As you probably noticed, Tokyograph is undergoing some changes. For the past five years, I’ve been running the site on custom software that I wrote on my own. It’s been clear that I don’t have the time to maintain and upgrade that software, so I’ve been planning to upgrade to WordPress for a long time. This allows me to make changes to the site more easily and focus more on content.

There are also plans for a new website layout, but it’s not complete yet. Since I wanted to switch to WordPress as soon as possible, I’ve decided to throw together a temporary layout that is pretty similar to the old website. I don’t yet know when the new layout will be ready, but I hope it’s soon.

Along with the move to WordPress, there are several major changes to the site. Here’s a quick summary of the changes:

• The info database is no longer accessible. I haven’t been able to keep the information up-to-date, so I feel that it wasn’t serving its intended purpose. The good news is that Tokyograph will instead be linking to the Wiki at Generasia (formerly JPopStop). Currently, the old links are not yet ready, but new ones will be. The Wiki is still pretty bare when it comes to information about actors, dramas, and movies, but hopefully you can contribute!
• Due to the change to the Wiki, Tokyograph is changing its policy with regard to Japanese names. Up until now, names of people have been in line with Wikipedia’s policy of Western order – first name before last name – but we will now be using Japanese order – last name before first name. This will probably not have a big impact for most of you, since you are likely used to seeing names in either order.
• The commenting system for the site will now use Disqus. If you’re active on a lot of other websites, you have probably seen this in use before. It’s essentially a decentralized commenting system that manages your comments across various sites, and lets you login in different ways, such as Twitter, Facebook, and OpenID.
• News is no longer being automatically posted to the forum. Previously, commenting at Tokyograph was done through integration with the vBulletin forums. That integration will no longer be used because of the migration to WordPress and the switch to Disqus. The forum is still alive at the same address (forums.tokyograph.com), though it has never been used much besides the commenting on news articles. If all of the discussion moves over to Disqus, there may no longer be a need to maintain a separate forum.

There are other minor changes going on, but these are the most important ones. If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback, let me know!

If you’re jumping in late to the current TV drama season, here’s what the networks have to offer. This winter is full of action shows and office dramas, but you also have a few alternatives, such as the romantic comedy of “Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge.” Here’s the (almost) complete lineup:

This is the second season of “Hancho,” a police detective series that first aired last spring and is based on a popular series of novels by writer Bin Konno. Like the first season, Kuranosuke Sasaki plays the chief of a new police station in Harajuku. Despite his small team of detectives, he leads them to solve various cases within their precinct.

The popular medical drama “Code Blue” from 2008 returns for another dosage, this time in Fuji TV’s Monday night time slot. The story still revolves around Doctor Heli, a program that uses helicopters to deliver emergency medical aid. Tomohisa Yamashita returns as the protagonist Kosaku, a talented trainee “flight doctor.” Also returning are the other young trainees (Yui Aragaki, Erika Toda, Yosuke Asari) and a young flight nurse (Manami Higa).

After graduation, Miki Tsunoda (Nana Eikura) manages to land a job at the first-rate company that she has been aiming for. But after making a mistake in her work, she starts becoming the subject of bullying by her co-workers. Despite her frustration and pain, she decides to endure the harassment rather than run away.

Kenichiro Matsushima (Ryuta Sato) is an employee at a construction firm. He leads a straightforward life, due to his firm adherence to honesty, but remains a bachelor due to his awkwardness when it comes to matters of love. One day, he meets the part-timer Narumi Kurita (Kyoko Fukada), whose selfish ways are at odds with his own personality. Through his interactions with her, his outlook on life evolves as he changes his mind about what is “right.” At the same time, he also begins developing feelings for her…

Shunzo Waku’s long-running “Akakabu Kenji” novel series gets the live-action treatment in this drama. Shigeru Hiiragi (Baijaku Nakamura) is a kind and humble public prosecutor with an endearing personality, in part due to his Nagoya dialect and love of turnips. In his relaxing manner, he manages to defeat even the best of lawyers in the courtroom.

32-year-old Saki Ogiwara (Miho Kanno) is a paralegal who refuses to compromise on her ideals and give in to the rest of society. Having failed the bar exam nearly ten years in a row, she persists in her dream of becoming a lawyer, despite the people around her telling her to give up and settle down with her boyfriend (Takashi Tsukamoto). One day, she runs into her former high school classmate Riko (Hiromi Nagasaku), who has become a housewife and mother of two children. Leading a wealthy socialite lifestyle, Riko has no qualms about lying in order to get what she wants. Between a proposal from her boyfriend, the appearance of Riko, and a man she meets (Shosuke Tanihara), Saki finds herself confused about her path in life.

Based on the historical fiction manga “Shinsengumi Imon PEACE MAKER” by Nanae Chrono, this drama depicts the life of Ichimura Tetsunosuke (played by teen actor Kenta Suga), a boy whose parents were murdered. Vowing to become strong and avenge their deaths, Tetsunosuke aims to join the ranks of the special police force Shinsengumi, despite the protests of his older brother Tatsunosuke (Yuta Furukawa).

Ten years earlier, Kyoto police detective Shinnosuke Kamo (Yasufumi Terawaki) was punished for mishandling a case, resulting in his demotion and transferral to another station. In addition, his wife divorced him and took their child, leaving Kamo by himself. Now, he has finally returned to his former station, carrying the same passion for his job as before. However, his old-fashioned ways are at odds with the modern police system.

This adaptation of Katsutoshi Kawai’s manga “Tomehane! Suzuri Koukou Shodoubu” stars Aki Asakura as first-year high school student Yuki Mochizuki, one of the top female judo athletes in the nation. At the school’s entrance ceremony, she meets fellow freshman Yukari Oe (Sosuke Ikematsu), who has just returned from living in Canada. The timid Yukari is soon forced to join the calligraphy club, which is on the verge of being abolished due to a lack of members. When Yuki accidentally breaks Yukari’s arm, she takes responsibility by joining the calligraphy club as well.

“Angel Bank” is based on a manga by Norifusa Mita. As a loose sequel to Mita’s “Dragon Zakura,” it focuses on Mamako Ino, originally an English teacher at the Ryuzan High School depicted in that manga. Kyoko Hasegawa, who played Ino in the “Dragon Zakura” drama series, reprises the role here. After years of teaching, she finds herself out of a job, so she attends a seminar by “occupational change agent” Yasuo Ebisawa (Katsuhisa Namase), who specializes in advising the countless people looking to switch careers. When Ebisawa unexpectedly offers her a part-time job, she begins her career as an occupational change agent.

Koji Bokumoto (Kazuma Ikeda) has just joined Marumaru Communications, the advertising company that he has been aiming for… but he gets a rude awakening on the first day when he finds himself assigned to work under division head Konosuke Kinoshita (Itsuji Itao). He quickly realizes that Kinoshita is an unreliable and whimsical guy who certainly lives life at his own pace. Kinoshita has a reputation for being late, leaving early, falling asleep at work, and acting unpredictably, leading all the other employees to wonder how he ever became the head of a division…

Elite financial bureaucrat Takashi Arikawa (Kazuki Kitamura) is the son of the head of one of Japan’s largest medical corporations. With his intelligence, looks, wealth, and status, he was naturally meant for power in the political arena. He senses an opportunity when he receives a proposal to marry the daughter (Misa Uehara) of an influential politician (Eiji Okuda), so he breaks things off with his longtime girlfriend (Eiko Koike). However, the engagement sets in motion a “cursed destiny” that traces back almost half a century.

Tomoko Hayakawa’s popular shojo manga “Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge” comes to life in this series, which stars KAT-TUN’s Kazuya Kamenashi. University student Kyohei Takano (Kamenashi) is unable to hold a job, due to his quick temper and the problems caused by his good looks. He struggles to pay the rent for the mansion he lives in with three other handsome students – Yukinojo Toyama (Yuya Tegoshi), Takenaga Oda (Hiroki Uchi), and Ranmaru Morii (Shuntaro Miyao). Because of his lack of money, he quickly agrees to the mansion’s owner’s offer of free lodging. In exchange, the four men must transform the owner’s niece Sunako (Aya Omasa) into a proper lady. However, Sunako has low self-esteem and is anti-social, and her initial appearance seems straight out of a horror movie.

Masaru Nagai returns for another season as the titular character Kintaro Yajima, a construction company salaryman who was once the leader of a gang. This is the second season for the show on TV Asahi, continuing to tell the story of Kintaro’s new path in life. TV Asahi’s version is separate from the earlier “Salaryman Kintaro” series that TBS ran for four seasons between 1999 and 2004, though both are adapted from the manga by Hiroshi Motomiya.

The members of the massive pop idol group AKB48 star in this school drama, though Majisuka Gakuen is no ordinary girls high school. Completely full of rival yankee groups, fights are an everyday occurrence here. A quiet girl named Atsuko Maeda (played by Atsuko Maeda herself) enters the school as a new transfer student, though she appears to be quite out of place. Meanwhile, the loud Daruma Onizuka (Nachu), another new student, quickly becomes a target in the fighting. But when things start getting out of hand, Atsuko finally shows her true colors.

In this historical drama, Riko Narumi plays the role of Koi, a young girl living with her mother, who runs a tsukemono shop. She doesn’t like attention, but she inadvertently gets when she joins a competition for a game she loves to play: Hyakunin Isshu. Also known as “uta-garuta,” the game involves players competing to grab cards based on partial poems read aloud. Koi has a talent for it, and she continues to win in the competition. Meanwhile, she also meets and falls in love with the young ronin Yura Shindo (Yuta Hiraoka), though he has mind on plotting revenge against those responsible for his father’s death.

The first season of “Bloody Monday,” based on Ryo Ryumon’s fast-paced suspense manga of the same name, was a success when it aired in late 2008. Now, the story continues with genius hacker Fujimaru Takagi (Haruma Miura) still battling against deadly terrorist plots, though now the stakes have been raised from a virus to a nuclear weapon. Returning faces include Takeru Sato, Michiko Kichise], Hiroki Narimiya, and Umika Kawashima, while several new characters are joining the action.

“Hidarime Tantei EYE” started out as a single-episode special last October, but now it has been developed into a full-length series. Due to vision problems, junior high student Ainosuke Tanaka (Ryosuke Yamada) received a corneal transplant in his left eye from his older brother (Yu Yokoyama), who reportedly passes away. Ainosuke soon begins having strange visions, which seem to be connected to his brother’s death. At the same time, the visions also lead him to discover an evil organization, whose crimes are planned by… his brother! Faking his death, the brother has become a criminal mastermind, and now Ainosuke is determined to stop him.

Shinsuke Murakami (Kenji Sakaguchi) is an interviewer for a corporate restructuring consulting firm. He has become a pro at his role, sending countless workers into forced retirement, despite the personal anguish that naturally comes with the job. In the first of the show’s six episodes, he is tasked with cutting 200 employees from a large building material company, but one employee in particular refuses to give in.

NHK’s 2010 taiga drama is “Ryomaden,” a telling of Sakamoto Ryoma’s life by screenwriter Yasushi Fukuda. Sakamoto was a leader of the anti-shogunate movement during Japan’s Bakumatsu period in the mid-1800s, who was assassinated at the age of 33. The character has appeared in countless dramas and films, but here he is being played by popular actor Masaharu Fukuyama, backed by a cast that includes Ryoko Hirosue, Shihori Kanjiya, Yoko Maki, and Yu Aoi.

Katsuhiro Tamura (Sho Sakurai) is an assistant administrative scrivener (one who prepares legal documents) with a strong sense of justice. While studying to become a full-fledged scrivener, he meets Misuzu Sumiyoshi (Maki Horikita), a 22-year-old scrivener who has been in the profession since graduating from high school. Misuzu is hard-working and capable, but she hates men and can’t stand to lose. Because of their personalities, Katsuhiro and Misuzu are constantly at odds, but over time they begin to understand each other.

Akira Takahara (Yoko Moriguchi) is a magazine editor at a successful publisher, but after a certain scandal, she ends up being fired. On top of that, her fiance disappears and she loses her apartment. It turns out that her fiance has left with an enormous debt to Kaoru Shioya (Seiji Rokkaku), a former coworker who now owns a Shibuya host club called Club Indigo. Full of despair, she is forced to take on the job of managing the club, which employs a colorful cast of hosts. However, when various incidents start happening around the club, she and these unusual men unite in trying to solve the cases.

This fall looks like a strong season for drama fans! There are plenty to enjoy, including several hit sequels such as “LIAR GAME.” The lineup boasts a lot of popular male stars, such as Shun Oguri, Masaki Aiba, and Haruma Miura, as well as established actress such as Yukie Nakama and Norika Fujiwara. Here’s what you can look forward to:

As a child, Sou Takakura (Shun Oguri) witnessed the murder of his father. Vowing to someday catch the culprit, he grew up to become an elite detective on the New York police force, regarded highly for his composure, discipline, adaptability, and military training. One day, he takes on a case involving a major drug operation linked to his father’s killer. Maruo Kudo (Hiro Mizushima), a member of a special investigative division in Japan, arrives in New York to help out. The investigation leads them to Yuki Matsunaga (Yuriko Yoshitaka), who holds some crucial info about the case but has lost part of her memory due to a traumatic incident. Sou and Maruo team up to continue the case in Japan, but their completely opposite personalities may be a hindrance. And as Yuki regains her memory, her knowledge begins to expose a painful past.

High school student Hajime Ichinose (Koki Kato) has a “secret weapon.” Passed down from generation to generation, the men of the Ichinose family have had a special power – the “Godfinger.” If he successfully tickles the girl he likes, a wish will be granted. But because of his insecurities, Hajime can’t even approach a girl, much less tickle one. His current crush is his childhood friend Yui (Koto Takagi), who recently started dating a neighborhood delinquent named Yuto. After overhearing Yuto say that he plans on taking Yui’s virginity, the shocked Hajime is unsure of what to do, so he seeks the help of the one person who understands him, his younger sister Aoi (Uki Satake)… In addition to Takagi and Satake, this love comedy series features other recent winners of the Miss Magazine gravure idol competition.

The hit “LIAR GAME” drama returns for a second season, which will lead into a movie version being released next year. The new series takes place two years after the first one. The naïve Nao Kanzaki (Erika Toda) and expert swindler Shinichi Akiyama (Shota Matsuda) have not heard anything from the LIAR GAME organization since the end of the previous game, so it seems they may have actually escaped. But Nao suddenly gets another invitation and is once again caught up in the game. This time, she has to team up with Shinichi and one of their previous rivals named Fukunaga (Kosuke Suzuki), facing off against three more opponents in new games of deception, such as “24 Rensou Russian Roulette” and “17 Poker.”

“Real Clothes” is based on a fashion manga by Satoru Makimura, which was already adapted as a tanpatsu drama special in 2008. Karina and Hitomi Kuroki will once again co-star, returning with most of the main cast from the special. Karina plays Kinue, a saleswoman in the futon section of a department store. One day, she suddenly gets transferred to the women’s clothing department, even though she herself is lacking in fashion sense. Kuroki plays the part of her new boss Miki, who soon introduces Kinue to the tough reality of the fashion world. Through this job, Kinue learns about the meaning of life, love, and work.

Yasuo Uchida’s bestselling mystery novel series about a reportage writer and detective named Mitsuhiko Asami now has its own full-length drama series, after numerous two-hour specials on multiple networks over the years. Since 2000, Ikki Sawamura has played the protagonist in TBS’s version, and he will continue in that role for this series. As always, the detective travels across Japan to investigate local legends and mysteries. Morio Kazama will play his older brother at the National Police Agency, while Sachie Hara plays the maid of the Asami household.

The long-running detective series “Aibou” returns for an 8th season, the first full one since Yasufumi Terawaki left the show. The drama now stars Yutaka Mizutani and Mitsuhiro Oikawa as the leading detective duo. In the first episode (a 2-hour special), the pair are greeted with a case immediately after Sugishita (Mizutani) returns from a trip to London. Guest appearances include Rina Uchiyama and Ikko Furuya.

This human drama is set in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department of a university hospital. At the center of the story is Nachi Hiiragi (Norika Fujiwara), an obstetrician in her fifth year of working there. Because of a traumatic incident, she follows a philosophy of never giving up on a patient, no matter how risky it is. Because all of her attention is devoted to her patients, she is lacking in communication skills with those around her, often leading to conflicts. In addition, Nachi’s actions are putting the hospital at risk of facing lawsuits, creating even more friction. Still, she only has her eye on protecting her patients’ lives.

Based on a manga by Yaro Abe, the story of “Shinya Shokudo” is set in a small restaurant in the corner of a shopping district. The unusual eatery is only open after midnight, and its standard menu consists of just a single choice. However, the customers still come for the amusing chatter and the proprietor’s (Kaoru Kobayashi) willingness to cook any dish that they request. In a humorous way, this drama depicts the lives of the restaurant’s patrons, including a yakuza, an unsuccessful actor, a group of office ladies, a newspaper delivery boy, and a stripper.

This mystery series is now in its third season. Eiichiro Funakoshi once again returns as Kiyomi Ikenaga, the deputy chief of a local police station in Kyoto. In the first episode, which will be a two-hour special, a high school murder incident from 20 years ago is revived when an anonymous phone call claims that there’s more to the seemingly solved case. The situation gets even more complicated when a suspect taken in for assault is discovered to have the same fingerprints as those found 20 years ago on the victim’s bag!

Recently built on an artificial island, the (fictional) Tokyo Bay International Airport is equipped with the most advanced security system in the world, known as ROMES. To celebrate the airport’s first anniversary, a gold statue called the “Goddess of Temptation” is placed on display at the airport. After an international group of thieves called Silverfox issues a challenge to the airport and begins exploiting the ROMES system, the director (Masao Kusakari) requests assistance from the brilliant Yuya Narishima (Tadayoshi Okura), who knows the system the best out of anyone. Yuya’s team of experts is assigned to combat this dangerous organization, which continues to escalate its activities. Meanwhile, Yuya himself has a different reason for coming to the airport…

Ryoko Yonekura is back in this sequel to last year’s drama series “Koshonin ~The Negotiator~.” She plays the talented police negotiator Reiko Usagi, part of the Special Investigation Team. The new season opens with a string of deadly incidents involving guns sent to various people by someone known as “Summer Claus.” The weapons seem to be part of a batch of 27 stolen guns, and so far 14 of them have been given out. Now it’s up to Usagi and the rest of the SIT to recover the remaining 13 before there are any more casualties… This season will also serve as a warm-up for the “Koshonin” film scheduled to open in theaters in February.

Adapted from a novel by Toyoko Yamasaki, “Fumou Chitai” is a large-scale project that will run for six months. Toshiaki Karasawa stars as a military leader named Tadashi Iki who was captured by the Soviets during World War II. Treated as a war criminal, he was sentenced to many years of labor in a harsh Siberian detention camp. After 11 years of imprisonment, he is released. He returns to Japan and begins readjusting to life as a civilian, rejecting an offer from his former colleague to work on a defense project. Tadashi has decided to never involve himself in war again, much to the joy of his family. Instead, he attempts to set off on a new path working at a major trading company.

Adapted from Toro Kitao’s manga “Saibancho! Koko wa Choeki 4 Nen de, Dousuka?,” this drama revolves around a part-timer named Morio (Osamu Mukai) who becomes a courtroom maniac. On a whim, Morio decides to sit in the audience of a courtroom one day, and he witnesses cases involving crimes such as murder, rape, fraud, and domestic violence. While observing these complete strangers, he becomes fascinated with the human aspect of the trials, from the judges to those being judged. Watching trials turns into a regular activity for Morio, and he is not the only one. Seiji Rokkaku plays a long-time courtroom otaku, while Akina Minami plays an eager law student.

Reporter Ryoko Narumi (Yukie Nakama) loses her job at a first-rate publisher and ends up at a trashy tabloid called “Shukan Untouchable.” She now chases celebrity scandals and sensational stories, but she hasn’t lost her sense of duty or her persistence. While investigating her stories, she tends to notice details that imply some hidden truth beneath the surface, leading her to probe deeper into dangerous secrets.

33-year-old Satomi Akiyama (Alisa Mizuki) is a history teacher at the prestigious all-girls high school she once attended. She has earned the nickname “ohitorisama” (meaning “one person”) for her perfectionism and capability to handle any work by herself. At the same time, the name also refers to her lack of romance. One day, a young man named Shinichi (Teppei Koike) arrives at the school as a temporary instructor. He’s ten years younger than Satomi, has only worked part-time jobs, and has neither money nor status. Although the other female teachers and students find him cute, he is completely not Satomi’s type… or is he? Will love blossom between this unlikely pair?

“My Girl” is an adaptation of Mizu Sahara’s manga of the same name, described as an “ultimate love story.” Arashi’s Masaki Aiba takes on his first starring role as Masamune Kasama, a young camera assistant. During high school, he had an older girlfriend named Yoko Tsukamoto (Yuka), but she suddenly disappeared one day. Six years later, he learns that Yoko has passed away. At the same time, he meets his five-year-old daughter Koharu (Momoka Ishii), whom Yuko secretly gave birth to. Masamune and Koharu begin living together, and through their mutual love for the deceased Yoko, they begin to develop a bond as father and daughter.

This late-night drama is a sequel to the 2005 series “Jyouou.” Still set in the hostess club industry, “Jyouou Virgin” brings a brand-new cast, led by popular idol Mikie Hara. She plays the part of Mai Ando, who has just graduated from high school but has not yet determined her path in life. When she hears about the “Jyouou Grand Prix,” a competition awarding 100 million yen to the number-one hostess, she decides to give it a shot. But she’ll need more than just good looks to win against her rivals in this cutthroat battle.

Based on the famous story “A Little Princess” by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this drama tells the struggle of a young girl who falls from riches to rags. Talented young actress Mirai Shida stars as Seira Kuroda, the daughter of a widower and wealthy businessman (Atsushi Yanaka). Seira was raised in India, but she is sent back to Japan to continue her education at an affluent boarding high school. Although she has lived in luxury, the well-bred Seira is kind and generous, earning her many friends at the school. One person who dislikes Seira is the school’s director (Kanako Higuchi), though she treats Seira well due to the father’s fortune. Then, during Seira’s 16th birthday party, the director informs her that her father has died, leaving her penniless. As a result, she is forced to work as a servant in order to pay off her school bills.

Kotaro Mochizuki (Haruma Miura) is a mild-mannered, unmanly high school student. One day, he visits a library and meets the mysterious librarian Himiko (Mimura), who recommends to him an ancient book about a heroic general from the Sengoku period 400 years ago. Kotaro notices that he has the same name and age as the general described in the book, and he experiences a flashback… Kotaro later mentions the book to his father (Goro Kishitani), who tells him that he may be the descendent of a powerful samurai. At that moment, Kotaro receives a message from his childhood friend Ai (Anne) telling him that their classmate (Yu Shirota) is in trouble. He rushes to the scene but doesn’t have the guts to help, until another flashback transforms him into a samurai!

Kuranosuke Sasaki stars as a teacher struck by misfortune, as he suddenly loses his eyesight. He pulls himself together and decides to continue as an educator, despite the countless challenges he now faces. This human drama follows his personal growth through his interactions with his students and colleagues, while also looking at the state of education in the current society.

In this world, there exists a police force that goes unnoticed, hidden deep within the city and never revealing themselves. Established after the September 11 attacks, this elite division is tasked with combating threats of international terrorism and espionage. Actor Atsuro Watabe plays the star of this suspenseful drama, leading his team in a war of secret intelligence, deception, and betrayal.

Shigeru Tsuchiyama’s manga “Shakking” has already been adapted into nine films, but now it has been turned into a television series with a completely new cast. Police detective Mizunuma (Susumu Terajima), his sister Rie who works for a judicial scrivener office (Naomi Nishida), and psychiatrist and mental clinic manager Kamijo (Keisuke Horibe) form a team nicknamed Shakking (debt king), so named because they have each racked up 200 million yen in debt. With the repayment deadline fast approaching, the trio concocts a swindling scheme in order to obtain the money they need.

These are the first five episodes of NHK’s large-scale drama project “Saka no Ue no Kumo,” which will be continued in fall 2010 and fall 2011. Based on a novel by Ryotaro Shiba, the drama is set in the Meiji era and focuses on the lives of a group of historical figures. Masahiro Motoki and Hiroshi Abe play the brothers Akiyama Saneyuki and Akiyama Yoshifuru, who were both military officers during the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War. Teruyuki Kagawa plays the poet Masaoka Shiki, a childhood friend of Saneyuki, while Miho Kanno plays Shiki’s sister Ritsu. Yukiyoshi Ozawa has been cast as the writer Natsume Soseki, who was also close friends with Shiki and Saneyuki.

Brain surgeon Jin Minakata (Takao Osawa) has spent the last two years in anguish, as his fiancee (Miki Nakatani) lies in a vegetative state after an operation he performed. One day, he faints at the hospital and awakens to find himself transported back in time to the Edo period. He is soon attacked by a samurai, but he escapes with the help of a man named Kyotaro (Keisuke Koide). Kyotaro suffers a serious injury to the head while trying to protect him, but Jin manages to save his life despite a lack of proper medical equipment. Because of that, Kyotaro’s sister Saki (Haruka Ayase) begins taking an interest in Jin and becomes his assistant. Meanwhile, Jin is determined to find a way back to the present.

Yoshihiko Amano (Katsunori Takahashi) works at the giant Mizunami Bank. Trusted by the president (Ikko Furuya), he is put in charge of hiding 700 million yen worth of bad debt. For the sake of the bank and the president, he puts all his effort into taking care of the matter, but he encounters many obstacles, including an ambitious politician (Masahiko Nishimura) and his secretary (Masahiro Takashima), a hostess club run by the former president’s mistress (Noriko Aoyama), and even his own colleagues. Meanwhile, as Amano becomes more involved in the problem, his own personal life is falling apart.

In this comedy, the Mammies are a small “mama-san volleyball” team sponsored by a local supermarket, whose colorful members range in age from their 20s to their 70s. The team’s captain is 40-year-old Suzuko (Hitomi Kuroki), but she has a secret that she can never share with her teammates – she and the team’s young, good-looking coach Kotaro (Osamu Mukai) are actually newlyweds!

Ever since she was young, Nami (Kana Kurashina) has dreamt of becoming a publishing editor on a global scale. She heads to Tokyo to begin working for a major fashion magazine, but the magazine is suddenly shut down shortly after she arrives. Unable to find another publisher in Tokyo that will hire her, she dejectedly returns to her small hometown in the Tokushima prefecture. One day, she meets the owner and editor (Shigeru Muroi) of a small local publisher who offers her a job, and she resumes her path towards her dreams.

One night, record company employee Nao (Kaori Takahashi) hears a beautiful piano song that brings tears to her eyes. At that moment, she meets music director Hiroshi (Kohki Okada) in what seems like a fated encounter. They fall in love and start their own record company a year later, signing the pianist who played the song that linked the two together. Nao and Hiroshi have decided to get married if the pianist’s Christmas concert is a success, but on his way there, Hiroshi gets into a car accident and is taken to the hospital. He remains unconscious, but a 20-year-old (Masataka Kubota) at the same hospital miraculously awakens from his own unconscious state. Hiroshi’s soul is actually in the young man’s body, and he appears at Nao’s home to try to resume their love.

The summer heat may have overcooked this preview, now that it’s several weeks behind schedule. But it’ll still tell you all you need to know about the current batch of dramas! Dive right in and see what you’re missing!

Tomohisa Yamashita stars as Naoki Kamiya, a young player for a pro basketball team. But due to his relatively smaller size and his tendency to crack under pressure, he is unable to show his true skills on the court. Meanwhile, Riko Shirakawa (Keiko Kitagawa) is a cheerful, strong-spirited music college graduate aiming to become a professional violinist. One day, Riko finds Naoki’s lost cell phone on a bus, and their meeting begins a friendship that eventually turns into love. However, Naoki was already considering marriage with his current girlfriend (Saki Aibu). And it doesn’t help matters that Naoki’s coach (Hideaki Ito) has fallen in love at first sight with Riko!

This is the 4th season of the popular medical drama “Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji,” which averaged roughly 20% in each of its previous three seasons. Yosuke Eguchi and Nanako Matsushima are back as a pair of emergency room doctors, constantly saving lives while dealing with the human drama taking place around them in the hospital. This season introduces new problems and new faces, including Yusuke Santamaria as a rival doctor.

Ruka (Yuma Nakayama) is a young vampire with a problem. In order for his undeveloped fangs to grow, he has to find a woman whose blood he would like to suck. And unless he gets his first true taste of blood, he won’t be able to obtain eternal life! So to find the right victim, he is sent to the human world, where he begins life as a high school transfer student. His good looks have his female classmates falling over themselves for him, but Ruka has no interest in any of them. However, he unexpectedly finds himself drawn to his homeroom teacher Makoto Natsukawa (Rosa Kato). At the same time, she sees a strong resemblance between Ruka and her first love from her high school days.

“Tonari no Shibafu” is a remake of a television drama from the 1970s, popular for its depiction of the common conflicts between a mother and daughter-in-law. This time, Asaka Seto plays Tomoko, a mother of two who is married to an employee of a fiber manufacturing company (Koji Ookura). When she hears that her mother-in-law Shino (Pinko Izumi) is coming for a short visit, the nervous Tomoko strains herself to get the house in order for those 2-3 days. But to Tomoko’s horror, Shino freely decides to extend her stay, turning every day into a constant struggle.

This detective series is enjoying its fourth season on the air, having been renewed every year since the first run in 2006. Tsunehiko Watase and Yoshihiko Inohara co-star as a pair of detectives heading a special investigative division that was established to focus on difficult crimes in the Tokyo area. Michiko Hada, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Hiromasa Taguchi, and Kanji Tsuda are also reprising their roles as the division’s four other detectives.

Santaro Ishihara (Yo Oizumi) is an electronics salesman with a knack for entertaining customers while wearing his trademark red nose. But his actual sales are poor, and he soon gets fired. Through his former teacher, he finds a job at a hospital as a junior high teacher for children who are unable to normally attend school due to their illnesses. Looking to cheer up the children, he tries using comedy, but he is unable to even draw a smile. The elementary school teacher, Tagawa (Satomi Kobayashi), scolds him for not focusing on education. After some painful events, he becomes determined even more to bring laughter to the children, but it results in even more conflict between him, Tagawa, and the pediatrician Haruka (Yu Kashii).

“Teioh” is another adaptation of a Ryo Kurashina manga set in the world of night clubs. Ryo Sakaki (Takashi Tsukamoto), a young man in the outskirts of Tokyo, has experienced a series of setbacks in life – such as giving up his childhood dreams of playing soccer and being unable to settle into a job. One day, his best friend Eitaro (Shinjiro Atae) tells him that his girlfriend was stolen away by Toru Renjo (Yusuke Yamada), the number-one host of a Roppongi club. Wanting to help out Eitaro, Ryo heads to Roppongi with him to try to settle the matter. After the arrogant Renjo issues Ryo a challenge, Ryo enters the world of the nightlife in an effort to compete against Renjo as a host.

The original “Oretachi wa Tenshi da!” was a detective comedy series from 1979. In this remake, Joji Shibue plays the part of Kyosuke Inui, a former police detective who now runs his own small detective agency under the alias Cap. His agency has three other members – a barista named Darts (Kenta Kamakari), a mechanic named Navi (Ray Fujita), and Jun (Shouma Yamamoto), a hacker who has a part-time job as an extra in movies and TV shows. Desperate for work, Cap and his team are forced to accept small jobs from various clients, but they often end up turning into big cases!

After being known as “Shin Kasouken no Onna” for the last several seasons, this mystery drama has returned to its roots for its 9th series. The show still stars Yasuko Sawaguchi as the expert forensics scientist Mariko Sasaki, with Takashi Naito reprising his role as the detective Kaoru Domon. As usual, the two work together to crack complicated cases.

Ryunosuke Izaki (Hiroshi Tachi) is a popular romance novelist who is constantly writing bestsellers. Now a widower with plenty of experience in relationships, he is also an open advocate of “free love.” But when it comes to his teenage daughter Akari (Nao Minamisawa), he sings a completely different tune! The overprotective Ryunosuke monitors her every move, even if it means shadowing her or stealing her cell phone! Will the two ever learn to understand each other, and will Akari ever be able to date in peace?

Hikoichi Tsubasa (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) has been a gangster since the age of 17, and he currently serves as the leader of a yakuza group in Roppongi. When the boss of his clan passes away, the successor (Ken Matsudaira) gathers Hikoichi and the other leaders (Meisa Kuroki, Kota Yabu, Shunji Igarashi, Jutta Yuki, Takashi Ukaji), informing them of a possible promotion to an executive position. To determine who should get it, the leaders are sent to undergo “training”… as helpers in an elderly care institution.

Naoki Serizawa’s action-comedy manga “Saru Lock” comes to life with Hayato Ichihara as the star. Yataro Sarumaru (Ichihara) is a brilliant locksmith who can open any lock, but he’s also a frustrated teenage boy who can’t get a girl. While working as a locksmith, he also gets involved in dangerous cases where he puts his lockpicking skills to use. In the first episode, a friend working at a “date club” is being coerced by the owner into selling herself, and it’s up to Saru to steal the video and photographs that she’s being threatened with.

Wataru Tokura (Kotaro Koizumi) works in Tokyo for a TV shopping program. After getting on the bad side of the show’s charismatic presenter “Antarctic Ice” (Yuko Natori), he gets transferred to a rural call center. Waiting for him is Kyoko Aoyama (Mimura), nicknamed the “queen of complaints” for her expert ability at handling unsatisfied customers. Unsettled by this call center that seems to have no regard for the rules, he begins working on a plan to return to the main office in Tokyo. But as he struggles with his work at the call center, he also begins to find love.

In this six-episode series, Katsuko (Lena Tanaka) is a single temp worker with a serious love of shoujo manga. In fact, every day she imagines herself inside the world of “Rose of Versailles.” One day, the strange, Kansai-ben-speaking president (Yoshimi Tokui) arrives at the company and begins pushing some unreasonable cost-cutting measures. At that moment, Katsuko hears the voice of Lady Oscar, inspiring her to fight on behalf of the “commoners” – in this case, her fellow employees.

Hideaki Takizawa and Ryo Nishikido co-star in this suspenseful thriller about two men who should never have met. When police detective Nagisa Hasebe (Asami Mizukawa) gets caught during an undercover operation, she is saved by an unknown man who mysteriously kills her attackers just by touching them. Days later, good-hearted high school teacher Ryosuke (Nishikido) turns himself in, distressed because he has the “hands of the devil,” which enable him to kill with his touch. Nagisa lets him go due to lack of evidence, but begins investigating him. While looking for hints, she meets a prisoner named Shinji (Takizawa), convicted for murder. Suspecting that he may have the same power, she mentions Ryosuke’s story, and the interested Shinji demands to meet him. But in fact, Shinji is Ryosuke’s opposite – an evil man with “hands of God” that can heal any pain or illness.

Based on a series of light novels by Yuji Hayami, “Maid Deka” stars Saki Fukuda as the top-notch young maid Aoi Wakatsuki, who works for the chief of the National Police Agency (Ryuji Harada). But she also serves a second duty – when the police have a case that they can’t look into directly, Aoi gets sent as an undercover agent to carry out the investigation! She poses as more than just a maid in a variety of missions, ranging from politicians’ mansions to movie shoots to teahouses.

“REBOOT” is the sequel to the original “Uramiya Honpo” series from 2006. Ayumi Kinoshita once again plays the mysterious woman Uramiya, who sells an unusual service – revenge. Every day, unforgivable crimes occur without their culprits being punished. The victims find black business cards promising justice, leading them to Uramiya. For a price, she offers not mere murder, but complete erasure from society.

Also known by the shorter name “Kochikame,” this comedy adapts Osamu Akimoto’s long-running manga of the same name. The story is centered on a fictional police box in front of Tokyo’s Kameari Park, where police officer Kankichi Ryotsu (Shingo Katori) is stationed. With a hilarious cast of characters – including Mocomichi Hayami as an absurdly wealthy but naive cop, and Karina as a brilliant and beautiful officer – “Kochikame” chronicles the misadventures of Kankichi and company in the neighborhood.

Expert swindler Kyosuke Yoroi (Tomoya Nagase) sits in a prison cell, carrying out a 30-year sentence for taking more than 100 million yen in thirteen different cases. Unexpectedly, he receives a visit from Seiichi Kiriyama, the head of Japan’s secret intelligence agency (Susumu Terajima). Kiriyama arranges a meeting with the Prime Minister (Tetsuya Watari), who makes Kyosuke an offer – he can earn his freedom if he helps the government by stopping thirteen terrorist plots, one for each of his crimes. With his chameleon-like skills of disguise and a team of experts, Kyosuke steps into his new role as a James Bond-like superspy in this action comedy.

Michitaka Tsutsui stars as Shunma Takaoka, a man who loses his job and returns to his hometown in Osaka with his wife in order to take care of his mother. There, in the fictional city of Namihaya, he finds employment at the municipal office where his deceased father used to work. But with Namihaya on the brink of economic collapse, the city launches a difficult financial reform project. Shunma ends up involved in the operation, burdening him with the task of rebuilding the place he calls home.

The romantic comedy “Otomen” is adapted from a popular shojo manga by Aya Kanno. Masaki Okada plays the part of the high-schooler Asuka Masamune, a national kendo champion. But beneath his cool and masculine exterior, he hides a secret: he has very feminine interests, including shojo manga, sweets, and sewing. One day, he saves a girl named Ryo Miyakozuka (Kaho) from trouble, and he instantly starts falling in love. To Asuka’s surprise, she turns out to be a new transfer student at his school. Naturally, Asuka’s secret becomes harder to hide as he gets closer to Ryo, especially because of her tomboyish nature. Meanwhile, his skirt-chasing classmate Juta (Kazuma Sano) discovers the secret and begins helping him win over Ryo, though he has his own hidden reasons for getting involved…

The 40-year-old Hitomi (Keiko Toda) is a single mother working as a long-distance bus driver. She pours her effort into raising her two sons, who are proud of their “somewhat pretty mother.” However, many years earlier, Hitomi used to be Hitoshi, a man with a gender identity disorder. With the recommendation of a doctor, he underwent surgery and began life as a woman. Now, as Hitomi, her life is full of complicated relationships, including a disapproving mother (Yumi Shirakawa) and an ex-wife trying to take custody of one of the sons (Kimiko Yo).

Based on a novel by Saburo Shiroyama, “Kanryotachi no Natsu” focuses on the Ministry of International Trade and Industry during the postwar era, which was critical to Japan’s miraculous economic recovery in the 1950s. Koichi Sato stars as Shingo Kazakoshi, a key member of the ministry. In order to effectively shape the country’s economic success, the dedicated Kazakoshi and his fellow ministry members had to overcome many obstacles, coordinating opposing industry factions and balancing domestic interests with globalization.