A new season always heralds new J-dramas! April arrives with dozens of new Japanese dramas that will certainly make your spring a tad more colourful. So, is everybody ready? Your spring J-drama list is finally out! Here are 40+ new Japanese dramas coming out in April 2026. I’ll do my best to update this article…
J-dramas
Just a Bit Espers: A Deceptively Simple Sci-fi Satire
I’m a huge admirer of Nogi Akiko, a screenwriter who has one of the most impressive filmographies in the history of Japanese television โ in my humble opinion, of course. She’s written anything and everything from classic J-dramas (NTV’s The Memorandum of Kyoko Okitegami and TBS’s Public Affairs Office in the Sky) to more modern…
Chosen Home: A Gentle Tale about Being Human
I cried throughout the entire finale of Nippon TV’s Chosen Home. Chosen Home isn’t exactly the sort of series that makes you cry. No one dies, nothing extremely tragic happens. But I felt tears running down my face for all its 44 minutes. There was something about saying goodbye to its characters, witnessing the end…
Then You Try Making It!: Bravely Breaking the Chains of the Patriarchy
Rarely โ very rarely โ we stumble upon a series or a film that isn’t scared of telling the story it wants to tell. One that eschews the clichรฉs and the need for the “traditional happy ending”, developing its characters so flawlessly that they are the ones to dictate where they want to end up….
30+ Japanese Dramas to Warm Up Winter 2026!
The new year arrives with a bunch of new J-dramas (and the return of some old friends too!). If you’re looking for the most exciting 2026 Winter Japanese dramas coming out in January, look no further. Your Winter J-drama list is finally out! Here are 30+ new Japanese dramas coming out in January 2026. I’ll…
Year In Review: The 2025 Japanese Dramas that Brightened Up Our Days
If you’ve been a fan of Japanese television for a while, you might have noticed how much easier it is to find Japanese dramas on international streaming platforms nowadays. Slowly but surely, platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Viki have been offering more and more Japanese content with subtitles and even dubbing options lately….
Miss King Isn’t a Tale About Revenge but Freedom
It’s rare to find a television series as cinematic as AbemaTV’s Miss King, an eight-episode drama that aired from September to November 2025. Written and co-directed by Yamagishi Santa, who shared the helm with Tsubakimoto Keijiro, Miss King is set in the world of shogi (which is a kind of Japanese chess), but the game…
The Greatest Teacher: A Flawed but Profoundly Relevant Youth Mystery
The knottiness of classroom dynamics has been the topic of many series and films. If you’re a fan of Japanese dramas, I’m sure you’ve heard of NTV’s remarkable Mr Hiiragi’s Homeroom (2019), for instance. If you’re more of a K-drama fan, you might remember OCN’s Class of Lies (2019) instead. Following in their footsteps, you’ll…
Romantics Anonymous: A Celebration of Uniqueness, Love and Chocolate
Romantic comedies are a tricky thing to write. There’s a fine line between sweet and cringey, romantic and intrusive. It’s difficult to balance personal growth and romantic involvement, finding time and space to develop both the individual and the couple. But when a story gets it right, it can be a thing of beauty. That’s…
Cinderella Closet: Being Yourself Is a Revolutionary Act
I must confess that, when TBS’s Cinderella Closet first came out on Netflix, I didn’t expect much from it. Its 20-minute episodes and a light-hearted premise, however, persuaded me to give it a shot. The story that blossomed in front of my eyes had the shell of thousands of other romantic Japanese dramas, but it…
