Saint Young Men (TV Series 2018- )
Comedy | Fantasy
Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha vacation on Earth as roommates in a Tokyo apartment.
Starring: Ken'ichi Matsuyama, Shôta Sometani, Umi Yamano, Jirô Satô
Director: Yûichi Fukuda
Quartet / Karutetto (TV Mini-Series 2017)
Drama
Maki Maki, Sebuki Suzume, Beppu Tsukasa and Iemori Yutaka happen to meet and form a quartet. They even begin to live together in Karuizawa during the winter, but there is a big hidden secret.
Starring: Rakako Matsu, Hikari Mitsushima, Issei Takahashi, Ryûhei Matsuda, Riho Yoshioka
Director: Yûji Sakamoto
Become a Mother / My Son / Haha ni naru (TV Mini-Series 2017)
Comedy
In the spring, when Kashiwazaki Yui and her 3 years old son were coming back home from kindergarten, she let go of her son's hand for a moment and then he was gone. 9 years later, her son appears in front of her again.
Starring: Erika Sawajiri, Naohito Fujiki, Yûto Nakajima, Shunsuke Michieda
Creator: Fumie Mizuhashi
Whispers from a Crime Scene / Higanbana – Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department 7 Investigation Division / Higanbana: Keishichô Sôsa 7-ka (TV Mini-Series 2016- )
Drama
When this happens though, she blacks out. Even in her day-to-day life, she can hear people's evil intentions and true colors and senses their lies and deception. That is why she always wears headphones in order to shut out people's emotions. She works well with her colleagues at the "Red Spider Lily" (Higanbana) unit, who are all brutally honest acid-tongued women with no qualms about speaking their minds. "Red Spider Lily" is an eclectic unit that includes a science geek, a single mom, and a woman who grew up abroad. Seen by many as a department that's been taken off the main career track, "Red Spider Lily" turns out to be full of fabulous detectives!
Starring: Maki Horikita, Rei Dan, Jiyoung Kang, Mao Daichi, You, Rin Takanashi
Creator: Tomihiko Tokunaga, Shuko Arai, Jun'ya Ikegami, Miyako Matsumoto
Ms. Sadistic Detective / Do S Deka (TV Mini-Series 2015)
Comedy
Kuroi Maya is a beautiful yet sadistic detective who excels at checking out information on others and using it as a weapon to corner the enemy. But she has no sense of loyalty to the police organisation, completely ignores rules and loves to see troubled looks on people's faces. She became a detective so that she can torment bad people all she wants.
Starring: Mikako Tabe, Tadayoshi Ohkura, Yô Yoshida, Hikaru Yaotome, Yasuhi Nakamura, Masanobu Katsumura, Masanori Ishii, Mitz Mangrove, Saori Seto, Yûsuke Suga, Masatô Ibu, Kayoko Kishimoto
Creator: Izumi Kawasaki, Yoshi Nanao
Attack on Titan: Counter Rockets / Shingeki no kyojin Attack on Titan: Hangeki no noroshi (TV Mini-Series 2015)
Action | Drama | Fantasy
A three episode web series based on the live-action film adaptations, 'Attack on Titan' and 'Attack on Titan: End of the World'. It features the same cast from the movies and tells a new story about the everyday lives and secrets of soldiers; particularly Hange Zoë's Titan research and the creation of the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear -in the films' continuity.
Starring: Maki Mizui, Rina Takeda, Shu Watanabe, Yûta Hiraoka, Satomi Ishihara, Ayame Misaki, Nanami Sakuraba
Creator: Yûsuke Ishida
Clinic on the Sea / Umi no ue no shinryôjo (TV Mini-Series 2013)
Comedy | Drama
Sezaki Kota is a young doctor who runs a boat clinic, Kaishinmaru, that plies the Seto Inland Sea islands. Kota is a very capable doctor, but he has one big flaw… he falls for women easily. He romances each island's madonna when they come to him seeking treatment. However, his efforts at romancing them seem to fail each time, and thus with tears streaming, he sets off for the next island; Ever in search of a true love.
Starring: Shôta Matsuda, Emi Takei, Norika Fujiwara, Sôta Fukushi, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Yuichi Tsuchiya
Creator: Yûichi Tokunaga
Miyamoto Musashi (TV Mini-Series 2014)
Drama
Musashi Miyamoto left his village and ended up fighting in the battle of Sekigahara with his friend Matahachi, but Musashi Miyamoto lost Matahachi. He goes back to the village to inform Matahachi's family about what happened. At the village, he is persecuted by people there. Musashi Miyamoto becomes worn down physically and mentally. At this time, Soho Takuan appears in front of Musashi Miyamoto . He then rebuilds his life with his sword. Musashi begins to travel for warrior training. He meets many masters of the sword and grows as a person.
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Ikki Sawamura, Yôko Maki, Yûsuke Santamaria, Teruyuki Kagawa, Shôta Matsuda, Miki Nakatani
Creator: Shimako Sato
Heartbroken Chocolatier / Shitsuren Chocolatier (TV Series 2014- )
Romance
Koyurugi Sota looks up to and adores his senior in school, Takahashi Saeko. With his one-sided love for her, he decides to leave for Paris to learn the art of making chocolates, as she loves chocolates. After returning from Paris, Sota dreams of creating the perfect chocolate to present to Saeko, and that it will make Saeko fall madly in love with him. Saeko, who is already married, is actually quite the airhead, but her actions seem to lead Sota on. Does Saeko not know that Sota is madly in love with her? Or is she just playing with his feelings?
Starring: Osamu Naitô, Jun Matsumoto, Satomi Ishihara, Asami Mizukawa, Kiko Mizuhara, Junpei Mizobata, Kasumi Arimura, Shigeaki Katô, Ryûta Satô, Naoto Takenaka, Hidekazu Mashima
Creator: Naoko Adachi, Miyako Koshikawa
River's Edge: The Ohkawabata Detective Agency / Reverse Edge: Ohkawabata Tanteisha (TV Mini-Series 2014)
Comedy
Set along the Sumida river, there is a company by the name of "Ookawabata Tanteisha". It is a small private investigators' agency, run by 3 people. Specializes in strange cases.
Starring: Jô Odagiri, Maya Koizumi, Renji Ishibashi
Creator: Hitoshi Ohne, Kôji Shintoku
Border: Keishichô Sôsa Ikka Satsujinhan Sôsa Dai 4-gakkari (TV Mini-Series 2014)
Drama
Ishikawa Ango (Oguri Shun) is a detective with smarts and a keen sense of observation. He's in a great physical shape and also highly ambitious. Ango also only focuses on his work and his personal life is pretty much non-existent. One day, a former police officer is killed by a gun shot. Ango goes to the scene of the crime, but is shot in the head by the killer who is lurking at the crime scene. Ango hovers between life and death. At that time, he thinks to himself "where do people go after they die?" and then "I don't want to die." A miracle then happens. Ango survives with the bullet still lodged in his head. He goes back to work. A new murder case takes place. When Ango goes to the crime scene he notices a boy who looks like he is about to cry, but only Ango is able to see the boy. The boy is the one who was killed. Since Ango was shot, he can now see and talk with the dead.
Starring: Shun Oguri, Munetaka Aoki, Haru, Ken'ichi Endô, Arata Furuta, Ken'ichi Takitô, Tôru Nomaguchi, Kenta Hamano, Yoshiyuki Yamaguchi
Creator: Kazuki Kaneshiro
Miss Hong Kong Pageant 2014 (TV 2014)
Awards
The 2014 Miss Hong Kong pageant came to a conclusion on Aug. 31. In the end #15 Veronica Shiu was crowned the winner. Veronica won the Miss Friendship award before the semi-final and also edged out #3 Linna Huynh by 1 vote to win the Miss Photogenic Award on Finals night. After the Finalists came out in swimsuits (which featured really cool slow-motion videos of the contestants in the backdrop), Q&A and various rounds, including an ice-skating in gown (Veronica was the only one that looked comfortable on the ice), the judges selected #7 Katherine Ho, #9 Erin Wong and #15 Veronica Shiu as the Top 3. The home audience/viewers then got to vote for the final placements of the Top 3. It came as a surprise to many including the hosts DoDo Cheng, Wong Cho Nam, Nat Chan, Eric Tsang that #3 Linna and #11 Sofiee did not make the cut as they were favorites. To be honest, favorite #11 Sofiee had an average performance. #3 Linna had a good performance, definitely improved a lot since Semi-final. The night, however, truly belonged to Veronica who shined in every aspect. I still think the Top 3 should have been #3, #11, #15 although #7 also had a good performance. I was surprised that #9 Erin Wong got 1st Runner-up, she even got many 'dislikes' in the Top 3 round voted by the audience, whereas Katherine and Veronica both got many 'likes'. There was no Top 5 this year and also for the first time the winner also bagged Miss Friendship & Miss Photogenic. Grace Wong came close in 2007 when she won those awards and came in 2nd.
Contestants: Jan Tse, Rosina Tang, Linna Huynh, Maggie Chung, CK Leung, Yammi Lam, Katherine Ho, Jamie Lee, Erin Wong, Jessica Hung, Sofiee Ng, Janet Choi, Crystal Wong, Fiona Fung, Veronica Shiu, Mandy Man
Host: Kar Lok Chin, Amigo Choi, Cho-lam Wong
MissHK Info
Black Kite / Tonbi (TV Mini-Series 2013)
Drama
The drama is based on the best-selling same-titled novel by Shigematsu Kiyoshi. It tells the story of how a widower brought up his only son, after the death of his beloved wife. Ichikawa Yasuo, or Yasu as he is known, is a baka, with no paper qualifications to his name. However, like all normal parents, he dotes on his only son, Akira. Having grown up without his parents around, Yasu himself knows next to nothing of what parenting is about. With his wife, Misako, by his side, he had spent many happy days together with his little family. However, when Akira was 3 years old, Misako passed away suddenly from an accident. Heart-broken, and filled with regrets, Yasu pulled himself together, in order to care for his little son. Together with the help of his friends, Yasu overcame it all, and Akira grew up to be a bright and successful young man. "With nothing but love for his son… that's all there is"
Starring: Masaaki Uchino, Takeru Satô, Kazue Fukiishi, Takako Katô, Kazuya Takahashi, Takuma Otoo, Tsubasa Honda
Creator: Yoshiko Morishita, Kiyoshi Shigematsu
Legal High / Rigaru Hai (TV Series 2012- )
Comedy
Of all the law related dramas inside and outside of the country, a majority of lawyers are depicted as heroes, either bringing tears to your eyes helping the weak underdog, or trying to advocate justice to the extreme. This has led the general public to view lawyers with eyes of respect and envy. However, the main character of "Legal High!!" stands miles away from that stereotypical identity of a lawyer. Komikado Kensuke is stubborn, abusive in his language, sarcastic, moody, and an extravagant spender. To the contrary, he has never lost a case in his life. A genius at bargaining and building strategy, winning is everything to Kensuke. His love for money, fame, and women obviously collects the dislikes of other professionals in the field. Kensuke loathes the textbook of justice the young lawyers try to brandish. Mayuzumi Machiko is a lawyer who passed her bar exam through hard studies. She is overly earnest in her mission of saving the weak, and rather clumsy and incapable of planning ahead. Her lack of versatility and strong righteousness drives her reckless, without compromise to her convictions. Passionate and determined, she is the complete opposite of Kensuke's character. "Justice is the winner," Kensuke stands by this belief without doubt. Despite the skepticism he receives for his sensational efforts, the people surrounding him begin to see that their view was but a pipe dream. In the courtroom, Kensuke reminds us of the feeling we had all forgotten: To fight with all our energy and to never give up.
Starring: Masato Sakai, Yui Aragaki, Katsuhisa Namase, Eiko Koike, Junnosuke Taguchi, Masato Yano, Kôtarô Satomi
Creator: Ryota Kosawa
It's Only Little Light In My Life / Glow of Fireflies / Hotaru no hikari (TV Series 2007- )
Comedy | Drama
Hotaru works for a famous interior design company. It's a glamorous job but Hotaru's private life is totally the opposite of glamorous. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about her rented house in training wear. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything. "I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto. Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano.
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Naohito Fujiki, Yuka Itaya, Ken Yasuda, Shinji Takeda, Kazuki Alex Kato, Ryôko Kuninaka, Gôta Watabe, Jôji Shibue, Reina Asami, Tomomi Maruyama, Marika Matsumoto, Sara Matsushita
Creator: Satoru Hiura, Fumie Mizuhashi
It's Only Little Light In My Life / Glow of Fireflies / Hotaru no hikari (TV Series 2007- )
Comedy | Drama
Hotaru works for a famous interior design company. It's a glamorous job but Hotaru's private life is totally the opposite of glamorous. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about her rented house in training wear. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything. "I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto. Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano.
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Naohito Fujiki, Yuka Itaya, Ken Yasuda, Shinji Takeda, Kazuki Alex Kato, Ryôko Kuninaka, Gôta Watabe, Jôji Shibue, Reina Asami, Tomomi Maruyama, Marika Matsumoto, Sara Matsushita
Creator: Satoru Hiura, Fumie Mizuhashi
Ôoku: Tanjô – Arikoto · Iemitsu-hen / Ooku: The Inner Chamber / Shogun's Harem: Birth (TV Series 2012- )
Drama | Sci-Fi
During the reign of the shogun, Iemitsu, an epidemic causes the population of men to sharply drop, leading to an ooku where the role of men and women are reversed and so "the women become the shogun, served by 3000 handsome men"…and so with that, the unimaginable and grand scale story begins.
Starring: Masato Sakai, Mikako Tabe, Koki Tanaka, Yumi Asô, Takashi Naitô, Yasunori Danda, Toshinori Omi, Hiroyuki Hirayama, Nao Minamisawa
Creator: Yumiko Kamiyama, Fumi Yoshinaga
Priceless / PRICELESS~Aru Wake Nedaro,n namon!~ (TV Mini-Series 2012)
Comedy
Originally a mid-level manager (Kimura Takuya) with a promising future in a big corporation and loved by his subordinates, the life of this elite employee changes dramatically one day. Having for some reason attracted the attention of the senior management, he is framed for a crime which he knows nothing of and forced out of the workplace. Even after that, he is assailed by a series of surprises and in one day, he loses his house, wealth and handphone until he is without a cent to his name. At his wits end, he comes to a park where he encounters two children. Learning from them how to survive even if he does not have money, he somehow weathers this crisis and discovers the truly important and priceless things in life. The good thing about him is that his carefree personality amazingly does not shift. It is not resentment and bitterness that become his driving force, but the love and help.
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Kiichi Nakai, Karina, Taisuke Fujigaya, Misako Renbutsu, Takeshi Masu, Ohshirô Maeda, Kanau Tanaka, Issei Ogata, Mari Natsuki, Naohito Fujiki
Creator: Kazunao Furuya
The 33rd Hong Kong Film Awards (TV 2014)
Awards
The Hong Kong Film Awards is Hong Kong's own homegrown awards ceremony, which recognizes the best work from the local film industry. The event is organized by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association, and takes place yearly in March.
Starring: Ronald Cheng, Ka Tung Lam, Teresa Mo, Kar Wai Wong, Nick Cheung, Ziyi Zhang, Jingzhi Zou, Haofeng Xu, Jin Zhang, Kara Wai, Babyjohn Choi, Philippe Le Sourd, William Chang, George Strait, Benjamin Courtines, Hung Poon, Alfred Yau, Woo-ping Yuen, Nathaniel Méchaly, Shigeru Umebayashi, Robert Mackenzie, Traithep Wongpaiboon, Enoch Chan, Adam Wong , Hsin-yen Chang
So Long! (TV Mini-Series 2013)
Comedy | Drama
"So Long!" (stylized as "So long !" with a space before the exclamation mark) is the 30th major single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. It is also AKB48's sixth cherry blossom-themed single, and its first single of 2013. This single was released in Japan on February 20 in four different versions. The 64-minute long music video for the title track is directed by director Nobuhiko Obayashi. The Nippon Television network aired a 3-episode special television drama based on the title track from 11-13 February 2013.
Starring: AKB48, Yûko Ôshima, Haruna Kojima , Haruka Shimazaki, Jurina Matsui, Mariko Shinoda
Creator: Yasushi Akimoto, Sayaka Kuwamura
