Top 25 Japanese Actresses on MDL
I saw that chiha wanted to do an article on 10 fall dramas, and I asked her if she was interested in resurrecting the fall guide I used to do (I skipped spring and summer 2021). She agreed, and here we are!
A little note to remember is that Japan runs on a 26-hour clock for television; we converted the times for you, so pay attention where we noted the days such as Tuesday (Wednesday morning), etc., if these points are important to you.
ASADORA
 | Okaeri MoneMomone Nagaura lives with her parents, grandfather and younger sister on an island in Kesennuma Bay, Miyagi Prefecture. In the spring of 2014, Momone Nagaura graduates from high school and moves to the city of Tome. Comes to an end on 29 October! |
 | Come Come EverybodyDepicts the lives of three generations of women who have close links to the English lessons on the radio, which began in 1925. |
TAIGA
 | Seiten wo TsukeShibusawa Eiichi was born in 1840 to a farmer’s family. He grew up helping his family with work, which was to manufacture and sell indigo production and also silk farming. Every Sunday NHK at 20:00February 14, 2021 - December 2021 |
Kono Hatsukoi wa Fiction desu | Airs: Oct 2021 - ? A love story of a youth group of second-year high school students who are swayed by 'mysterious, handsome transfer students' that no one has met because he was absent from the first day. |
Komi-san wa, Komyushou Desu | Airs: Sep 6, 2021 - Oct 25, 2021 It's Shouko Komi's first day at the prestigious Itan Private High School, and she has already risen to the status of the school's Madonna. With long black hair and a tall, graceful appearance, she captures the attention of anyone who comes across her. There's just one problem, though—despite her popularity, Shouko is terrible at communicating with others. |
Avalanche | Airs: Oct 18, 2021 - Dec 20, 2021 Habu Seiichi is a member of the mysterious outlaw group Avalanche. The group exists at a time when moral hazards run rampant among politicians, bureaucrats, businesses and even among ordinary people. |
Radiation House 2 | Airs: Oct 2021- Sequel to Radiation House. |
Rasen no Meikyu: DNA Kagaku Sosa | Airs: Oct 2021 - ? In Tokyo, a murderer leaves his signature, an `X` on the dead body. When found, the mark appears eerily similar to that of the one seen on the body of the dead wife of Detective Genji Ando. Banned from the investigation, he secretly reaches out to Jin Jinbo, an associate professor at the medical school`s genome analysis lab. Who better than a DNA expert to identify this potential serial killer? |
Asagaya Shimai no Nohohon Futarikurashi | Airs: Nov 1, 2021 - Dec 13, 2021 "Asagaya Sisters" who live under one roof, though they are not really sisters, a drama of their essays that spell out their gentle days! |
Janai Kata no Kanojo | Airs: Oct 2021 Time: 23:06 pm Aired On: Monday Original Network: TV Tokyo Duration: 49 min. Official Site A man who has lived a normal life, spending comfortable days surrounded by a beautiful wife and children, who is infatuated with a woman, who he has a series of accidental encounters with. A drama about an affair that depicts how you get stuck in a swamp. |
Tokyo Seimenjo | Airs: Sep 7, 2021 - Nov 9, 2021 Tokyo Seimenjo is an udon franchise restaurant with the motto "Quick, cheap, & delicious." The restaurant has a lot of regular customers, but their manager has been on maternity leave for the past 2 months, and a reliable staff member has just quit. |
Konin Todoke ni Han wo Oshita dake desu ga | Airs: Oct 2021 Time: 22:00 pm Aired On: Tuesday Original Network: TBS Duration: 54 min. Official Site 27-year-old Ookado Akiha, who vows to stay single, gets a proposal to enter into a fake marriage from 30-year-old Momose Shuu, who wants to get the status of a married man for some reason. Through living together as a fake couple, their relationship gradually changes. |
Samurai Kaasan | Airs: Oct 11, 2021 - Dec 13, 2021 Time: 00:59 pm Aired On: Tuesday (Monday night) Original Network: NTV Duration: 30 min. Official site A mother's joy is in making delicious food for her family! However, her rebellious son, Takeshi, finds her loud and obnoxious. This is the diary of love and feasting between hyper-active Mom and Takeshi. |
Tokyo Hochi Shokudo | Airs: Sep 15, 2021 - ? This drama takes place on Ojima Island, otherwise known as "Tokyo Island" It will depict the daily events of a small diner in a place where the passage of time ticks away at a leisurely pace. |
Koi Desu: Yankee-kun to Hakujou Garu | Airs: Oct 6, 2021 - Time: 10:00 pm Aired On: Wednesday Original Network: NTV Duration: 60 Min Official Site Akaza Yukiko attends a high school for the blind. She has amblyopia, which causes her to recognize colors only vaguely, and she can recognize large letters with a magnifying glass. When she walks outdoors, she always carries a white cane. Nevertheless, she has a bright personality. One day, Yukiko happens to meet delinquent boy Kurokawa Morio. At first, Yukiko doesn’t like him, but she somehow gains an understanding of him. They become attracted to each other. |
Aibou: Season 20
| Airs: Oct 2021 Time: 09:00 pm Aired On: Wednesday Original Network: TV Asahi Duration: 54 min. Official Site |
Douse Mou Nigerarenai | Airs: Sep 16, 2021 - Nov 18, 2021 Love story about Sakisaka Takumi, the president of a design company who seems frivolous on the surface, and Nodakura Naho, a part-timer he hires who dreams of becoming an ordinary OL. |
Tsumari Suki tte Iitai n Dakedo | Airs: Oct 7, 2021 - Dec 8, 2021 Time: 12:40 am. Aired On: Thursday (Wednesday Night) Original Network: TV Tokyo Duration: 30 min. Official Site The story centers on Chitose, a former bullied girl who became a talent manager. The celebrity she is put in charge of is a domineering actor who was a bully as a child. |
Doctor X 7 | Airs: Oct 7, 2021 Time: 09:00 pm Aired On: Thursday Original Network: TV Asahi Duration: 54 min. Official Site A worldwide pandemic causes the medical system to collapse across the world, including Japan. Under this very difficult situation, the best university hospital in Japan, Totei University Hospital, makes the decision to focus on infectious disease and internal treatments while postponing any noncritical scheduled surgeries. The hospital also faces a power struggle while dealing with the infectious disease crisis. No matter what, Daimon Michiko goes her way as a surgeon. |
Super Rich | Airs: Oct 2021 Time: 10:00 pm Aired On: Thursday Original Network: Fuji TV Duration: 54 min. Official Site Mamoru Hyoga is the CEO of Three Star Books. While she is successful with her job, she is lonely and holds sadness over the deaths of her parents when she was a child. Mamoru Hyoga has a close friend Ryo Ichinose. He is the only one who she can talk to about anything. Mamoru Hyoga gets involved with Yu Haruno, who is much younger than her. Yu Haruno is a vocational school student. He has a loving family that includes his parents and a younger sister. While studying, he works part-time to support himself. He then applies for an intern job at Three Star Books. |
Unlucky Girl! | Airs: Oct 7, 2021-Dec 9, 2021 Time: 11:59 pm Aired On: Thursday Original Network: NTV Duration: 55 min. Official Site A comedy drama that depicts three women who are “the most unlucky in the world” struggling to get happiness while getting into trouble one after another. |
Momoume | Aired: Sep 10, 2021 - ? The story of office ladies. ~~ Based on the characters from the youtube channel Momoume. |
Shinigami San | Airs: Sep 17, 2021 - Oct 22, 2021 Kennin Gido is a detective. He belongs to a mysterious division at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He is the only member in the division. There, Kennin Gido reinvestigates cases that received not guilty verdicts. He searches through testimony and evidence from those cases to catch the real criminals. Kennin Gido is called "Shinigami" ("Grim Reaper") by those around him. |
Bokura ga Koroshita, Saiai no Kimi | Airs: Sep 17, 2021 - Oct 8, 2021 A dark love story where 7 primary school classmates gather for a reunion but find themselves locked in the building; as they eye one another with suspicion, they start killing one another in a bloody battle filled with betrayal and love. |
Oliver na Inu, (Gosh!!) Konoyarou | Airs: Sep 17, 2021 - Oct 1, 2021 Aoba Ippei, a police officer in the Police Dog Section of the Forensics Division, and his police dog buddy, Oliver, take on a series of inexplicable cases. As they try to solve the cases, they find themselves in the midst of various conflicting incidents... |
Gossip Box | Airs: Sep24, 2021 Time: N/A Airs On: Friday Original Network: Youtube (Oricon Official) Official Twitter Four men and women are trapped together. To escape, they have to find something in common with each other. The worst escape game begins! |
Boku no Neechan | Airs: Sep 24, 2021 - ? Chiharu and her younger brother Junpei live together. Chiharu is 30-years-old, and she is funny but also has a sharp tongue. Junpei is a good brother, and he is considerate to Chiharu. After they come home from work, they eat and drink together. Doing that, they talk about various subjects like love, work, and their interests. |
Kinnikuman: The Lost Legend
| Airs: Oct 8, 2021 - Dec 10, 2021 In November 2019, the manga series "Kinnikuman" will have a live-action film adaptation and production for the film is already underway. There has been a consensus that the manga series was impossible to make into a movie, but the planners intend to make a trilogy. The production team works hard and also face many problems. |
Snack Kizutsuki | Airs: Oct 8, 2021 - Dec 10, 2021 Toko runs a small restaurant named Snack Kizutsuki. Her restaurant serves snacks but doesn't sell alcohol. She welcomes her customers, who carry wounds in their minds. |
Watashi no Tadashi Onichan | Airs: Oct 15, 2021 - Dec 17, 2021 A love story of a man and a woman carrying the past. |
Saiai | Airs: Oct 2021 - ? In 2006, Sanada Rio lived in a country village where a missing person case took place. Rio later studied in the pharmacy department at a university in Tokyo. Now, at the age of 30, Rio takes the CEO position at Sanada Wellness, which is a subsidiary of Sanada Holdings. Rio’s mother runs Sanada Holdings. Rio receives attention from the media and public because of her young age as a CEO. |
Seigi no Tenbin
| Airs: Sep 25, 2021 - Oct 23, 2021 Kazuya Takano is a former surgeon, but he now works as a lawyer. He is a genius in terms of intelligence and reasoning. He gets scouted by the Shidanzaka Law Office. The founder of the law firm suddenly died, and the lawyer daughter of the late founder brought Kazuya Takano to help rebuild Shidanzaka Law Office. |
Gohoubi Gohan | Airs: Oct 2, 2021 - Dec 4, 2021 Ikeda Sakiko is a newbie in the workforce struggling to keep up with work. In order to reward herself for having worked hard during the week, Sakiko cooks elaborate meals at home or goes to eat at restaurants that are interesting. |
Soredemo Ai wo Chikaimasu ka?
| Airs: Oct 2, 2021 - Dec 4, 2021 After Jun married her husband, she quit her job. She is now a housewife and has been happily married to Takeyori for the past 8 years. They haven't had sex for 5 years, and they don't have a child. She tells her husband that she wants to have a child, but he doesn’t even want to talk about having children. To change her mood, Jun decides to work again. She takes a job as a contract worker. One day, Jun sees her husband Takeyori walking with a woman. |
Kotodamasou | Airs: Oct 9, 2021 - Dec 11, 2021 Utagawa Kotoha is a bright 25-year-old woman. She is sometimes timid, but she is also a curious person. Through her friend's introduction, Kotoha Utagawa moves to apartment #7 in an apartment building exclusively for women. There, she gets involved with weird phenomenons. She happens to meet Nakame Reishi. He introduces himself as a psychic, but he doesn’t have psychic abilities. This is in spite of Reishi Nakame's grandmother being an itako (blind women who are trained to become a spiritual medium). His aunt Iwato Shima is also the head of a Shinto shrine. Kotoha Utagawa and Reishi Nakame ask Shima Iwato to perform an exorcism. |
Kao Dake Sensei | Airs: Oct 9, 2021 - Dec 18, 2021 A young male teacher who has been assigned to a high school as a part-time teacher is ridiculed as "the teacher with only a face" and confuses the entire school while changing the students' outlook on life. |
Nigatsu no Shosha: Zettai Gokaku no Kyoshitsu | Airs: Oct 16, 2021 - Dec 18, 2021 Kuroki Kurodo was an extremely competent teacher at a prestigious cram school for the middle school entrance exam. He begins to work as the director of a cram school with poor performance. He declares that the students here will pass their middle school examinations. Kurodo states a cram school is a service business, and the school is a place to sell children's future to parents. |
Oishi Kyushoku 2 | Episodes: 10 The title of the sequel is "School Meals Time Final Battle", which depicts two years after "School Meals Time Final Battle" released in March 2020 |
Zenkamono | Airs: Nov 20, 2021 - Dec 25, 2021 Follows the trials and tribulations of Agawa Kayo, a volunteer probation officer. |
Kieta Hatsukoi | Airs: Oct 2021 - ? Aoki has a crush on Hashimoto, the girl in the seat next to him in class. But he despairs when he borrows her eraser and sees she’s written the name of another boy—Ida—on it. To make matters more confusing, Ida sees Aoki holding that very eraser and thinks Aoki has a crush on him! |
Iribito: Iribito | Airs: Nov 2021 - ? |
Bank Over!: Shijo Saijaku no Goto | Airs: Sep 19, 2021 - Sep 26, 2021 Story of the weakest bank robber in history and a female lawyer who becomes a hostage. |
Solomon no Gisho | Airs: Oct 3, 2021 - Nov 21, 2021 On Christmas morning, Fujino Ryoko finds her classmate Kashiwagi Takuya’s dead body at their snow-covered school. The police and the school conclude that Kashiwagi Takuya died by suicide. At that time, an anonymous letter was delivered to Fujino Ryoko. The letter states that Kashiwagi Takuya was murdered by a group of students, including Ooide Shunji. The media and SNS begin to question whether Kashiwagi Takuya really died by suicide or was he murdered. The school principal tries to take control of the narrative, but this leads to a more chaotic situation. |
Mushoboke
| Airs: Oct 3, 2021 - Dec 5, 2021 Depicts the life of a former yakuza who was released for the first time in 14 years. |
Shinhannin Flag | Airs: Oct 10, 2021 - Dec 12, 2021 Sagara Ryosuke is an ordinary salaryman, and he works for a mid-size shipping company. He is a good-natured person. His family consists of his wife Maho, high school student daughter and elementary school student son. Maho works part-time at a supermarket. They are a happy family, but Maho and their two children suddenly disappear. There are no clues about their disappearance. Ryosuke gets the attention of the media and public. He tries to find the truth behind his family's disappearance with the help of his subordinate Ninomiya Mizuho at work. |
Nihon Chinbotsu: Kibo no Hito | Airs: Oct 2021 - ? In 2023 in Tokyo, Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama pushes for COMS at the World Environment Conference. COMS is a method to liquify pollutants and store them in the crack of the seafloor. Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama gathers young and talented bureaucrats and launches the Japan Future Promotion Conference, which is to benefit the future of Japan. Keishi Amami of the Ministry of the Environment and Koichi Tokiwa of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry are members of that conference. |
Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu 2 | Airs: Oct 10, 2021 - Dec 12, 2021 Sequel to Junkyouju Takatsuki Akira no Suisatsu |
Specials
Doctor Y - Gekai Kaji Hideki | Airs: Oct 7, 2021 |
Inochi no Baton | Official Site |
Yo nimo Kimyou na Monogatari: 2021 Fall Special | Official site |
Chushingura Rhapsody Daigoban | Official site |
Announced
| Ikite, Futatabi Hogoshi Fukaya Zensuke (Fall) | Maiagare! (2022) |
| Kaze no Mukou he Kakenukero (December 18) | Dakara Korosenakatta (2022) |
| Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai Eps 4 - 6 (December) | Drops of God (2022) |
| Kamakura dono no 13 nin (2022) | Dou Suru Ieyasu (2023) |
| Koi no Yamai to Yarougumi Season 2 (2022) | TOKYO VICE (原題) (Announced*) |
| DCU (2022*) | Utogawamura Incident (Announced*) |
| Mystery to Iunakare (2022) | Jashin no Tenbin Kōan Bunseki Han (Announced*) |
| Tabiya Okaeri (2022) | Hakuouki (Announced*) |
| Bakumatsu Aibouden (2022) | 神様のえこひいき (Announced*) |
| Chimudondon (2022) | 幽☆遊☆白書 (Announced*) |
| Aono-kun ni Sawaritai kara Shinitai (2022) | *Link goes to Official site, not MDL |
So which dramas are you looking forward to?
Which are already on your PTW?
Don't forget to heart and leave a comment if you like this article. : )
Thanks for reading!
Edited by: YW (1st editor) Nymphadora (2nd editor)
