Japanese Spring 2014 Dramas

The spring season is almost here. This is an early preview to upcoming Jdramas picking up from where the last article has left off.

In translation: SMOKING GUN ~ Definitive Proof ~
Another detective drama alright and I don’t believe it will be any different. I know people’s prejudices about how many detective J-dramas are produced every season, but that's the essence of the Japanese entertainment industry. Detective and medical dramas are a must for every season just like melodramas and romantic comedies in Korea. One thing’s for sure, you can’t judge detective dramas before they have aired; at first they may seem dull but afterwards things can totally surprise you. That's if you tolerate the genre, of course.

Anyway, the drama is about a genius forensic expert with a somewhat weird character who partners up with police detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department's first section to solve cases. Of course, there’s the usual head characters such as the director of the forensic department and a rookie detective who’s trying to find out the truth behind her father’s death (just how many times are they planning to use that type of story? The female police detective looking for the murderer of her father I mean).
The drama is scheduled to air this spring on Fuji TV

Main Cast:
Katori Shingo as Nagareta Enishi
Suzuki Honami as director of the forensics department
Tanihara Shosuke as Natsumi Kashiwagi
Nishiuchi Mariya as Sakurako Ishimaki
              

Oh God, Asano Tadanobu is doing a drama! The awesome film star is actually doing a drama! NHK got an amazing scoop with this one; they deserve all the praise.

So this is a mystery drama mixed up with some suspense and investigation elements. An actress whose husband is a private investigator gets killed and the one who gets accused is her husband’s best friend. The suspect escapes to Taiwan, where he commits suicide and the case gets closed. However, the private investigator still has strong doubts about the identity of the killer and he runs into people who will help him gather the pieces bit by bit.

The 5 episodes drama starts airing on April the 19 on NHK.

Main Cast:
Asano Tadanobu as Masuzawa Banji
Ayano Go as Harada Tamotsu
Ota Rina as Shizuka
Emoto Akira as Harada Heizo
Kato Koyuki as Akio




Another detective drama, but don’t run away! This time around it has a different tone. For starters, this marks Ihara Tsuyoshi’s first leading drama role; the man is such a great actor, but I only saw him in films before; his badass performance in 13 Assassins will make me remember him forever.

Then the male lead isn’t exactly a hot shot detective. He always says “aah, shinitai!” (Ah, I want to die) which makes everyone thinks that he’s a lazy soul that’s good for nothing while in the matter of fact, he punishes those who can’t be punished by law by using mental pressure and humiliation to get them back on track. Seriously, anyone who saw JOKER would definitely see the resemblance! It’s like a copy-paste, but I am sure it isn’t since this is based on a different manga.

The drama is scheduled to air this spring on NTV

Main Cast:
Ihara Tsuyoshi as Asakura Souhei
Adachi Yumi as Kano Miyuki
Matsushita Kohei as Tsuji Keiichi




This is practically a grim reaper’s drama, we don’t see many of those around Dramaland now, do we? The title in translation is: Mr. Reaper with Ohno Satoshi playing the role of a newbie reaper serial no. 413. He wears a black outfit and always greets those who are going to die with the line: “Congratulations! I have come to fetch you.” Although serial no. 413 has to follow objective orders, he always tries to prevent wrongful deaths as much as he can since he’s well aware of the preciousness of life.

The drama is scheduled for TV Asahi on the midnight slot (You can predict poor ratings).





Takito Kenichi whose popularity is being boosted due to the recent hit Hanzawa Naoki is getting his first lead in a drama. I always thought Takito was a respectable actor even before I saw Hanzawa, I think it was ever since Karamazov no Kyodai or so, that I discovered how good he is.

Now the drama, Takito will play the role of a section chief who’s trying to become a dandy man after hearing a female colleague saying that she’s fond of dandy men. Takito’s character will have to undergo a lot of changes and experiences to learn about fashion and all the process of becoming a dandy man. Sorry Takito, this is your first male lead drama and all but this is not for me, I will never watch it.

The drama will air starting April on TV Tokyo.



In translation: Hanasaki Mai does not keep quiet.

The first thing you need to know about this drama is that it’s based on a novel written by Ikeido Jun, who’s famous for his Hanzawa Naoki’s series that made a huge hit last year. This time around, the lead is a female worker at a bank, she's hardworking but doesn’t care a bit about status or fame. She also doesn’t keep quiet when seeing wrong deeds; she always tries to get justice for those being bullied and get things on the right path.

The drama is scheduled for April on NTV.

Main Cast:
Anne as Hanasaki Mai
Kamikawa Takaya as Soma Ken

This drama marks Sawajiri Erika’s comeback to Dramaland. First Class is set in the dazzling world of fashion where a normal salesgirl in a clothing store gets the chance to work in the editorial department of a fashion magazine. However, things aren’t as good as she thought it would be since she’s usually humiliated and bullied due to her “low” background. Although she’s mainly surrounded by enemies like the chief editor, assistant chief editor, the stylist, some top models and even editors, that doesn’t stop her from aiming to the chief editor position with the help of the assistant photographer who’s her only ally and happens to be her love interest as well.

The drama is scheduled to air on Fuji TV starting 19 April.

Main Cast:
Sawajiri Erika as Yoshinari Chinami
Itaya Yuka as chief editor
Sasaki Nozomi as top model
Nanao as editor
Miura Rieko as assistant chief editor
Nakamaru Yuichi as assistant photographer
Hirayama Hiroyuki as Stylist.

This is another drama based on one of Ikeido Jun’s novels and this time around, it comes from the same director, producer and the rest of the team who made Hanzawa Naoki. Can you see TBS tries to get the same ratings as Hanzawa?

The actors are different of course, there’s no Sakai Masato this time, but there are Karasawa Toshiaki and Eguchi Yosuke, two of the best actors in Japan. As you can predict, this is a business drama and man I became so fond of business dramas these days! It’s about a company that’s facing bankruptcy and Karasawa’s character had to take extreme decisions that don't satisfy anyone. This puts him right against his rival (the character played by Egushi), creating a lot of conflicts and duels.

The drama is scheduled to air on TBS starting this April.

Main Cast:
Karasawa Toshiaki as Hosokawa Mitsuru
Eguchi Yosuke
Dan Rei as Hosokawa's secretary
Yamazaki Tsutomu as President of the company

Teaser:






I am just going to leave the links and genres of upcoming Jdramas here in case you are interested in them. Don’t get the wrong idea, it’s not because they’re uninteresting that I am leaving them behind, it’s because the article will become long if I mention all the upcoming season’s dramas.


Here are the rest of the dramas:

White Lab ~Keishichou Tokubetsu Kagaku Sousahan: Detective, Investigation.

Team ~Keishichou Tokubetsu Hanzai Sousa Honbu: Detective, Investigation.

Maruho no Onna ~ Houken Hanzai Chousain: Investigation

Mozu Season 1 ~ Mozu no Sakebu Yoru: Action, Crime, Detective.

River’s Edge Okawabata Tanteisha: Detective, Drama.

Watashi to iu Unmei ni Tsuite: Life, Drama.

Konya wakokoro dake daite: Drama, Family, Fantasy (currently airing).

Saigo kara Nibanme no Koi Season 2: Drama, Romance.

Naru you ni Naru sa Season 2: Drama, Family, Life.

Keiji 110 kg Season 2: Detective, Comedy.

Tokyo Guard Centre: Drama.

Sono Hi no Maeni: Drama, Family, Life, Melodrama.

Gokuaku Ganbo: Drama

Black President: Business

Ginnikan: Historical


Tokusou: Detective, Investigation.