Thought it'd be good to have a post on this, so those who enjoy Japanese dramas will know what's coming up next.
Upcoming Fall Dramas 2006
Mondays, 9.00 pm
Nodame Cantabile
Station: FujiTV
Cast: Hiroshi Tamaki (Chiaki Shinichi), Juri Ueno (Noda Megumi), Asami Mizukawa, Keisuke Koide (Okuyama Masumi), Eita (Mine Ryutaro), Misa Uehara (Tagaya Saiko), Naoto Takenaka
Synopsis: Based on the popular manga series of the same name by Tomoko Ninomiya. Music student Shinichi Chiaki dreams of studying abroad and becoming a conductor like his mentor but his fear of flying grounds his plans! As he watches other classmates achieve what he has always wanted, he wonders if he should quit music altogether. Then one day he meets fellow student Megumi Noda, aka Nodame, who cannot cook, clean, or even read a music score, but can play the piano in incomparable Cantabile style.
Tuesdays, 9.00 pm
Yakusha Damashii
Station: FujiTV
Cast: Matsu Takako, Fujita Makoto, Moriyama Mirai
Synopsis: From the writer of the Bayside Shakedown series comes the story of a female manager and an actor who will perform nothing but Shakespeare.
Tuesdays, 10.00 pm
Boku no Aruku Michi (The Path I Walk)
Station: FujiTV
Cast: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Karina, Ohsugi Ren, Kohinata Fumiyo, Nagayama Aiko
Synopsis: The third in the popular "Boku" series. The first two being Boku no Ikiru Michi (The Way I Live) and Boku to Kanojo to Kanojo no Ikiru Michi (The Way We Live). This time the theme will be on purity. Kusanagi Tsuyoshi plays Teruaki Otake, a 31-year-old man who has the intellectual capacity of a 6-year-old due to a congenital disorder.
Wednesdays, 10.00 pm
14 sai no Haha (14-year-old Mother)
Station: NTV
Cast: Shida Mirai (Miki)
Synopsis: In a drama dealing with teenage pregnancy, Shida Mirai, the young actress of Jyou no Kyoushitsu fame, plays an average high school student who becomes pregnant with her lover’s child. The drama will show her gradually maturing as the circumstances around her change.
Thursdays, 9.00 pm
Damenzu Walker
Station: ANB
Cast: Fujiwara Norika, Yamada Yuu
Synopsis: In another adaptation of a popular manga series in which the women attract gangsters, stalkers, cheaters and other sundry losers, Norika Fujiwara and Yuu Yamada star as two women who fall for ne'er-do-wells.
Thursdays, 10.00 pm
Dr Koto Shinryoushou 2006
Station: FujiTV
Cast: Hidetaka Yoshioka, Kou Shibasaki, Saburo Tokito, Nene Otsuka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Toshio Kakei, Shigeru Izumiya
Synopsis: A continuation of the popular 2003 drama of the same name.
Kiraware Matsuko no Issho
Station: TBS
Cast: Rina Uchiyama (Matsuko), Jun Kaname (Ryu)
Synopsis: A dark melodrama about a woman whose life descends into a downward spiral due to love, ill fate, recklessness. Adapted from Muneki Yamada's novel, the TV version comes in the wake of the movie of the same name, which starred Miki Nakatani in the lead role.
Fridays, 9.00 pm
Kazoku (Family)
Station: TV Asahi
Cast: Yutaka Takenouchi, Tetsuya Watari
Synopsis: Yutaka Takenouchi plays a 35 year-old man who works in a foreign company, and lives a happy life family life with his wife and son. On the day he decides to switch careers and submit his resignation, his wife runs away from home, leaving his hands full taking care of the home and bringing up his son. Tetsuya Watari stars as a 61 year-old man who decides to live alone when he loses his wife to illness not long after he reached the mandatory retirement age.
Fridays, 10.00 pm
Sailor Fuku to Kikanjyuu (Sailor Suit and Machine Gun)
Station: TBS
Cast: Tsutsumi Shinichi, Masami Nagasawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Ken Ogata, Akiyoshi Nakao, Hiromasa Taguchi
Synopsis: A remake of a 1982 FujiTV drama starring Harada Tomoyo. It follows the story of a female high school student who inconceivably becomes the leader of a group of gansters.
Saturdays, 9.00 pm
Tatta Hitotsu no Koi (Just One Love)
Station: NTV
Cast: Ayase Haruka, Kamenashi Kazuya
Synopsis: The story of pure love between the son of a man who runs a ship repair factory beset with financial troubles and the well-bred daugther of a national jewellery chain store owner. Set in Yokohama.
Sundays, 9.00 pm
Teppan Shoujo Akane!!
Station: TBS
Cast: Maki Horikita
Synopsis: Maki Horikita stars as Akane, a girl who travels the country in search of her missing Teppan chef father and encounters culinary masters from all over Japan.