Whether you have a favorite actor or want to be entertained while learning Japanese or about Japan, Japanese dramas are an amazing resource for entertainment and cultural understanding. Yet they’re not as known by the rest of the world. Let’s take a look!
Table of Contents
- Basic Format & Features of Japanese Dramas
- Major Jdrama Genres & Popular Works/Recommendations
- Jdrama Actors, Screenwriters and Soundtrack Composers to know
- Where to Watch Japanese Dramas
- Know these 10 Japanese Dramas and You’re All Set
While perhaps not as known to the rest of the world as other Asian counterparts, Japanese dramas have a charm of their own. They often serve not only as entertainment, but critical examinations of Japanese society, the world and human nature as well.
While some are of course purely fictional, many offer a realistic look at Japan and its current state, whether it be relationships between people, work life, and/or culture.
Whether you’re a Jdrama (short for Japanese drama) expert, or want some recommendations to get you started, let’s explore what they have to offer!
Basic Format & Features of Japanese Dramas
There are several things to know about how Jdramas are structured.
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Each drama airs for one season at a time, which is a period of 3 months.
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Spring Dramas - April to June
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Summer Dramas - July to September
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Autumn Dramas - October to December
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Winter Dramas - January to March
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There are different channels and time slots, some more prestigious than others
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The major channels are Nippon Housou Kyoukai (NHK), Fuji Television, TV Asahi, Nippon Terebi (NTV), Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). There are some major regional ones such as Terebi Tokyo (TV Tokyo) and Kansai Terebi Housou (Kantere).
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WOWOW is a cable channel that produces high quality dramas. They can also be viewed online via their subscription service.
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「月9 (Getsuku)」ー a coveted Monday 9 PM slot on Fuji Television
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「日曜劇場 (Nichiyou Gekijou)」ー Sunday 9 PM slot on TBS
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「深夜ドラマ (Shinya Dorama)」ー dramas air around midnight, usually up to 30 minutes per episode
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Episodes are all around 45-50 minutes long (~15 minutes are allocated within the hour it airs for commercial ads), and usually around 8 ~ 12 episodes each, mostly 10. (If the drama’s ratings are not good, or there’s an unavoidable reason they must cut the drama short, it could end early.) Some dramas are only about 20~30 minutes per episode, but these are not usually aired during primetime. WOWOW also tends to make dramas with less episodes. Netflix exclusive dramas like Alice in Borderland also have less episodes.
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The dramas are hardly continued for a second season, unless it’s very popular and / or the story has a reason to be continued. Most dramas that have multiple seasons (more than 2) are procedurals, such as medical dramas, police dramas and such. So part of the charm of Japanese dramas is telling compelling stories in a short format (in comparison to other tv shows around the world).
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There’s original works, of course, but many are based on existing works, whether it be novels, short stories, manga, anime, or even foreign works.
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Promotions for dramas include the actors going on various TV shows (talk shows, quiz shows, game shows, etc.) as guests, promoting on social media including Instagram (official drama account and personal) and recently even TikTok, and selling official drama goods, including stuffed animals, stickers, keychains, etc.
Writer's Pick
Major Japanese Drama Genres & Popular Works/Recommendations
Of course there will always be overlap between genres, and dramas that fall under several main genres. However, dramas are usually mainly classified under just one of these categories. Let's go over the major genres and 5 popular examples for each!
Romance 「恋愛 Ren-ai
©TBS (Photo from FamiGeki)
Ren-ai or romance/romantic dramas are a very popular genre, with the stories ranging from being set in school or in adulthood. The characters are attracted to each other slowly, but it often takes a long time (sometimes a majority of the episodes) to realize and vocalize their mutual feelings for each other - what’s known as the highly anticipated kokuhaku scene!
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「ロングバケーション」｜ Long Vacation
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「花より男子 Hana Yori Dango」| Boys Over Flowers
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「リッチマン、プアウーマン」| Rich Man, Poor Woman
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「恋はつづくよどこまでも」| Koi wa Tsuzukuyo Dokomademo (An Incurable Case of Love; known as “KoiTsuzu”)
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「大恋愛〜僕を忘れる君と」| Dairen-ai: Boku wo Wasureru Kimi to (Don't Forget Me)
Romantic Comedy 「ラブコメ Rabu Kome」
Of course the romance is there, but there’s an interesting twist to the story, adding humorous obstacles and situations on the road to love.
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「逃げるは恥だが役に立つ」｜Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu (The Full-Time Wife Escapist; known as “Nigehaji”)
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「のだめカンタービレ」｜Nodame Cantabile
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「ラブシャッフル」｜Love Shuffle
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「5時から9時まで〜私に恋したお坊さん〜」｜5-ji Kara 9-ji Made: Watashi ni Koi Shita Obousan (From Five to Nine)
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「電車男」｜Densha Otoko (Train Man)
Comedy 「コメディー」
©Fuji TV
Comedy has a huge range, so here are just some of the best examples in a mixed range of subgenres.
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「リーガルハイ」｜Legal High － comedy x law procedural
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「勇者ヨシヒコ」｜ Yuusha Yoshihiko (series) ー comedy x adventure x parody
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「マイ☆ボス マイ☆ヒーロー」｜My Boss My Hero ー comedy x school life
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「民王」｜Tamiou (Wise and Foolish) ー comedy x body swapping x politics
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「カルテット」｜Quartet ー dark humor x drama x mystery
Medical
©TBS
Medical procedural dramas are also quite popular in Japan. It often features fighting against strict or corrupt hospital management, dealing with difficult diseases and surgeries, and having to work well as a team.
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「医龍 - Team Medical Dragon」｜Iryuu Team - Team Medical Dragon
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「ドクターX」｜ Doctor X
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「コード・ブルー」｜ Code Blue
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「Tokyo MER」
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「アンナチュラル 」｜ Unnatural
Drama (Human)
There's a genre called「ヒューマンドラマ」 in Japan, which is read “human drama”. This refers to dramas that heavily focus on characters and going through difficult situations, whether it be about family, relationships, work, health, etc.
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「一リットルの涙」｜ Ichi Rittoru no Namida (One Liter of Tears)
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「家政婦のミタ」｜ Kaseifu no Mita (I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper)
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「それでも生きてゆく」｜ Soredemo Ikite Yuku (Still, Life Goes On)
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「深夜食堂」｜ Shinya Shokudou (Midnight Diner)
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「コントが始まる」｜ Konto ga Hajimaru (Life's Punchline)
School Life 「学園ドラマ Gakuen Drama」
©NTV
Dramas talking about school life tend to fall in 2 categories: ones focusing on the teachers as main characters, and ones focusing on the students. The ones featuring the teachers often are about persistent teachers changing the students’ lives, while the ones focused on the students are a range of stories dealing with love, friendships, after school clubs, bullying, growing up, etc.
School life dramas based on the teachers
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「3年B組金八先生」｜3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei (Mr. Kinpachi)
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「GTO」｜Great Teacher Onizuka
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「ごくせん」｜ Gokusen
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「女王の教室」｜ Jouou no Kyoushitsu (The Queen’s Classroom)
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「ドラゴン桜」｜ Dragon Zakura
School life dramas based on the students
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「野ブタをプロデュース」｜ Nobuta wo Produce (Producing Nobuta)
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「花ざかりの君たちへ」｜ Hanazakari no Kimitachie (For You in Full Blossom; known as “HanaKimi”)
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「山田太郎物語」｜ Yamada Taro Monogatari (The Story of Yamada Taro)
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「オレンジデイズ」｜ Orange Days
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「今日から俺は！！！」｜Kyou Kara Ore wa!!! (From Today, It's My Turn!!)
Police・Detective・Mystery
From buddy cop dramas to team investigations, Japan also loves crime procedurals, featuring one almost every season. Here’s a range to choose from.
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「相棒」｜ Aibou (Partners / Tokyo Detective Duo)
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「TRICK」
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「金田一少年の事件簿」｜ Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo (The Files of Young Kindaichi)
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「MIU404」
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「CRISIS」
Career Focused / Work Life
©TBS
Career focused or work life dramas depict Japanese work culture in a particular profession (of course sometimes exaggerated for the entertainment), and it makes you want to root for the main character as they do their absolute best in the situation.
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「半沢直樹」｜ Hanzawa Naoki ー banker
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「GOOD LUCK!!」｜ pilot
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「HERO」｜ prosecutor
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「99.9 刑事専門弁護士」｜ 99.9 Keiji Senmon Bengoshi (99.9 Criminal Lawyer) ー lawyer
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「アテンションプリーズ」｜ Attention Please ー cabin attendant
Historical
While there’s an occasional period drama set in a different time, such as 「JIN-仁-」, most historical dramas are saved for Asadora and Taiga dramas.
Asadora「朝ドラ」
Asadora means “morning drama”. These are dramas split into short fifteen minute segments aired every morning on weekdays for half a year. Each drama has about 150 episodes each, and began airing in 1961, with over 100 total that have aired so far. The stories feature mostly heroines who lived sometime in the past (often between the Meiji and postwar eras) and focuses on their life, portraying their cheerful and hardworking attitude amidst the troubles and hardships of each decade.
Taiga「大河ドラマ」
Taiga dramas are year-long historical dramas aired on NHK. It began back in 1963, with over 60 having aired so far. These dramas usually focus on one historical person per year, following their life from a young age to their significant accomplishments until their death. It’s considered a great honor and feat to be chosen to be the lead in a Taiga drama, but some actors also often launch their careers by standing out in their performance as a supporting character.
Boys Love (BL)
While the works in this genre can of course be added into the categories listed above, we decided to feature them in a category of their own, as it’s only in recent years that works in this genre have become more mainstream. With many countries featuring more LGBTQ stories lately, Japan’s works featuring gay relationships (called Boys Love or BL) have taken off in particular, although having been around for a long time. Here are some of the outstanding works and their respective genres.
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「おっさんずラブ」｜ Ossan’s Love (comedy)
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「きのう何食べた?」｜ Kinou Nani Tabeta (slice of life comedy)
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「30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい」｜ Cherry Magic (romantic comedy)
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「消えた初恋」｜ Kieta Hatsukoi; My Love Mix-up (school life)
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「Life 線上の僕ら」｜ Life: Love on the Line (“human drama”)
Other jdrama genres not listed include suspense, horror, sports, and more.
Jdrama Actors, Scriptwriters and Soundtrack Composers to Know
Actors
While we can’t cover every famous actor in Japan, you’ll notice some things when watching Japanese dramas over time
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Many actors are from the entertainment agency Johnny’s, which manages boybands. Thus the opening and/or ending song will often be by the group that the main actor belongs to. For example, the songs for Hana Yori Dango (both seasons and the movie) were sung by Arashi, the boyband that the main lead actor, Matsumoto Jun, belongs to. It’s also why you’ll often see them on the cover of TV guides. The most famous actor from Johnny’s is Kimura Takuya, whose dramas have set record ratings.
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There’s a roster of famous actors who started out playing Kamen Rider, one of the longest running live action tokusatsu series (think Power Rangers). Some of the particularly famous ones include Sato Takeru, Suda Masaki, Takeuchi Ryoma, Yoshizawa Ryo, Fukushi Sota and Akaso Eiji.
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Many actresses aspire to be and often become famous (if they weren’t already) through starring in Asadora, the morning historical dramas. Famous actresses who played the heroines in past years include Ishihara Satomi, Aoi Miyazaki, Inoue Mao, Yoshitaka Yuriko, Tsuchiya Tao, and Toda Erika among many others.
Screenwriters
Certain screenwriters are particularly renowned in the industry, and their works are highly anticipated. Here are just some of the award-winning screenwriters with very successful works.
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Name |
Famous Works |
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北川悦吏子 Kitagawa Eriko |
「ロングバケーション」Long Vacation 「オレンジデイズ」 Orange Days 「半分、青い」Hanbun Aoi (Asadora) |
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坂元裕二 Sakamoto Yuji |
「Mother] 「それでも生きてゆく」 Soredemo Ikite Yuku 「カルテット」Quartet |
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野木亜紀子 Nogi Akiko |
「逃げるは恥だが役に立つ」Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu 「MIU404」 「アンナチュラル 」ー Unnatural |
Soundtrack Composers
And of course, music is a huge part of the drama experience, helping to set the mood. Here are just some of the prolific composers to know.
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Name |
Famous Works |
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Ken Arai |
「失恋ショコラティエ」Shitsuren Chocolatier 「トレース〜科捜研の男〜」Trace~Kasouken no Otoko~ 「ミステリと言う勿」Mystery to Iu Nakare |
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林ゆうき Hayashi Yuuki |
「リッチマン、プアウーマン」 Rich Man, Poor Woman」 「リーガルハイ」 Legal High 「真犯人フラグ」Shinhannin Flag |
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河野伸 Kouno Shin |
「おっさんずラブ」 Ossan’s Love 「恋はつづくよどこまでも」Koi wa Tsuzukuyo Dokomademo 「知ってるワイフ」Shitteru Wife |
Where to Watch Japanese dramas
One of the famous (infamous?) aspects of being a jdrama fan is that you’re very limited as to where you can watch them legally if you live overseas, and even more so if you need subtitles in your native language. The reality is, many jdrama fans overseas have relied on (often illegal) streaming sites and uploads as well as on dedicated fansubbers, as jdramas are hardly released overseas to an international audience. Japan is strict about its copyright and has cracked down on illegal uploads, not just dramas, but anime and other media as well.
However, things have begun to change slowly, and more jdrama are becoming available on streaming sites and subscription sites, both domestic and international.
One site you should know about is TVer. Your IP needs to be in Japan to use it, but it has changed the way Japanese people watch TV immensely. It posts episodes of dramas, variety shows and such for up to a week after the air date, giving you time to watch your favorite shows if you missed it when it aired. They also occasionally upload old dramas so people can watch for nostalgia’s sake.
Other options in Japan include
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Japan-exclusive subscription services like U-NEXT, dTV, Paravi, etc.
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Channel specific subscription services like FOD (Fuji TV), TELASA (TV Asahi), NHK Plus, WOWOW On Demand, etc.
Overseas (with subtitles)
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Netflix
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Hulu (Note: Hulu overseas and Hulu Japan are separate and do not have the same content)
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Rakuten Viki
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Disney+
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Amazon, Amazon Prime
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Local TV channels (most likely multilingual) that play Japanese dramas with subtitles, such as GEM TV Asia
Know these 10 Japanese Dramas and You’re All Set
Lastly, here’s a list of 10 Japanese dramas picked out by our team that most people know and think of when it comes to Japanese dramas - so to be a Japanese drama expert or to start off on a strong foot, we highly recommend watching these!!
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「HERO」
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「花より男子」| Hana Yori Dango
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「きのう何食べた?」| Kinou Nani Tabeta
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「半沢直樹」| Hanzawa Naoki
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「野ブタをプロデュース」| Nobuta wo Produce
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「リーガルハイ」| Legal High
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「リッチマン、プアウーマン」| Rich Man, Poor Woman
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「カルテット」| Quartet
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「逃げるは恥だが役に立つ」 | Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu
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「アンナチュラル 」| Unnatural
