Explore TV Series

WOWOW brings acclaimed author Toyoko Yamasaki's 1999 literary tour de force to life on the small screen for the very first time. Audiences have already received television adaptations of Yamasaki's other works – The Ivory Tower (白い巨塔), The Grand Family (華麗なる一族), The Waste Land (不毛地帯), A Son of the Good Earth (大地の子), and My Destiny (運命の人) – and can now add The Unbroken (沈まぬ太陽) to that list with this long-awaited production. Features a star-studded cast and additional filming on location in Africa and the Middle East.

Etsuko Kono is a 28-year-old woman who loves fashion. Aspiring to become a fashion editor, she joins a publishing company, but is sent to work in copy editing. There, her job is to correct errors and inadequate parts of documents and copies.

The royal court's magician Alicia uses black magic and opens a doorway to another dimension.

Kiitarou is a boy with a strong sixth sense who is always surrounded by demons. He gets talked to by yukionna, gets his bath licked clean by akaname (licking demons), and lives with the zashiki-warashi Suzu, whom he just can't come to dislike.

A rich, handsome businessman, Hokuto, proposes marriage to Chiwa, whose father has a large debt. Hokuto apparently has a secret reason for marrying Chiwa. Will this marriage work out?

The "cute and soft bread four-panel manga" centers around Minami, an air-headed girl who is starting high school and who loves eating bread for breakfast. Baked goods bring happiness everyday to her and her classmates the reliable Yuu, the pastry-baking Fuyumi, and the independent Noa.

Fukuyadou Honpo is a traditional Kyoto sweet shop with 450 years of history. This romantic drama depicts the careers, love lives and dreams of three sisters.

University student Wakamizu Ryota (Emoto Tokio), who is the middle of job hunting, gets caught up in a sudden gang dispute. Ryota’s life is saved by Yanagiba Ryuichi (Namase Katsuhisa), the boss of Yanagiba-gumi, and Ryota for some reason ends up harbouring Yanagiba in his own home. Ignoring Ryota who wants him to leave immediately, Yanagiba uses the leftover food in the fridge and starts to prepare a meal without asking. However, the meal is surprisingly delicious despite the leftovers that did not seem possible to combine. This is the beginning of a bizarre communal life connected by meals for a gangster and a university student.

In a world where exams decide your fate, two students clash—one cheats, one studies. The exam hall becomes a warzone.

The story revolves around Kira and Rei, two high school students. Kira is an extremely introverted artist, and Rei is an outgoing playboy with a frightening violent side. The two start a friendship and eventually a romance after Rei sees a drawing that Kira drew on the back of a map she gave him. However, both Kira and Rei are hiding troubled pasts, and through their relationship they confront their past demons. Masao, a student at Kira and Rei's school, has a connection to Rei's violent past. He enters Kira and Rei's lives to try to force Rei to return to the person he used to be.

Kusaka is an older man who loves marshmallows, and Wakabayashi is an OL (office lady) who loves Kusaka. Their relationship unfolds at their office.

The story of Kishi Keiichitaro, a dashingly handsome pathologist who is intensely eccentric and brutally honest, but also holds one of the most brilliant minds. A pathologist is a physician whose job is to determine a diagnosis of disease or cause of death based on an assortment of data, including a patient's tissue, bodily fluids, organ samples, blood, etc.

Sakaguchi is a high school boy and also a "fudanshi" who loves boys-love stories. He hangs out with his friends, a fujoshi named Rumi, his gay friend Yūjirō, fellow fundashi Daigo, and his "normal" friend Nakamura.

Maeda-san is living alone in rented accommodations for the first time after finding employment. In his tiny, no-bath apartment he is visited by Chie Satonaka, who looks like the little sister he never had, but turns out to be the landlord of this apartment building. Chie's high degree of competence when it comes to cooking and housework, sometimes makes her appear very much older than the middle school girl she actually is. Maeda-san's other neighbour, Reiko Shirai, quite jealously tries to guard the cute landlord for herself though. And so Maeda-san's otherwise uneventful life, supposedly living alone, suddenly becomes quite lively...

Based on the novel "Mohouhan" by Miyuki Miyabe. Journalist Maebata Shigeko, young Tsukada Shinichi and elderly Arima Yoshio all suffer from and become involved in a serial kidnap and murder case. Shinichi first discovers a cut arm and handbag from the murder case. Elderly Yoshio's granddaughter is a murder victim.

Natsuko is going back to the advertising agency she worked for before taking maternity leave and is shocked to learn that she is not the creative director any more but instead, she is put in charge of the Sales Development. Unmotivated, Natsuko finds she has her work cut out for her, and she has trouble balancing her job responsibilities with her home life, so she hires Miyuki, a babysitter. Unfortunately, Miyuki’s presence eventually works to tear her marriage apart.

A "Doctor-X: Surgeon Michiko Daimon" spinoff starring Masanobu Katsumura as surgeon Hideki Kaji, the "wizard of laparoscopy."

With next year's university entrance exams looming, high school senior Yoshiyama Mihane is beginning to feel the blues. She recently joined the school's photography club. As she walks by the science lab one day after school, she smells the aroma of lavender. From that moment on, she acquires the ability to leap freely through time and the days ahead are marked with bizarre occurrences...

Haruka Hani is a second-year junior high school student who goes to a school called Hinomori Gakuen. A member of the school drama club, she has been working on the script for a play the club plans to put on at the upcoming school festival. She’s been having trouble finishing it, and her childhood friend Tamaki Teijou has been urging her to hurry up. All in all, she seems to be enjoying her life. From time to time, monsters called Zaiju (Beasts of Sin) appear and attack Hinomori, the town where Haruka lives. But the Heart Princesses are there to fight the monsters. Haruka looks up to these princesses who protect the people of Hinomori from the Zaiju, wishing that she too could be a princess someday. Then one day, when she is working on the script at home, a mysterious cat named Jin comes to her and says, “You seem to have the right qualities to be a princess. What do you think? Would you become a princess?”

Bento, or lunchbox, is a fun slice of Japanese food culture that more people around the world are sharing. Healthy and delicious foods are beautifully and creatively presented. This NHK series features demonstrations and advice by Japanese bento experts, as well as shares some of the bento pictures and videos sent in by viewers worldwide.

Hoshino Mitsuko is the talented three-star chef of famous French restaurant, La Cuisine de La reine, in Ginza, Tokyo. She has drawn attention not just from Japan but also the world for the new recipes she continuously conceives with her delicate palate and unrivalled creativity. Gourmands around the world visit the restaurant for her cuisine and there is a three-year wait for reservations. One day, trouble occurs between Mitsuko and the restaurant owner Shinoda Shogo and she is fired. She has difficulty finding a new restaurant due to Shinoda’s interference and her over-inflated pride, and ends up creating school lunches for a popular variety programme by a hotshot producer. It was believed to be something easy for Mitsuko, but she meets many obstacles and keeps failing. Moreover, this is aired on TV and made known to the world. Even so, Mitsuko does not give up and starts to create school lunches in order to hear children say her food is delicious and also regain her lost stars.

39-year-old Nagasato Daisuke is a bachelor who works for a stationery manufacturer. Although he is attuned to trends and interacts with other people flawlessly, he hates being hurt by love. Daisuke is not disatissified with living alone. On the day he moves to his new apartment, he meets his neighbour Hanako for the first time due to an unpleasant situation. 32-year-old Kumagai Hanako is a divorced office lady. She has the clear intention not to remarry and is already preparing for old age. For some reason, Daisuke and Hanako keep quarreling right from the time they meet. But the two of them actually have many similarities. One day, Daisuke’s father Yozo suddenly visits for the first time in five years. He had secretly remarried in this time and has a step-son in tow. Meanwhile Hanako’s mother Ritsuko starts living separately from her husband and comes to live with her beloved daughter without consulting her. Daisuke and Hanako’s lives as swinging singles get disrupted because of parents who have no hesitation about enjoying their own lives.

Shinichi Todo is handsome and smart. He is loved by family, friends and his girlfriend. Everything in his life seems to go well, but, one day, someone with the same name is arrested. After that, his smooth life changes. An imposter takes his life.

Shunta, a boy who loves Battle Spirits, is led by a card and called to the “Spirits World” in another dimension. Eto, the priestess who summoned Shunta, warns of the Spirits World’s demise due to the evil God-King’s resurrection. In order to stop it, she says they must bring back together the twelve God-Kings for their powers. Joined by Yoku Albatrosa, a boy summoned from another dimension, Shunta is led by Eto on a journey to find the twelve God-Kings who are scattered throughout the world.

Miki Ishimoto, a recent college graduate, is so excited to have landed her first job! Although she's inexperienced, she's to be the manager for a new boy band. Miki thinks life couldn't be going more smoothly, until she finds out that her new boy band members are all... Greco-Roman stone busts?

Customers relying on a single line advertisement “Search for food with memories”, finally arrive at Kamogawa Shokudo, which has no signboard or fabric curtain. Those who come to this inconspicuous eatery near Higashi Honganji in Kyoto are people of today who have troubles. Work, family, life, love, interpersonal relationships… Although their troubles are wide-ranging, the eatery’s poster girl Kamogawa Koishi accepts customers’ troubles with sincerity while her father, Nagare uses the instincts and powers of observation honed as a detective, to identify what meals customers truly desire and demonstrates his skills by recreating them. Customers who eat the “food with memories”, which are the fruits of the efforts of Koishi and Nagare, will leave Kamogawa Shokudo, finding the courage to live and pleasures of life.

"Miss Bernard" herself, Machida Sawako, and her book-loving friends live their literary days in the library. This gag series glorifying famous literature is filled with love for books of all sorts, as well as the kinds of things that all readers experience!

Several hundred years after Yoshihiko defeated the dark spirit Deathtark in a fierce battle and saved the world, the world is once again plunged in darkness because of the devil king. Resurrected by the power of Buddha, Yoshihiko, Murasaki, Merebu and Danjo are told to defeat the devil king. The devil king has seven weak points which they must attack if they are to be able to succeed. Only destined people can go on offensive. The party of four set off on a new, dangerous journey around the world in search of these seven warriors with the pearls of destiny to bring down the devil king and return peace to the world. Guided by Buddha, they reach a village, but there are no signs of people. When Merebu calls out after finally spotting a human figure, the person’s face sends them fleeing hastily and they spend a night hiding in a small hut. Will they be able to save the world again?

Denshichi of Kuromon-cho hates crime and hates people. He is a stylish and kind Okakitori. Denchichi is a chivalrous and gentle okabiki, and he will not tolerate bad people under the ten purple hands of Murasakibusa, entrusted to him by the magistrate of Toyama. Denchichi is sent by Koi Nyobo's fire to destroy the evils of Edo.

Criminologist Himura Hideo gets so much pleasure out of being in crime scenes that he's even confessed to having wanted to kill someone. Constantly seeking out the ultimate crime, he is indeed a man with quite a few issues. Mystery writer Arisugawa Arisu, on the other hand, keeps a close eye on Himura's investigations and writes about them but at times completely misses the point. Not at all the type of guy you'd call dependable, Arisugawa nonetheless professes to be the protector of the clumsy Himura. Although these two men appear like they have no business being in crime scenes, they mitigate each other's shortcomings and use their compelling logic to unravel the elaborately woven tricks left behind by the criminals. It's almost as if Himura and Arisugawa use incredible magical powers to tease out unimaginable truths!

Kohei Kamishiro (Masaharu Fukuyama) worked as a musician in his past. He only had one hit song and his recording contract was eventually canceled. He became devastated and left the field of music. Twenty years later, Kohei Kamishiro keeps his distance from music, but his passion for music hasn't faded away. He leads a boring life. Due to his past experience, he finds it difficult to have a relationship with women. One day, a woman appears in front of him. She has a complex and because of this leads a solitary life. The woman though has an amazing singing voice. By meeting her, Kohei begins to think he wants to make music again.

A woman hires actors and strangers to pretend to be her friends and family at her wedding.

Hinako Todo (Haru) is a first-year detective who graduated from the police academy at the top of her class. She always carries with herself a bottle of shichimi chili peppers which was left by her late mother and sprinkles shichimi over everything she eats. Despite her a bit quirky/cheerful demeanor, she holds dark secrets locked deep within her heart… Hinako became a detective, because she wants to find the line between people who kill and those who don't. Once her "crime-solving switch" is on, nothing can stop Hinako from tackling even the most bizarre crime cases. Armed with her overwhelming memory and unstoppable curiously, will Hinako be able to find answers to her question through seeking to solve various crimes?

Michiko is 30 years old. She keeps looking for a job after her previous employer went bankrupt, but she is unable to find work. Michiko still supports her younger boyfriend and her savings are almost gone. Then, Michiko meets her ex-boss, Ayumu. She was scared of Ayumu when they worked together. Ayumu now runs a tea room which his grandmother ran. Michiko decides to work part-time at Ayumu's tea room. There, she encounters various troubles everyday. Ayumu helps Michiko, which allows her to see a different side of him that she never noticed before.

The Blue World, which symbolizes reason, is under constant attack by the creatures called the Nightfly O'Note originating from the Red World, symbolizing instinct. Akira Asagi, the 17-year-old protagonist who is a researcher at Blue World, is nominated to lead the war at Ryuukyuu LAG, a proud defense facility on the islands of Ishigaki and Iriomote. She meets the sixth combat unit "IS," which was formed four years after a fierce battle that annihilated the fifth unit. Akari must lead these six riders, also called the Scared Rider Xechs, to fight against the other world while at the same time deepening the relationship among them.

The anime takes place on the screw-shaped island country of Nejigajima and follows the two "Bokyabots" Hebot and the Yurui Prince Nejiru as they collect different "Bokya Neji" screws. When the Bokyabots wear the Bokya Neji screws on their heads, they're able to compete in "Bokya Battles," battles for who can think up and tell the best jokes.

Located in the downtown area of ​​Nagoya, this 60-year-old, bath and toilet co-op accommodation is a room with no room, "Makanai-sō".

Mia Kurihara works in the public relations department of a company. She falls in love with Kairi Miyoshi. He is the vice president of the company, but he is also married.

Tokine Amino works as a secretary for TEN2, an advertising agency. One day while cleaning the conference room, she is surrounded in light and finds she can't leave the room until she solves a puzzle. It seems a creature named Hacchin is a being from another dimension called Quizn. He is interested in the intellectual pleasure that happens when someone solves a puzzles or uncovers a mystery. And he has his sight set on Tokine Amino.

30-year-old Kyoko has a "job". The story starts with her looking back 20 years to her boarding school of Yoko Gakuen in the mountains. Tomohiko, Miwa, and Kyoko are all in the same grade. Inspired by the educational philosophy of the principal - Emiko, teacher Tatsuko joins the boarding school staff, but soon finds the school rather strange...

Mr. Nietzsche in the Convenience Store tells the story of part-time convenience store worker Matsukoma, and the new part-time worker, Tomoharu Nii, nicknamed Nietzsche-sensei. Despite Matsukoma’s enthusiastic approach to his job, his teachings are lost on Nietzsche-sensei, who, much like his namesake, has a bleaker outlook on things.

The Neuroi, an enemy of mankind, suddenly appeared mainly in Europe in the 1930s. Only girls with special magical powers called Witches could confront the Neuroi who were difficult to destroy with ordinary weapons. In 1944, the Neuroi nest above the republic of Gallia was eradicated, and safety of western Europe has been ensured. The allied forces earnestly began planning for an oppositional operation towards central and eastern Europe. An order to scramble is given to the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing "Brave Witches" whose base is in Peterburg within the Orussian Empire.

Ever since their champion was defeated, the world of girls' junior high ping pong has been in turmoil. Koyori is the new smirking transfer student at her junior high and she's ready to shake up girls' ping pong.

In the year L.C. 922, people faced a sudden crisis. In Tetra Heaven, the land of legend, a hundred years of war had come to a close. The gods who lost the war searched for a new place to live, and found it in Septpia, the human world, which they proceeded to attack. The Logicalists attached to ALCA, a special police agency whose duty it was to protect cities from assaults by foreigners (angels), were compelled to act in defense of cities, whether they wished to or not. Depending on their ability, Logicalists could initiate trance with goddesses from the other world, and stand a fighting chance on the battlefield. A civilian named Yoshichika Tsurugi, who lacked "Logic" and lived happily with his family, was caught up in an attack, and took shelter along with many people. He meets a beautiful goddess named Athena. In her hands, she had the "Logic" that Yoshichika lacked. Now both Yoshichika and Athena head to their destiny.

Madoka Tsutsumi is a university student. He rarely expresses his feelings and he has never done an impulsive act in his life. One night, he sees an old man and a pink rabbit struggling physically. The pink rabbit seems surprised and asks Madoka if he can see them. The pink rabbit then introduces itself as the Angel of Death and says the old man is a ghost who died yesterday.

Yoshioka Yuiko begins the first grade in high school. She gets sick with the cold and stays in bed. At that time, she gets a phone call from class president Matsubara. Yuiko becomes flattered by his kind voice on the phone. The next day, she goes to school and meets Matsubara. He is a mysterious boy, wearing a paper bag over his head. Her high school days begin with pounding heart.

As science is growing ever closer to the taboo field of regenerative medicine, a mysterious new student named Maki Togawa begins attending the International Dolly Girls' College. Soon after, a series of strange and horrific events occur in and around the school, seemingly in the proximity of or due to new student Maki.

One morning, students find their homeroom teacher Tokuyama Daigoro’s body on the floor of the classroom. A strange school life begins as the students work hard to hide the presence of their teacher's corpse in their classroom. Other teachers from the Academy, their homeroom teacher's wife, his mistress, police, and reporters... One-by-one they visit the classroom and the students face the risk of being discovered. Is it possible to continue to hide it?! And who was it who killed him?!

Miyanaga Saki, a first-year student at Kiyosumi High School, lacks enthusiasm for mahjong and plays it so that it will end with neither a win nor a loss. One day, she is influenced by Haramura Nodoka’s genius mahjong tactics and decides to join the mahjong club. Nodoka is the titleholder of the national junior high school mahjong tournament. Together with Nodoka and the other club members, Saki contends for the title against formidable opponents.

In a modern-day school, we find Maya, Ayumi, Chigusa, Yuu, and the chairman, Masumi. They are the ultimate actors, who have time-traveled from the Glass Mask generation to the modern day to make the hearts of modern-day people burn with passion. Maya, Ayumi, Chigusa, and Yuu rely on their passion and actors' spirits to take on people with all sorts of worries. Chairman Masumi, on the other hand, seems to think the modern age doesn't need saving...

Mayako Mizukoshi is a 32-years-old housewife and she has been married for 5 years. Mayako is not happy with her marriage. Her husband doesn't look at her as a woman. Music critic Michihiko Kudo appears in front of her. He approaches Mayako and they fall into a forbidden love.

During their childhood, a little girl and a boy made a pledge to meet again. Now at the age of 45, the girl, Kasumi, is now a divorced mother of a son of high school age. She works as hard as she can at a laundry delivery shop for the wealthy, in order to make a living. Then one day, Kasumi encounters a young male designer, Yuri, who has attracted international attention. He is somehow far too familiar with her and pokes his nose into her affairs. Kasumi is initially wary, but she soon learns that he has a pure heart and starts to get drawn to him. These two people with different backgrounds fall in love. Why did Yuri appear before her? Could he be the boy from that time?

A consultant who has a superhuman sense of smell and assists in solving cases by smelling the scents left behind at crime scenes. He usually lives with a nasal plug, but once he removes it, and takes one sniff with his keen sense of smell, he will know the person’s age, gender, what he or she ate and even lifestyle. Besides investigating cases, he is researching whether people’s emotions have scent too. He has a daughter with Katayama Megumi.

A drama series based on the novel "Totto Channeru" by famed Japanese actress Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.

Takada Yu is an employee of a development firm. His father has favored his high-achieving older brother and been indifferent to Yu since young. So Yu craves for his father’s love and wants his recognition somehow. Then one day, Yu encounters a woman. Although it was the worst possible meeting, he gradually starts to have romantic feelings for her through work and an unexpected development. But ironically enough, she turns out to be the girlfriend of his older brother. Yu begins to realize what he truly treasures and matures as a person as he struggles with this complicated romance and with his older brother and father.