Ahh, spring! The season of youth! And appropriately, it looks like this season will be a battle of the young actors!

There should be plenty to enjoy - a lot of love, a lot of comedy, a lot of family. And for those of you that prefer something serious, we've got that too. So tune in, and check out what this spring has to offer.

Takahiro Nishijima and Shinjiro Atae of pop group AAA star in this early-evening drama series. Delicious Gakuin is a school started by a principal aiming to create the greatest chefs in the world. For that purpose, he forcibly enrolls students into the school. They have only one hope for escape: winning in a "delicious bout!"

Other Cast: Hiroki Aiba, Ryosuke Miura, Yuichi Nakamura, Jin Shirosaki

"Mitokomon" enters its 37th season, further extending its run as the longest-running jidaigeki series ever. Kotaro Satomi returns for his 7th season in the lead role.

Other Cast: Ryuji Harada, Masashi Goda

Two of the currently most popular young actors star in this romantic comedy. Tomohisa Yamashita and Masami Nagasawa play young adults Ken and Rei, who have known each other for several years. Ken has long had feelings for Rei, but has never been able to tell her. He can only watch on as she is about to get married... until a time slip sends him back seven years, giving him another opportunity to pursue his love.

Other Cast: Nana Eikura, Yuta Hiraoka, Gaku Hamada, Naohito Fujiki

Idol Haruna Yabuki plays the role of a seemingly ordinary housewife named Yumiko in this magical comedy. Her husband works for a finance firm, and she has a daughter in kindergarten. But she also has the power to transform into her alter-ego Panchanne, in order to protect the world.

Other Cast: Hiroshi Neko

"Hanayome to Papa" is both a romance and a home comedy, centering on a woman and her overprotective father as she tries to live her own life. Satomi Ishihara plays the role of Aiko, a new employee at an apparel company. At home, she is frustrated with her father, who has strictly raised her ever since her mother died when Aiko was one year old. But at work, a romance begins to develop with her co-worker (Junnosuke Taguchi of KAT-TUN).

Other Cast: Kotaro Koizumi, Miho Shiraishi, Emi Wakui

This is a sequel to the 2005 series "Oniyome Nikki," starring the same comic coupling of Sanae (Alisa Mizuki) and Kazuma (Gori). This time, the action centers on a bath-house run by Kazuma's father (Cha Kato), an irresponsible and perverted man.

Other Cast: Yuri Ebihara, Naomi Kawashima, Yoko Nogiwa

Based on the "Sexy Voice and Robo" manga by Iou Kuroda, this drama follows the adventures of an unlikely pair. 14-year-old Nico Hayashi (Suzuka Ohgo) dreams of becoming a spy or a fortune teller. With her talent to judge people by their voices, she begins participating in "terekura" (telephone-based dating) to improve her understanding of people. One day, a man notices her and recruits her to solve a case. Along the way, she runs into robot otaku Iichiro Sudo (Kenichi Matsuyama), one of her previous clients. They end up teaming together to take on various missions, under the names of "Sexy Voice" and "Robo."

Other Cast: Eri Murakawa, Shinya Tsukamoto, Hairi Katagiri, Yoshinori Okada

Muga Tsukaji plays a nonfiction writer who loses a year worth of memories while researching a murder case. All he has left are his notes as he tries to piece together the entire mystery. What makes the drama more interesting is that the whole series is unscripted - Tsukaji and the rest of the cast will improvise as it goes along. Each episode will also feature a different guest actor, who remains unknown to Tsukaji until the actual filming.

Other Cast: Kitaro, Taku Suzuki

This is the second season of the police drama "Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Gakari," which averaged a 13.7% rating when it aired last spring. Tsunehiko Watase and Yoshihiko Inohara (of V6) return along with the rest of the main cast.

Other Cast: Michiko Hada, Noriko Nakagoshi, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Hiromasa Taguchi, Kanji Tsuda

Based on Tetsuji Sekiya's popular manga of the same name, this drama stars Arashi's Jun Matsumoto as Shogo Ban, a young man who leaves his college in Fukuoka and heads to Tokyo, with the goal of becoming the greatest Italian chef. Shogo has to overcome many trials in order to succeed in his dream. In order to play the part, Matsumoto has received special lessons in cooking and in the Italian language.

Other Cast: Kazuki Kitamura, Karina, Ryuta Sato, Yuki Uchida, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Masachika Ichimura

Fueled by the popularity of the two live-action "Chibi Maruko-chan" specials, Fuji TV is producing a live-action drama/variety program for the franchise. The first half of the program is an episode based on the original work, while the second half is used for variety segments related to the episode.

Cast: Fuyuki Moto, Yoshie Ichige

Eiichiro Funakoshi, known for his many appearances in 2-hour drama specials, plays his first starring role in a series in this police drama.

Other Cast: Misato Tanaka, Takashi Ukaji, Koji Matoba, Anzu Nagai, Hisako Manda

This is the third "Yagyu Jubei Nanaban Shobu" series, following up on the "Shimabara Rebellion" series that aired last year. The new series is set twelve years after the rebellion. Jubei (Hiroaki Murakami) has already settled into a peaceful life, but he is called upon for one final mission.

Other Cast: Riho Makise, Sumiko Fuji

"Fufudo" is a home drama about a middle-aged couple who runs a tea shop while living with their unmarried children. The series focuses on the relationship between the couple, played by veteran actors Tetsuya Takeda and Atsuko Takahata.

Other Cast: Shizu-chan, Seiko Takuma, Yuika Motokariya, Isao Hashizume

"Hotelier" is a remake of the popular 2001 drama series of the same name that aired in Korea. Aya Ueto takes over the lead role in this version. She plays a front assistant manager at the Tokyo Ocean Hotel, which faces a potential takeover by a rival hotel.

Other Cast: Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Seiichi Tanabe, Saeko, Akane Oda, Yuko Fueki

Miho Kanno stars as the lawyer Tamako, who becomes involved in a difficult case at a middle school after one of the students mysteriously falls to her death. As she searches for the truth, she faces strong resistance from the school. Together with the victim's teacher, an idealistic young man (Atsushi Ito), Tamako puts all her effort into fighting the case.

Other Cast: Shosuke Tanihara, Mirai Shida, Jun Fubuki

This series is a modern adaptation of Junpei Gomikawa's novel, "Kodoku no Kake," about two lonely people (the title roughly translates to "a wager of solitude"). Teijiro Chigusa (Hideaki Ito) worked his way up from poverty and sorrow to become an influential businessman. One night, by chance, he encounters a fashion designer named Momoko (Kyoko Hasegawa), whose company is on the verge of bankruptcy. She proposes a deal, offering her own body as collateral to borrow 20 million yen. And thus, the "wager" is made...

Other Cast: Haruka Igawa, Masato Sakai, Noriko Aota, Saki Takaoka, Yuko Kotegawa

Shunsuke Nakamura stars in this jidaigeki series based on author Shuhei Fujisawa's "Yorozuya Heishiro Katsujinken" stories. Heishiro, the title character, is an expert swordsman who earns a living by settling disputes.

Other Cast: Jundai Yamada, Hiromi Kitagawa

This school drama series is based on Yoko Shoji's "Seito Shokun! Kyoshi Hen," the sequel to her manga "Seito Shokun!" Rina Uchiyama stars as Naoko Kitashiro, a teacher at a public middle school. She faces common issues in school dramas, such as bullying, suicide, and poor student performance. Maki Horikita co-stars as a second-year student who has been delayed by three years due to an illness.

Other Cast: Kanata Hongo, Kippei Shiina, Misa Uehara, Yu Shirota

KAT-TUN's Koki Tanaka plays his first lead role in a drama series in this romantic comedy. He stars as Ichiro Tanaka, a newly matriculated student at Sangyo Ryutsu Daigaku, abbreviated as "Sanryudai" (third-rate university). His dream is to meet his own "personal heroine," and he thinks that Terumi Meguro (Chiaki Kuriyama) may be the one. But in his pursuit of love, a series of events leads him into the world of "tetsu," otherwise known as railroads. With no knowledge of the subject, he ends up involved in a railroad club with data maniac Kei Hanagata (Takashi Tsukamoto) and the eighth-year student Seishi Momoyama (Ryuji Akiyama).

Other Cast: Rosa Kato, Kami Hiraiwa, Ryo Kimura, Jun Hashimoto, Kenichi Endo, Kazuko Yoshiyuki

This is the continuation of the "Jikou Keisatsu" series that aired in 2006. Joe Odagiri returns as Kiriyama, a police officer who spends his spare time solving cases that have passed the 15-year statute of limitations.

Other Cast: Kumiko Aso, Kosuke Toyohara, Eri Fuse, Ken Mitsuishi, Ryo Iwamatsu

Based on the comedy manga by Shuji Abe, "Elite Yankee Saburo" tells the story of Saburo Okouchi (Hideo Ishiguro), a plain and shy boy entering high school. Unfortunately for him, his two older brothers had built a reputation as legendary troublemakers at that school. When Saburo arrives, he is immediately misunderstood and treated as an "elite yankee."

Other Cast: Kana Kurashina, Toshiyuki Itakura

The original "Kuitan" series received high ratings last winter, and was followed by a special at the end of summer. Noriyuki Higashiyama once again plays the role of Seiya Takano, also known as the detective "Kuitan." With his passion for eating and expert knowledge of food, he solves various crimes in unexpected ways.

Other Cast: Go Morita, Mikako Ichikawa, Kotomi Kyono, Shiro Sano, Shiro Ito, Kenta Suga

"LIAR GAME" is the first series in Fuji TV's new drama time slot. Based on a manga by Shinobu Kaitani, it tells the story of the honest college student, Nao Kanzaki (Erika Toda), who becomes entangled in a mysterious and dangerous game for 100 million yen. An expert swindler named Shinichi Akiyama (Shota Matsuda) is her only hope for making it through the game and avoiding enormous debt.

Other Cast: Michiko Kichise, Ikkei Watanabe, Soichiro Kitamura

This is a series of single-episode dramas with a common theme: close calls with death. Each episode will feature a different cast. For the first episode, Ryuta Sato will perform a double role, playing the parts of a doctor and a thief.

Other Cast: Haruka Igawa, Kei Tanaka, Ryoko Kuninaka

The 46th NHK Taiga Drama "Fuurinkazan" continues its run, which began in January. The series is based on Yasushi Inoue's novel about Yamamoto Kansuke (Masaaki Uchino), one of Takeda Shingen's "Twenty-Four Generals."

Other Cast: Kamejiro Ichikawa, Gackt

In this home comedy, 40-year-old Keita Takamura (Yuji Oda) is dating 20-year-old Eren Hirose (Juri Ueno). When he visits her parents to ask for her hand in marriage, he discovers that Eren's mother (Shinobu Otake) is his ex-girlfriend from his days as a student! Still reeling from the shock, Keita receives another big surprise... he's been laid off from his job!

Other Cast: Kei Tanaka, Riisa Naka, Naoko Iijima

This is a live-action adaptation of Kazuhiro Azuma's manga about a working cat. The manga was given the New Face Award by the Japanese Cartoonists Association in 2002. Yoshinori Okada will play the lead role.

"Dondo Hare" is the 76th NHK Asadora. The heroine of the story is Natsumi Asakura (Manami Higa), an assistant at her parents' cake shop in her hometown of Yokohama. She gets engaged to Masaki Kagami (Asahi Uchida), whose parents run a famous ryokan in Iwate. As a result, Natsumi is forced to adjust to a new way of life.

Other Cast: Masako Mori, Ren Osugi, Mitsuko Kusabue, Nobuko Miyamoto

Sayaka Kaneko and Nagiko Tono star in this serious daytime drama, written by Takehiro Nakajima. Two girls become friends, unaware that they have the same father. The series deals with complicated modern issues, such as rape, domestic violence, and homosexuality.

Other Cast: Nozomu Masuzawa, Masane Tsukayama, Itsumi Osawa, Maiko Kawakami

"Sunadokei" (which recently started on March 12) is based on the manga of the same name by Hinako Ashihara. It revolves around the life of a girl named An Uekusa, who lives with her mother after her parents divorce. The drama spans three periods of An's life, ranging from grade school to adulthood.

Cast: Megumi Sato, Ryoko Kobayashi, Karen Miyama, Terunosuke Takezai, Kazuma Sano, Yuki Izumisawa

The original "Danryu" was written by Kunio Kishida in 1938. It was adapted to film and television several times, the last one being in 1976. The story is a romance set in a university hospital. Keiko Shima (Yasue Sato) is the daughter of the hospital's director (Masaomi Kondo), and she sets out to rebuild the institution. She finds herself squaring off against the lawyer Hibiki (Jundai Yamada), whom she gradually falls in love with.

Other Cast: Mari Henmi, Toru Minegishi, Masaomi Kondo

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Two dramas have been confirmed so far for NHK's "Dodra" (Saturday 9:00pm) time slot:

In this six-episode series, Rei Kikukawa plays Tomomi, a skilled doctor who tends to isolate herself from others. But through the course of her work, she gradually learns to open up.

Other Cast: Toshio Kakei, Takeshi Kaga, Masahiko Tsugawa

"Shin Machiben" uses the same theme but a different story from last year's "Machiben." The new series tells the story of three men past retirement age who decide to start their own law office. The lead roles are played by Tetsuya Watari, Koji Ishizaka, and Takeo Chii. This series will also last six episodes.

Other Cast: Chiriko Sakashita, Rie Tomosaka

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These are some of the tanpatsu dramas to look out for this spring. Mark your calendars!

This 2-part drama special is based on Junichi Watanabe's explicit novel about an affair between a writer and a housewife. A film version was released in theaters on January 13. Goro Kishitani and Saki Takaoka will play the lead parts.

Other Cast: Asaka Seto, Yumi Aso, Naomi Kawashima, Kaoru Sugita

Tomoka Kurokawa and Hiro Mizushima play two friends in high school. When they were younger, they started playing a "game" in which they played the roles of a princess and her unquestioning servant, agreeing to end the game once someone else discovered it. As students they lead their normal lives, but away from school, the game continues, as it has for the past eight years. But as their graduation approaches, there comes a turning point in their relationship...

Other Cast: Toshinobu Matsuo

This is the spring 2007 edition of the semi-annual "Yo ni mo Kimyo na Monogatari" series about unusual stories. As usual, there are five main segments, though only three have been revealed so far. Sho Sakurai will star in one segment, titled "Sainou-tama," along with Aya Hirayama. Kippei Shiina stars in another segment, titled "2 A.M. Chime." In a third segment, "Kaisou Densha," Fumiyo Kohinata plays the lead. This drama special is based on a manga by Misao Kataoka, and centers on the office ladies working at a construction company. Nao Matsushita plays the lead role. The special will be shown in five parts on consecutive nights.

Other Cast: Satoshi Tokushige, Misato Tanaka, Mikako Ichikawa, Maki Mizuno, Eri Murakawa, Saeko, Sei Hiraizumi

Toshiro Yanagiba stars in this adaptation of Ryuzo Saki's Naoki Prize-winning novel "Vengeance Is Mine." The work was further popularized by director Shohei Imamura's film version in 1979. The original story is based on the real-life serial killer Iwao Enokizu, who became the target of a nationwide manhunt at the end of 1963.

Other Cast: Yasuo Daichi, Megumi Yamaguchi

Based on the novel by Asuko Taira, this drama tells the story of a single 30-year-old woman (Sayaka Aoki) who works as an editor for a publishing company. In pursuit of a man, she decides to leave her company and begins work as a laborer for a building contractor. As she becomes more involved in her job, she must learn to balance her life.

Other Cast: Ken Kaneko

In 2005, Fuji TV broadcast the popular "1 Litre of Tears" drama series, based on the true story of Aya Kito, a girl who was diagnosed with spinocerebellar degeneration at the age of 15 and died at the age of 25. This special is set half a year after the death of Aya (Erika Sawajiri). Her younger sister Ako (Riko Narumi) is training to be a nurse, while Haruto (Ryo Nishikido) has already become a neurologist at the hospital Aya was once treated at. The loss of Aya strongly affects Haruto, causing him to lose sight of himself. But after he meets Mizuki (Anri Okamoto), a 14-year-old patient who has given up on living, he feels compelled to share with her the story of Aya's life. In this first part of NTV "Shakespeare Series," the story of King Lear is transformed into a home drama. The role of Lear becomes that of a supermarket manager (Toshiyuki Nishida) while Mao Inoue plays his youngest daughter, the equivalent of Cordelia.

Other Cast: Mayumi Wakamura, Tomoko Nakajima, Ryoko Sakaguchi, Hiroyuki Nagato

The second part of NTV "Shakespeare Series" is a retelling of "Romeo & Juliet." In this version, Hideaki Takizawa plays a young man working for a garbage collection company, while Masami Nagasawa plays the daughter of a policeman (Tomokazu Miura). A forbidden love develops between the two after the man's father (Shinji Yamashita) becomes a murder suspect.

Other Cast: Misako Tanaka

This drama special is based on accomplished author Hideo Okuda's popular novel about three young people who plot together to steal 1 billion yen. "Yokoken" (Tetsuji Tamayama) is the owner of a suspicious production company, "Mitazou" (Shunsuke Kubozuka) is a failing employee in a top-notch company, and "Kuroche" (Yu Kashii) is a cool beauty who despises her wealthy father (Masahiko Tsugawa). Shotaro Ishinomori's classic manga "Skull Man" is being adapted into an anime series this spring. As a prologue to the anime, Fuji TV will broadcast this tokusatsu special. Shigeki Hosokawa plays the role of a pharmaceutical researcher, and pop singer Ami Suzuki plays his fiancee. The two of them become involved in a mission to steal secret documents from the laboratory. While trying to escape, a mysterious masked man appears...