Best Japanese Drama TV Shows

This page is updated regularly. Subscribe, so you don't miss new recommendations. The list of "Best Japanese Drama TV Shows" contains films with the following parameters. Style: captivating, disturbing, psychological, tense, anime and thrilling. Plot: family relations, family problems, friendship, life is a bitch, teamwork, parents and children, medicine, youth, relationships and workplace situations. Genre: Drama, Animation and Comedy. Country: Japan and USA.
Best Japanese Drama TV Shows
Best Japanese Drama TV Shows
TOP TV Shows: Spy x Family (2022), Kotaro Lives Alone (2022), Steven Universe (2013), Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015), The Solitary Gourmet (2012), Carnation (2011), The Great White Tower (2003), My Beautiful Man (2021), AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo (2000), Code Blue (2008), Trillion Game (2023), Dragon Zakura (2005), 99.9: Criminal Lawyer (2016), Mother (2010), Still, Life Goes On (2011), Umechan Sensei (2012), The Queen's Classroom (2005), dele (2018), Good Doctor (2018), Woman (2013).

List of Best TV Shows

Watch Trailers From This List to Choose a Movie
 8.4
 37K
Spy x Family (2022)
Genre: Animation, Action, Comedy, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min.
TV show
Story: Master spy Twilight is the best at what he does when it comes to going undercover on dangerous missions in the name of a better world. But when he receives the ultimate impossible assignment—get married and have a kid—he may finally be in over ...
Style: anime, captivating, disturbing, satirical, entertaining ...
Plot: agent, secret organization, telepath, espionage, family relations, supernatural ability, husband wife relationship, supernatural power, satire, supernatural, secret, female assassin ...
Is relevant ?
Kotaro Lives Alone (2022)
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 27 min.
TV show
Story: A lonely little boy moves into a ramshackle apartment building all on his own and makes friends with the broke manga artist who lives next door.
Style: anime, satirical, entertaining, captivating, semi serious ...
Plot: neighbor neighbor relationship, painter, satire, house, child abuse, friendship between men, bathhouse, little boy, male male relationship, parents, boy, father son relationship ...
Is relevant ?
Steven Universe (2013)
Genre: Animation, Short, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Musical, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 11 min.
TV show
Story: A young boy takes his mother's place in a group of gemstone-based beings, and must learn to control his powers.
Style: touching, stylized, captivating, offbeat, witty ...
Audience: family outing, kids, teens, family friendly, pre-teens ...
Plot: supernatural ability, gem, goodhearted, intergalactic, danger, youth, heroes, save the world, supernatural, imaginary, alien, outer space ...
Is relevant ?
Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2015)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min.
TV show
Story: Intergalactic warrior Star Butterfly arrives on Earth to live with the Diaz family. She continues to battle villains throughout the universe and high school, mainly to protect her extremely powerful wand, an object that still confuses her.
Style: captivating, exciting, sincere, semi serious, anime ...
Audience: kids, pre-teens, teens, preschool
Plot: princess, friendship, good versus evil, teenage life, family relations, youth, magic wand, high school life, magical girl, imaginary, butterfly, parents and children ...
Is relevant ?
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The Solitary Gourmet (2012)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 30 min.
TV show
Story: Centered around typical Japanese food, a solitary salesman travelling through the country for business purposes, eats at its various establishments and experiences the various delicacies of Japanese cuisine.
Style: captivating, disturbing, entertaining
Plot: food, businessman, gourmet, loneliness, travel, loner, restaurant, chef, gastronomy, business, life, merchant ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 8.8
 90
Carnation (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 15 min.
TV show
Story: Carnation is a Japanese television drama that aired in the Asadora slot on NHK from 3 October 2011 to 31 March 2012. It is the 85th Asadora. It is based on the life of the fashion designer Ayako Koshino in Kishiwada, Osaka. Ayako was the mother of ...
Style: emotional, touching, realistic, serious, asadora ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: fashion, follow your dream, ambition, rise to the top, family relations, hopes, workplace, workplace situations, lifestyle, parents and children, strong female presence
Time: 20th century
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
The Great White Tower (2003)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: A striking drama of the amazingly gifted surgeon Zaizen Goro, caught up by his desire for power and fame, and his contemporary physician Satomi Shuji, who selflessly continues a quest to save human lives. The Great White Tower is the title of a ...
Style: medical drama, sincere, psychological, captivating, disturbing
Plot: doctor, hospital, cure, doctors and patients, obsession, medicine, surgery, treatment, teamwork, friendship, against the rules, coworker ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
My Beautiful Man (2021)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Kazunari Hira is in the 3rd grade of high school. He suffers from a stuttering problem and he doesn't have any friends. Without any dreams, his only hobby is to take pictures of daily life around him. On the first day the new semester, he finds ...
Style: psychological
Plot: lgbt, gay, lgbtq, lgbtqi, photography, gay interest, shy man, jealousy, cycling, bike, first kiss, high school drama ...
Is relevant ?
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AIBOU: Tokyo Detective Duo (2000)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min.
TV show
Story: Detective Ukyo Sugishita confronts crime on the basis of his own convictions. He has a partner that works for him in the Special Task Unit. For the first 7 seasons, Ukyo’s first partner is Kaoru Kameyama. He is a good-natured, hot-tempered, ...
Style: detective, tense, captivating, crime drama
Plot: police, government conspiracy, partner, police investigation, crime investigation, cold case, uncover truth, investigation, partners against crime, murder investigation, police partner, team ...
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 1K
Code Blue (2008)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 47 min.
TV show
Story: Four young physicians are assigned to the “Doctor Helicopter” system, the latest medical system where a medical team is dispatched to the patients via helicopter to provide medical care in the field as soon as possible. The doctors experience ...
Style: realistic, emotional, captivating, sincere, serious ...
Plot: doctor, doctors and patients, intern, workplace, group of friends, physician, internship, teamwork, workplace situations, workplace problem, medicine, saving a life ...
Is relevant ?
 7.9
 323
Trillion Game (2023)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: Two old friends go into business together – one's a master communicator, and the other's a great engineer. Their goal? To make a trillion dollars.
Plot: investments, business, bank, student, programmer, part time job, businessman, entrepreneur, dollar bill
Is relevant ?
Dragon Zakura (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: A struggling lawyer, Kenji Sakuragi, takes a position at private school Tatsuyama Gakuen to pay off his debts. Kenji decides to try to turn this hopeless school into one of the elite institutions in Japan to help rejuvenate his career. His barometer ...
Style: sincere, dorama, semi serious, touching, captivating ...
Plot: exam, high school student, high school, teacher, teenager, school, student, unconventional method, friendship, ambition, teacher student relationship, high school life ...
Place: tokyo
Is relevant ?
99.9: Criminal Lawyer (2016)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Hiroto Miyama is an unconventional young lawyer who dances to his own tune and gets a little obsessive. For one thing, he’s only interested in criminal cases, and he will never give up in his pursuit of the truth even if offers only a 0.1% chance ...
Style: disturbing, captivating, tense
Plot: criminal lawyer, criminal, investigation, crime solving, forensics, criminal justice, uncover truth, teamwork, felony, criminal trial, crime investigation, lawyer
Place: japan, tokyo
Is relevant ?
TOKYO MER: Mobile Emergency Room (2021)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: TOKYO MER is formed by order from the Governor of Tokyo. The name of the group stands for TOKYO Mobile Emergency Room. The members are emergency care professionals and they are to go to sites of dangerous accidents and disasters by ER car. Their ER ...
Style: captivating, tense, suspense, disturbing
Plot: emergency, crew, mission, rescue, ambulance, physician, teamwork, medical, saving a life, emergency room, workplace situations, coworker ...
Is relevant ?
 8.3
 517
Mother (2010)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: Mother is a Japanese television drama that aired on Nippon TV between 14 April and 23 June 2010, starring Matsuyuki Yasuko.
Style: suspense, touching, realistic, serious, captivating ...
Plot: motherhood, bad mother, kidnapping, adoption, child abuse, custody, journey, child custody, family relations, family problems, parents and children, help ...
Is relevant ?
Still, Life Goes On (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: Fukami Hiroki's younger sister was killed by a friend. Hiroki then meets the killer's sister, Toyama Futaba, 15 years after the incident. Both of their families have been burdened with grief, but through their meeting they struggle to find ...
Style: captivating, psychological
Plot: family relations, grief, life is a bitch, family problems, coping, loss of sister, family life, life & death, relationships, male female relationship, loss of family member, loss of sibling ...
Is relevant ?
Umechan Sensei (2012)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 15 min.
TV show
Story: Umechan Sensei is a Japanese television drama series. It debuted on April 2, 2012. It is about a girl named Umeko Shimomura who, despite being overshadowed by her talented older brother and sister, and despite being thought of as a clumsy child, ...
Style: captivating, disturbing, asadora
Plot: post war japan, doctor, female protagonist, life is a bitch, family problems, post war, female doctor
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
The Queen's Classroom (2005)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: The Queen's Classroom is a live-action Japanese television drama about Maya Akutsu, a new teacher at Hanzaki Elementary School who strives for perfection and punishes her students in unorthodox manners. A 12 year old student, Kazumi Kanda, has ...
Style: captivating, psychological, suspense, disturbing
Plot: school, female teacher, teacher, relationships, teacher student relationship, life is a bitch, teachers and students, high school life, female protagonist, relationship problems, student, child abuse ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
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 7.2
 464
dele (2018)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Freelance programmer Sakagami is paralyzed in the lower half of his body and confined to a wheelchair. He sets up a company called dele.LIFE in partnership with a law firm established by his late father. At the request of clients, Sakagami works ...
Style: captivating, tense, thrilling
Plot: business, wheelchair bound, problem, illness, handicapped, programmer, coworker, physical disability, disability, fighting illness, teamwork, friendship ...
Is relevant ?
 7.3
 314
Good Doctor (2018)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Minato Shindo has savant syndrome. His memory is amazing, but he has difficulty communicating with other people. When Minato was little, he dreamed of becoming a doctor. He met Doctor Akira Shiga and he wanted to become a pediatric surgeon. Akira ...
Style: medical drama, psychological, captivating, thrilling
Plot: hospital, autism, doctor, physician, medical, medicine, coworker, workplace, workplace situations, friendship, surgeon, personal growth ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 7.8
 336
Woman (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: After the accidental death of her husband and being deemed ineligible for welfare, Koharu struggles to care for her two children.
Style: disturbing, captivating, psychological, dorama
Plot: single mother, woman, family relations, motherhood, mother daughter relationship, family problems, female protagonist, mother daughter estrangement, parents and children, life is a bitch, social problems, mother and daughter ...
Is relevant ?
I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper (2011)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: Kaseifu no Mita is a 2011 Japanese television drama series. The story revolves around a family who is grieving over their mother's recent suicide. They hired Mita as a housekeeper to upkeep the house, which has been thrown into disarray. Mita, ...
Style: psychological, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Plot: family problems, dysfunctional family, suicide, dark past, murder mystery, family relations, husband wife relationship, troubled past, changing lives, relationship problems, family secret, housewife ...
Is relevant ?
Iryu: Team Medical Dragon (2006)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Ryutaro Asada was the chief surgeon of Team Medical Dragon, a globally active emergency medical care team that worked in refugee camps. After his return to Japan, this amazingly talented surgeon starts work at a university hospital, where he ...
Style: thought provoking, captivating, psychological, disturbing, medical drama
Plot: surgery, doctor, medical profession, medicine, life is a bitch, medical malpractice, physician, social problems, medical, surgeon, medical mask, latex gloves ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
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Clouds Over the Hill (2009)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and ...
Style: disturbing, suspense, tense, captivating
Plot: power struggle, fight, war, military officer, battles, wartime life, brother brother relationship, military, wartime, russo japanese war
Time: 1880s
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
Reach Beyond the Blue Sky (2021)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: Shibusawa 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. He left his hometown at the age of 23 and began working for the government. ...
Style: period piece, thrilling, captivating, historical drama, serious ...
Plot: government, capitalism, japanese history, historical character, capitalist society, historical figure, lifestyle, asian history, storytelling, capitalist, bank, taiga
Is relevant ?
 7.5
 406
Border (2014)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: Ishikawa Ango is a very capable detective that lives only for his job. One day, while investigating a crime scene, he gets shot in the head by the criminal that was still lurking about. Ango gets thrown over that line that divides life and death ...
Style: detective, dorama, atmospheric, suspenseful, captivating ...
Plot: supernatural, ghost, police, investigation, afterlife, murder investigation, murder, supernatural ability, twists and turns, psychology, police investigation, uncover truth ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 7.1
 492
I'm Home (2015)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: Ieji Hisashi, a salaryman who works for a securities company, has a fuzzy memory of the recent five years because of an accident at his job posting. His wife of five years, Megumi and their 4-year-old son seem to wear masks. He can neither tell ...
Style: captivating, disturbing, psychological
Plot: memory loss, memory lapse, amnesia, ex boyfriend, couple relations, love story, lifestyle change, relationships, lifestyle, family problems, male female relationship, ex boyfriend ex girlfriend relationship ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
Boys Over Flowers 2 (2007)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min.
TV show
Story: Hana Yori Dango Returns is a Japanese television drama series, broadcast on TBS in 2007. It is the sequel to 2005 Hana Yori Dango TV series, based on Japanese shōjo manga series, Boys Over Flowers, written by Yoko Kamio, and followed by movie ...
Style: dorama, sentimental, romantic, cynical, humorous ...
Audience: teens
Plot: youth, twists and turns, couple relations, school, love and romance, fall in love, brutality, teenage girl, friends, injustice, life is a bitch, high school ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
 8.3
 111
Black Kite (2013)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min.
TV show
Story: Yasu's mother passed away when he was very young and his father abandoned him. Yasu's wife, Misako, also lost both her parents when she was young. The two spend their days in happiness, watching their young son, Akira, grow up. ...
Style: thrilling, captivating, psychological
Plot: parent child relationship, single parent, family life, loss of spouse, bereavement, father son relationship, loss of family member, parents and children, life is a bitch, single father, family relations, family problems ...
Is relevant ?
Love's in Sight! (2021)
Genre: Drama
Country: Japan
TV show
Story: Yukiko Akaza attends a high school for 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, ...
Style: thrilling, psychological, captivating
Plot: disability, blindness and impaired vision, opposites attract, couple relations, couples, male female relationship, teenage love, love story, relationships, fall in love, love interest, love affair ...
Place: japan
Is relevant ?
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