Winter 2008 Drama Priview!
Dec 31, 2007
A new year is upon us! It looks like 2008 is starting off right, with a fresh batch of promising dramas to keep you warm throughout the winter weather. While this list doesn't include the tanpatsu dramas, take a look at the regular lineup for next season:
Mitokomon (…ŒË‰©–å)
TBS, Monday 8:00pm, premieres January 7
This jidaigeki drama has been renewed for a 38th season, with Kotaro Satomi still playing the lead as the legendary Mitokomon, who travels across Japan upholding justice.
Other Cast: Ryuji Harada, Masashi Goda, Kaoru Yumi, Tento Matsui, Maju Ozawa, Takashi Naito
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/mito/
Bara no nai Hanaya (åKåN‚Ì‚È‚¢‰Ô‰®)
Fuji TV, Monday 9:00pm, premieres January 14
Yuko Takeuchi and SMAP's Shingo Katori star in this love story about a blind woman (Takeuchi) and a flower shop owner struggling to raise a daughter alone (Katori). The script is penned by popular screenwriter Shinji Nojima, whose works include "Pride," "Koukou Kyoushi," and "Hitotsu Yane no Shita."
Other Cast: Yumiko Shaku, Shota Matsuda, Susumu Terajima, Tomokazu Miura, Junko Ikeuchi
Official Site: http://www.fujitv.co.jp/rose/
Tadashii Ouji no Tsukurikata (³‚µ‚¢‰¤Žq‚̂‚‚è•û)
TV Tokyo, Tuesday 5:30pm, premieres January 8
In this school comedy, a girls' high school suddenly goes co-ed, but the incoming boys are far below their expectations. As a result, some of the girls start a project to reform the boys into "princes." Kotaro Yanagi takes the lead role in the series.
Other Cast: Yurie Midori, Hiroki Aiba, Kouhei Takeda, Yukihiro Takiguchi, Ren Kiriyama
Official Site: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/ouji/
Honey and Clover (ƒnƒ`ƒ~ƒc‚ƃNƒ[ƒo[)
Fuji TV, Tuesday 9:00pm, premieres January 8
Like "Hana Yori Dango" and "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e," "Honey and Clover" is an adaptation of a popular shojo manga series. This story of love, life, and friendship for five college students was previously turned into a movie starring Yu Aoi and Sho Sakurai, but the television version features young actress Riko Narumi and rising actor Toma Ikuta.
Other Cast: Natsuki Harada, Osamu Mukai, Hiroki Narimiya, Saori Takizawa, Yuichi Kimura, Yutaka Matsushige, Yasuyuki Maekawa
Official Site: http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/hachikuro/
Ashita no Kita Yoshio (‚ ‚µ‚½‚ÌAŠì‘½‘P’j`¢ŠEˆê•s‰^‚È’j‚ÌAŠïÕ‚Ì11“úŠÔ`)
Fuji TV, Tuesday 10:00pm, premieres January 8
This series features Fumiyo Kohinata in his first starring drama role. Based on Masahiko Shimada's novel "Jiyu Shikei," the story follows an unfortunate man who decides that he will end his life in 11 days. However, a string of encounters and incidents makes those 11 days far from peaceful. But can those events save him from his death and show him how to live again?
Other Cast: Ryuhei Matsuda, Manami Konishi, Chiaki Kuriyama, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Jun Kaname, Katsuhisa Namase
Official Site: http://www.ktv.co.jp/yoshio/index.html
Binbou Danshi (•n–R’jŽq@ƒ{ƒ“ƒr[ƒƒ“)
NTV, Tuesday 10:00pm, premieres January 15
Popular actor Shun Oguri takes on the role of an overly positive college student in this comedy series. Firmly believing that there are more important things than money, he ends up taking on other people's debts and working to pay them off, despite his own poverty.
Other Cast: Norito Yashima, Yu Yamada, Haruma Miura, Yusuke Santamaria
Official Site: http://www.ntv.co.jp/binbou/
Aibou (‘Š–_)
TV Asahi, Wednesday 9:00pm, continuing
The sixth series of the popular detective drama "Aibou" continues its run. Starring Yutaka Mizutani and Yasufumi Terawaki, the drama has a movie coming out this spring, as well as a comic adaptation that began serialization earlier this month.
Other Cast: Sawa Suzuki, Saya Takagi, Ittoku Kishibe
Official Site: http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/aibou/
Saito-san (Ä“¡‚³‚ñ)
NTV, Wednesday 10:00pm, premieres January 9
Based on a manga series by Yua Oda, "Saito-san" stars Alisa Mizuki as a mother of a young child. Unafraid to speak her mind, she constantly confronts people who have poor manners or who don't follow the rules of society.
Other Cast: Mimura, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Arata Furuta, Reiko Takashima
Official Site: http://www.ntv.co.jp/saito-san/
Shin Kyoto Meikyu Annai (VE‹ž“s–À‹{ˆÄ“à)
TV Asahi, Thursday 8:00pm, premieres January 17
This mystery drama is entering its 10th season. Once again, Isao Hashizume plays a newspaper reporter who solves mysteries in the process of doing research for his articles.
Other Cast: Sayuri Kokusho, Yoko Nogiwa
Official Site: http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/meikyu/
Kurama Tengu (ˆÆ”n“V‹ç)
NHK, Thursday 8:00pm, premieres January 17
This period drama is based Jiro Osaragi's popular novel "Kurama Tengu." Mansai Nomura II stars as the titular samurai who saves innocent commoners from the conflicts of warring samurai.
Other Cast: Kotomi Kyono, Naoto Ogata, Tetta Sugimoto, Yoshizumi Ishihara
3 Nen B Gumi Kinpachi Sensei 8 (3”NB‘g‹à”ªæ¶)
TBS, Thursday 9:00pm, continuing
The 8th season of this long-lasting series continues from the fall. Tetsuya Takeda is back as Kinpachi-sensei, dealing with issues in education and society. This season's batch of students includes Yuta Uekusa, Taku Kamei, Yuma Sanada, Camu Cade, and Mitsuki Takahata.
Other Cast: Atsuko Takahata, Ema Fujisawa, Mari Hoshino
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/kinpachi/
Koshonin ~The Negotiator~ (ŒðÂl`THE NEGOTIATOR`)
TV Asahi, Thursday 9:00pm, premieres January 10
In this hardboiled drama, Ryoko Yonekura stars as the tough Reiko Usagi, a police negotiator. As part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), she deals with dangerous criminals, but at the same time, she has to navigate her way as a woman in a male-dominated world.
Other Cast: Takanori Jinnai, Katsumi Takahashi, Toshio Kakei, Sousuke Takaoka
Official Site: http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/koshonin/
Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi (Ž’j‚ ‚ð‚ɂ悵)
Fuji TV, Thursday 10:00pm, premieres January 17
This bizarre comedy is based on a novel by Manabu Makime. Hiroshi Tamaki stars as a teacher assigned to a girls' high school in Nara, where the students give him a hard time. One day, he realizes he can hear the voices of the deer around him (Nara is known for its deer), and they entrust him with a sacred mission.
Other Cast: Haruka Ayase, Mikako Tabe, Kiyoshi Kodama, Kuranosuke Sasaki
Official Site: http://www.fujitv.co.jp/awoniyoshi/
Daisuki!! (‚¾‚¢‚·‚«II)
TBS, Thursday 10:00pm, premieres January 17
Karina gets her first starring role in this drama series, which is based on a manga by Mizuho Aimoto. Karina plays Yuzu, a 23-year-old woman with the mind of an 8-year-old. She falls in love and becomes pregnant, but the father dies in an accident, leaving Yuzu to raise the child alone.
Other Cast: Yuta Hiraoka, Saki Fukuda, Mahiru Konno, Kayoko Kishimoto
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/daisuki2008/
Genjuro Hissatsuken (Œ¶\˜Y•KŽEŒ•)
TV Tokyo, Friday 8:00pm, premieres January 18
In this jidaigeki drama adapted from Yuichiro Kurosaki's "Meifu no Shikaku," Kinya Kitaoji plays an official who is sentenced to death for killing a colleague. However, he escapes from his punishment and restarts his life as a swordsman upholding justice.
Other Cast: Naho Toda, Takashi Sasano, Toshinori Omi
Official Site: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/genjyuro/
4 Shimai Tantei Dan (4Žo–…’T’ã’c)
TV Asahi, Friday 9:00pm, premieres January 18
This mystery series is based on author Jiro Akagawa's "San Shimai Tantei Dan." While the original story revolved around three sisters who solve mysteries, the drama version features four, with Kaho starring as the youngest. Noriko Nakagoshi, Natsuki Kato, and Yui Ichikawa play the other sisters.
Other Cast: Hisashi Yoshizawa, Katsuhisa Namase, Shigeru Muroi
Official Site: http://4shimai.asahi.co.jp/
Edison no Haha (ƒGƒWƒ\ƒ“‚Ì•ê)
TBS, Friday 10:00pm, premieres January 11
In this drama inspired by Thomas Edison's childhood, Misaki Ito stars as a first-grade teacher. She discovers that one transfer student, considered to be a problem child, may actually be a prodigy, just as Edison was. Now it's up to her to cultivate his potential.
Other Cast: Maki Sakai, Shosuke Tanihara
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/edison-mama/
Mirai Koushi Meguru (–¢—ˆuŽt‚ß‚®‚é)
TV Asahi, Friday 11:15pm, premieres January 11
This comedy is penned by popular screenwriter Kankuro Kudo. Kyoko Fukada plays the English teacher Meguru Yoshida, who discovers a special power on her 24th birthday - with a full stomach, she can see the people around her as they look 20 years in the future.
Other Cast: Ryo Katsuji, Shinji Takeda, Tomoka Kurokawa
Official Site: http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/meguru/
Cosplay Yurei Guren Onna (ƒRƒXƒvƒŒ—H—ì g˜@—)
TV Tokyo, Friday 12:12am, premieres January 11
"Guren Onna" is based on a novel by Nobuyuki Joko. Ai Takabe stars as the high school teacher Fumiyo Nabekura, whose lack of friends is the result of a gloomy personality. Looking to find her purpose in life, she dresses up at night as the "guren onna," a fictional ghost, and terrifies other people. But soon she begins meeting actual ghosts...
Other Cast: Gaku Shindo, Anna Sonoda, Nana Akiyama, Nana Natsume
Official Site: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/guren/
One-Pound Gospel (‚Pƒ|ƒ“ƒh‚Ì•Ÿ‰¹)
NTV, Saturday 9:00pm, premieres January 12
This is an adaptation of the manga of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi, featuring a mixture of comedy, sports, and romance. KAT-TUN's Kazuya Kamenashi stars as Kosaku Hatanaka, a skilled boxer who turns pro at the age of 19. However, due to his lack of control over his appetite, he always ends up in a higher weight class, leading to a series of losses. He then meets a nun-in-training named Angela (Meisa Kuroki), whom he falls for as she tries to help him with his problem.
Other Cast: Yoshinori Okada, Ryosuke Yamada, Issei Takahashi, Ken Mitsuishi, Masako Motai, Satomi Kobayashi
Official Site: http://www.ntv.co.jp/1pound/
Full Swing (ƒtƒ‹ƒXƒCƒ“ƒO)
NHK, Saturday 9:00pm, premieres January 19
Katsumi Takahashi stars in this six-episode drama based on the life of former baseball pro Michihiro Takabatake, who was best known as a batting coach for seven different teams and many famous players. He became a high school teacher at the age of 58, but died of cancer about a year later.
Other Cast: Ran Ito, Kazue Fukiishi, Masato Hagiwara, Shinya Tsukamoto, Hirotaro Honda
Lost Time Life (ƒƒXFƒ^ƒCƒ€Fƒ‰ƒCƒt)
Fuji TV, Saturday 11:10pm, premieres February 2
Inspired by the idea of stoppage time in soccer, "Lost Time Life" is a collection of 9 stories about wasted time in life. In each episode, the protagonist comes close to death, but a mysterious group of referees appears to grant the person extra time. The focus of the drama is the way that each character makes use of that time. The stars of the episodes, in order, are: Eita, Keiichiro Koyama, Tomochika, Juri Ueno, Atsushi Ito, Naoki Tanaka, Takako Tokiwa, Yoko Maki, and Yo Oizumi.
Other Cast: Yoichi Nukumizu
Official Site: http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/losstime/
Atsuhime (“Ä•P)
NHK, Sunday 8:00pm, premieres January 6
NHK's 47th taiga drama stars young actress Aoi Miyazaki as Atsuhime (also known as Tenshoin), who became the wife of Tokugawa Iesada. Tomiko Miyao's "Tenshoin Atsuhime" is the source for this series.
Other Cast: Maki Horikita, Shota Matsuda, Masato Sakai, Kinya Kitaoji, Toru Emori, Masao Kusakari, Hiroshi Tamaki
Official Site: http://www.nhk.or.jp/taiga/
Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tatakai (²X–Ø•vÈ‚Ìm‹`‚È‚«í‚¢)
TBS, Sunday 9:00pm, premieres January 20
In this comedy series, SMAP's Goro Inagaki and actress Koyuki star as a couple who have been married for three years. However, their completely opposite personalities result in constant fighting. Both of them happen to be lawyers, which turns their collapsing marriage into an amusing legal battlefield.
Other Cast: Keisuke Koide, Wakana Sakai, Masahiko Nishimura, Makoto Fujita, Arata Furuta, Koji Yamamoto
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/sasaki-fusai/
Chiritotechin (‚¿‚è‚Æ‚Ä‚¿‚ñ)
NHK, Monday-Saturday 8:15am, continuing
NHK's 77th Asadora completes its second half this winter. Shihori Kanjiya stars as a young woman who moves to Osaka and decides to become a rakugo storyteller after discovering the art form.
Other Cast: Emi Wakui, Yutaka Matsushige, Kyoko Enami, Masakane Yonekura
Official Site: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/asadora/
Sandaime no Yome! (ŽO‘ã–ڂ̃ˆƒI)
TBS, Weekdays 1:00pm, premieres January 7
Wakako Shimazaki stars in this home drama about a woman named Natsuko who marries a younger man (Shuhei Minami), the son of an established senbei maker (Toshie Negishi). The series focuses on the conflicts between Natsuko and her new mother-in-law.
Other Cast: Sabu Kawahara, Aya Nakamura, Shinobu Kawamata, Eri Osonoe
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/ainogekijyo/sandaime/
Kyoto e Okoshiyasu! (‹ž“s‚Ö‚¨‚±‚µ‚â‚·I)
TBS, Weekdays 1:30pm, premieres January 7
This drama focuses on the lives of the women in a red-light district of Kyoto. The central character, played by Tamao Nakamura, is the "mama" of an old teahouse.
Other Cast: Megumi Oji, Jun Toba, Maju Ozawa
Official Site: http://www.mbs.jp/hana-kyoto/
Atakake no Hitobito (ˆÀ‘î‰Æ‚ÌlX)
Fuji TV, Weekdays 1:30pm, premieres January 7
"Atakake no Hitobito" ("The Ataka Family") is based on a novel of the same name by Nobuko Yoshiya. Kumiko Endo stars as Kuniko, the daughter of an employee of the hotel magnate Soemon Ataka. She marries Soemon's mentally-challenged son Soichi (Shige Uchida), drawn to his pure heart rather than his fortune. Soichi is looked down upon by his younger brother Joji (Takashika Kobayashi), whose business failures have eaten away at the inheritance. While Kuniko desperately tries to protect the last remaining hotel from Joji, Joji's wife (Akane Oda) finds her way into Soichi's heart.
Other Cast: Sansho Shinsui, Kenzo Kawarasaki, Etsuko Nami
Official Site: http://www.tokai-tv.com/atakake/
source: one and only Tokyo Graph
