How often do you find yourself watching a series or film about horse racing? Even though horse racing is considered to be one of the most ancient of all sports, I, for one, can’t remember the last instance I sat in front of the TV cheering for a fictional (or real-life, let’s be honest) horse…
2025 Japanese 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….
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…
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…
The 19th Medical Chart: A Soothing, Heartwarming Dream of a Better Future
Among a sea of medical dramas, there are only a select few that don’t rely on intense political intrigue or that try to imagine a different approach to the current healthcare system. These often stand out โ either because they don’t live up to the audience’s expectations of fierce sequences of surgeries and emergency rooms…
Autumn Is Here: 30+ New Japanese Dramas Out in October 2025!
The summer has come to an end and the autumn kuru is ready to welcome us. If you’re looking for new Japanese dramas coming out in October 2025, look no further. Your Autumn J-drama list is finally out! A new season always brings a whole new batch of shows for us to enjoy. Here is…
