Best Japanese Dramas
Jdramas that I highly recommend.
Jdramas that I could not find on IMDB:
Jdramas that I could not find on IMDB:
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25 titles
- StarsErika SawajiriRyô NishikidoHiroko YakushimaruThe story of a 15-year-old high school student, Ikeuchi Aya, who soon discovers she has an incurable disease that affects the cerebellum of the brain. Aya lived her life to the fullest until her death at 25.DRAMA, FAMILY
My very first Asian drama and still one of the best. Everyone will have this on their jdorama list and you will too. - StarsMiki MayaTomoya NakamuraSatoshi NikaidoAyumu passes an entrance exam of an elite school, but loses her best friend because of that. There she makes new friends, but after a misunderstanding the bulling begins. With nobody to turn to she is pushed to the limit of losing herself.DRAMA, SCHOOL
[also known as Life]
A fast-paced emotional roller coaster ride that will leave you physically drained. - StarsHideaki TakizawaKyôko FukadaYôsuke KubozukaIrie is an unhappy bullied kid. His life starts getting better as his father gets remarried and her daughter moves in.DRAMA, ROMANCE
Two of my fave Japanese actors in a drama with ABBA as it's soundtrack. What more could I ask for? - StarsHideaki TakizawaChizuru IkewakiKen'ichi EndôTatsuya, a tormented college student who was once an all-around nice guy but now seems to be balancing a gigantic grudge on his shoulder. For some reason, he has taken to hanging around with the richest kid in school, basically a trusting, nice guy who Tatsuya is out to destroy. He feels an uncontrollable urge to deface the rich kid's new car and chase after his fiance. Complicating the plot further is Tatsuya's run-in with a young composer and pianist, who has a limp sustained in a car accident many years before. She, too, is rich, although Tatsuya does not know it yet. Stuck in a stifling home environment with her pianist mother who disdains her desire to compose, the obedient young woman begins to change after a chance meeting with Tatsuya, while he seems to regain some of his humanity in his interaction with her.DRAMA, ROMANCE
Revenge drama that will make you want more Taki! - StarsHideaki TakizawaKyoko HasegawaKôtarô KoizumiROMANCE
Taki. That's why. - StarsHidetoshi NishijimaKyôko FukadaMisaki ItôBased on the manga of the same title by, Atsuko Takakura. The story revolves around a woman working in a department store whose meager bust has earned her the nickname of "kabe onna." Unfortunately for her, a well-endowed "yama onna" gets assigned to the same department, heightening her insecurity.COMEDY
Seriously funny. xD - CreatorKozueko MorimotoStarsYukie NakamaKatsuhisa NamaseKen UtsuiGokusen is the story of Kumiko Yamaguchi, aka. Yankumi, a fourth generation crime syndicate member. She's gone straight and wants to be a teacher though, but she's one you don't want to mess with.COMEDY, SCHOOL
Who has not heard of this popular series?! - StarsMisaki ItôAtsushi ItôMiho ShiraishiWith the help of an online community, a nerdy and socially awkward man gathers the courage to start dating an attractive lady he met on a train.COMEDY, ROMANCE
The geek and the beauty. Based on a true story. - StarsSatoshi TsumabukiKô ShibasakiHiroki NarimiyaYuuki Kai is a senior at a university studying social welfare psychology and trying to find a job. One day, he encounters a girl, Hagio Sae, playing the violin, and becomes intrigued.ROMANCE
[Orange Days]
One of the best jdramas with an incredible story and cast. - StarsShigenori YamazakiMasami NagasawaEita NagayamaLast Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru's mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty pearlier assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru's in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life.DRAMA
Riveting story of friendship, love, and abuse. Just watch the first episode and I guarantee you won't stop. - StarsHiroshi AbeMasami NagasawaSaekoKenji Sakuragi is a lawyer and former member of a motorcycle gang. He takes on the challenge of preparing a special class for a famous stupid school, Ryuuzan to enter the prestigious Toudai University.SCHOOL, COMEDY
Learnt some interesting studying tips. - StarsTomohisa YamashitaMasami NagasawaNana EikuraThis is a romantic comedy in which a young man who missed a chance to confess his love, is given a second chance and struggles to undo the past and win the heart of the woman on the day she is getting married to someone else.COMEDY, ROMANCE, SCHOOL
[Proposal Daiskusen]
A young man gets multiple chances to go back to the past to change his future. An interesting storyline coupled with great chemistry between the secondary characters. - StarsKazuya KamenashiTomohisa YamashitaMaki HorikitaA popular high schooler and his oddball friend help a shy girl get rid of her bullies by attempting to make her the most popular girl in school.COMEDY, SCHOOL, BROMANCE
A crack-tastic drama about friendship between three unlikely characters. - CreatorShinobu KaitaniStarsErika TodaShôta MatsudaMichiko KichiseTrusting, gullible Nao suddenly finds herself participating in the mysterious Liar Game, a game where the players are issued large sums of money which they then have to cheat each other out of. A few get rich, while the rest find themselves in debt for life. Nao's opponent is her former teacher. Relieved, she goes to him for advice, but is tricked into giving him all her money. With no idea of how to retrieve the money to avoid debt, Nao is desperate. When she gets a tip that a genius swindler, Shinichi Akiyama, is about to be released from prison, she turns to him for help. With some initial reluctance, Akiyama agrees to be her right-hand man in the game. As the two get pulled deeper into increasingly difficult levels of the game, it gradually becomes clear that their participation was far from coincidental.THRILLER
A battle of wits to survive against a million dollar debt. - StarsTomohisa YamashitaMaki HorikitaYui IchikawaKurosaki, aka Kurosagi (Yamashita Tomohisa), is a swindler who cheats other professional con artists to help their victims and avenge the death of his own family. Kurosaki buys information about other swindlers from the man who cheated his family, Katsuragi Toshio (Yamazaki Tsutomu).THRILLER, ROMANCE
The Robin Hood of swindlers with a slightly darker tone. - CreatorSatoru HiuraStarsHaruka AyaseNaohito FujikiYuka ItayaWhen she's not at her fancy job, Hotaru just wants to relax at home - until her landlord's son shows up, and it's none other than her fastidious boss.COMEDY, ROMANCE
Working glamorously and living ...well, she'd rather you didn't find out. - StarsTakuya KimuraTakako MatsuYôko MoriguchiLove Generation revolves around the relationship of the two leading protagonists, Katagiri Teppei and Uesugi Riko, who begin their relationship as squabbling colleagues before falling in love.ROMANCE
A Kimu Taku drama. Nuff sed. - StarsTakuya KimuraTakako TokiwaAtsuro WatabeA talented hairstylist meets the love of his life, a terminally ill woman.ROMANCE
A Kimu Taku drama. Nuff sed. - StarsTakuya KimuraKôichi SatôYûko TakeuchiHalu (Kimura Takuya) is the captain and star player of an ice hockey team, who is greatly respected by his teammates. For him, hockey is serious business that fully occupies his mind, while he treats romance as if it were a game. Aki (Takeuchi Yuko) is a typical OL (office lady), and is waiting for her boyfriend to return from studying architecture abroad. At this point in time however, he shows no sign of coming back. One day, Aki's friends who are determined to find her a new boyfriend, invite her to watch an ice hockey game. There she sees Halu for the first time. After the game, Aki and her friends join the players for a party celebrating their victory. Aki, however, is not so excited to be there. When she leaves the party, she bumps into Halu, who was slightly injured from a fight. They exchange e-mail addresses and part. The sparks of mutual attraction are ignited in a second encounter between Aki and Halu, arranged with the help of her friends shortly after a party. Hyodo (Sato Koichi) has come as a replacement for the team's coach who has been hospitalized. Halu has a lot of respect for the hospitalized coach. Unfortunately, he can't stand Hyodo's way of doing things. Bringing with him a lot of coaching experience from overseas, Hyodo criticizes the former coach's strategies. Whenever Halu and Hyodo see each other, they get into a quarrel; consequently influencing Halu's behavior during games. Seeing that his game ended in a brawl, Aki visits Halu to comfort him. But he tells her that she is being too friendly with him. Aki is hurt, Halu is irritated, and his teammate Hotta (Sakaguchi Kenji) can't stand seeing Halu like thisROMANCE
A Kimu Taku drama. Nuff sed. - StarsYutaka TakenouchiAya UetoShôta MatsudaTakenouchi plays an aquarium employee named Kengo, who seems ordinary at first glance but actually possesses a secret that he would sacrifice everything in order to protect. Meanwhile, Ueto plays Risa, a young woman working in the sex trade in order to pay off her brother's debt, though her situation has led her to contemplate suicide. These two characters, both full of despair, meet each other and end up entering a contract marriage purely for its benefits. However, as they overcome various troubles, their relationship begins turning into true love.ROMANCE
- StarsHiroshi AbeTakashi TsukamotoMitsuko KusabueA 40-year-old gifted architect enjoys living alone and doesn't communicate well with people. He has three female friends. Will he ever marry?COMEDY
- StarsYûko TakayamaKazuyuki AijimaShigeaki KatôAfter a train ride, father and daughter Kyoichiro and Koume mysteriously swap bodies and pretend to live each other's lives at school and work.FAMILY. COMEDY.
- StarsTomohisa YamashitaKeiko KitagawaSaki AibuShirakawa Riko and Kamiya Naoki's intertwined fates lead them on a difficult journey towards love.SPORTS. ROMANCE
- StarsShun OguriSatomi IshiharaSaki AibuHyuga Toru who run an internet website from his small room and doesn't like to socialize makes a lot of money. He then meets Sawaki Chihiro, a hardworking student who by an unexpected occurrence begins to work for Toru.
- StarsMisaki ItôKazuya KamenashiEita NagayamaAfter her lover doubts her, a 28 year old office worker (Misaki) meets a young man (Kazuya) in her company.DRAMA, ROMANCE, WORK
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A good balance of both the personal and work angles.