematsu Sosuke, Hiraoka Yuta, Takeshita Keiko, Nakamura Masatoshi
Synopsis: In February 1681 (Enpo 9), right after the fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi was installed, a fire that started in Edo’s Hongo-Maruyama spread to Komagome and even the grocer Yaogen is destroyed by fire. Oshichi, the only daughter of the wealthy owner of Yaogen, is placed with Daijoji Temple until the shop and residence are rebuilt. As Oshichi takes care of children who lost their homes in the fire and have no place to go while living at the temple, she meets the temple’s page Kichiza (Ikematsu Sosuke) and is consumed with love for him. Yaogen is soon rebuilt and Oshichi returns to town. Her father Kihe (Nakamura Masatoshi), who sees the potential in his hardworking sales clerk Kanzo (Hiraoka Yuta), intends to take him in as his son-in-law. However, Oshichi will not agree because Kichiza lives in her heart. And so too for Kichiza … …
Website: -
Doctors Season 2 ~ Saikyo no Meii
Date: From 9.00 p.m. Thursdays, 11 July 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Sawamura Ikki, Takashima Masanobu, Higa Manami, Takizawa Saori, Ono Takehiko, Ito Ran, Nogiwa Yoko, Kyono Kotomi (guest star), Sasano Takashi (guest star), Kohinata Fumiyo (guest star), Tayama Ryosei (guest star)
Synopsis: Surgeon Sagara Kosuke (Sawamura Ikki) changed the mentalities of the doctors and nurses at Dogami General Hospital with a mixture of severity and cajoling. Before that, the hospital appeared to be a hopeless case. All the director Dogami Tamaki (Nogiwa Yoko) and administrator Momoi Shoichi (Ono Takehiko) thought of was its finances while the doctors did not care about patients. But Sagara is not the typical medical hero who is a stifling, hot-blooded, good person. He would stop at nothing to improve the hospital for patients and adjust his strategies according to the challenges and parties involved … … Now the problem of the hospital’s next successor rapidly surfaces and intensifies the antagonism between Sagara and Moriyama Suguru (Takashima Masanobu).
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/doctors
Related: Doctors Season 1 ~ Saikyou no Meii
Pintokona
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 18 July 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Tamamori Yuta, Nakayama Yuma, Kawashima Umika, Matsumura Hokuto, Jesse, Yoshikura Aoi, Kusakari Mayu, Shimizu Yutaka, Yamamoto Koji, Takashima Masahiro (guest star), Maeda Noriko, Enoki Takaaki, Enami Kyoko, Kishitani Goro
Synopsis: High school student Kawamura Kyonosuke (Tamamori Yuta) is the handsome son of Sezaemon (Kishitani Goro) of the prominent kabuki family, the Kijimaya, and should have taken over the world of kabuki. But while Kyonosuke is very popular with fans, he lacks the all-important motivation and even cuts corners on stage. His rival Sawayama Ichiya (Nakayama Yuma) was born in a family outside kabuki but set his sights on rising to great heights and works hard to become a popular actor. Kyonosuke starts to change his mind when he makes the acquaintance of fellow schoolmate Chiba Ayame (Kawashima Umika) who has a genuine love for kabuki. However, he soon finds Ichiya competing for Ayame’s affections too.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/pintokona
Oh, My Dad!!
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 11 July 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Oda Yuji, Hasegawa Kyoko, Maeda Atsuko, Narimiya Hiroki, Yashima Norito, Suzuki Anju, Tanaka Kanau, Ichimura Masachika (guest star)
Synopsis: 42-year-old scientist Shinkai Genichi (Oda Yuji) was once in the international spotlight during his student days. Unable to forget that period of glory, he neglected his family even though he has a child and devoted himself to his own research, but kept meeting setbacks. Now Genichi’s disenchanted wife Sayoko (Suzuki Anju) has run off, he is also unemployed, has no money for rent, and even loses the house. All he has left is their 5-year-old son Kota (Tanaka Kanau). But the simple Genichi continues to pursue his dream as he raises Kota. Then one day, Genichi meets his ex-girlfriend Hayasaka Mizuki (Hasegawa Kyoko) again after more than 10 years and she gradually gets involved in his present circumstances. Mizuki is a high-powered career woman who works at an big energy company. She is beautiful and has a sharp mind but is still single even though she is around 40.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/ohmydad
Machi Isha Jumbo
Date: From 11.58 p.m. Thursdays, 4 July 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Maki Daisuke, Kutsuna Shiori, Yoshida Yo, Fueki Yoko, Omi Toshinori
Synopsis: Baba Kohei, director of the local clinic Baba Hospital in a small port town, suddenly dies and his daughter Asuka (Kutsuna Shiori), a nurse of one year, searches around for his successor. Then Tsuruta Masayoshi (Maki Daisuke) suddenly shows up. He used to work with her father at Baba Hospital but left the town because of some trouble 12 years ago. Now he is here with Baba’s IOU for the 100 million yen he loaned and assumes the position of clinic director on this pretext. Asuka, who adored Tsuruta in the past, is shocked by the complete change in his behaviour now that they are reunited after 12 years as well as resents his high-handedness. Although he clashes with her and the townspeople, Asuka gradually sees with her own eyes that he is a genuine doctor who not only considers a patient’s position more than anyone else, but also diagnoses and treats illnesses that other doctors have a hard time detecting.
Website: www.ytv.co.jp/machiisha
Akuryo Byoto
Date: From 12.58 a.m., Fridays, 18 July 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Kaho, Owada Kensuke, Suzuki Kazuma, Takada Riho, Kawakami Julia, Lizzy, Moriwaki Eriko, Shimada Kyusaku
Synopsis: Ogami Runa (Kaho), a nurse with the ability to sense the paranormal since young, has been working at Kumakawa Hospital on the edge of town. Bizarre phenomenon keep happening to the nurses and patients around her. She finds herself in a corner when suspected as the cause of this disaster.
Website: www.mbs.jp/akuryo
Yoidore Kotoji
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Fridays, 21 June 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Takenaka Naoto, Higa Manami, Kamiji Yusuke, 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 at the tenement house. Another person who supports the dispirited Akame is Oryo (Higa Manami), 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: www.nhk.or.jp/jidaigeki/yoidore
Related: Oyari Haishaku ~ Yoidore Kotoji Tomegaki
Naruyouni Narusa
Date: From 10.00 p.m. Fridays, 12 July 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Tachi Hiroshi, Asano Atsuko, Shida Mirai, Yasuda Shota, Konno Mahiru, Ikeda Tsutomu, Ota Ari, Mikami Kensei, Ishihara Atsumi, Ozawa Ryota, Saori, Izumi Pinko
Synopsis: Nagashima Daigo (Tachi Hiroshi), a company executive, is approaching retirement and his children have either got married or become independent. One day, his wife Aya (Asano Atsuko) confides that she would like to give her long-cherished dream of a “home restaurant” a try. Although Daigo is hesitant, he supports Aya’s dream from behind-the-scenes. She manages to open the restaurant after going through a lot. But the young people assembled as staff each have their own issues. Uchida Yoko (Shida Mirai) has just been released from a girl’s juvenile corrective institution. Otake Noboru (Yasuda Shota) is a reclusive youth. Nakatsu Eri (Konno Mahiru) is divorced in an attempt to escape from her husband’s domestic violence. Daigo who has left it entirely to Aya to counsel and nurture them like their own biological children, starts to realise what “family power” is for the first time … …
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/naruyouninarusa/
Keibuho Yabe Kenzo Season 2
Date: From 11.15 p.m. Fridays, 5 July 2013
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Namase Katsuhisa, Ikeda Tetsuhiro, Hatakeyama Rina, Aijima Kazuyuki, Kyo Nobuo, Mifune Mika, Mister Chin, Satoi Kenta, Owada Shinya, Nakama Yukie (guest star)
Synopsis: -
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/yabe
Related: Keibuho Yabe Kenzo Season 1
Limit
Date: From 12.12 a.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2013
Station: TV Tokyo
Cast: Sakuraba Nanami, Tsuchiya Tao, Suzuki Katsuhiro, Kudo Ayano, Masuda Yuka, Yamashita Rio, Kubota Masataka, Watanabe Ikkei
Synopsis: Second-year high school student Konno Mizuki (Sakuraba Nanami) belongs to the main clique in her class. One day, while the class sets off for a camp, the bus they are riding in plunges off a cliff in the mountains. Only five students (Tsuchiya Tao, Kudo Ayano, Masuda Yuka, Yamashita Rio) including Mizuki survive the accident but are stranded at the bottom of the cliff and no one comes to the rescue. Raw emotions come to the fore in the face of this extreme situation. The five scatter instead of sticking together to survive.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/limit
Taberudake
Date: From 12.52 a.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2013
Station: TV Tokyo
Cast: Goto Mariko, Arai Hirofumi, Ishibashi Anna, Katono Taiko, Tokuyama Hidenori, Furutachi Kanji
Synopsis: Shizuru (Goto Mariko) is a mysterious beauty whose only interest is food. It is just entirely for eating and not for other reasons … … Nevertheless, the thrice divorced salaryman Kakino Yoshitaka (Arai Hirofumi) falls for her for some reason and dreams of marrying her. Each troubled person that encounters and spends time together with Shizuru, who only appreciates rice and sweets, will slowly feel better as their worries go away.
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/taberudake
Saito-san Season 2
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Mizuki Arisa, Kiritani Mirei, Tanabe Seiichi, Seto Koji, Nekoze Tsubaki, Oto Takuma, Hashimoto Ryo, Tamamoto Fumito, Tanihata Kanato, Sakai Wakana, Matsuoka Mayu, Okayama Tomoki, Hayami Akari, Katsumura Masanobu, Minami Kaho
Synopsis: The righteous Saito Masako (Mizuki Arisa) boldly confronted those who ignored the rules of society regardless of who they were when her son Junichi was in kindergarten. Now Junichi is a fourth-grade elementary school student and the Saitos live in a new neighbourhood.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/saito-san2
Nanatsu no Kaigi
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Higashiyama Noriyuki, Ishibashi Ryo, Yoshida Kotaro, Mashima Hidekazu, Yamazaki Shigenori, Horibe Keisuke, Nomaguci Toru, Ryu Raita, Toda Naho, Yajima Kenichi, Nukumizu Yoichi, Komoto Masahiro, Murakawa Eri, Yui Ryoko, Nagatsuka Kyozo
Synopsis: An ordinary, mild-mannered sales department manager Harashima Manji (Higashiyama Noriyuki) of a small-medium enterprise which is a subcontractor to a major electronics manufacturer, arrives at the shocking truth behind a recall made by his predecessor after a harassment incident and baffling personnel change. He blows the whistle on the recall despite conflict and finds himself battling evil.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/dodra/nanatsu
Meoto Zenzai
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 24 August 2013
Station: NHK
Cast: Moriyama Mirai, Ono Machiko, Hino Shohei, Negishi Toshie, Aoki Munetaka, Tabata Tomoko, Daito Shunsuke, Sato Eriko, Hirata Mitsuru, Kusakari Masao, Aso Yumi, Kishibe Ittoku
Synopsis: Choko (Ono Machiko), the daughter of Tanekichi (Hino Shohei), a poor tempura shop owner who is hounded by bill collectors everyday, and his wife Otatsu (Negishi Toshie), is a spirited young woman who hates poverty. Going against her parents objections, she enters a teahouse as domestic help. Before long, she and her colleague Kinpachi (Sato Eriko) overcome a harsh life of obscurity. Choko is a hit at parties and becomes a popular geisha. Then she meets Ryukichi (Moriyama Mirai). Choko falls in love with him and this is the start of the vicissitudes of her life. Ryukichi’s habitual dissipation earns him scorn as well as disgust, and his crusty father Hanbei (Kishibe Ittoku), the owner of the cosmetics wholesaler ‘Koreyasu’, disowns him. Ryukichi entices Choko and elopes with her. Choko abandons the path of a geisha, prepared to live for love. The two of them have no place or livelihood but Choko is happy, thinking that she will make a man of him but … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/dodra/meotozenzai
Yamada-kun to Nananin no Majo
Date: From 11.10 p.m., Saturdays, 10 August 2013
Station: Fuji TV
Cast: Nishiuchi Mariya, Yamamoto Yusuke, Matsui Airi, Ono Ito, Miyama Karen, Triendl Reina, Kojima Fujiko, Kobayashi Ryoko, Tokuyama Hidenori, Ide Takuya, Mamiya Shotaro, Nagae Yuki
Synopsis: Shiraishi Urara (Nishiuchi Mariya) is a cool student with good academic results. Through a strange turn of events, she ends up switching bodies with Yamada Ryu (Yamamoto Yusuke), the school’s biggest troublemaker, when a “kiss” sets her special ability in motion. The two of them are able switch at will with a “kiss”. But before long, the existence of witches (Nishiuchi Mariya, Matsui Airi, Ono Ito, Miyama Karen, Kojima Fujiko, Kobayashi Ryoko) whose special powers are activated with a kiss comes to light, and Yamada starts searching the school for them.
Website: www.fujitv.co.jp/yamadamajo
Double Tone ~ Futari no Yumi
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Saturdays, 29 June 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Nakagoshi Noriko, Kurotani Tomoka, Yoshizawa Hisashi, Tomochika, Shimada Kyusaku, Moro Morooka
Synopsis: A single career woman Nakano Yumi (Nakagoshi Noriko) and a housewife Tamura Yumi (Kurotani Tomoka), who are completely unrelated, see each other every night in their dreams and realise that they are sharing their memories. Before long, their destinies start to become intertwined. Startling situations occur in quick succession, and they are seized with a fear beyond words.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/doubletone
Power Game
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Saturdays, 10 August 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Ozawa Yukiyoshi, Hakamada Yoshihiko, Shiraishi Miho, Tanaka Ryuzo, Ikeda Tetsuhiro, Kawakita Mayuko, Kobayashi Kinako, Maro Akaji
Synopsis: Advertising company salesmen use all sorts of methods and engage in bruising contests to win client accounts for the sake of billions of yen. Shirosaki Shinya (Ozawa Yukiyoshi) is a man nicknamed the “advertising industry’s fantasy star”. He is said to have brilliant techniques worthy of the gods that wow clients. On the other hand, Kuroiwa Hiroshi (Hakamada Yoshihiko) is called the advertising industry’s monster. In contrast to Shirosaki, he fights with dirty methods. The battle between Shirosaki and Kuroiwa is endless as they tussle over unconquerable clients such as cosmetic companies, breweries and food companies … …
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/powergame
Kamen Teacher
Date: From 12.50 a.m. Sundays, 6 July 2013
Station: NTV
Cast: Fujigaya Taisuke, Omasa Aya, Kikuchi Fuma, Jesse, Kishi Yuta, Kyomoto Taiga, Takada Sho, Tsukada Ryoichi, Shiga Kotaro
Synopsis: Araki Gota (Fujigaya Taisuke) is a promising teacher of the Kamen Teacher programme. The education involves wearing a mask and “educating” students who will not learn, with fists. Howevet, an incident causes Araki to question the use of corporal punishment to make students who turn a deaf ear to submit and the occasions when he is with his mask noticeably declines. Araki starts teaching at Hanazora High School. However, Class 2C, the class he takes charge of is a lawless zone. They are all problem children and Araki gets battered from the first day. Called M4, the strong have the class under their thumb and every teacher has thrown in the towel. Araki wishes to connect with them without the aid of the mask and would not fight back. However, his students are wilder than imagined so he takes the mask in hand in order to tame them.
Website: www.ntv.co.jp/kamen_teacher/
Hanzawa Naoki
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 7 July 2013
Station: TBS
Cast: Sakai Masato, Ueto Aya, Oikawa Mitsuhiro, Kataoka Ainosuke, Takito Kenichi, Nakajima Yuto, Miyakawa Ichirota, Morita Junpei, Suda Kunihiro, Moro Morooka, Hida Yasuhito, Ukaji Takashi, Danmitsu, Akai Hidekazu, Yamazaki Naoko, Ishiguro Hideo, Nagaoka Tasuku, Oka Ayumi, Ishimaru Kanji, Kitaoji Kinya (guest star), Kagawa Teruyuki
Synopsis: The unconventional Hanzawa Naoki (Sakai Masato) joined Tokyo Chuo Bank during the heady bubble era. It was said that if one entered a bank, he would be set for life and bank employees were the elite. The head of the Loans Division of the Osaka Nishi branch, Hanzawa is half-forced to follow the instructions of branch manager Asano Tadasu (Ishimaru Kanji) and completes a 500 million yen financing agreement with Nishi Osaka Steel. Furthermore, it is an unsecured loan. However, the seemingly healthy company instead has an enormous debt. It is discovered that the accounts were rigged to hide this. Three months after the loan, Nishi Osaka Steel abruptly goes belly up. As a result, Hanzawa and the others are cheated of 500 million yen. Obsessed with advancing his career, Asano schemes to pin all the blame on Hanzawa. However, Hanzawa, who has been summoned to the head office for an internal probe regarding the fiasco, rejects this outright and vows to recover the 500 million yen. This is because it is the only way for him to survive as a banker … …
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/hanzawa_naoki
Castella
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 7 July 2013
Station: NHK BS Premium
Cast: Endo Kenichi, Nishida Naomi, Oyagi Kaito, Imai Masayuki, Kaneko Ken, Sasaki Sumie
Synopsis: In Nagasaki in the 1950s, fortunes suddenly change for the wealthy Sano family which is a timber merchant. With its business on the rocks, the family moves from their luxurious mansion to a tenement house. Masashi (Oyagi Kaito), a fifth grade elementary school student, worries that he may have to give up his favourite violin which he has been learning to play. However, his father Masato (Endo Kenichi), mother Kiyoko and grandmother En stay positive. Masashi learns from the hardiness of the adults and strives towards the path of music while surrounded by the love of his family.
Website: www.nhk.or.jp/nagasaki/casteilla
Furueru Ushi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 16 June 2013
Station: WOWOW
Cast: Mikami Hiroshi, Fukuishi Kazue, Kobayashi Kaoru, Hirayama Hiroyuki, Kimura Fumino, Nukumizu Yoichi, Endo Kaname, Tanaka Kotaro, Shiraishi Miho, Ryu Raita, Onodera Akira, Sano Shiro, Furuta Arata
Synopsis: Tagawa Shinichi (Mikami Hiroshi) of the Unsolved Cases Unit of Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division has doubts about the unsolved robbery-murder at the pub in front of Nakano Station 5 years ago, and starts investigating. A masked man robbed staff of money and killed a vet and a person related to the underworld. The criminal profile during the initial investigation was that of a foreigner after money. The victims were not acquainted. Each of them was waiting alone for their partners. Repeated inquiries leads Tagawa to a meat processing company called Meat Box. Furthermore, right after the case, there was an intruder in the house of the murdered vet and it is discovered that two computers were stolen. Was the criminal’s target not money but the murder of the two men? As the investigation progresses, Tagawa is reunited with Tsuruta Masumi (Fukuishi Kazue), a reporter of a news site. She is also investigating Meat Box, which is notorious for its influence behind the scenes, for food product mis-labelling.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/furueruushi
Pan to Soup to Neko Biyori
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 21 July 2013
Station: WOWOW
Cast: Kobayashi Satomi, Kana, Motai Masako, Mitsuishi Ken, Shiomi Sansei, Minami, Ichikawa Miwako, Kase Ryo, Kishi Keiko
Synopsis: Akiko (Kobayashi Satomi), who has always lived with her mother, decides to take over the cafeteria her mother had run following her mother’s sudden death and an unreasonable internal transfer at the publishing company where she works. Akiko remodels the cafeteria to her tastes. The new place is a small shop with a simple menu of bread and soup. There is just her and a helper Shima-chan (Kana). One day, a cat appears and starts living with Akiko. Then there are the people of the local shopping district who joyfully take care of her … …
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/pantosoup
Kagi no Nai Yume o Miru*UPDATED*
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 1 September 2013
Station: WOWOW
Cast: Hirosue Ryoko, Kimura Tae, Narumi Riko, Takanashi Rin, Kurashina Kana, Hayashi Kento, Yajima Kenichi, Saito Yuki, Asaka Mayumi, Daito Shunsuke, Takashima Reiko, Okura Koji
Synopsis: In this omnibus drama, people living in small provincial towns such as the art teacher (Kurashina Kana) who submits her life to a man even though she knows he is childish and silly; the woman (Takanashi Rin) who still cannot forget her good friend’s crime as a child; the part-timer (Narumi Riko) who cannot leave the abusive boyfriend she met through a dating website; the office lady (Kimura Tae) who clings to her pride even though she is lonely; and the housewife (Hirosue Ryoko) overwhelmed by the image of the ideal mother that she ends up losing sight of her child, unexpectedly get involved in crime and soon tumble down into an abyss.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/kagi
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