Happy holidays, everyone! It's a time for joy and celebration, but you don't have to stop after the holidays are over. There are plenty of dramas to be excited about this winter!

First off, let's take a look at the specials coming up during the rest of December:

"Happy! 2" is the continuation of the "Happy!" drama special that aired in April. Saki Aibu once again plays the role of Miyuki Umino, a girl whose parents have died and whose elder brother has sent her and the rest of her siblings into debt. Threatened by collectors, she decides to try becoming a professional tennis player in order to pay off the debt.

Other Cast: Hiroyuki Miyasako, Junnosuke Taguchi, Mao Kobayashi

This is a follow-up to "Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru," a romantic comedy about falling in love with an "ugly" girl. Six months after the end of the original series, Osamu Yamaguchi (Goro Inagaki of SMAP) and Miyuki Ota (Tomoko Murakami of Morisanchu) are about to celebrate their first Christmas together as a couple, but there's one person still trying to break them up - Osamu's beautiful ex-girlfriend Yumi (Yuri Ebihara)! Will she succeed in ruining Osamu's and Miyuki's Christmas plans? Based on the novel by Seicho Matsumoto, "Nami no Tou" tells the story of a dark love affair between the public prosecutor Takao Onogi (Kotaro Koizumi) and the mysterious woman Yoriko Yuki (Yumi Aso). Deeply drawn to each other from the moment they meet, their love grows rapidly. But Yuki is married to a corrupt politician, and when Onogi is assigned as part of a prosecution team investigating Yuki's husband, their relationship threatens to destroy their lives...

Other Cast: Morio Kazama, Yoshiko Nakada, Kaori Takahashi, Hiromasa Taguchi

This is a special episode for the detective drama "Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9 Gakari" that aired earlier this year. In that series, Yoshihiko Inohara plays Naoki Asawa, a new police detective full of hope, but whose assignment places him under the eccentric chief Rintaro Kano (Tsunehiko Watase). The jidaigeki "Ooku" series, based on the Edo period practice of the shogun keeping a harem to bear successors, has gone through several drama incarnations. This weekend, a film version was released in theaters, and this drama special tells an alternate story to the movie. Kyoko Fukada stars in this special, although she has never been part of the "Ooku" series before.

Other Cast: Shihori Kanjiya, Hisashi Yoshizawa

This drama special revolves around the comedic coupling of former stand-up comedian Daisuke Matsuoka (Teruyoshi Uchimura) and TV drama producer Mikako Ishido (Emi Wakui). Daisuke's father (Shohei Hino) is a shady, good-for-nothing producer, while Mikako's father (Shigeru Koyama) is a politician wrapped in scandal. Daisuke and Mikako have decided to get married, but they keep running into misunderstandings and other troubles.

Other Cast: Machiko Washio, Yoji Tanaka, Erina Ozawa

The long-running detective drama "Hagure Keiji Junjoha," which ran for 18 seasons between 1988 and 2005, returns for a special episode before the end of the year. Makoto Fujita encounters one last case as the laid-back detective Yasuura, when a man's corpse is discovered in the park...

Other Cast: Noriko Ogawa, Katsuhide Uekusa, Yumi Matsuoka

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Now, here are the renzoku dramas for this winter. You'll notice there's only one real teen drama this season, but it's the highly anticipated Hana Yori Dango 2! Other highlights include Tokyo Tower (based on the highly popular Lily Franky novel), a new comedy by writer Sou Kuramoto, and the start of a new taiga drama on NHK. Read on!

Daikichi Fukumaru (Toshiyuki Nishida) is the third-generation owner of a ryokan in Asakusa, Tokyo. He doesn't manage the ryokan very well, paying little attention to profits and focusing more on treating his guests with great hospitality. But his older sister (Hana Kino) handles the accounting, and she is determined to improve management. Every time a new guest arrives, there are bound to be problems due to their differences in philosophy.

Other Cast: Yuma Ishigaki, Chihiro Otsuka, Hiromi Kitagawa, Chikako Kaku

Author Lily Franky's "Tokyo Tower" is a best-selling novel in Japan that has received wide media coverage. It has already been adapted into a drama special, broadcast last month. This time, the novel is being adapted as a series, starring Mokomichi Hayami. This heart-warming yet tear-jerking story revolves around the protagonist's relationship with his mother (Mitsuko Baisho), who is nearing the end of her life.

Other Cast: Shigeru Izumiya, Yu Kashii, Yuta Hiraoka

Adapted from the book of the same title, this drama is based on an internet incident from 2004. A man (played by Yusuke Santamaria) has married the seemingly ideal wife (played by Yuriko Ishida). But one day, he happens to see a message on his wife's cell phone, and realizes she's planning to cheat on him! She and the other man have arranged a meeting at a hotel, and the husband is torn about what to do. Looking for advice, he goes to an internet forum and asks for help.

Other Cast: Rie Tomosaka, Ikki Sawamura, Kyoko Enami, Masahiko Nishimura

Natsuyo Tsukiyama (Yumiko Shaku) is an editor of a fashion magazine. At 28, she has been working as a single office lady for over five years, and she finds herself wondering about the direction of her life. But all of a sudden, the editor-in-chief tells her that the magazine is being discontinued! Tsukiyama gets transferred to a shoujo manga editorial department, and is placed in charge of the highly popular mangaka Yuriko Hanazono. Asked to pick up a manuscript from Hanazono, she makes a shocking discovery - Yuriko Hanazono is actually a pen name used by four eccentric brothers!

Other Cast: Masato Sakai, Tetsuhiro Ikeda, Jun Kaname, Kanata Hongo, Miki Maya, Susumu Terajima, Saori Takizawa

Haruko (Ryoko Shinohara) is a temp worker with superior skills. With experience in many projects, high proficiency in languages, and many other qualifications, she stands above the average full-time employee and commands an hourly wage of 3,000 yen (about $30 U.S.). But she always leaves right at the end of work, says whatever she wants to say, and has poor people skills. Her latest assignment lands her in the marketing division of a food administration company, where she ends up facing more problems and conflicts than she expected for such a job...

Other Cast: Ai Kato, Kotaro Koizumi, Yo Oizumi, Ryo Katsuji

The long-running "Shin Kyoto Meikyu Annai" begins its 9th season this winter. Isao Hashizume returns to his post as newspaper reporter Kyosuke Sugiura. While researching his stories, he invariably ends up involved in a series of mysteries, which he proceeds to solve as he completes his articles.

Other Cast: Yoko Nogiwa, Sayuri Kokusho, Shigemitsu Ogi, Ken Nishida, Soichiro Kitamura, Hiromi Ichida

In this family comedy, Yukie Nakama plays a writer who marries a good-for-nothing man (Shosuke Tanihara). But she herself is sloppy and a poor housekeeper. Meanwhile, her tradition-bound mother-in-law (Keiko Matsuzaka) keeps meddling in their business and causing trouble!

Other Cast: Hirotaro Honda, Sei Hiraizumi, Tomoko Hoshino

This comedy was written by acclaimed writer Sou Kuramoto (Yasashii Jikan, Kita no Kuni Kara). The story is set in Kagurazaka, Tokyo, a small traditional downtown area. The district is known for its lively shopping streets and its rich culture. Ippei Tawara (Kazunari Ninomiya) is a traditional Japanese chef, and his mother Yukino (Reiko Takashima) is a former geisha. However, Ippei is still searching for his father.

Other Cast: Kaoru Yachigusa, Kayoko Kishimoto, Katsumi Takahashi, Meisa Kuroki, Saki Fukuda

Adapted from a serial on an internet blog, "Kirakira Kenshui" is a comedy about a doctor in training. In her first lead drama role, Manami Konishi plays the pure, optimistic, and hard-working intern Usako Oda, who also has a habit of causing trouble around her. Konishi co-stars with Eiji Wentz (as the nurse Tachioka), who also is playing his first lead role in a primetime drama series.

Other Cast: Masaya Kato, Yoshio Harada, Katsuhisa Namase, Papaya Suzuki, Ryo

Actress Ryoko Yonekura stars in her third and final Seicho Matsumoto adaptation (the previous two being "Kemonomichi" and "Kurokawa no Techou"). In this version, Yonekura plays the nurse Toyomi. With no interest in marriage, Toyomi's only ambition is her work, and she studies English with the hope of someday working overseas. But she somehow ends up falling for the hospital director (Takaya Kamikawa), even though he has other women. Toyomi's attraction to him becomes increasingly dangerous...

Other Cast: Kazuki Kitamura, Yuko Fueki, Hijiri Kojima, Kimiko Yo

The ever-popular Hana Yori Dango franchise is returning for a second live-action series after overwhelming fan response to the first series. The series will keep the original cast, including Mao Inoue as Tsukushi and Jun Matsumoto, Shun Oguri, Shota Matsuda, and Tsuyoshi Abe as the F4. This season reportedly will be longer than the first, and it starts off with a 2-hour special (starting at 9:00pm instead), which was partly filmed in New York. This is the third season of the Tokumei Kakarichou Tadano Hitoshi series, starring Katsunori Takahashi as Hitoshi Tadano, a seemingly innocuous salaryman at an advertising firm who transforms into his true identity at night - a suave and intelligent hero assigned by the company president to fight corruption and trouble within the company!

Other Cast: Atsuko Sakurai, Masaru Nagai, Yuri Ebihara, Rieko Miura, Tatsuo Umemiya

"Xenos" is the latest series to run in the adult-oriented Drama 24 time slot. The drama is based on the manga of the same name by Mio Murao. Naoto Ishibashi (Ken Kaito) is a reporter doing well in both his career and his personal life, enjoying happiness with his new wife Saki (Nami Ichinohe) whom he had met just one month earlier. But Saki suddenly disappears, and Naoto discovers that her family registry was forged. As he searches for her, he begins receiving threats from someone. Meanwhile, a female detective appears before him...

Other Cast: Yuika Hotta, Natsume Sano, Katsuya Kobayashi, Risa Goto, Tokuma Nishioka

Actress Yuki Amami once again teams up with writer Kazuhiko Yukawa as she transforms from the intimidating "queen of the classroom" to a hapless "queen of enka." Amami plays 39-year-old enka singer Himawari Okouchi, who has been unfortunate in both work and love. Struggling to find happiness ever since her father left when she was a child, Himawari continues on her path to become successful as a singer.

Other Cast: Taizo Harada, Wakana Sakai, Masaya Kikawada

Takuya Kimura takes the lead in this star-studded adaptation of Toyoko Yamasaki's novel "Karei Naru Ichizoku." The novel is an account of the conflicts within the wealthy and influential Manpyo family during the 1970's, a critical period of reorganization in Japan's economic history. Kimura plays Teppei Manpyo, a steel firm manager and the eldest son of Daisuke Manpyo (Kinya Kitaoji), a prominent banker in the Kansai area.

Other Cast: Kyoka Suzuki, Kyoko Hasegawa, Koji Yamamoto, Yu Yamada, Saki Aibu

"Fuurinkazan" is the 46th NHK Taiga Drama. It is based on a novel by Yasushi Inoue, telling the story of Yamamoto Kansuke (played by Masaaki Uchino), one of the "Twenty-Four Generals" of Takeda Shingen during Japan's Sengoku period.

Other Cast: Kamejiro Ichikawa, Gackt

This afternoon drama follows Hiromi Kato (Miyoko Yoshimoto), a girl who never felt love from her mother, but ended up working in a nursery as an adult. Her childhood friend, Chikako Matsushita (Chiaki Hara), had run away from her strict mother when she was younger. Together, the two of them bond through their feelings toward their mothers. But they both fall for the same man. Chikako ends up giving birth to a girl, Chihiro, whom she decides to abandon. Hiromi, reminded of herself as a child, takes the baby and begins a new life raising the child. Fourteen years later, Chikako reappears, asking to take Chihiro back...

Other Cast: Yoshinori Hiruma, Sarasa Morimoto, Kenta Satoi

"Kippari!" is based on the best-selling book by Tome Kamioooka. A story of self-improvement, the drama centers on a housewife (Yoshie Okuyama) who decides to change her life. Tired of being a messy woman with poor domestic skills, she embarks on a path to a better self.

Other Cast: Koji Matoba

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Three dramas will be playing in NHK's "Dodra" time slot (Saturday 9:00pm) this season:

The original "Churasan" series aired in 2001 as the 64th NHK Asadora. This family drama focused on the life of Eri Uemura (Ryoko Kuninaka), a girl originally born in Okinawa but who eventually left for Tokyo and found love. The series returned for six episodes in 2003, and five more episodes in 2004. This time, NHK will continue the story with two more episodes. "Slow Start" is a short drama dealing with the recently increasing phenomenon of "hikikomori" - young men withdrawing from society and living in isolation. There are women working to help draw these men out and restore their ability to live in society. Rather than using the impersonal forms of digital communication, though, they use more personal means of contact, such as writing letters and visiting the men in person.

Cast: Miki Mizuno, Tetta Sugimoto, Masaomi Kondo, Masato Hagiwara

This drama centers on Japan's business world years after the economic bubble burst. A fund manager named Masahiko Washizu (Nao Omori) has arrived on the scene, using foreign capital to buy up and raid Japanese firms, earning him the title of "hagetaka" ("vulture"). But he faces opposition from elite banker Takeo Shibano (Kyohei Shibata), who is trying to prevent Washizu from destroying the status quo. Who will triumph, and what will happen to Japan's financial world?

Other Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda, Chiaki Kuriyama, Akira Nakao

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There are also many drama specials airing throughout January. Check them out if you can!

TV Tokyo's New Year jidaigeki special ("Shinshun Wide Jidaigeki") is "Chushingura: Yozenin no Inbo," the latest take on the historic Chushingura tale (also known as the "Forty-seven Ronin"). This time, the focus is on Yozenin, the wife of the daimyo Asano Takuminokami Naganori. Actress Izumi Inamori stars as the first female lead ever for a "Shinshun Wide Jidaigeki" drama.

Other Cast: Kinya Kitaoji, Masanobu Takashima, Hideki Takahashi

This jidaigeki drama special covers the life of Akechi Mitsuhide, a trusted general under Oda Nobunaga. However, Mitsuhide later betrayed Nobunaga, and is credited with ultimately forcing Nobunaga to commit seppuku. Toshiaki Karasawa plays the lead role of Mitsuhide.

Other Cast: Toshiro Yanagiba, Takaya Kamikawa, Masami Nagasawa, Yo Oizumi, Manami Konishi, Shosuke Tanihara

"Mikka Okure" is a drama about regret and leaving things undone at the end of the year. The drama depicts three stories taking place just before the new year: a young man unable to confess his love to the girl he likes, a girl in search of her true father, and a girl whose dreams are being torn apart...

Cast: Yuma Ishigaki, Mitsuho Otani, Miku Ishida, Akiyoshi Nakao, Mayumi Sada, Yuko Ito

This drama is based on the novel of the same name by Yohichi Shimada, which was adapted into a film earlier this year. A young boy named Akihiro is sent to live with his grandmother (Pinko Izumi) in rural Saga after his single mother (Yuriko Ishida) finds it too difficult to raise him. Although she is also poor, his grandmother is wise and cheerful, and she shows him that one can still find happiness in poverty.

Other Cast: Ryohei Hirota, Naoyuki Morita, Sachie Hara

"Akuma ga Kitarite Fue o Fuku" is one of renowned author Seishi Yokomizo's works involving the famous fictional detective Kosuke Kindaichi. Goro Inagaki of SMAP plays the sleuth in this murder mystery.

Other Cast: Ryoko Kuninaka, Hiroki Narimiya

Tatsuo Sakazaki (Tetsuya Watari) is a lone tuna fisherman in the town of Oma, Aomori. His life is dedicated to his fishing rod, and he has been separated from his wife (Keiko Matsuzaka) and children ever since his eldest son (Satoshi Tokushige) lost an arm in a fishing accident. One day, his wife receives news that radio communications from Tatsuo's fishery have stopped. Fearing his death, she and the eldest daughter Natsumi (Yuki Amami) depart from Tokyo to find him...

Other Cast: Katsunori Takahashi, Yuki Uchida, Kunito Watanabe

This special is a follow-up to the 2005 human drama "Ruri no Shima," in which young actress Riko Narumi played her first lead role as Ruri Fujisawa, a troublesome child brought to a small island in hopes of saving its elementary school, which was about to be closed due to lack of students.

Other Cast: Ken Ogata, Manami Konishi, Ryunosuke Kamiki

"Kaze no Kita Michi" is the result of a TV drama scriptwriting contest. Set in the Kagawa prefecture of Shikoku, the story focuses on the conflicts faced by a high school girl and her mother living on welfare.

Cast: Mei Kurokawa, Eri Ishida

This two-part historical special delves into the lives of members of the Byakkotai. During the Boshin War, the daimyo of Aizu formed four defense units, one of which was a group of boys between the ages of 15 and 17. They fought against the Meiji Restoration forces during the Battle of Aizu, but upon the apparent loss of the castle they were defending, the group committed mass seppuku on a nearby hill.

Cast: Tomohisa Yamashita, Koki Tanaka, Taisuke Fujigaya, Noriyuki Higashiyama, Hiroko Yakushimaru

17-year-old Kimiko (Mikako Tabe) lives in a small town at the foot of Mt. Bandai in Fukushima. Kimiko lives with her mother, who works in a large supermarket, and her grandfather, who is partially bedridden after having had a stroke seven years earlier. But ever since Kimiko was a child, she has dreamt of leaving the town to attend the famous Takarazuka Music School.

Other Cast: Gaku Hamada, Tokio Emoto

"Onna no Ichidaiki" ("Biography of a Woman") was a three-episode series that ran in November, with each episode covering the life of a famous woman (Jakucho Setouchi, Fubuki Koshiji, and Haruko Sugimura). In this special episode, "Onna no Ichidaiki" presents the life of Chiaki Mukai, a JAXA astronaut. Actress Miho Kanno plays the role of Mukai.

Other Cast: Ken Ishiguro, Ei Morisako, Rosa Kato, Leo Morimoto

This is a special episode of the 2006 comedy series "Attention Please," in which Aya Ueto stars as young flight attendant Yoko Misaki. Now that Yoko has passed her basic courses and has become a CA, she begins her training to be placed on international flights. As part of her instruction, she'll be flying to Honolulu, Hawaii!

Other Cast: Ryo Nishikido, Miki Maya

Originally a "manga" which was later also adapted into anime and film, "Oishinbo" was a gourmet drama series during the 1990's. In this one-episode special, TOKIO's Masahiro Matsuoka takes on the role of the gourmand Shiro Yamaoka.

Other Cast: Yuka, Ken Matsudaira