Also Directed by Kozo Nagayama
Seven good buddies left school and stepped into society. Each then finds life out there not as carefree as it used to be. Their courage, optimism and confidence are also worn off slowly by the cunning reality. After a series of hurdles, they get a deeper understanding of their friendship and treasure it even more. --DramaWiki
Tokyo Friends is a Japanese television drama released on June 3, 2005. Unlike many other dramas, it was never aired on TV but released as a set of 3 DVDs. Volumes one and two contain the first 4 episodes while volume three contains the last episode. Each episode is approximately 70 minutes. The Tokyo Friends Premium Box was also released which includes all 5 episodes, a bonus DVD, and 12 postcards. Although this is a very typical Tokyo-story and was never aired on TV, it was quite successful probably because it was Ai Otsuka's debut as an actress.
Rei Iwatsuki (Ai Otsuka) moved from her hometown Kōchi to Tokyo to pursue her dreams. On arrival, she found a job as a waitress in a restaurant and met guitarist Ryuuji Shintani. Ryuuji (Eita) liked her voice and invited her to join his band as the vocalist, The Survival Company (also known as Sabakan). The two started a relationship but then broke off when Rei wanted to write her own songs. Rei met other girls also working in the restaurant, Hirono (Matsumoto Rio), Ryoko (Maki Yoko) and Maki (Kobayashi Mao), all in pursuit of their own dreams, and became good friends with all of them. One day, Rei receives news that Takashi was seen in New York and she decides to go look for him..
Just hours before two different couples (Manae & Ryotaro : Shoko & Kohei) take their vows, Manae and Kohei discover an untold secret of their spouses-to-be. While they are pondering over their decisions, they meet each other and become friends. Their friendship then extends after their marriages with Manae taking the initiative of choosing her home beside Kohei's. This move is certainly not to Ryotaro's advantage, as he is Shoko's ex-boyfriend and the child she is carrying is actually his
Hitotsu Yane no Shita is a Japanese television series. It had a first season in 1993 and a second season, titled Hitotsu Yane no Shita 2, in 1997. It was very popular in Japan, with its highest rating being a remarkable 34 percent and it was also exported to other regions in East Asia. It features Yosuke Eguchi, Noriko Sakai and Masaharu Fukuyama as its leading characters.
A music school graduate, Sena worked part-time teaching piano after failing to move on to graduate school. One day, an older woman named Minami comes to visit Sena’s apartment, dressed in a bridal gown. Minami explained that she had been engaged to Sena’s roommate, but that he did not show up for the wedding. Minami then decides to stay in the apartment to wait for her fiancé. And so this is how Minami and Sena begin their strange life together. Sena tries to cheer up Minami by telling her that “when life isn’t going your way, just think of that time as a long vacation, given by God.” However, Sena also has his share of problems and is finding it hard to believe in himself. He is also dealing with frustrations in his relationship with a girl at school, which seemed to be going nowhere. With their own sets of problems, Sena and Minami slowly grow to be indispensible to each other. The story follows the heart of a man so pure that he has difficulty expressing himself, and his relationship with a woman who is inspired by his innocent soul to retrieve the emotions she had forgotten.
Four back-up dancers try to go on without their star singer, Juli, who suddenly abandons her career for marriage.
Boku dake no Madonna, sometimes shortened to BokuMado, is a drama series that aired in Japan on Fuji TV in 2003. In English it is often called You are my only Madonna / ...and I Love Her.
