BEST JAPANESE DRAMAS of 2025

Sales clerk Makoto Sugawara (Ayaka Konno) works hard at her job at an advertising agency, where she's well-liked by her colleagues. However, her desires for a happy family are dashed by her long-term boyfriend, who treats her coldly. To make matters worse, she finds out that he cheated on her. Makoto dumps him, but finds herself without anywhere to live. To her surprise, her department manager Ren Odagiri (Shota Totsuka) offers to let her stay with him. At work, Odagiri gained the nickname "yakuza boss" for his cold, strong personality, but at home, he's unexpectedly sweet to Makoto. But Odagiri is hiding a secret almost too absurd to believe: he's secretly a gang boss for real! Will Makoto find out about Odagiri's double life – and what will this mean for their growing connection? This drama was adapted from the manga of the same name by Nao Mashimo and @R.

The Yakuza Boss’s Beloved

The Yakuza Team 🐉

Fuji TV

In 1936, Natsumi Sekiya (Kyoko Yoshine), the third daughter of her family, is suddenly told by her father she will marry Takimasa Ebata (Kyoya Honda), an imperial navy officer. However, she’s never met him before – and doesn’t even see him at their wedding ceremony, as he’s unable to attend due to his training schedule. When they finally meet for the first time, they struggle to connect due to his shy, stoic personality, but gradually grow to understand each other. This drama was based on the manga of the same name by Hachi Nishiga.

A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You

A Naval Knot of Fate

Kaede Sato (Ayaka Konno), a new transfer to the sales department, finds herself working overtime thanks to pressure from her new boss Satoru Mizoguchi (Noel Kawashima). Unexpectedly, she gets locked out of the office – until her senior coworker (and secret crush) Daisuke Shioya (Ryusei Fujii) happens to pass by. Shioya's also forgotten his keycard, so he and Kaede head to his apartment nearby to retrieve it, only for a sudden downpour to leave them soaked. Shioya offers to let Kaede stay the night, which she happily accepts... until Shioya's roommate returns home early, and the two hide in a closet and end up kissing. To Kaede’s dismay, Shioya's roommate is none other than Mizoguchi! However, Mizoguchi has a hidden crush of his own on Kaede, creating a love triangle none of them anticipated. This drama was adapted from the manga series of the same name by Fudo Fudono.

Seal My Lips With a Kiss

💘Sealed with a Kiss👄

Prosecutor Haruto Tateishi (Yusei Yagi) just wanted to take a normal bus ride in peace... until he's mistaken as a groper on a crowded bus by Sakura Miyashita (Kyoko Saito), resulting in a humiliating incident for everyone. Haruto later encounters Sakura again, this time she's in the middle of dumping her unfaithful boyfriend, and the two end up spending an impulsive, drunken night out together. Unfortunately (or not), that's not the last time they meet: several days later, Sakura, an aspiring attorney, shows up for job training – at Haruto's office! Forced to work together despite their awkward past, Haruto tries to keep things professional, but can't help but feel drawn to Sakura. Was their chaotic first meeting really a sign of fate at work? This drama was adapted from the 2017 South Korean drama of the same name.

Suspicious Partner

Love & Lawsuits

Maika Hattori (Ayaka Konno) works at a hotel called "Bird Left," where she's secretly in a relationship with one of her coworkers. However, after she catches him having an affair with another female coworker, he dumps her, leaving Maika heartbroken. While crying alone in a hallway, she's found by the newly-appointed hotel CEO Shun Satori (Jin Suzuki), who claims he'll help her get revenge on her cheating ex. Shun himself needs an excuse to get out of an arranged marriage, so he suggests that he and Maika pretend to date as a mutually beneficial arrangement. Maika agrees, and the two begin their ruse – but even though they're supposed to be playing pretend, she starts developing feelings for her boss. This drama was adapted from the manga "Fukushu Kareshi: Dekiai Shacho no Kao ni wa Ura ga Aru" by Ryo Morita and Chika Sanada.

The Revenge Lover

💔Ctrl+Alt+Revenge💥

Tokyo MX

Sweets-loving Kotori Ogata (Yumena Yanai) works at a web production company, where she's known for her kind and caring personality. However, she struggles with her body image due to past incidents and tends to be shy when it comes to romance. She has a crush on her younger coworker Ryosuke Soma (Shunta Sono), but he has a reputation for being cold and unfriendly at work. After the two get caught in the rain together, Kotori extends a hand to warm him up, cracking through Ryosuke's chilly exterior. From that day on, Ryosuke begins to show Kotori – and only Kotori – affection at work, slowly bridging the gap between them as they build a relationship together. This drama was adapted from the manga of the same name by Mayuha Mihoshi.

My Frosty Coworker Is Only Sweet to Me

🍰 Sweet Frosty 🍧

TV Asahi

Takao Ameku (Kanna Hashimoto), a brilliant but eccentric doctor, leads the General Diagnostics Department at Teniikai General Hospital, run by the Ameku family. Takao is well-known throughout the hospital for her ability to diagnose and solve even the most difficult medical mysteries, but often struggles to connect with others and conform to social norms due to her autism. When former surgeon Yu Takanashi (Shohei Miura) joins the department, he's baffled by Takao's behavior, but quickly realizes that her diagnostic abilities are unmatched. Yu's keen emotional intuition contrasts with Takao's blunt communication style, allowing them to help patients even better than before. This drama was based on the manga “Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective” by Mikito Chinen and Noizi Ito.

Ameku Takao's Detective Karte

Diagnosis: Suspicious

Aiko Hanamura (Kaya Kiyohara) is a successful divorce attorney known for her kind heart and ability to connect with her clients. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much faith in romance and love herself, as her parents frequently fought when she was young, instead enjoying single life with her new puppy Sakura. While love might not be on Aiko's mind, it seems to find Sakura – in the form of a rescued dog named Shogun, owned by handsome but stoic animal hospital director Kai Shirosaki (Ryo Narita)! Sakura and Shogun are immediately smitten, bringing their two humans in closer proximity to each other. However, company heir Woo So Ha (Na In Woo), who has arrived in Japan from Korea with a secret mission that seems to involve Kai, might just make things more complicated. This drama was adapted from the webtoon "Dog-Like Romance" by Bo Hyeon and Mun Sseoni.

Love is for the Dogs

🐾 Paws of Fate 🐶

Despite being in a devoted relationship with his girlfriend, salesman Kazuaki Hagiwara (Jun Muto) feels unfulfilled and frustrated due to their lack of physical intimacy. Meanwhile, Sei Nakarai (Asahi Ito), Kazuaki’s aloof and asocial coworker, harbors an unrequited love for his roommate and childhood friend, who is also called Kazuaki, and struggles with feeling emotionally distant from others. Their paths cross unexpectedly when Kazuaki accidentally sends a message meant for someone else to Sei, opening up a channel of communication between them as they share candid conversations about their deep-seated desires and frustrations. Gradually, Kazuaki and Sei begin to explore the possibility of deeper intimacy with each other, challenging both societal norms and their own preconceived notions about relationships.

When it rains, it pours

When her mother remarries, Matsuri Amamiya (Meari Hayashi) becomes the younger stepsister to triplets who form the popular male idol group Terezetto. Matsuri always dreamed of having brothers, but she's dismayed to learn that the brothers don't get along. Azusa (Kazuto Mokudai), the middle sibling, wishes that he and his brothers were closer, so Matsuri decides to plan a welcome party to bring the two families together. Unfortunately, the triplets end up fighting again – until Matsuri unexpectedly collapses, and the siblings decide to call a truce. Matsuri is determined to intervene every time the brothers argue, which works to some extent... until one day, Azusa confesses his love for her! Complicating matters further, Matsuri reunites with her handsome childhood friend Subaru (Minato Matsui), and he's about to debut in a rival idol group. This drama was adapted from the manga "Netsuai Prince: Onii-chan wa Kimi ga Suki" by Madoka Seizuki.

Secret Love with Prince

Royal Secrets Team

Rookie reporter Hinako Shinoda (Aoi Okuyama) has landed a job at Sengokusha, one of Japan’s biggest and most prestigious media companies. In her first year at the firm, she works at PR magazines. But to her dismay, she is soon transferred to work on Weekly Sengoku, a magazine that focuses mainly on sensationalist news, solving mysterious crime cases, and checking the veracity of lurid gossip. Her first few attempts at submitting stories for the magazine result in failure – and a series of unpleasant phone calls only serves to worsen the situation. She begins to lose heart. However, when a caller rings in with information about an apparent scandal involving a member of a leading pop group, it looks like Hinako may be on the verge of bagging her first scoop. Suddenly, she finds herself at the beating heart of the magazine, investigating mystery cases with support from a motley crew of colleagues. Can Hinako transform from a nervous newbie into Weekly Sengoku’s star reporter?

The Golden Egg

🧠Mystery Desk🧩

Tokyo businessman Katsuo Ebihara (Ryoma Takeuchi) thinks his relationship with long-term girlfriend Ayumi Yamagishi (Kaho) is going great – but when he proposes to her, she firmly turns him down. Dejected, Katsuo decides to try dating other women, with limited success. At his coworker's suggestion, Katsuo decides to try cooking a dish that Ayumi frequently made for him. This proves to be an enlightening experience for Katsuo, as he struggles to prepare what he thought was an easy dish, giving him a new perspective on what he thought were light-hearted criticisms of Ayumi's cooking. Meanwhile, Ayumi herself attempts to discover who she is outside of their relationship, feeling lost as she dedicated much of her life to Katsuo's desires. Will Katsuo and Ayumi's time apart strengthen their bond, or prove that they're better off apart? This drama was based on the manga of the same name by Natsuko Taniguchi.

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