It’s Spring Time: 20+ Japanese Dramas Out in April 2025!

Namikawa Kanta (Inoo Kei) and Natsume (Ihara Rikka) have been married for three years. They seem happy together and both have very successful careers. However, Kanta is an excessively doting partner, which makes Natsume feel a bit suffocated in their relationship. Kanta then suspects that Natsume is having an affair and, on the day he decides to confront her about it, she dies in an accident. A little later, to his surprise, he finds himself in a room with his wife — who is just as surprised as she tells him that he is actually the one who died.

Mugimaki Satoko (Sakurai Yuki) is a 38-year-old single woman who lives a simple life working part-time. Her peaceful existence is forever changed by an immune disorder diagnosis. She then quits her job and looks for a new place to live. She finds herself in a 45-year-old housing complex. Thanks to her new landlord Miyama Suzu (Kaga Mariko) and her neighbour Hajiro Tsukasa (Miyazawa Hio), she discovers “medicinal cuisine,” which allows her to take care of her health through food. The relationships Satoko establishes with the inhabitants of the complex, their conversations and the food they cook, show Satoko that happiness is all around us — and within her heart.

Adapted from Mizunagi Tori’s manga of the same name.

Murakami Shiho (Tabe Mikako) is a full-time housewife constantly juggling her two-year-old daughter and housework. She then meets several people, including a working mother and a bureaucrat on parental leave. Shiro soon realises that these people are, at the same time, similar but completely different from her. This experience helps Shiro — and the people around her — change the way they see the world around them.

Adapted from Akeno Kaeruko’s novel of the same name.

Fujisaki Akari (Yamazaki Hirona) finds a job as an office worker at Paradiso, a women’s escort service establishment. There, she works alongside a group of unique therapists to help their customers with all sorts of problems. Her experience allows her to not only better understand the reality of the industry but also reevaluate her own perspective of relationships, work, and herself.

Adapted from Yachinatsu’s web manga of the same name.

Miyoshi Aimi (Kayashima Mizuki) and Sometani Nami (Riko) are two best friends in high school. They both have a huge crush on their fellow classmate, Kirio-kun. These two girls navigate friendships, the excitement of young love, and the challenges of adolescence as they both try to approach this plain but mysterious young man.

Adapted from Chikyuu no Osakana Pon-chan’s manga of the same name.

Mizuno Ima (Kuriyama Chiaki) is a single mother. Her daughter is now in high school and she lives with her two lovers. She then falls in love with Hisame (Ito Kentaro), a graduate student. Even though she struggles to explain her polyamorous relationship to her friends, she finds herself opening up to Hisame, in hopes he’ll reciprocate her feelings.

Adapted from Ichiki Kei’s novel of the same name.

Yabu Rinichiro (Niiro Shinya) is happy to be a “corporate slave.” He works at Well Black Corporation, a black company that refuses to raise salaries or pay overtime. As Yabu dedicates his heart and soul to his job, Shachikujin Yabu explores the meaning, demands, and limits of work and what work-life balance really means.

Adapted from Nachi Izumi’s manga of the same name.

Arthit (Gulf Kanawut Traipipattanapong) is a famous actor in Thailand. His life is so busy and chaotic that he’s lost track of what really matters to him. He decides to escape the hustle and bustle of his existence and go to Japan. There, he meets Ishida Sakurako (Takimoto Miori), a lovely young woman who runs a traditional Japanese sweets shop. Slowly, Sakurako reminds Arthit of what really makes him happy and what he truly wants from life.

Back in the Edo period, Sachi (Koshiba Fuka) is a young women who lost her family. She then moves to the Tenma neighbourhood in Osaka, where she becomes an apprentice at Isuzuya, a kimono shop. The second season continues following Sachi as she grows as a professional despite the challenges that are thrown her way.

Adapted from Takada Kaoru’s novel series of the same name.

Akayama Seiji (Kiritani Kenta) works at a children’s welfare facility. He loves his job and dedicates himself to it wholeheartedly, supporting and encouraging the children around him to follow their dreams. Akayama suddenly disappears and, when he returns 20 years later, the facility is gone and his students are struggling to survive in a world that only exploits and deceives them. Reunited with five of his now adult students, Akayama decides to stand up against corruption and greed.

Sai follows six different people whose lives are turned upside down by the presence of a strange “man” (Kagawa Teruyuki) who brings “disaster” into their existence. This sinister man changes appearance, tone of voice, personality, and mannerisms each time, meeting each of these six people as a different individual. Who is this person? And what does he want?

Komoto Maya (Adachi Yumi), Kagami Riko (Aibu Saki), and Sakaki Yurika (Isoyama Sayaka) are three women in their late 30s who became friends at university. They aren’t happy with their careers or marriages and regret many of their decisions. They often go out for drinks together, venting their frustrations. One night, Yurika calls Maya and Riko and asks them to come to her house. There, she confesses to having killed her husband. To make matters worse, Maya’s husband soon disappears as well. These three women decide to take advantage of this whirlwind of events to reclaim the happiness and freedom that their marriages stole from them.

Adapted from Maruyama Masaki’s novel of the same name.

Hitomi Ren (Matsuda Genta) and Mano Naomi (Maeda Atsuko) are two young people who work at Hinode Enpitsu, a traditional and well-established stationery manufacturer. Ren is an HR expert with experience abroad but, despite his incredible resumé, he’s a soft-hearted and innocent person. Together, Ren and Naomi want to modernise and transform the company.

Nakano Akane (Ioki Mao) is a genius high school student who joined the prestigious Seiran Gakuen with perfect scores. She finds everything boring and can’t find meaning in life. However, after she meets Kurokawa Yu (Yamamura Ryuta), a young man who is the main suspect in a murder case, she finds excitement in causing small incidents at school. She always leaves cryptic clues for her classmates, who fail to solve them every time. Things change when a real murder happens at school and, soon an unprecedented series of crimes shock not only their town, but the entire country.

Shirosaki Tatsuhiko (Machida Keita) and Sasazuka Shinpei (Koizumi Kotaro) work as partners for the Metropolitan Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division. They are considered to be two of the best detectives in the force, boasting the highest arrest rate in the department.

Things change when Keiko (Izumi Rika), Shirosaki’s wife, suddenly disappears. Shortly after, the mysterious death of her mentor convinces Shirosaki that his wife was involved in something very dangerous. After the police refuses to investigate and removes Shirosaki from active duty, he founds the “Missing Persons Search Team,” a detective agency specialised in disappearances. With the help of a talented group of professionals from several fields and his loyal partner Sasazuka, Shirosaki fights to not only find Keiko but also to bring “vanished truths” to light.

Midnight Yatai is a food stall found on temple grounds that is only open on weekday nights. The place is run by Hojo Terumoto (Nakamura Kaito), a monk with an incredibly sensitive palate, and Toomi Shota (Kamiyama Tomohiro), a first-class French chef who has lost his sense of taste and smell. Despite their differences, they are determined to make their new endeavour a success.

Urumi Shizuka (Hirose Alice) never really wanted to become a high school teacher — but with bills to pay, there wasn’t much that she could do to avoid it. She then joins the teaching team at Meishin Academy, a private institution whose teachers believe in keeping their distance from their students. However, she can’t help but get involved with her troubled students and give them life lessons that might change them forever.

The Reluctant Preacher is coming to Netflix on April 25th!

News Gate is a news programme on JBN, a well-established broadcaster. Despite being the flagship newscast of the station, News Gate is currently struggling with low ratings. That’s when JBN’s chairman decides to appoint the rebellious but determined Shindo Soichi (Abe Hiroshi) as the show’s new anchorman. Shindo is known for chasing the truth no matter what, even if that means disregarding protocol. As the new general director, we have the talented Sakikubo Hana (Nagano Mei). Motohashi Yusuke (Michieda Shunsuke) is named her an assistant director. These three people work together to transform the show into a trustworthy programme, produced by a tight-knit team of professionals.

News Anchor is coming to Netflix on April 20th!

Anno Shura (Matsumoto Wakana) is a 39-year-old emergency doctor at Taishaku General Hospital. She’s brilliant and fearless, bravely facing the most chaotic of scenarios and performing miraculous operations to save her patients. She also has an uncanny ability to predict emergency calls. Because of her talents, her colleagues call her “Dr. Asura.”

Adapted from Koshino Ryou’s manga of the same name.

Tsutsui Makoto (Kishii Yukino) is a news program director who meets Shitara Hiroki (Shison Jun), a famous freelance journalist, at a crime scene in Tokyo. As they investigate the same case, Tsutsui and Shitara come closer and closer together and a romance between the two seems inevitable. That’s when Tsutsui starts to suspect that Shitara might not be the person he claims to be.

Kajin Ayame (Aso Kumiko) is a capable but lonely lawyer. One day, she’s introduced to Minamoto Ieya (Shiono Akihisa), a handsome and charming man who is suspected of domestic violence and murder. The two develop a dangerous attraction for each other and Ayame decides to prove his innocence.

Monster is a Japan-Korea co-production.

Agawa Ryuhei (Masakado Yoshinori) has been in love with Musashibara Tamaki (Takanashi Rin) for most of his life. Tamaki is 10 years his senior, which is why she seems him as a little brother. He’s confessed to her twice, only to be completely rejected. When he finally decides to give up on her, he finds out that Tamaki is interested in a colleague. That encourages him to pursue her more actively. Will Ryuhei finally make Tamaki look at him as a potential love interest?

Adapted from Kawachi Haruka’s manga of the same name.

Musashino Rondo is now available on Viki.

Nakagoshi Hiromi (Kitagawa Keiko) lost her 3-year-old child in a food-related accident many years ago. She still resents Yuki Asahi (Omori Nao), the owner of the delicatessen responsible for the accident. Hiromi then kidnaps his 3-year-old daughter without really thinking. Her goal was to get her revenge… but now what? There might be more to her own child’s accident than meets the eye but does the end justify the means in this case?

Takanashi Yu (Miura Shohei) is a former surgeon who is assigned to investigative pathology at Tenikai General Hospital. The department, helmed by Ameku Takao (Hashimoto Kanna), is responsible for diagnosing the most complicated of cases. She has an eccentric personality but Takanashi soons discovers that she’s a brilliant physician who loves solving mysteries. Together, Ameku and Takanashi investigate mysterious deaths that can only be deciphered with Ameku’s extraordinary diagnostic abilities.

Adapted from Chinen Mikito and Ito Noizi’s novel of the same name.

Usami Seiji (Uchino Seiyo) is the chief instructor of Japan Air Self-Defence Force’s Air Rescue Team, as known as Pararescue Jumpers (PJ). The PJ is an elite rescue unit deployed in extreme accidents and disasters. Usami’s training methods might be strict, intense, and unconventional but they guarantee that aspiring trainees become rescue operators who can handle the extreme missions that the PJ is assigned to.

The show was produced in cooperation with the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and it promises to deliver a realistic and captivating portrayal of the work of the PJ, inspired by the real-life Air Rescue Wing.

Pararescue Jumper is coming to Netflix on May 2nd!

After the Quake is an anthology drama composed of four stories that illustrate the 30 years since the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Each episode portrays a tragedy that the Japanese society faced in these three decades and how people gather the courage to survive day after day towards healing. The cast includes names such as Okada Masaki, Hashimoto Ai, Narumi Yui, among others.

Adapted from Murakami Haruki’s short story collection of the same name.

Kenta (Takasugi Mahiro) is an innocent and indecisive young man who dreams of becoming an idol. After spending years in Tokyo without any success, he decides to return to Mikasa, his hometown. He then bumps into the self-proclaimed “King of Mikasa” and former high school Senior (Emoto Tokio). Senior and Kenta have both been struggling to find their own paths among the demands of modern society. They decide to change the future of their town together.

Ayano (Yamamoto Mizuki) is a married elementary school teacher who meets the charming Akari (Kuriyama Chiaki) at her favourite bar one night. Conversation flows naturally between the two of them and they are instinctively drawn to each other. As the night comes to a close, Ayano goes in for a kiss, taking Akari by surprise. Here stars a bittersweet romance between Ayano and Akari, who, despite their age, are still figuring out who they are.

Adapted from Shimura Takako’s manga of the same name.

Haruto (Yagi Yusei), a successful prosecutor, is mortified when Sakura (Saito Kyoko), a young judicial apprentice, mistakenly accuses him of grouping her. Coincidentally, later that day, Haruto witnesses Sakura in a heated argument with her boyfriend, who seems to have been cheating on her. As a gesture of goodwill, Haruto invites her out for drinks, serving as a shoulder for her to cry on. They have an awkward moment when drunk and heartbroken Sakura makes a move on Haruto. Things get even more awkward when Sakura joins his department days later, hoping to complete her prosecutorial training.

Remake of SBS’s Suspicious Partner (Korea, 2017).

Suspicious Partner is now available on Viki.