Masquerade Night

Even though he loves her, he can’t understand her. Because he loves her, he wants her to understand him. A value-gap romance comedy about a feminist girlfriend and a self-proclaimed kind boyfriend Starring Mei Nagano. With solid acting, she vividly brings to life “her,” a woman who became a feminist for a certain reason. Playing the self-proclaimed kind boyfriend who wants to get back together with her is Taisei Kido. He portrays Haruki, the former boyfriend who is still hopelessly in love with “her,” with a relatable, endearing charm as he’s tossed around by the girl he can never forget. In the newly released footage, Haruki’s sweet recollections begin with the innocent, happy couple from their college days, accompanied by his lines: “You always smile so happily” and “I want to protect you.” But seven years after their sudden breakup, the girl he once loved (“her,” played by Mei Nagano) unexpectedly appears before Haruki, who turns around after being called out to by her. What stands there is his first love, transformed in every way from the “cute, earnest girlfriend who healed me” he once knew—. Even while struggling to accept that the woman he has reunited with has become a feminist, Haruki throws himself into trying to win her back because he loves her. But whenever they meet face to face, they clash head-on over what is “normal” and what is “obvious.” As a fast-paced battle of words unfolds, can the two of them, burdened by such a gap in values, really get back together!? What does the message on the T-shirt, “GOOD GIRLS GO TO HEAVEN, BAD GIRLS GO TO EVERYWHERE,” mean—? She was always smiling beside me—“her.” But after one certain incident, Haruki is unilaterally dumped by his first love. Even though he resents her, he can’t forget her. Seven years after their breakup, “her” still lingered in his heart. Now a company employee working for a stationery manufacturer, Haruki one day encounters a group of women protesting on his way home from work. The one who calls out to him there is the girl he once loved so deeply. But the woman he reunites with is nothing like the earnest, adorable “her” who once comforted him. She’s become a feminist!? To Haruki, who wishes, “I want to date you again,” “her” shuts him down flatly with, “No way.” Whenever they face each other, a battle erupts over what is “normal” and what is “obvious.” Can these two, whose values are completely out of sync, become lovers again?

Seiichi Tanabe and Shunsuke Kazama co-star! The story of two brothers who pioneered Japan-U.S. trade during the turbulent transition from the late Edo period to the Meiji era. TV Aichi is airing and streaming in prime time this November, the milestone 150th year, the first-ever television drama adaptation of the story of the two brothers who founded Morimura Gumi (now Morimura Shoji), the forerunner of global manufacturing companies such as Noritake, TOTO, NGK, and NICHIAS. Their relentless challenge to open up Japan-U.S. trade through private-sector power and conquer the world with a “pure white dinner set” is also a message of encouragement to modern-day Japanese people, who are losing their sense of conviction and adventurous spirit. The Morimura brothers are played by actors Seiichi Tanabe and Shunsuke Kazama. Also look out for Yokohama Port as it was when it first opened, and the streets of Japan and the U.S. in the early Meiji period, recreated using the latest generative AI technology. 150 years ago, we set out to change Japan for real and take on the world— In the late Edo period, Japan was forced to open its doors, and although it began trading with the Western powers, vast amounts of gold (kobans) were flowing out of the country. “If Japan is to prosper, we must recover the gold taken by foreign countries,” Morimura Ichizaemon, driven by righteous indignation, founded the trading company Morimura Gumi with his younger brother, Yutaka. Dividing their efforts between Japan and New York, they launched into Japan-U.S. trade, exporting and selling general merchandise. Amid countless hardships, including anti-Asian discrimination and the decline of Japonisme, they found a breakthrough in original domestically produced ceramics and eventually achieved explosive success with their “pure white dinner set.” Why were Japanese people from a small island nation in the Far East able to succeed? Why did “Made in Japan” astound the world? This is the story of the courage and decisions of those who turned the upheaval that began with the opening of Yokohama Port into an opportunity.

Hagiwara Kazuaki (Junnosuke Muto), who works in the sales department of a home appliance manufacturer, and Nakarai Sei (Asahi Ito), his同期 in the general affairs department, grew close after an accidental misdirected email, and eventually both went through breakups with their respective partners, confirming their love for each other. Four months later, Kazuaki returns to the head office after completing his assignment in Osaka, and the two reunite. During that time, Sei had moved into an old, 37-year-old apartment building and started living alone. Kazuaki promptly visits Sei’s new place, but because they haven’t seen each other in four months, the two are at first somewhat awkward with one another... “You said you’d never go anywhere.” Sei worries that Kazuaki’s feelings may have changed over these four months. Through casual conversation and gentle touches, the distance between them gradually shrinks. But Kazuaki wants to confirm Sei’s true feelings... And then, one torrential downpour awakens the heat between them once more—.

A Sunday drama from the network that created buzz with “Yell for Love” and “Ossan’s Love” A gentle, medicine-like story that wraps around the hearts of exhausted modern people 40 years old, a shut-in for 12 years A woman who had given up on life is about to step back into the “outside world” Tamura Uzume, 40 years old. She was once a child actress who dreamed of becoming a performer who could make people smile. But at 28, after one certain incident, she quit acting and withdrew into her room at her parents’ home. Twelve years have passed since then. Having neither married nor worked, Uzume spends her days in self-indulgence, until her mother, Sakiko, can no longer stand to watch and finally calls a “handyman service” to have her daughter’s room cleaned up. The person who arrives is Koorogi, the representative of the handyman service “Kyu-chan.” Noticing from a photograph in the room that Uzume had once acted as a child performer, Koorogi scouts her, asking if she would like to work as a substitute staff member. “Maybe you’ve been given a chance to start over in life. I want to tell you that the time of despair has ended, and the time of hope has come.” And so, Uzume is half-forced into society by Koorogi. Through a variety of jobs, such as pretending to be a lover’s affair partner and apologizing to his wife, or impersonating the “secret child” of a famous female author in order to meet the man she once loved, she begins to interact with other people. Though bewildered at first, as she comes into contact with the lives of her clients, Uzume herself also begins to confront the life that had stopped moving, as well as the wounds of her past. And the people she meets through Uzume, too, come face to face with the emotional scars and worries they had been carrying, and slowly begin to move forward. Uzume, who had stopped living for 12 years, starts walking again. Her name comes from the myth of Amano-Iwato, where the goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto lured Amaterasu-Omikami, who had hidden herself inside a rock, back out into the world through dance. Delicate, yet fundamentally powerful. At times comical and somewhat clumsy, Uzume opens the doors to people’s hearts—. “Life can be restarted at any age.” A human drama of recovery and hope that gently stays close to the hearts of weary modern people and tenderly gives a push to those who have been hurt. Please look forward to this warm, gentle story that softly supports the backs of those who have been hurt.