IN PHOTOS: J-Dramas to add to your watch-list
If you've maxed out your K-drama list during the quarantine, try watching J-dramas for a change! The Japanese also offer unique, refreshing, and quirky stories for those looking for something new to watch.
5-ji Kara 9-ji Made: Watashi ni Koi Shita Obsan
English title: From 5 to 9: The Monk Who Fell In Love with Me
Sakuraba Junko (Satomi Isihara) is a 29-year-old English teacher who dreams of working in New York. One day, she causes an embarrassing accident resulting in her encountering a Buddhist priest during a funeral service at a temple she goes to. Hoping to never meet him again, she was quickly deceived by her family by forcing her to go to a matchmaking session with none other than the priest, Hoshikawa Takane (Tomohisa Yamashita).
Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu
English title: The Full-Time Wife Escapist or We Married as a Job
Based on a Japanese manga, the series tells the story of graduate student Mikuri Moriyama (Yui Aragaki) who was recently fired from her job. Hoping to start anew, she was given a chance to become a housekeeper to salaryman Hiramasa Tsuzaki (Gen Hoshino), a thirty-six-year-old “pro bachelor.” After learning that her parents were about to move to the countryside, she enters a contract marriage with Hiramasa.
Jimi ni Sugoi! Ketsu Girl: Kuono Etsuko
English Title: The Pretty Proofreader
Based on a novel by Ayako Miyaga, the series tells the story of Etsuko Kouno (Satomi Ishihara) who takes a job as a proofreader, all the while aspiring to become an editor at her favorite fashion magazine.
Nobuta wo Produce
The story follows the high school lives of Suji Kiritani (Kazuya Kamenashi) and Akira Kusano (Tomohisa Yamashita) as they attempt to make a shy girl Nobuko Kotani (Maki Horikita) into the most popular girl in school.
Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko made mo
English Title: An Incurable Case of Love
Nanase Sakura (Kamishiraishi Mone) is a 23-year-old rookie nurse who is head-over-heels in love with doctor Kairi Tendo (Sato Takeru), a dashing doctor who is known for his indifferent personality towards others. Nanase then works hard to receive recognition from Kairi and expresses her feelings for him that's why she's dubbed at the hospital as a “Warrior. Chick.”
Code Blue
Derived from the medical term, 'Code Blue' is a Japanese television drama series that ran for three seasons that ran from 2009 to 2010 and 2017, respectively. The first season showcases a medical team that was dispatched through a system called “Doctor Helicopter” providing medical care to patients as soon as possible. Four young physicians were assigned to this system and here they experience different medical situations, deal with personal ambitions, and grow personally and professionally in the medical field.
Kimi wa Petto
English Title: You're My Pet
The series tells the story of journalist Sumire Iyawa (Noriko Iriyama) who suffers from depression and anxiety after her fiance leaves her for his mistress and was demoted at work. She then stumbles across a young injured homeless man named Sumire (Jun Shison) in a box outside her condominium and became instantly attached to him. As a joke, she says she wants to keep him as a pet and to her surprise, the young man agrees.
Heaven? Gokaru Resutoran
Kan Iga (Sota Fukushi) is a sincere employee that works at a family restaurant. Despite his rigid ways, he doesn't have a good reputation among his co-workers and customers, but Kanako Kuroso (Satomi Ishihara) recognizes something in him. She then tells Kan that she is going to open a French restaurant and needs a man to service it.
Kono Otoka wa Jinsei Saidai no Ayamachidesu
English Title: This Guy is the Biggest Mistake in My Life
Yui Sato (Airi Matsui) is a dispatched contract worker at Amagi Pharmaceutical Company who's in deep sorrow over the loss of her pet. One day, she drinks alone at a bar and shouts, “Develop a medicine to bring back someone to life!” At the time, a man walks towards her and makes a spiteful remark that there is no such medicine. Deeply angered, she trips him and leaves the bar. The next day, Yui hears that the CEO is looking for her. When she gets to his office, she realizes that the man she's tripped is actually the company CEO, Kyoichi Amagi (Mokomichi Hayami).
