Naomi Hosokawa
A middle-aged salaryman with a typical family, living quietly in a provincial city (Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture), wakes up one morning in the summer of 1994 to find himself the prime suspect in the biggest mass-murder case of the decade.
This story is about four men who work in a confectionary. Tachibana Keiichiro (Shiina Kippei) is the owner; Ono Yusuke (Fujiki Naohito) is the superb baker that has a mysterious and mesmerizing aura; Kobayakawa Chikage (Abe Hiroshi) is the waiter and close bodyguard of Tachibana; and last but not least is Kanda Eiji (Takizawa Hideaki), the ex-boxer who loves cake so much that he becomes a waiter at 'Antique'. This is a refreshing, yet heartfelt comedy about the 4 very unique personalities that work until the wee hours of the night at the small confectionary. The series follows the romance, family life, and most importantly friendship that these 4 men from different generations experience. This is a confectionary with a "flavor" not like most. Located in the middle of an ordinary residential area, "Antique" stays open until 2 a.m. Every single thing in the shop is antique, in fact even the sherry glasses that water comes in look like they would cost 50,000 yen. On top of this, all the sweets that are sold are unbelievably delicious. The thing that is most peculiar about "Antique" though is that all 4 of the men that work here are very handsome, and each has an interesting past. Those that frequent the store also have a story to tell. Edited Excerpt from JDorama.com
The man was called the "Manslayer Demon. One day, he stabs a rival gang member to death in the dark. A rookie female cameraman happened to capture the moment. The man was sentenced to five years in prison for the scoop footage and is tossed about by the passage of five years. Gradually, the man is forced to leave his home, but he soon regains the eyes of the "beast" he once was...
Takanosuke Ushio and Tae Horikawa are unable to forget each other, even though they met and fell in love 20 years ago. They had promised each other that they would build a retreat in Shiguretei, but Ushio was hospitalized after a stroke a few days later, and when his wife, Takako, rushed to the hospital, she discovered their love affair, which in reality had not gone beyond kissing. Now, 20 years later, against the advice of her ikebana mentor, Tae rushes to meet Ushio at Shiguretei, only to see him clutching his chest in pain. Eventually, the design and plans for the dream retreat are seen by Tae, but she has to visit Kyoto alone... or maybe she's heading for somewhere else.
One summer night, sixth-year medical student Natsume Toru is propositioned by Shinozaki Aki. He coldly brushes her off and tells her to look for someone with money. Several days later, while on duty at Keiyu University Hospital, Toru comes across Aki once more. It turns out that she is the sister of Shinozaki Jun, Toru's first official patient. Jun is waiting for a costly operation and in order to pay for it, Aki has been forced to sell herself on the streets. Toru falls in love with Aki, but will he be able to take her off the streets and more importantly, convince her that she deserves his love?
A hearing-impaired woman falls in love with a man who, after becoming engaged to her, loses his memory.
A young woman Chiaki whose family runs an old miso company in Nagano Prefecture, the only daughter of old traditional family. For generations, they were making soybean paste for living. Now she needs to take over this business and rebuild it. She lives through the hardships of postwar Japan.
