TOKYO DRAMA AWARD

2015

While studying whisky-making in Scotland, Masaharu Kameyama (Massan) falls in love with a beautiful woman named Ellie, and marries her. Together they return to Japan in 1920 to pursue Massan’s dream of making the first Japanese whisky, unaware of the trials that await. Massan’s mother, Sanae, refuses to accept her son marrying a foreigner and expects him to take over the family’s sake business in Hiroshima. Instead, Massan takes Ellie and returns to his job at the Sumiyoshi Brewery in Osaka, but his boss, Daisaku Tanaka, had been expecting Massan to marry his daughter. After the directors decide against Massan’s whisky plan, Massan is eventually forced into unemployment. As his quarrels with Ellie escalate, Ellie herself encounters various people and finds her own connection with Japan. That helps bring her and Massan closer together.
Eventually, Massan gains support from Kinjiro Kamoi, the ambitious president of a wine and spirit wholesale company. Together they build Japan’s first distillery in Yamazaki, near Osaka, but the whisky doesn’t sell at all. As Japan enters the Showa Era in 1926, Massan and Ellie decide to move to Yoichi, Hokkaido - an ideal location to make whisky. But when the Pacific War breaks out and Ellie is suspected of spying, once again their marriage is tested to its limits. It’s the story of “a married couple’s love and adventure”, as their courage and resolve pulls them through all the trials life throws at them.

HANAE AOISHI (Haruka Ayase) is a drab-looking woman working at a trading company who is moments away from her 30th birthday. Still living with her parents and having only two pastimes of watching movies alone and walking her dog, Hanae is the type who carries a low-profile wherever she goes as not to stand out. Her colleagues and boss believe that she has a boyfriend named Mamoru?though indeed Mamoru is the name of her pet dog and a big white lie to save her from questions that poke about her love life which she simply did not have. In actuality, Hanae was a virgin who has not had one romantic experience her entire life.
One day, after a company after-hours, she ends up sharing drinks with YUTO TANOKURA (Sota Fukushi), a college kid who works at her office. When Tanokura finds out that today is her 30th birthday, he decides to celebrate it for her. Being the rookie in dating, Hanae is confused and puzzled by this kid’s behavior nine years her junior, but becomes gradually drawn to him. Spellbound by the moment, she ends up finding herself in bed with him the next morning!
Hanae's　awkward　love is now begining!　

“This drama is a work of fiction.”

The time goes back to early 1980s at Osaka University of Arts.
The story depicts young creators in the 80s, based on university memories of the original author Kazuhiko Shimamoto.

Comic artists, animation creator, motion picture director…
The drama portrays the passionate days of Shimamoto himself as well as his friends and rivals who will subsequently be dominating comic and animation industry, but who were nobody during that days.

Moyuru Honoo, a freshman at Osaka University of Arts, was spending his days with passion of becoming a manga artist. Moyuru, with his unsupported confidence about his own talent, had interest in animation as well. He was pretty indecisive of his career options. One day, before summer vacation, he makes one decision. It was to bring in his manga work to a publisher in Tokyo.
The elegy of an enthusiastic university student Moyuru Honoo begins…..

Yoriko Yabushita is a 29-year-old economic expert who is extremely well-educated and deeply devoted to her career, but she is quite rigid and awkward when it comes relationships and love, let alone marriage. To Yoriko, marriage is nothing more than a mere “contract” between two people. As she aims to get married by the age of 30, she sets out to find just the right guy as husband. Then she meets Takumi Taniguchi, a 35-year-old bachelor who is bright, sophisticated, and also in search for a prospective spouse with his own reasons. Apparently their criteria for their “ideal partner” match perfectly, but the truth be told, both of them are said to be “unsuitable for love” who completely lack the skills in nurturing a romantic relationship. Though their relationship begins with no romantic feelings involved at first, they go on a number of dates in order to reach their common goal: marriage. Will they come to truly love each other and be happily married?

This masterpiece of Seicho Matsumoto was made into a TV drama by director Yasuo Tsuruhashi and scriptwriter, Shunsaku Ikehata who have been both highly successful in producing dramas dealing with people facing social issues. The drama is set in the present and the various episodes and internal struggles the hero experiences succeed in evoking the darker side of human nature.
Yoshitaro (Akira Emoto), is a down-to-earth owner of a bedding shop and has lived frugally all his life. Mitsu (Eri Watanabe),had no complaints about her husband whose raison d'etre was to save up money. Then, one day, a young woman Rieko (Machiko Ono) comes as customer to the shop and captivates Yoshitaro. It doesn't take long for them to enter into an extra-marital affair.
A year later, the frugal Yoshitaro has changed dramatically and is now pouring his hard earned savings into the start-ｕp capital for Rieko's new barber shop. And, one day, Rieko meets her first love Naoki (Yukiyoshi Ozawa), who has now become an associate professor of a University. The two share "a dark past" dating from their childhood. Meanwhile Yoshitaro has become aware of Rieko's change of heart. Nevertheless, Rieko and Yoshitaro build a house on top of a hill. And eventually this house will become the stage of a dreadful scene.

This is the story about the tragedy which began after the end of the World War II . 245,000 Japanese people lost their lives at Manchuria, which had been founded at the northeast part of China. This drama is based on the true story written by Shoichi Masuda. Masuda spent the days at the victim camp of Manchuria and has never forgotten the children he had met there. The children at the camp had suffered from the extremly cold climate and hunger, though they tried to live vividly and care about each other. The hero of this drama ,Eiichi, who used to be a military personnel of the Japannes army , goes through the same experience as Masuda. He trys to kill himself like samurai when he gets tp know that Japan had lost the war, but will give up the idea by the words of heroin,　Yukiko, whom he met at the camp. She says to him ‘We have to live as much as we can live'. Eiichi gradually changes his way of thinking and decides to work and live for the future of the children who lost their parents . He becomes to desires to bring the children back to Japan some day. But the children are attacked with disease and lose their lives one by one----. .What.is the decision Eiichi will make to save the life of the chi ldren? What destiny awaits Eiichi , Yukiko and the children?

1998, in a hospital room where grandmother Matsuno just passed away, grandfather Kenichiro started to utter very shocking words.
“I am not your real grandfather.”
6 years passed with something stuck in mind. One day, mother Kiyoko suddenly uttered “I wonder how my deceased father was like…” which motivated free writer Keiko Saeki and her little brother, Kentaro to start tracking back their real grandpa, Kyuzo Miyabe.

Kyuzo’s previous army comrades cursed him saying that he was a terrible “Coward” “Bastard” “Shameful” guy. These old people also started to talk about reality of “War”, “Warfield”, and “Irony of life and destiny”, which was something far beyond imagination of Kentaro or Keiko. Despite the shockingness, two of them repeatedly searched and visited army comrade’s gatherings country wide.

Although all these testimonies contradict depending on the speakers, Kyuzo Miyabe’s figure gradually becomes clear. And one question arise. Why did Kyuzo decided to ride on the battle plane and died as kamikaze pilot, despite the fact that he was continuouslay telling “I can not die until I see my daughter, that’s my promise with my wife.”,

Finally, sister Keiko and brother Kentaro reach Kanoya in Kagoshima prefecture where Kyuzo Miyabe took off for his last trip. At last they encounter the very truth of one pilot genius, who fought against his fierce destiny for his beloved daughter and wife.

Suzu Kobayashi, as a scientist of insect taxonomy who lives in Tokyo unmarried, one day, she got fired from the university suddenly. The reason was her research field was too narrow and her character was too stubborn and nobody wanted to work out with her.
That night, Suzu went to the cafe which her father, Tamotsu Nakamura, not in family register in some reason, owns and met her ex boyfriend Takeshi Ando. Takeshi had to send drunken Suzu to her home, and they made love under the influence of alcohol. And 5 weeks later, Suzu noticed she became pregnant. Since Suzu read a book regarding the human mystery of which the fetus recreates the biological evolution for the 30 hundreds of millions of years history while they are in mothers for only 10 months and 10 days, and then she makes a strong resolve to bear the baby.
Inspite of the situation, Suzu couldn't tell Takeshi that she has the baby between him. At the same time, Suzu was having a hard time at the new post she finally got, and spending time sulky.
One day, Suzu's mother Fumiko Kobayashi came to Tokyo to meet her. Soon Fumiko recognized Suzu was pregnant and got in anger why she didn't tell her about the fact, and told her it was impossible to bear the baby by herself as a single mother. Even though Suzu wouldn't change her mind. There was a special secret in her past.

The original work of Mischievous Kiss is a megahit manga by Kaoru Tada that was serialized from 1990-1999 and has sold more than 30 million copies. Dramatized three times in Asian territories(Japan in 1996, Taiwan in 2005/2007 and Korea in 2010), it has come back again as "Mischievous Kiss～Love in TOKYO"(2013) /"Mischievous Kiss2～Love in TOKYO"(2014) both of which made a great sensation in Asia.

"Mischievous Kiss~Love in TOKYO" is a story of Kotoko, who is not very bright, eventually wins heart of Naoki who is the most handsome and intelligent boy at school after 6 years of love battle.

"MK2LIT" returned with the special episode of "Mischievous Kiss~Love in OKINAWA" that follows Naoki and Kotoko on honeymoon. Despite their intellectual differences, Kotoko and Naoki are now happily ensconced in love and marriage. Kotoko ? still adorably scatterbrained ? decides to follow Naoki’s dream to become doctor and struggles in her nursing school studies, while smarty-pants Naoki breezes through medical school. Even after marriage, new rivals challenge Kotoko and Naoko’s bond ? is Kotoko able to enjoy sweet marriage life some day?

“There’s nothing in my life.”
A young man murmured, and left Tokyo.
In a little port town in Fukuoka, he met an old bright lady, who has her own way.
Somehow they spent some time together, and he listened her personal narrative.
It was about her younger days , and how she met her husband and got married , memories of family ,and the secret of couple love, which she had found just before her husband passed away….
Each of these stories was ordinary story, but the way she shared so lively was powerful enough to light up his heart, so that he started writing her story to make a book , as a gift of gratitude.
With local handcrafts of papers and clothes , he made a perfect handmade book, and titled it as “ Happiness is here”.
When he was going to leave the town, she said ;
“Hometown is the place you can choose. It doesn't matter if you grew up there or not ”. And he…?
The drama was filmed in beautiful nature and the old cityscape of Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka, where more and more new young people start living with the help of local grandmothers, actually. Enjoy this heart-warming story of “happiness in every little things in life”, and “hometown”.

:The "yutori" generation of Japan is accused of being one of the laziest in society. Being raised in a pressure-free education system, the "yutori" are often criticized for poor results and lack of drive in the workplace. Touma (Kensuke Owada), at age 27, struggles to keep a job, sleeps at an internet cafe, and complains about his every day with online friends. They blame society, and Touma, full of pride yet lost without a purpose, is about to drop out of it.

Frustrated with the elder generations telling him what to do, he wishes all old people were sent away, like the folklore "UBASUTE" where they are abandoned on a mountain. He finds an intriguing blog on the topic, and messages the blogger, a positive woman claiming to be his age. Little does he know, his new friend is actually a 72 year-old woman. Touma slowly learns how to face himself and improve his lifestyle thanks to their online conversations, and they finally get a chance to meet...

This film faces many issues of modern society around the world today, such as unemployment, an aging population, and changes in people's relationships due to the expansion of social media.

The story of a mother who makes every self-sacrifice to ensure her daughter’s happiness, and a daughter who is determined to share it with her mother.

Leila runs a food stall to raise her only daughter, Permata. Permata is beautiful and intelligent, of a kind that has always surprised her mother. Leila vows to give her daughter a different life. When Permata wins a coveted scholarship to a leading private college, Leila will have none of Permata's talk of helping at the food stall, and forces her to get her education.

At college, Permata meets Saputra, the son of an influential businessman. The two fall in love. But when Permata reveals her mother's past as an escort lady, Saputra cannot find the words to respond. Leila is wrought with guilt for having gotten in the way of her daughter's romance.

Leila secretly searches out Ardiansyah, the gentleman she’d been suspecting to be Permata’s father for years. She leaves him a letter asking for a DNA test. Reunited with the father she never knew, Permata also accepts Saputra's proposal of marriage. Leila then quietly disappears, so that her presence won’t taint Permata’s ties with the new families...

Up and coming actress Yuki Kato, whose father is from Japan, garnered a Best Actress Award at the prestigious Bandung Film Festival for her performance.

'Misaeng', based on a Korean popular comic by the same title, is about the real company life. It was awarded various drama prizes and ranked second in the Contents Power Ranking following 'The Man from The Other Star', and even created a sensation called 'Misaeng Syndrome'. Jang Geu Rae is a young man who fails to make it as a professional Baduk player after his father's death. At 26, he has no work experience or academic background to speak of, aside from his part time jobs. With his mother's help, he joins as an intern at a trading company and struggles to adapt, along with his mates and co-workers.

'Misaeng' rose in ratings constantly, and recorded 10.3% for its final episode, which is exceptional for a cable TV drama. (The second highest viewer ratings for cable TV channel of all time) Yim Si Wan, who plays the main character, Geu Rae, juggles careers as a member of the K-pop group ZE:A and as an actor in the movie 'The Attorney' and the drama 'The Moon Embracing The Sun'. Song Gang Ho, his co-star in 'The Attorney', said that Yim Si Wan's acting is superb, and also many idol actors such as Park Yoo Chun and Lee Jun name him as a rival. With acclaims from his co-workers, he won the Best New Actor prize at 51st Paeksang Arts Awards. 'Misaeng' shows not only Geu Rae's experience, also the story of Oh Sang Shik. Sang Shik is Geu Rae's boss who is gruff and a workaholic. Additionally, it deals with the company life of new employees, bosses, and female workers through Young Yi, who is very able but neglected due to the fact that she is the only female member in her team.

-DVD Info-
DVD Japan release: BOX1 Oct 28th, BOX2 Nov 27th!
Sales and Retail: SPO
Rental DVD [TV version] (17 volumes)
Early rental service by TSUTAYA!
Vol.1-6 Nov 3rd / Vol.7-12 Dec 2nd / Vol.13-17 Jan 6th, 2016
Sales and Retail: Culture Publishers

The third dramatization of a popular series, the 2014 version was Channel 3’s highest rated hit of the year (14.9%). It won acclaim from both viewers and critics, clinching numerous awards in Thailand including the prestigious Nataraja Awards.

Haughty, spoiled rich girl Karat is in for a shock. Not only does her third husband suddenly die in a car accident, her best friend of 13 years, Sainampueng, is pregnant with his baby. Verging on a mental breakdown, the vulnerable Karat meets Pisut. Unlike her previous husbands, Pisut isn't after her money or beauty. Karat is gradually drawn to him. But just as things look as though Karat has finally found true love and a bond on which to build a marriage, evil Sainampueng reappears, hell bent on ruining everything.

Thailand’s leading actress Ann Thongprasom, who played Karat in the second dramatization (2001), donned her producer’s hat for the 2014 version. She was instrumental in bringing in veteran “melodrama” director Amaiporn Jitmaingong ? a departure from the male directors of the past that resulted in a Best Director award. In addition, the surprise casting of the gifted and popular actress Warattaya Nilkuha in her first villain role made news. Her performance captured two Best Supporting Actress awards.