TBS Drama Specials 2010 (Fourth Quarter)

Hei no Naka no Chuugakou
Time: From 9.00 p.m., 11 October 2010
Cast: Odagiri Joe, Otaki Hideji, Suma Kei, Chihara Seiji, Sometani Shota, Kadono Takuzo, Yazaki Shigeru, Murata Takehiro, Moriyama Mirai, Takahashi Katsumi, Kaneda Akio, Yamamoto Tetsuya, Kanie Keizo, Hashizume Isao, Watanabe Ken
Synopsis: Within a juvenile corrective institution in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture, is the Kiri branch of Asahimachi Junior High School, the only public school in Japan that is inside a prison. The school’s students are all prisoners. The criteria for admission includes things such as uncompleted mandatory education, good attitude in prison, and a desire to learn. However, only those prisoners admitted by an enrollment council after a rigorous selection process, will study thirteens subjects daily for seven hours over the course of one year. Unlike the typical prisoner, the students at the school are called by their names. They attend classes in school uniform despite their age and their ages range from the 20s to the 60s.
Website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/hei-no-naka/

Asu mo Mata Ikite Ikou
Time: From 9.00 p.m., 25 October 2010
Cast: Aibu Saki, Higa Manami, Yamaguchi Shogo, Naomi Zaizen, Tanaka Misako
Synopsis: Kimura Saori (Aibu Saki) is the star player and captain of the All-Japan Women’s volleyball team. There is a girl with whom she still has a strong bond. That girl is Yokoyama Yumika (Higa Manami), who started playing volleyball from the time she was a third-grader in elementary school and enrolled in Shimokitazawa Seitoku High School. which is a famous school for volleyball. Yumika had chosen the school because Saori was there. She had adored Saori since she was in junior high school and now they were in the same school and on the same team. And, Saori was the person who understood Yumika the best. Yanagimoto Shoichi, the coach of All-Japan Women’s volleyball team discovered their talent early, and they were elected to represent Japan at the Athens Olympics. This would be the start of a magnificent volleyball career for the two girls. However, one day, Yumika is suddenly pronounced to be suffering from cancer when she visits the hospital to consult a doctor on her flu. Her dream of playing at the Olympics are dashed and volleyball, which she had devoted a large part of her life to, is taken from her. Yumika loses the will to live but is saved by Saori …
Website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/asumo-ikiteikou/

99-nen no Ai ~ Japanese Americans
Time: From 9.00 p.m., 3 – 7 November 2010
Cast: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Nakama Yukie, Matsuyama Kenichi, Terashima Saki, Kawashima Umika, Oizumi Yo, Ichikawa Ukon, Kobayashi Nenji, Sasano Takashi, Nakao Akiyoshi, Nakai Kiichi, Izumi Pinko, Yachigusa Kaoru, Kamijo Tsunehiko, Kishi Keiko
Synopsis: One hundred years ago, 19-year-old Hiramatsu Chokichi (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi), who was born as the second son to poor peasants in Shimane, decides to leave for America in the spring of 1912 to reduce the mouths his impoverished family has to feed and to work abroad. However, behind this decision is a secret dream to make a name for himself in America. Chokichi suffered setbacks from his early years but he does not lose heart because of his fortitude, and continues to work hard as a seasonal labourer in the farms. As time passed, Chokichi (Nakai Kiichi) and his wife, Tomo (Izumi Pinko) finally come into possession of their own farm through hard work. They also have four children … In 1940, the year that Japanese-American relations deteriorate and spur discrimination against immigrants of Japanese descent, Chokichi’s eldest son, Ichiro (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi), turns 18. He has no friends at the American university he attends because of the discrimination. But through a strange turn of events, he falls in love with Shinobu (Nakama Yukie), the daughter of a consulate staff who attends the same university as him. The beautiful Shinobu also endears herself to the Hiramatsu family and helps out at their farm. Ichiro’s younger brother, Jiro (Matsuyama Kenichi), has a crush on Shinobu. At that moment, war breaks out between Japan and America. One day, Chokichi is arrested by the FBI and placed in detention. Ichiro, Shinobu, Tomo, Jiro and other people of Japanese descent are also segregated and sent to a camp. Ichiro’s younger sisters, Shizu (Terashima Saki), and Sachi (Kawashima Umika) are sent home to Japan and placed with relatives. Before long, the war intensifies. In order to gain America’s trust in their family, Ichiro pledges his allegiance to America and is sent to the European war front as a US soldier. At that moment, Shizu is caught in the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Sachi gets entangled in the war in Okinawa. In America, Jiro supports Shinobu and tries hard to protect the paradise that his parents have built but …
Website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/japanese-americans/

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