Takanori Jinnai

Daimon Michiko is a 37-year-old freelance surgeon who is part of a questionable “doctor placement service” that has her wander from hospital to hospital. The harsh environment at the hospitals led many doctors to retire from their positions, forcing hospitals to make use of said program to fill the empty spots at least temporary. However, Michiko doesn’t look like a doctor at all with her flashy clothes and eccentric attitude. In the first episode she raises objections to a certain operation which is planned to be done by the head of a hospital who hasn’t performed an operation for a very long time. This causes Michiko to incur odium at the hospital, however, everyone becomes frozen when Michiko points out the outdated skills of the director. She also holds a scrupulous compliance when it comes to her working hours, never does any unnecessary chores that don’t require a medical license, and couldn’t care less about the power struggles within the hospitals. Nobody knows how she acquired such a top-level skill that allows her to claim exorbitant sums as reward, but her private life is an even greater mystery to everyone around her. Tanaka plays a rookie surgeon, Uchida an anesthetist, Kishibe the head of the placement service, and Ito the head of the surgical department of this institution.

SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games.  These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking.  Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.

No synopsis available yet.

The 42nd NHK Asadora which is about the Agawa family.

Takako Mamiya is a lawyer who quits her job at a prestigious law firm and establishes her own office. She confidently sets out to build her business, but soon her former firm is putting up obstacles and interfering, causing Takako's employees and clients to drift away. She finally puts together a new staff consisting of a college student who knows little about the law, a girl who applied for the job in hopes of meeting a rich guy, a hard-nosed lawyer, and a paralegal who hasn't passed the bar exam yet. Takako reluctantly handles divorce cases with her incompetent crew. For an elite lawyer like her, divorce cases are the most boring and unrewarding cases that exist. Through clashing with her employees and clients, Takako soon becomes a very mature and tough lawyer. "Divorce Lawyer" also tells the story of how difficult it is to judge love and relationships in legal terms.

July 1590, Odawara. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had surrounded the Odawara Castle for over 3 months, hoping to conquer this last obstacle to his dream of the country's unification. Standing at the gate of the castle, a lone man facing the menacing guards shouted out: "Do not throw your lives away. Treasure living!". Not long after, the castle gates opened and the reigning lord surrendered. The name of that man is Kuroda Kanbee. An excellent military strategist, he worked hand-in-hand with Hideyoshi to unify the country.

Daimon Michiko is a 37-year-old freelance surgeon who is part of a questionable “doctor placement service” that has her wander from hospital to hospital. The harsh environment at the hospitals led many doctors to retire from their positions, forcing hospitals to make use of said program to fill the empty spots at least temporary. However, Michiko doesn’t look like a doctor at all with her flashy clothes and eccentric attitude. In the first episode she raises objections to a certain operation which is planned to be done by the head of a hospital who hasn’t performed an operation for a very long time. This causes Michiko to incur odium at the hospital, however, everyone becomes frozen when Michiko points out the outdated skills of the director. She also holds a scrupulous compliance when it comes to her working hours, never does any unnecessary chores that don’t require a medical license, and couldn’t care less about the power struggles within the hospitals. Nobody knows how she acquired such a top-level skill that allows her to claim exorbitant sums as reward, but her private life is an even greater mystery to everyone around her. Tanaka plays a rookie surgeon, Uchida an anesthetist, Kishibe the head of the placement service, and Ito the head of the surgical department of this institution.

SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games.  These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking.  Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.

No synopsis available yet.

The 42nd NHK Asadora which is about the Agawa family.

Takako Mamiya is a lawyer who quits her job at a prestigious law firm and establishes her own office. She confidently sets out to build her business, but soon her former firm is putting up obstacles and interfering, causing Takako's employees and clients to drift away. She finally puts together a new staff consisting of a college student who knows little about the law, a girl who applied for the job in hopes of meeting a rich guy, a hard-nosed lawyer, and a paralegal who hasn't passed the bar exam yet. Takako reluctantly handles divorce cases with her incompetent crew. For an elite lawyer like her, divorce cases are the most boring and unrewarding cases that exist. Through clashing with her employees and clients, Takako soon becomes a very mature and tough lawyer. "Divorce Lawyer" also tells the story of how difficult it is to judge love and relationships in legal terms.

July 1590, Odawara. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had surrounded the Odawara Castle for over 3 months, hoping to conquer this last obstacle to his dream of the country's unification. Standing at the gate of the castle, a lone man facing the menacing guards shouted out: "Do not throw your lives away. Treasure living!". Not long after, the castle gates opened and the reigning lord surrendered. The name of that man is Kuroda Kanbee. An excellent military strategist, he worked hand-in-hand with Hideyoshi to unify the country.

The city is filled with countless urban legends. Strange incidents that occur in the midst of these legends lead people into a labyrinth... It is the five young detective hatchlings who take on these difficult cases. Overflowing with intellectual curiosity, they make the most of their abilities. They are full of intellectual curiosity and show their abilities to the fullest as they run through the city and get to the bottom of the mystery. And what lurks behind the scenes is a professional criminal planner... Through fierce battles with the enemy and encounters with various people, they are sometimes hurt, but they gradually grow up. This is a pop youth mystery that depicts the friendship and adventures of a group of talented detectives.

Who will run Japan? The prime minister or a mastermind? A political thriller about the "fixer" pulling strings behind the scenes controlling the political, business, and legal worlds as the greed of money and power intersect.

A crime entertainment drama produced by TV Tokyo and WOWOW, which deals with various scams that have increased in recent years with the spread of the Internet.

1 Rittoru no Namida is a Japanese television drama for Fuji Television about a girl who was diagnosed with an incurable degenerative disease at 15, but was able to continue her life until her death at the age of 25.

Live-action drama series that takes place before the events that begin the story of Detective Conan, the anime series.

The 36th NHK Taiga Drama is Mori Motonari. This series chronicles the life of Mori Motonari, a warlord of the early 1500s who stood at the vanguard of the Warring States era. All Japanese school textbooks contain the Mitsuya no kyokun, Mori's famous lesson to his three sons that teaches that while one arrow is easily broken, three arrows together cannot be broken. In 1997, 500 years after his birth, NHK dramatizes Motonari's rise from a chief of the region of Aki (now Hiroshima) to a daimyo who rules over ten provinces of the Chugoku region. Motonari was 64 years old and already the patriarch of a powerful dynasty about the time Oda Nobunaga and Takeda Shingen appeared on the scene. And even after his death, the Mori family figured prominently in Japanese history. His grandson Terumoto became a loyal Toyotomi vassal. Defeated at the Battle of Sekigahara, Ieyasu confiscated most of his lands, leaving him only with Suwo and Nagato, later known as Choshu. But 260 years later, the Mori got their ultimate revenge, leading the imperial forces against the Tokugawa in the Meiji Restoration.

The newest installment in Fuji TV's "Ooku" series is about the women linked to the Tokugawa shogun line. This time, the focus is on Isonomiya Tomoko and her political marriage to the 10th shogun, Tokugawa Ieharu.

Kagura Akane is the only daughter of a family who runs a teppanyaki place in downtown Tokyo. Akane had always been proud of her father Tetsuma, who was called the "No.1 teppanyaki chef in Japan." Growing up in such an environment, she naturally acquired "teppanyaki skills." However, when her mother died of illness, her father lost his energy to work and disappeared. Since then, Akane has managed and protected the restaurant all by herself. One day, out of the blue, she is visited by Erena, the rich daughter of a major food company, who orders Akane to move out at once because her father had borrowed money against his restaurant. Though feeling disappointed, Akane makes up her mind to close the store. But when her father's friend, Kurogane, shows her "Ittetsu," a grilling plate that Akane's father cherished, it reignites her passion towards teppanyaki.

Nemureru Mori is a drama that aired on Fuji TV. It first aired in Japan from 8 October 1998 to 24 December 1998. It is written by Nozawa Hisashi, starring Miho Nakayama and Takuya Kimura, and features music by Mariya Takeuchi and U2.

Tokiwa stars as Tamura Nozumi, with a cheerful outlook in life, always choosing to believe in everyone. Fukatsu stars as Sakada Chiharu, an amanuensis (daisho) but goes way beyond her jobscope in carrying out her work. The duo met in a clinic where Sakada helps Nozumi get back at her boss for sexual harassment. Sakada sees a flair in Nozumi to be in the same line of work, but Nozumi is content with her job as a waitress.

A young genius surgeon named Mikoto Saijou was born with a serious heart disease. While he was a little boy he got surgery of the leading Japanese heart surgeon Mamoru Shindo and his life was miraculously saved. Mikoto was inspired by the magnificent skill of Dr. Shindo and later he became a world leading pediatric surgeon. With his miracle skill and technique, he challenges difficult surgery and makes them to succeed one after another. Save the lives of children will make the future, Mikoto believes.

Nobuo is a book editor with a sincere personality. He is married to Aya. She used to work as a reader model, but, after their marriage, she now works as a nursing assistant at a nursing home. Nobuo is aware that his wife has a sex addiction and she will sleep with other men on a sunny day. Nobuo agonizes over his wife and Aya carries heavy guilt over her actions.

In 1990, Hagizaki Tatsuo, the accounting department chief of Ukishima Electric Works, was busy negotiating on getting a loan together with Sekino, the company's general manager. However, just as they were about to get the funds, Sekino was involved in a 200 million yen fraud and he later disappeared with the loan. The company decides to cover up the incident to protect its image, but Hagizaki wants to get to the bottom of the matter with the help of his newspaper reporter friend, Muraki. Hagizaki later notices that the case becomes darker and darker as he continues to investigate. He then meets a beautiful woman, Uezaki Etsuko, whom he believes hold the key to the entire incident.

Yumi, a 23-year-old office worker, is fired from her job out of the blue. A few days later, coming from a friend's wedding and having no time to change out of her kimono, she is rushing to an interview for a job at a publishing company. Yumi stumbles into the room, looking for somewhere to change out of her kimono, and finds popular comic book writer Reijiro Sakurai is having an editorial meeting with some staff. He is planning to lock himself away at a hot spring for the next three months to concentrate on his next project. Sakurai comments that if Yumi were to join him he wouldn't mind being away for so long..., and so their adventure begins.

Sharply revealing the issue of Japanese construction industry where bid-rigging was a common practice among the giants. After working diligently for three years at a construction site, Heita unwillingly transfers to a sales department where he becomes a part of the illegal collusion -- to limit open competition and obtain high-price public works within the colluding parties. He is torn from conducting unlawful action to save his company, yet deep inside wishing to abide by the law to follow his justice. What will his answer be?

One day, a middle-aged man, Fujimoto Makoto, is standing on a train platform, about to jump in front of a train. Nakashiro Kana and Tasaki Shota both happen to be on the same platform, and sensing what is about to happen, they quickly pull him back to safety. There's a reason why Kana and Shota realized Makoto's intentions, they both have the kind of emotional scars that can't be put into words. Even after so much pain, through a series of e-mails, they've become attracted to one another and slowly learn to open up their hearts once again.

While political journalist Naoki Matsuoka is working his way up to the "top league," a small circle of privileged journalists with special access to top politicians, his old colleague turned newsweekly journalist Yuji Sakai is hunting down a dark secret involving political corruption and mafia.

Set in the majestic Canadian wilderness, the drama depicts the adolescence and love of three young men who were on a high school baseball team together.

"Satomi Hakkenden" tells the tale of eight samurai brothers and their adventures, with themes of loyalty and family honor, as well as Confucianism, bushido and Buddhist philosophy. "Satomi Hakkenden" is based off a 19th century 106 volume epic novel written by Kyokutei Bakin. The novel was written over a period of 30 years. Kyokutei Bakin had gone blind before finishing the tale, consequently, dictating the final portions to his daughter-in-law Michi.

Journalist Kayama Seiji who is covering the war zone, gets shocking news that Shinozuka Yoshio, the criminal serving time for the murder of a young girl 12 years ago, is actually innocent. At that time, Kayama reported on that case. Convinced that Shinozuka was the criminal, Kayama had proceeded to write the news stories, but he is proved to be wrong after the passage of 12 years. Shinozuka's lawyer, Ishihara Yoko, holds a press conference where she criticises the sloppy investigation by the police and speaks of suing for the suffering during the 12 years that Shinozuka had lost. However, Shinozuka's daughter, Miho has mixed feelings for her father who is released from prison at this late stage.

Kensaku Kamimura is an archeologist. He makes a discovery that overturns history. Kensaku's discovery proves humans existed in Japan at a time where it was previously thought they did not. The small village of Shiona, where Kensaku made his discovery, also feels an influx of new people coming to the area. Kensaku's discovery is to be written into textbooks with the help of editor Rina Sakuma. Rina becomes attracted to Kensaku as they spend time together. Meanwhile, the bone of a female student is discovered at an excavation site where Kensaku works. The female student went missing 13 years ago. Detective Taichi Yukinaga, who worked on the case back then, resumes his investigation. A scholar visits Rina and tells her that Kensaku's discovery has been manipulated.

Fubuki is a young female teacher in a girl's college. Being quite new, she's inexperienced in many ways, eg. advising students on love problems. However, she gets to know three male teachers from a nearby boy's college one day, and these three people are playing as crazily as their students. They go after girls, ... and behave very differently from what a teacher should behave. Though as such, they're in fact good teachers, who always stand by their students, and help them out in every way they can. This gradually changes Fubuki's poor impression of them and touches her heart.

No synopsis available yet.

Yoshiko Aoi is a budding researcher in ethology, the study of animal behavior. "Men=male" are born unfaithful. But through her studies, Yoshiko learns it's not the males' fault. Rather, it's the fault of their genes, who work to replicate themselves by controlling the males' body. This is the sad, but commonly accepted theory of biology. What's even sadder is that Yoshiko's nickname is "Gene," because her name written in Chinese characters can also be read as "Jinko/Geneko." The love story follows Yoshiko's struggles with research and romance. -- Fuji TV

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Depicts a confrontation between the onmyōji Abe no Seimei and some out to destroy the capital.

After four years in the countryside, his company transfers Kagetora and his family back to Tokyo. In their seven years they have gotten used to the peaceful atmosphere and amiable nature of those in the country. However, they soon discover that the hustle and bustle of Tokyo will take some readjustment. With a militaristic landlady, a middle-aged manager with a wife half his age, a charming foot masseuse, and a younger brother enjoying the youth culture of Tokyo, there are plenty of interesting characters to keep them on their toes. --TBS

With recent shrinkage of pediatric care, pediatrician Aoyama Sora decides to stand up to the hospital management and reestablish the specialty.

Sachiko is the 17-year old daughter of radiotherapist Professor Oshima. After exposure to radiation in the hospital, she develops leukemia. As if that was not enough trouble for one lifetime, Sachiko discovers that Oshima is not her real father, and that her boyfriend is really her half brother.

Fubuki is a young female teacher in a girl's college. Being quite new, she's unexperienced in many ways, eg. advising students on love problems. However, she gets to know three male teachers from a nearby boy's college one day, and these three people are playing as crazily as their students. They go after girls, ... and behave very differently from what a teacher should behave. Though as such, they're in fact good teachers, who always stand by their students, and help them out in every way they can. This gradually changes Fubuki's poor impression of them and touches her heart. --Snowflakes

The wife and child of a businessman find themselves in danger when the man unwisely becomes entangled in an affair with a young woman who begins to stalk him and the family he loves.

An old saying has it that it takes the first generation to create the business and the second one to destroy it. When the Tanaka Family's father, a career private eye, passes away, eldest daughter and mother figure Sayuri has to decide whether or not to continue the family detective business. Seeing no hope or interest on the part of her other younger siblings to carry on the business, she is about to shut it down when her long-lost elder brother, Ichiro, returns. A down-on-his-luck truck-driving single father now, he decides to take the mantle and continue the family tradition-his only experience being that he played cops and robbers as a kid. In his new capacity of "president" of the family business, he conveniently decides to move into the home that he left many years before. Will the Tanaka Clan really be able to resurrect the business together? Or does elder brother Ichiro have some other plans for the business?

No synopsis available yet.

Guitarist Ko-chan is a mess of sexual repression after a childhood at the mercy of two elder sisters eager to use him as a guinea pig for their make-up skills. Bassist Gaku-chan keeps a bucket in the wings for whenever his nerves get the better of him, and drummer Momo-chan is doomed to forever carrying the botched childhood attempts at self-tattooing. It's not until this foursome is forced to look for an additional guitar player after Jin's dad burns his Stratocaster, that attitude and musical ability enter into the equation. Leather-clad, shade-wearing Tani (Tamaki), inseparable from his black Les Paul, is introduced as the king of R'n'R cool and Jinnai keeps him firmly seated on his throne throughout the film, retroactively proclaiming the guitarist, rather than himself, as the band's true hero.

Guitarist Ko-chan is a mess of sexual repression after a childhood at the mercy of two elder sisters eager to use him as a guinea pig for their make-up skills. Bassist Gaku-chan keeps a bucket in the wings for whenever his nerves get the better of him, and drummer Momo-chan is doomed to forever carrying the botched childhood attempts at self-tattooing. It's not until this foursome is forced to look for an additional guitar player after Jin's dad burns his Stratocaster, that attitude and musical ability enter into the equation. Leather-clad, shade-wearing Tani (Tamaki), inseparable from his black Les Paul, is introduced as the king of R'n'R cool and Jinnai keeps him firmly seated on his throne throughout the film, retroactively proclaiming the guitarist, rather than himself, as the band's true hero.

Heartwarming human drama about a former tap dancer who trades in his tap shoes to woo a figure skating instructor. But by a twist of fate, he finds himself coaching a local ice hockey team of hapless youths and leading them to a championship

Heartwarming human drama about a former tap dancer who trades in his tap shoes to woo a figure skating instructor. But by a twist of fate, he finds himself coaching a local ice hockey team of hapless youths and leading them to a championship

Six well-known Japanese directors from various genres and one of the hottest actresses from Hong Kong, Kelly Chen, contributed to this omnibus film with their impressions of life in Tokyo. Kazuna Iida, Takanori Jinnai, Kelly Chen, Naoko Nozawa, Katsuhiko Hibino, Takashi Matsuo and Shin Yamagishi are amongst Japan's most active and talented filmmakers.

Stories depicting ordinary people revolving around ceremonial occasions. Without knowing that the funeral is for a yakuza member, an undertaker holds the funeral service. Relatives bicker over the deceased's last will. A son insists on wearing a long jacket normally worn by bousouzoku biker gang to a coming of age ceremony. His parents try to stop him. A husband heads over to his pregnant wife. She got pregnant before they got married and his father-in-law is angry at him. A freeter man challenges a professional baseball player over a woman.