Summer's here! And along with it comes a new season of drama. Here's a preview of this summer's lineup: One of the biggest dramas of the coming season looks to be Sapuri, based on the popular manga of the same name by Mari Okazaki. Misaki Ito plays the role Minami Fujii, an up-and-coming commercial planner for an advertising agency. By chance she encounters Yuya Ishida (played by Kazuya Kamenashi), who happens to be working part-time in the same company. Minami soon finds herself struggling to balance love and work...

Other Cast: Miho Shiraishi, Eita, Koichi Sato, Ryo, Kazuyuki Aijima, Reina Asami, Akimasa Haraguchi, Mirai Shida

This drama adaptation of the Taiyou no Uta film (released on June 17) stars Takayuki Yamada as Koji Fujishiro and Erika Sawajiri as Kaoru Amane. Kaoru suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum (known as XP), a genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to repair mutations caused by UV rays. As a result, Kaoru has had to live her life out of the sun, coming out only at night. Her life revolves around singing and playing the guitar. By chance, the two of them meet in the early morning, and they quickly fall for each other. Unfortunately, Kaoru's illness presents a major obstacle, and it is slowly getting worse...

Other cast: Nao Matsushita, Kei Tanaka, Megumi Sato, Gaku Hamada, Yosuke Kawamura, Fumina Hara, Jun Kaname

This drama is based on the 2001 Korean movie My Boss My Hero. Tomoya Nagase plays 27-year old Makio Sakaki, the son of Yakuza boss who controls the entire Kanto area. Being the heir, the future of the organization has been promised to Makio, but there's one problem - he's too stupid! So Makio gets sent to high school to get his diploma, and he has to adjust to his new life as a high school student.

Other cast: Yuya Tegoshi, Koki Tanaka, Yui Aragaki, Ren Osugi, Yu Kashii, Masachika Ichimura, Masako Motai, Eri Murakawa, Koichi Iwaki

Scriptwriter Kazuhiko Yukawa (Joou no Kyoushitsu, Fuufu) and producer Yasuo Yagi (Koi no Jikan, Fuufu) team up together again for this family drama. Masakazu Tamura plays Kazutoyo Kamon, a loving, devoted husband who has eyes for no one other than his wife Chiyo (Ran Ito). Kazutoyo fills his house with love, but it also has some drawbacks. For example, the youngest child, Kaoru, is teased by her classmates because of her family, and when visitation day comes around, she tries to hide it from her parents...

Other cast: Yuki Uchida, Tetsuji Tamayama, Mitsuki Nagashima, Satomi Kobayashi

Dandori was inspired by an actual dance/drill team from a Kanagawa Prefecture high school that won a major competition. In this story, Nana Eikura and Rosa Kato play two friends, Kaname and Futaba, in their second year of high school. Looking for something to do, they decide to try joining the dance/drill team. Before they realize it, they get caught up in it and find themselves loving it.

Other cast: Ayaka Morita, Aki Nishihara, Takahisa Masuda, Saya Yuki, Keiko Toda, Taichi Kokubun

Hiroshi Abe plays Shinsuke Kuwano, a skilled 40-year-old architect. As a bachelor all his life, he has grown a personality that seems to make him unfit for marriage - each of his relationships with women falls apart one by one. That is, until he meets Natsumi Hayasaka (Yui Natsukawa)...

Other cast: Ryoko Kuninaka, Sakura, Takashi Tsukamoto, Mitsuko Kusabue, Toshinori Omi, Reiko Takashima, Noboru Takachi, Rieko Miura

This detective drama is based on the manga of the same name by Masao Yajima. The story focuses on a Tokyo police station known as "Rashomon", filled with peculiar officers. Yoshino Kimura and Hiroshi Tachi star in this series. Kimura plays Rumi Beniya, a new transfer to the station, and Tachi plays Kanta Kuroda, one of the detectives.

Other cast: Shozo Endo, Leo Morimoto, Shiro Sano, Rio Matsumoto, Tsutomu Ikeda, Shota Saito, Kisuke Iida, Tsubasa Kobayashi, Shiro Ito

Hanayo Hanatsu's manga of the same name has been adapted into a live-action series. Alisa Mizuki stars as Sae Yamada, a cabin attendant (CA). It's not an easy job, though, and it doesn't give her much time for her own personal life, nor enough money to pursue her dreams...

Other cast: Shosuke Tanihara, Karina, Eriko Sato, Misako Yasuda, Naomi Nishida, Ayako Kawahara, Ikki Sawamura

Aya Ueto stars as Yuika Satonaka, a girl from the Yamanashi Prefecture who has come to Tokyo to attend university. Coming from a modest family, Yuika has been poor ever since she was young. One day, she happens upon a small theater troupe and ends up joining...

Other cast: Kuranosuke Sasaki, Mayumi Sada, Sayaka Yamaguchi, Yuma Ishigaki, Takanori Takeyama, Fumiya Fujii

Ryoko Shinohara is Akiko Taketomi, an announcer for a TV program. One day, she gets dropped from the program and is transferred to a variety program dealing with the experiences of a farmer's wife. In order to get her job back, Akiko has to make the program a success. By chance, she runs into her ex-boyfriend Ichiro Azuchi (Hiroyuki Yabe) who had gone back to work on his family's plantation. Seeing an opportunity to do some research for her job, she goes back with him to the plantation, pretending to have intentions of marriage.

Other cast: Nahomi Matsushima, Maju Ozawa, Keiichiro Koyama, Hitomi Sato, Takashi Ukaji, Shima Iwashita

Fushin no Toki is actually a remake of an old story. It was originally a newspaper serial in 1967 that became a film in 1968. In 1984, Fuji TV adapted it into a drama series. Now, 22 years later, Fuji TV is remaking the series again. The story focuses on the suffering of two women, Michiko Asai (Ryoko Yonekura) and Machiko Nogami (Yuki Matsushita), who both deal with unfaithful men in their relationships. The drama follows the paths their lives take 3 years later.

Other cast: Ken Ishiguro, Kaoru Sugita, Junichi Ishida, Kotaro Koizumi

Based on the manga by Hidenori Hara, Regatta is a story about Makoto Osawa (Mokomichi Hayami), a university student on the regatta team. He and his friend have dominated the intercollegiate competition for the double scull. Along with his friend's girlfriend (and team manager) Misao (Saki Aibu), the team has dreams of participating in an Olympic competition. But his friend's death in a racing accident leaves Makoto broken up, and he has to deal with pulling himself together as well as facing the trials of love and friendship.

Other cast: Shota Matsuda, Chinatsu Wakatsuki, Shunsuke Kubozuka

This suspense drama is an adaptation of Shosho Kurihara's manga of the same name. Ayumi Kida plays a mysterious woman in a Shibuya district, known by the name of "Uramiya" ('urami' here means 'revenge'). As her business card says, she will take on contracts to murder people or erase their existence.

Other cast: Susumu Terajima, Kitaro, Ken Maeda, Terunosuke Takezai, Aoi, Ayano Tachibana

The story is based on Akira Sato's 1996 novel. Masanobu Takashima takes on the role of Shintaro Makimura, a cook whose dream is to work in the kitchen of a first-class hotel. But despite years of study, he finds himself merely washing dishes...

Other cast: Riho Makise, Ikko Furuya, Shigeru Koyama, Mikihisa Azuma, Bisaku Sato, Hideji Otaki

The longest-running jidaigeki series in TV history continues with yet another season. Running since 1969, the series has had over 1000 episodes.

Cast: Kotaro Satomi, Ryuji Harada, Masashi Goda, Kaoru Yumi, Shoei, Akira Saito

This continues the New Investigator Mariko series, again filled with suspense and mystery. Yasuko Sawaguchi returns as Mariko, and Takashi Naito returns as Detective Domon.

Other cast: Ken Tanaka

This jidaigeki drama is based on the story of Momotaro, first published as a novel by Kiichiro Yamate in 1946. Masahiro Takashima stars as Momotaro.

Other cast: Hiromi, Yasuko Tomita, Tamao Nakamura, Tonpei Hidari

This is the latest season of the long-running series Daisuki! Itsutsugo. The quintuplets are now in their second year of high school, and new challenges await them.

Cast: Yumi Morio, Yasuhiro Arai, Takahiko Yanagisawa, Risa Sasaoka, Shuichi Yamauchi, Mami Nagaoka, Fujimaru Suzuki

Utsukushii Wana is loosely based on the 1964 movie Woman of Straw with Gina Lollobrigida and Sean Connery. Ruiko Hida (Atsuko Sakurai) is a pachinko parlor employee, and Kai Sawaki (Mizuho Takasugi) is a private secretary for the wealthy owner of a financial group. Looking to get his hands on the man's money, Sawaki conspires with Hida - she tries to lure the man into marrying her so that she can acquire a piece of the fortune and split it with Sawaki.

Other cast: Miyuki Tsurugi, Akaji Maro, Mikio Osawa, Akiko Kinouchi

Momo Natsukawa (Kumiko Endo) is a rising actress. Her close friend Machi Tamaru (Emiri Henmi) happens to be her manager, but she's about to quit in order to get married. Right before her ceremony, a "time slip" suddenly transforms her into her childhood self, 18 years younger. And right before her, she sees a 9-year old Momo as well...

Other cast: Yoko Ishino, Shunji Fujimura, Ko Takasugi, Riko Suzuki, Karen Miyama