Summertime is here! Time to enjoy the weather! And of course, a healthy dose of drama!

This summer is packed with adaptations from manga and novels, with only a few true original series. The most talked-about show is the live-action adaptation of the popular "Hana Kimi" manga series, featuring Maki Horikita and a slew of good-looking actors. But there are plenty of other dramas that shouldn't be overlooked - go ahead and see for yourself!

Idol Chiaki Sato stars in this comedy as Miki, a rough and crude woman who struggles as she enters training to become an announcer. Along with several other aspiring women (mostly played by idols), she struggles to attain her goal.

Other Cast: Misako Yasuda, Megumi Komatsu

The long-running jidaigeki series "Mitokomon" continues the second half of its 37th season, with Kotaro Satomi playing the lead.

Other Cast: Ryuji Harada, Masashi Goda

In this romantic comedy, Mao Inoue stars as a selfish girl named Mio Fukunaga. Because of a serious illness, she lives in the U.S. for medical treatment. Before undergoing an important operation, she returns to Japan, where she meets the older brother she has been separated from since her parents' divorce. She finds Kazuki (Hideaki Ito) leading a good-for-nothing life, but he shows his seriousness when he resolves to find a way for Mio to experience her first kiss. Yuta Hiraoka plays the love interest, a rookie doctor.

Other Cast: Hitori Gekidan, Sadao Abe, Wakana Sakai

This program features dramatized versions of short mysteries written by prolific author Jiro Akagawa. Each half-hour episode includes three stories. Hiroki Matsukata stars in this series, which will be the last to air in TV Asahi's Tuesday jidaigeki time slot. It is actually a revival of an older series that began in 1965, which happened to star Matsukata's father, Jushiro Konoe. The story focuses on an adventurous ronin who often gets involved in trouble, but always manages to find a resolution. This highly anticipated series is an adaptation of Hisaya Nakajo's popular "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" manga, which was recently turned into a successful live-action series in Taiwan. In this Japanese version, Maki Horikita stars as the protagonist, Mizuki Ashiya. While living in the U.S., Mizuki begins to idolize Izumi Sano (Shun Oguri), a young high jumper she saw on television. In order to get closer to Sano, she decides to move to Japan and attend the same school as him. But he happens to be enrolled at an all-boys school, leaving Mizuki with no choice but to disguise herself as a boy.

Other Cast: Toma Ikuta, Mahiru Konno, Takaya Kamikawa, Hiro Mizushima, Yusuke Yamamoto, Masaki Okada, Ryo Kimura

Six agriculture students travel north to Hokkaido for first-hand training and experience in a farm setting. The story focuses not only on their daily life and their growth as young men and women, but also on the economic situation in the region, which received national attention earlier this year when the national government cut off aid to the struggling city of Yubari.

Cast: Tetsuji Tamayama, Saki Aibu, Keisuke Koide, Karina, Atsuhiko Nakata, Erika Toda

This mystery series is based on the well-known "Tantei Gakuen Q" manga (also known as "Detective School Q"), which follows a group of young students at a detective academy founded by a legendary detective. The live-action version began as a drama special last July, and has now been extended into a full-length series. Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mirai Shida, and several others from last year's cast are returning in their original roles.

Other Cast: Takanori Jinnai, Ryosuke Yamada, Katsumi Wakaba, Jun Kaname

"Sakurasho no Onnatachi" is a detective drama series that started off as a single episode last September on TV Asahi's "Doyo Wide Gekijo" drama program. The main cast of female detectives is led by Reiko Takashima, who is returning from the original special. Maho Toyota, Azusa Mano, and Tamao Nakamura are also returning, though all of the characters in the series have been renamed.

Other Cast: Emi Hashino, Yuki Sato, Fuyuki Moto

Haruka Ayase stars as the title character, Hotaru Amemiya, in this adaptation of Satoru Hiura's "Hotaru no Hikari" manga series. Hotaru is a twenty-something office lady who has become a "dried fish" - she has "retired" from love, and she prefers to spend her time lazily at home. Then one day, her world gets shaken up when she unexpectedly ends up living with her boss (Fujiki Naohito). To complicate her life even further, she begins to find romance with a new employee named Makoto (Kazuki Kato).

Other Cast: Ryoko Kuninaka, Shinji Takeda

This is the second series of "Onna Keiji Mizuki," a detective drama that first appeared in 2005. Yuko Asano reprises her role as the title character. Other returning cast members include Atsuko Takahata and Nenji Kobayashi.

Other Cast: Hironobu Nomura

This jidaigeki series is an adaptation of the "Inemuri Iwane Edo Zoshi" novels by author Yasuhide Saeki. Koji Yamamoto stars as the title character, Inemuri Iwane, a skilled swordsman who leaves his hometown for Edo. His sense of justice leads him to fight against the problems in the city.

Other Cast: Noriko Nakagoshi, Masaomi Kondo

In this home comedy, Makiko Esumi stars as Makoto Tachibana, a manager of an omusubi cafe. One day, she meets Sanshiro (Ikki Sawamura), a secretary at a paper shredder company, and half a year later, they already decide to get married. But when Makoto meets Sanshiro's family, a battle begins between her and her mother-in-law (Yoko Nogiwa). Their conflict is rooted in the opposing ideals of "working woman" and "housewife," which has previously been explored in dramas such as "Double Kitchen" and "Triple Kitchen" (in which Esumi and Nogiwa played similar roles).

Other Cast: Shiro Ito, Nana Katase, Miyoko Asada

This is the third "Kikujiro to Saki" drama series. The show is based on a story by director Takeshi Kitano, based on his own experience growing up with his family. The new drama is actually a step back in time, taking place two years before the first series. Takanori Jinnai and Shigeru Muroi reprise their roles as Takeshi's parents, Kikujiro and Saki.

Other Cast: Takashi Tsukamoto, Tomoka Kurokawa, Tsuyoshi Abe

Based on Atsuko Takakura's manga of the same name, "Yama Onna Kabe Onna" tells the story of a department store girl (Misaki Ito) who is good at her job but suffers from a complex, due to the flat chest that has earned her the name of "kabe onna" ("kabe" meaning "wall"). Her situation only worsens when she is joined by a new girl (Kyoko Fukada), who is a much more well-endowed "yama onna" ("yama" meaning "mountain").

Other Cast: Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Shosuke Tanihara, Hidetoshi Nishijima

This series is adapted from Kei Yuikawa's novel "Katagoshi no Koibito," which won the prestigious Naoki Prize for the second half of 2001. It centers on two 30-year-old women who have been friends for many years. The two are total opposites in the realm of love - Moe Hayasaka (Ryoko Yonekura) is unable to become absorbed in love, while Ruriko Murono (Saki Takaoka) is always involved with someone and is already close to her third marriage. The question is, will either of them find happiness?

Other Cast: Seiichi Tanabe, Masaru Nagai, Mayumi Wakamura

Adapted from Seiichi Morimura's short story series, this jidaigeki drama tells of a ronin (Hiroaki Murakami) forced to flee to Edo, where he ends up being hired as a contract assassin.

Other Cast: Mayumi Wakamura, Maju Ozawa, Kazuhiko Nishimura

The story for "Jotei" is adapted from Ryo Kurashina's manga of the same. Rosa Kato stars as Ayaka Tachibana, a young woman whose life has been ruined by the wealthy and influential. Looking for revenge, she starts out as a hostess with the goal of rising to become the "empress" of the nightlife scene. Shota Matsuda plays a member of the underworld who becomes Ayaka's ally.

Other Cast: Ayana Sakai, Shota Saito, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Rino Katase

Arashi members Kazunari Ninomiya and Sho Sakurai star in this comedy series based on "Yamada Taro Monogatari" by mangaka Ai Morinaga. Ninomiya plays the title character, Taro Yamada, whose family lives in extreme poverty. But because of his looks, intelligence, and athleticism, others mistakenly believe that Taro comes from a prosperous family. In contrast, Sakurai plays Taro's best friend Takuya, who really is from a successful family and who often helps out Taro in various ways.

Other Cast: Mikako Tabe, Shugo Oshinari, Chihiro Otsuka

KinKi Kids member Koichi Domoto stars in this action comedy series. Domoto plays Tsukasa Maizu, who was known for being a gifted sushi maker when he was younger. Now skilled as a martial artist, he returns to the world of sushi and travels across the country for training, fighting evil along the way. KAT-TUN's Yuichi Nakamaru takes on the role of Tsukasa's companion, Taro.

Other Cast: Natsuki Kato, Shinji Yamashita, Tomi Taira

This love story is based on a manga by Souko Masaki. 2005 JUNON Superboy Contest winner Aoi Nakamura stars as Hibiki Akagi, a high schooler who takes up a part-time job at an esthetic salon, and is said to have a "god hand" for his superb massaging technique. Romance begins after he meets another high schooler named Shizuka Koiwai (played by model Yumi Sugimoto), who becomes insecure about her looks due to insensitive comments by her boyfriend.

Other Cast: Takumi Saito, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi

In this original series, TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi stars as Isamu, a businessman who divorced from his wife five years earlier and currently lives with his son Hiro (Mitsuki Nagashima), a sixth-grader. One day, Hiro tells his father that he wants to take entrance exams for a private junior high school. Isamu, who only ever attended public schooling, is clueless about preparing for the tests. So he seeks out the help of the genius junior high schooler Michiko (Riko Narumi), who is known as the "exam god" for her abilities as a tutor - all of the students she trains pass their exams.

Other Cast: Hiroyuki Morisaki, Masako Miyaji, Risa Sudo, Koji Ookura

Adapted from Keiko Suenobu's manga "LIFE," this drama delves into the dark side of high school life. The story focuses mainly on bullying, but the manga also touches on subjects such as self-mutilation, suicide, and rape. Kie Kitano stars as Ayumu Shiiba, one of the students bullied by a group of classmates led by Ayumu's former friend, Manami Anzai (Saki Fukuda).

Other Cast: Megumi Seki, Miki Sakai, Asaka Seto, Miki Maya

Pierre Taki stars in this school comedy about Emperor Gakuen, a school where the teachers have no control over the students. But an 87-year-old teacher (Taki) arrives at the school, and he gradually resolves the school's problems while connecting with the students.

Other Cast: Rio Matsumoto, Kitaro, Shingo Yanagisawa, Yuki Matsumura

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

This home comedy tells the story of Kyoichiro (Hiroshi Tachi) and his teenage daughter Koume (Yui Aragaki). One day, the two ride a train together after visiting Kyoichiro's mother-in-law. He sees it as a chance to get to know his daughter better, but he ends up getting more than that - by some mysterious force, both Kyoichiro and Koume end up with their mind in the other's body! Unfortunately, they have no choice but to swap lives, pretending to be each other at school and work.

Other Cast: Yumi Aso, Shigeaki Kato, Mayumi Sada, Norito Yashima

The 76th NHK Asadora, "Dondo Bare," enters the second half of its run. The story continues to follow Natsumi Asakura (Manami Higa), who gets engaged to Masaki Kagami (Asahi Uchida), the son of a household that owns a famous ryokan. When Masaki is called back to Iwate to continue the family business, he considers breaking off the engagement. But Natsumi is determined to preserve their relationship, so she begins training as a proprietress of the inn.

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

Sachiko Kokubu stars in this suspenseful daytime series, loosely inspired by Henry James' 1902 novel, "The Wings of the Dove" (known as "Hato no Tsubasa" in Japan). The story takes place at a quiet resort on a remote island, where a widow (Kokubu) suspected of murdering her husband is staying. There, she meets an unfortunate servant (Mizuho Takasugi), who sees the widow's inheritance as his means of escaping the island. As a result, he begins plotting to deceive her of her money.

Other Cast: Miyuki Tsurugi

Yumi Morio and Yasuhiro Arai return for a new season of the "Daisuki! Itsutsugo" franchise, which deals with a couple raising quintuplets. This season covers their third and final year of high school. This social drama examines the meaning of true happiness in today's world by focusing on two households of different economic status. Ritsuko Tanaka stars as a woman working part-time to help support her family, while her husband (Shingo Yanagisawa) runs a struggling ramen shop. Meanwhile, David Ito plays a successful music producer, and Hiromi Nakajima plays his wife.

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In NHK's "Dodra" (Saturday 9:00pm) time slot, there are three series that will start during the summer:

"Shin Machiben" uses the same theme but a different premise 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.

Other Cast: Chiriko Sakashita, Rie Tomosaka

Hiroshi Nagano of V6 stars in this three-episode series about a teacher who deals with hospitalized children, some of whom are faced with death.

Other Cast: Mahiru Konno, Masahiko Nishimura, Leo Morimoto

"Shanghai Typhoon" stars Tae Kimura as a woman who has lost her job and her lover. As a result, she tries to find new happiness in Shanghai, where she has a fateful encounter with a Chinese man (Peter Ho). The series follows her struggle to overcome the cultural barriers and to create a living for herself.

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And finally, we have the tanpatsu dramas, which include a few more manga adaptations. Several of these are shaping up to be serious tearjerkers, so make sure you have some tissues ready!

This documentary drama chronicles actor Tadao Takashima's six-year battle with clinical depression. Takashima is the husband of actress Hanayo Sumi and the father of actors Masahiro and Masanobu Takashima. In 1998, he began suffering from severe depression, and it reached a point where he only left his room for meals. The special includes interviews with the actual family, while the re-enactment of Takashima's story will be played out by Hiroki Matsukata, Keiko Takahashi, Tetsuya Bessho, and Yoshihiko Hakamada. Mocomichi Hayami stars as a young veterinarian who runs an emergency vehicle for veterinary care, dedicated to serving all animals in need at all times of day.

Other Cast: Taro Yamamoto, Yui Ichikawa, Sei Hiraizumi

This special is a revival of TV Asahi's old "Hissatsu" jidaigeki franchise, whose multiple series spanned from the '70s to the '90s. This time, the cast includes Johnny's artists Noriyuki Higashiyama (as the lead role), Masahiro Matsuoka, and Tadayoshi Okura.

Other Cast: Makoto Fujita, Emi Wakui, Sachie Hara, Asami Mizukawa

Singer Masako Mori stars in this touching drama based on the true story of a young boy diagnosed with cerebral palsy, who died at the age of 15. Mori plays the role of the mother, with Eiichiro Funakoshi as the father and Naoki Watanabe as the son.

Other Cast: Saki Fukuda

This special is an adaptation of the "Shimane no Bengoshi" manga by Masahito Kagawa and Tetsuo Aoki. Yukie Nakama stars as Mizuho Yamazaki, a hard-working lawyer who is assigned to the Shimane prefecture, which supposedly has the fewest lawyers in the nation. She travels from client to client on her bicycle, committed to serving justice.

Other Cast: Teruyuki Kagawa, Norito Yashima, Meiko Kaji, Naoto Takenaka, Kanako Higuchi

Yasuko Matsuyuki stars in this adaptation of Seiki Tabara and Shigeru Noda's manga "Hou no Niwa." The story revolves around a prosecutor (Matsuyuki), a lawyer (Tomomitsu Yamaguchi), and a judge (Eisaku Yoshida) who used to be friends (and involved in a love triangle) when they were law students. They went their separate ways, only to find themselves later reunited in the courtroom, where they must try to set aside their emotions to settle the case at hand.

Other Cast: Tomoko Fujita, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Maiko Kikuchi

In this family comedy, Ryoko Hirosue and Masaru Nagai play a mismatched couple. Hirosue is a blue-collar truck driver from Osaka, while Nagai is a well-off doctor from Tokyo. Both previously divorced, they end up on the path of marriage together, but it soon turns into a battle of opposing values.

Other Cast: Yoko Akino, Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Masaaki Sakai

This is the second part of Fuji TV's "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" drama project. In this historically-based scenario, Takashi Sorimachi plays the role of a zookeeper in charge of elephants at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo during the second World War. At that time, many animals escaped due to the bombings, and they were ordered to be killed. Unwilling to let the animals die, the zookeeper desperately tries to save them.

Other Cast: Kazuki Kitamura, Masaaki Sakai

This is a live-action version of Kenji Nakazawa's acclaimed manga "Hadashi no Gen" ("Barefoot Gen"), which deals with the survivors in the aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing. Kiichi Nakai and Yuriko Ishida play the parents of the central character, a young boy named Gen (played by child actor Ren Kobayashi). The drama is also part of the "Sen no Kaze ni Natte" project, occupying the final two nights. This drama special will air as part of NTV's "24 Hour Television" program. The plot is based on a story by Toshiko Yamazaki titled "Ganbareba, Shiawase ni Nareru Yo." Hideaki Takizawa and Kyoko Fukada take on the lead roles as a young couple who gets married because the woman is pregnant. The boy seems healthy at first, but when he reaches the age of five, the couple is forced to cope with a diagnosis of cancer.