Autumn Is Here: 30+ New Japanese Dramas Out in October 2025!

In 1984, Tokyo thrived on the economic boom and Shibuya was filled with life and hope. There, we’ll meet four talented yet peculiar young people: confident theatre enthusiast Kube Mitsunari (Suda Masaki), enigmatic dancer Koda Rika (Nikaido Fumi), rookie scriptwriter Horai Shogo (Kamiki Ryunosuke), and shrine maiden Egashira Juri (Hamabe Minami).

Through the ups and downs of their bustling existence, these four quirky souls find in their youth the meaning and fulfilment they so earnestly chase.

This drama is loosely based on scriptwriter Mitani Koki’s life.

Pray Speak What Has Happened is coming to Netflix on October 19th!

Shirasaki Yuki (Niihara Taisuke) and Hayama Asami (Komagine Kiita) are now a couple. However, since Yuki’s and Asami’s acting careers keep them busy, they have spent little time together. As they prepare to film a new drama, an incident brings even more chaos into their lives.

Adapted from Natsuno Hiroko’s manga of the same name.

Divorce attorney Otokita Hajime (Maeda Goki) and detective Iseya Kai (Mizusawa Rintaro) are life and work partners. Unable to get married legally, they dedicate their lives to help people who want to get a divorce due to their partner’s betrayal and give them the best future possible.

Onsha no Midare Tadashimasu! follows breakup specialist Saegusa Rei (Yamazaki Hirona), a brilliant young woman who leads the Office AIR Cleaning. The company provides services for those wishing to punish colleagues who cause trouble due to their selfish affairs at work.

Following the events of the first season, Gan-chan (Ogasawara Kai) has gone overseas for training. To replace him, Rei and Arata (Iijima Hiroki) are joined by “Master” (Marc Panther), the quirky owner of Bar Purple Rose.

Adapted from Tatsuki Yuuma’s web manga of the same name.

And here’s a quick reminder that the After School Doctor 2025 Autumn special is coming to Netflix on October 2nd, too!

Manga editor Tsuyama Seri (Kawazu Asuka) is a young woman who hasn’t had much luck in her love life. Her past relationships have left her fearful of heartfelt connections. After all, she always ends up hurt. Yearning for romance, Seri decides to pursue a carefree, uncomplicated relationship.

One night, she meets Kagaya Mahiro (Higuchi Kouhei). She’s thrilled to hear that Mahiro shares her belief in a burdenless romance. They then strike up a very particular arrangement, which they name “koifure”. Their “situationship” of sorts establishes that Seri and Mahiro are to be friends who do romantic things together. But they promise each other that, if one of them falls in love for real, their “koifure” comes to an end.

However, as they spend time together, they can’t help but start developing genuine feelings for each other.

Adapted from Konno Jun’s webmanga of the same name.

Takamiya Rui (Tanabe Momoko), Hayakawa Teruma (Yokota Mayuu), and Sawakita Izumi (Hayashi Meari) are members of the underground idol group Baby Starlight. After one of the members commits murder, the other two help get rid of the body and cover their tracks. As the police and their colleagues become ever more suspicious of them, Rui, Teruma, and Izumi — who didn’t use to get along at all — come closer and closer together. Bound by this awful secret, the three decide to give their all to their idol career. However, their lives become even more complicated when a series of unsolved murder cases causes mass panic.

Adapted from Endo Kataru’s novel of the same name.

Office worker Nakado Sumire (Kubo Nonoka) grew up surrounded by women, which is why she struggles to approach men. Her shyness has hindered her love life, as she always fails to properly hold a conversation with the men she meets. Now determined to experience intimacy at least once, she comes up with a plan. She decides to approach Tachibana Kotaro (Totaro), the only male colleague she feels comfortable talking to, and ask him if he could have sex with her. He accepts her request under one condition: she has to become his girlfriend. Little does Sumire know that Kotaro has been in love with her for a very long time. True romance soon blossoms between these two clumsy adults.

Adapted from Fudono Fudou‘s manga of the same name.

Iwai Takumi (Hashimoto Masaki) is a third-year university student who adores Mio (Tsunematsu Yuri), a singer from the idol group AMEL. While staying at his late grandfather’s house in the countryside, he bumps into Mio herself, who seems aimless and wounded. She begs him for help, and he agrees to house her for a while. What seemed to be a dream come true at first becomes a nightmare once Takumi realises that Mio has another personality, called Maki. At around the same time, news outlets all over the country announce the death of popular musician Kaito, who was in a relationship with Mio. Could Mio be the murderer? Obsessed by this illusory, bizarre connection with his favourite idol, Takumi decides to “protect” her — whatever it takes.

Adapted from MANGAmuse, Hanai Kaori, TV Tokyo, and moyamotomiya’s web manga of the same name.

Sengoku Tetsu’s (Matsushima So) life turns upside down when his ex-girlfriend suddenly shows up at his door with a little girl, the adorable Airi (Tanahashi Nono). It seems that Airi is his daughter and he’s now in charge of her. Meanwhile, Harumi Masahiro (Shirasu Jin) took custody of his son, Seiichiro (Sakura), after divorcing his wife.

These two single fathers meet at the kindergarten their children go to. Struggling to balance their personal and work lives and still give their children the attention they need, Tetsu and Masahiro decide to help each other. The four of them move in together and, as they struggle with their daily routine and family meals, they all grow.

Adapted from Toyota Yuu’s manga series of the same name.

An overworked manga artist (Tomisato Nao) and her jobless senpai (Iwamoto Renka) are two young women who do their best to run away from their responsibilities when they are together. The series follows them as they escape the realities of adulthood and make the most of their days.

This is a story of an ordinary wife (Matsumura Sayuri) and her ordinary husband (Shirasu Jin), now in their third year of marriage. The series follows the two of them as they cherish the small, heartwarming moments that mark their peaceful, ordinary existence.

Based on Monosugoi Ai’s essay of the same name.

Eight young people work at Synanthrope, a small neighbourhood burger shop. Among them, you’ll find university student Tonari Kennosuke (Mizukami Koshi) and part-timer Mizumachi Kotomi (Yamada Anna). Kennosuke has a huge crush on Kotomi, but he hasn’t gathered his courage to confess his feelings to her yet.

Their quiet lives become chaotic after a mysterious robbery ignites a chain of unexpected events that will put the romances and friendships between these eight employees to the test.

The Information Crime Special Task Force (DICT) is a special unit dedicated to the investigation of cybercrimes that exploit advanced technology to threaten citizens’ lives. Ninomiya Nami (Sawaguchi Yasuko) is the oldest detective within DICT and, taking a community-based approach to all her investigations, she believes in helping those in need right in front of her.

This is the fifth season of the Zettai Reido series (2010-today).

Yamagishi Ayumi (Kaho) dreams of marrying and having a stable, happy life. She currently lives with Ebihara Katsuo (Takeuchi Ryoma), her boyfriend since university days. Ayumi does everything for him and, as she always places him first, she has lost her own sense of identity and importance. Katsuo follows very patriarchal beliefs, so he’s happy that Ayumi takes the initiative to do everything herself. Believing to be the perfect partner in the perfect relationship, Katsuo proposes to Ayumi — but to his bafflement, she responds, “No way!”

Adapted from Taniguchi Natsuko’s manga series of the same name.

Then You Try Making It! is coming to Viki on October 14th!

In response to the rise in waterborne crimes, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department established the Tokyo Water Police Department. Working there, you’ll find a motley crew: Ikari Takuma (Sato Ryuta) comes from a 20-year-long career as a local detective, Kusakabe Shun (Kato Shigeaki) has big ambitions that never included this random transfer to this small division, and Arima Reiko (Yamashita Mizuki) is a maritime technician. Alongside his colleagues at the Tokyo Water Police Department, Takuma, Shun, and Reiko fight crime in Tokyo’s seas and rivers.

Adapted from Yoshikawa Eri’s novel of the same name.

Yagami Yui (Sakurada Hiyori), the daughter of the president of a powerful pharmaceutical company, attends a prestigious university in Tokyo. Raised by a single, loving father, Yui is shy but socially conscious. At her 20th birthday party, Yui is kidnapped for ransom. One of her kidnappers is Hayashida Daisuke (Sano Hayato), a young man who grew in a poor household. The plan ultimately fails and that’s when Yui asks Daisuke to run away with her.

Yajima Risa (Igeta Hiroe) works at a life insurance company and leads a stable life alongside her husband of three years. However, due to fertility treatments, Risa starts to notice cracks in her relationship. She then meets Kiuchi Ryo (Toyoda Yudai), a kind young man tormented by his wife’s violence. Her determination to save him soon becomes love, and before long, Risa and Ryo start an affair that might destroy both of them.

Shinoda Hinako (Okuyama Aoi) has been working at Sengokusha, a major publishing company, for two years. To her surprise, she’s suddenly transferred to a weekly magazine — which is something she absolutely detests. There, she’s faced with all sorts of news reports, from entertainment to murder. As she gets to know her colleagues and hunts for scoops, Hinako searches for meaning in her work.

Adapted from Osaki Kozue’s novel of the same name.

The Golden Egg is coming to Netflix on October 8th! You can also find The Golden Egg on Viki from November!

Almost twenty years ago, Ogura Wataru (Kitamura Yukiya) and his wife An (Nakama Yukie) promised to divorce once their child turned 20 years old.

As the years went by, Wataru started to believe that the promise was nothing but a joke. However, An took it as a serious vow, one that became a source of relief and emotional support. Despite their completely different perspectives, they lead a peaceful life with their children. One stormy night, Wataru talks about their promise to the residents of their apartment complex. After that day, their lives were never the same.

Minami Ai (Suzuki Airi) works as a secretary for the president of an apparel trading firm. She’s also a huge fan of rising actor Himuro Jun (Yagi Yusei) and she does her best to support him from afar. She suddenly receives two pieces of news that shock her: one, her boss collapsed from illness and two, Jun is retiring from acting. In the middle of her grief, she’s rescued by the fact that the newly appointed company president is none other than Jun himself. Hiding her massive fan persona at work, Ai is overjoyed to be working so closely with her all-time favourite idol. As Jun slowly falls for Ai, they have to overcome the hurdles to succeed in both their professional and personal lives.

This is a “sequel” to Oshi ga Joshi ni Narimashite, a 12-episode TV Tokyo drama from 2023. They are not directly related, so you can watch this series without having watched the prequel. They are adaptations of Azuma Yuki and Morinaga Ito’s web manga.

Mono Sui (Ugaki Misato) is a 32-year-old woman engaged to her boyfriend of seven years. During a premarital health check, she finds out that she’s infertile, which causes her fiancé to break off their engagement. As rumours spread around the construction company where she works, she’s forced to resign. In the midst of her heartbreak, she meets the young and handsome Tsukidome Mao (Yamanaka Jyutaro).

Adapted from Asahina Mika’s manga of the same name.

Despite boasting a degree from the University of Tokyo, Hanamura Kaoru (Haru) is struggling to find a job. She gets an interview with RAINBOWLAB, a start-up whose charismatic CEO is high school dropout Hidaka Mamie (Kawaei Rina). Mamie is a single mother whose daughter, Iroha (Ikemura Aoi), needs a private tutor. Mamie offers the position to Kaoru, who, tired of the endless job hunting, accepts.

Iroha wants to attend a prestigious private academy that demands both academic excellence and strong parental involvement. So, to be accepted into the school, potential pupils need to undertake an exam and a parent-child interview. Considering Kaoru’s background, Mamie offers her a lucrative deal: to be Iroha’s “fake mommy” to get her into her dream school.

Chiaki (Nagano Ryota) is a fashion student with big dreams. One day, he hopes to see his designs on the runway, worn by the famous, gorgeous model Ai (Fujibayashi Yasunari). When his class signs up for a prestigious competition, Chiaki is paired with Enaga (Fujibayashi Yasunari), a tacky and clumsy classmate. As he tries to create the design that will award him the prize he yearns for, he crosses paths with Ai himself. To his surprise, Ai invites him out. He then sees himself caught between the charming model he adores and the tasteless project partner seemingly blocking his path to a bright future.

Adapted from Okita Yuho’s manga of the same name.

Following the success of its 2-episode special prequel (which aired back in March), Kaigo Snack Versailles returns with its magical bar owned by the elegant Uesugi Marie (Miyazaki Yoshiko). Hidden in a corner on the outskirts of Tokyo, this bar offers food and drinks for elderly people who require care. As different people come into this mysterious place, they are brought back to their youth, regain their energy, and have the opportunity to take a good look back on their lives.

When a group of former elementary school classmates gather for a reunion and open their decade-old time capsule, warm nostalgia is replaced by widespread angst. Inside the capsule, they find their old graduation album with six of their classmates’ faces disturbingly blacked out.

Soon after, tragedy strikes with mysterious deaths occurring among the former students. As two classmates step forward to find the culprit, the secrets they uncover (and hide) make them realise that everyone can be a potential suspect. The series is led by Mamiya Shotaro and Araki Yuto.

The NTV Program catalogue offers a very sweet description of this unique story:

Genichi Hatano (Oikawa Mitsuhiro), 50, is a slightly clumsy but extremely sentimental man. He falls in love with Saku Sakuta (Tegoshi Yuya), 38, a level-headed, gay middle school teacher. To confess his love to Saku, Genichi somehow ends up proposing that they buy a home together. He thinks it will serve as a “clamp” that will bond them and make breaking up incredibly difficult. Genichi is so serious about it that it almost seems silly, but he is totally not joking.

Suddenly, a troubled 15-year-old middle school student named Hotaru (Shiratori Tamaki) appears before them with a huge sum of money. Her first words are, “I’ll buy you! Will you be my parents?” Love, family, and life are all a hassle and complicated, but for some reason, their paths have crossed. A peculiar cohabitation begins in their chosen home.

Get ready for this home and love comedy that will make you laugh and cry!

Chosen Home is coming to Netflix on October 19th!

Here’s the official synopsis from the ABC Program Catalogue:

Yu (Aoi Wakana) and Mao (Kamio Fuju), high school classmates, began dating on the day of their graduation.
They believed their love was “destined,” but as they went off to different universities, distance gradually pulled them apart.

Following them through high school, university, and into adulthood, this poignant ensemble love story delicately portrays the changing relationships of eight men and women, all woven around the two main characters.

Adapted from Fuyuno Yozora’s web novel of the same name.

Certified tax accountant Kurisu Eiji (Tsumabuki Satoshi) dreams of following in his father’s footsteps and working with him at his tax accounting office. Determined to make him proud, he joins a major tax firm that would allow him to hone his skills before coming to the family’s business. However, an incident leads to the collapse of his plans. That’s when he meets horse owner Sanno Kozo (Sato Koichi), in an encounter that might change his life forever.

The drama is being produced with the full cooperation of the Japan Racing Association (JRA).

Adapted from Hayami Kazumasa’s novel of the same name.

Passing the Reins is coming to Netflix on October 13th!

Torigai Itsuki (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) is a bereavement organiser, that is, he cleans up and organises the belongings of those who have died alone. Itsuki himself lost his wife five years ago, when he was still a trading company employee. Now a single father of the little Riku (Nagase Yahiro), he dedicates his life to supporting families who have lost their loved ones.

His services introduce him to Ayukawa Koharu (Fubuki Jun), a single mother with three months left to live. Her determination to live her remaining time on her own terms moves Itsuki, who accepts the job and starts to assist her in any way he can. He then meets Koharu’s daughter, the picture book author Mikuriya Makoto (Nakamura Yuri). Before long, Itsuki and Makoto grow closer — the only problem is that Makoto is already married to the heir of a powerful corporate conglomerate.

Unreal is a mysterious antique shop whose owner, the quirky Yagio (Someya Toshiyuki), always wears tracksuits. The one to keep an eye out for him is high-schooler Hamaya Munechika (Konishi Eito). The series follows Yagio and Munechika as customers stop by and find the antique that attracts them the most.

Adapted from Yodaka Kei and Katayama Shu’s manga series of the same name.

26-year-old Asano Kanako (Yoda Yuuki) works part-time at a restaurant. By chance, she films a hit-and-run accident one day. She decides to post it and, to her shock, the video goes viral. Kanako sees in these fifteen minutes of fame an opportunity: she turns into Tapako, an exposé influencer who spreads a radical idea of justice. Determined to keep her viral status, Kanako starts to forget her own sense of ethics, but it doesn’t take long before she becomes the target of online slander, hatred, and even violence.

Adapted from Fusedy’s manga series of the same name.

Makabe Yukiko (Amami Yuki) and the members of the Emergency Response Interrogation Team return to solve the most incredible cases with their sharp negotiation skills, their ability to navigate psychological warfare, and their state-of-the-art visualisation equipment.

This season will be followed by a film, Emergency Interrogation Room: The Final, which is coming out on December 26th, 2025, in Japan.

Here’s Netflix’s official synopsis for the series:

Fujiwara Sosuke (Oguri Shun), heir to a major confectionery company, has a fear of germs and can’t bear touching anyone. Meanwhile, Hana (Han Hyo-joo) is a gifted chocolatier who creates their best-selling desserts. Due to her extreme fear of eye contact, she works as an anonymous chocolatier for the popular and exquisite chocolate shop, Le Sauveur. 

When Sosuke becomes the new head of Le Sauveur, he decides to revamp operations and meet with the equally anxious Hana. To their surprise, she finds herself able to look Sosuke in the eyes, while he doesn’t recoil from touching her. What follows is a charming, slow-burn exploration of their day-to-day interactions, as the two gradually and sweetly begin to grow close to each other.

We also meet Hiro (Akanishi Jin), Sosuke’s best friend and a jazz bar owner whom Hana secretly admires, and Irene (Nakamura Yuri), an old friend of Sosuke’s and a therapist who also happens to be Hana’s counselor.

This is a remake of the 2010 French-Belgian film, Les Émotifs anonymes (dir. Jean-Pierre Améris).

Masuyama Hitomi (Kurashina Kana) is the section chief at Ikebukuro West Police Station. Due to her young age, she struggles with older subordinates who disdain her and other young colleagues. Her team then welcomes a new member: 55-year-old Mukai Kotaro (Karasawa Toshiaki). His past is unknown, and Hitomi has no idea whether he has had any experience in the field. But, soon, she notices that his detective skills are quite sharp.

When Hitomi makes a mistake during an important case and loses trust in her own skills, she starts wondering if Kotaro was actually sent by the Personnel Division to check if she’s really fit for the job. Slowly, Hitomi and Kotaro help each other grow professionally and regain their self-esteem.

Adapted from Doba Shunichi’s novel of the same name.

Takamura Itsuki (Kusakawa Takuya) is a former convict who is invited to join the Special Support Program for Former Convicts. Once he accepts, he and the other participants are taken to a secluded facility. They are supposed to live there for a month and the ones who complete the program successfully are promised help to reintegrate into society. The group decide to help each other so that everyone reaches the end of the experience able to get a fresh start in life. However, a cruel trap soon presents itself and puts Itsuki and his fellow participants at risk.

Kitazawa Tatsunosuke (Iwamoto Hikaru) is attorney Kishimura Rika’s (Shiraishi Mai) stoic bodyguard. In the first season, we followed as Tatsunosuke helped Rika investigate her father’s murder and, in the process, fell in love.

This season will see Rika study abroad in London and Tatsunosuke’s struggle to get used to his newly assigned partner. Between a long-distance relationship, high-stakes cases, and all sorts of daily challenges, Rika and Tatsunosuke grow personally and professionally.

Hioki Asahi (Fujimoto Kodai) is an ordinary student who sees himself placed in a different class from his friends. As their school trip approaches, Asahi is invited by a former middle school classmate to join “Four Heavenly Kings,” a group of four handsome, popular students. One of them is Watarai Tsukasa (Kan Hideyoshi), who becomes overly protective of Asahi and, before long, the two embark on a heart-stopping high school love story.

Adapted from Kakuregi Uzura’s novel of the same name.

In 1972, an armoured vehicle carrying $1 million in U.S. dollars is ambushed and vanishes without a trace. The incident takes place mere days before the U.S. returns administrative control of Okinawa to Japan. Fearing a diplomatic crisis between the two countries, the Ryukyu Police assembles a special task force to secretly solve the case.

Counting on team leader Maeda Taishi (Takahashi Issei), who was sent from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the head of the Criminal Investigation Division, Yonaha (Aoki Munetaka), and veteran officer Tamashiro (Kobayashi Kaoru), the task force has 18 days to recover the money and bring the culprit to justice.

Kimi to Shita Kiss wa Itsu Made mo is an original omnibus love story. Set at a lakeside hotel, each instalment follows the story of a different couple. From a husband who misses his late wife to childhood friends who reunite after years apart, this is a place that brings people together and allows them to explore love in all its shapes and sizes.

Hayami Shota (Jyo Kairi) is a kind young man struggling to find a job or to paint a clear picture of the future he wants for himself and his lovely — and understandably worried — girlfriend, Hayashi Mika (Hata Mei). By chance, Shota gets a job as a handyman at a share house, where he meets the three lively 68-year-old women who live there.

Soon enough, Shota and Mika start spending more and more time with these women. Their home-cooked meals, the invaluable wisdom they share, and their undefeatable optimism inspire Shota and Mika to look at their lives with a different perspective. On the other hand, the two youngsters also realise that, despite their experience and determination, these women also face their own challenges, be it with their health, late-life romance, or even re-employment. And so starts a journey of self-discovery, persistence, and joy in which the young and the elderly help each other live more fulfilling lives.

After being fired from his job, salaryman Bunta (Oizumi Yo) loses everything. He now lives an aimless, lonely life until he receives a job interview invitation from a company called Nonamare. Bunta decides to give it a try and, to his surprise, he gets the job. The role entails becoming a slight “esper” (that is, a person who possesses paranormal abilities) to save the world. The company offers him housing, which he’s supposed to share with a contracted wife. The main rule he has to follow is that he isn’t supposed to fall in love with anyone.

Just a Bit Espers is coming to Netflix on October 22nd!

Set in the Edo period, a mysterious religion known as Kinme-kyo is drawing massive crowds who fear the awful curses that are said to befall non-believers. Oda Nobunaga needs to uncover the truth behind this cult to succeed in his plans of unifying the country. To do so, he reaches out to the masked ninja Akakage (Sato Taiki), a mysterious young man with extraordinary skills.

Adapted from Yokoyama Mitsuteru’s manga series of the same name.

Shizuma is a veterinary student who has just found out that his girlfriend had been cheating on him. Heartbroken, he goes to a bar to drink away his sorrows. There, he meets the handsome photographer Minato. They hit it off immediately and spend the night together. The problem is: when they wake up the following morning, Shizuma has no memory of what happened! Minato, who is well-known by the bar staff, is teased about the incident, so they place a bet: Minato has to make Shizuma fall in love with him.

The cast is TBC.

Adapted from Hinohara Meguru‘s manga series of the same name.

Kinoshita Ninako (Fukumoto Riko) is a sweet, gentle high schooler who has never been in love. She often takes the train back home with her classmate, Ichinose Ren (Takahashi Kyohei). Ren is fairly popular, but what really grabs Ninako’s attention is how kind he is to the people around him. After a while, Ninako realises that Ren has become her first love and decides to be honest about her feelings.

Adapted from Sakisaka Io’s manga series of the same name. The story was divided into two seasons, with the first coming out in October and the release date for the second to be confirmed. A similar project was WOWOW’s Ao Haru Ride (2023-2024), also an adaptation of Sakisaka’s work.