Kei Tanaka is a Japanese actor who was born on July 10, 1984, in Tokyo, Japan. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s, and appeared in the 2001 horror movie “Suicide Club,” as well as the 2002 drama series adaptation of the hit manga series “Gokusen.” More recently, he has appeared in a number of hit drama titles, including “I’m Home” (2015), “Good Morning Call” (2016), and “Double Fantasy” (2018).

Kei Tanaka

TV Asahi

Newlywed couple Soichi Haruta (Tanaka Kei) and Ryota Maki (Hayashi Kento) have been through a lot. They went from co-workers to lovers, surviving the perils of a love triangle with Soichi Haruta’s former boss Musashi Kurosawa (Yoshida Kotaro). In more recent times, they were kept apart by coronavirus pandemic-related travel restrictions. Ryota Maki found himself stuck in Sinagapore, and their relationship was forced to go long-distance. Now they can finally live together, they can finally enjoy marital bliss...or so they think!

Fate has other plans for Soichi Haruta and Ryota Maki. As both settle into new roles at work, they find themselves increasingly busy. Household chores begin to pile up, threatening to cause friction between the two lovebirds. When a colleague suggests they use a housekeeping service, the duo agrees. But they are dealt a shock when the housekeeper who arrives at their doorstep turns out to be the recently retired Musashi Kurosawa. Could the love triangle return – and will wedded joy turn out to be short-lived?

This drama is the follow-up to “Ossan’s Love” and other “Ossan’s Love” titles such as “Ossan’s Love: in The Sky.”

“Ossan’s Love Returns” is a 2024 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yuki Saito, Toichiro Ruto, and Daisuke Yamamoto.

Ossan’s Love Returns

Love Reborn Team

Some two years ago, Kokoro Yamihara (Takahata Mitsuki), now a leading news reporter for a weekly entertainment magazine, met police officer Toramatsu Asada (Tanaka Kei) when she came across him one night, drunk and incoherent. His behavior caused her to miss out on a scoop. But soon, a spark of romance ignited between them, and they became lovers. Now they both dream of marriage – but there is something holding each of them back…

Toramatsu Asada’s past love life is still causing him issues, while Kokoro Yamihara is concealing a dark secret about her family. The duo wants nothing more than to come clean with one another so they can finally ie the knot. But things are complicated by a series of gruesome – and particular – murders whereby the victims’ blood appears to have been drained away. Who is behind the killings – and will Kokoro Yamihara and Toramatsu Asada ever reveal the truth to one another?

“Unknown” is a 2023 Japanese drama series that was directed by Toichiro Ruto and Ko Kanai.

Unknown

Love at first bite Team

At thirty-three, Soichi Haruta (Kei Tanaka) should have been living a full, happy, comfortable life. Unfortunately, he’s not. As an employee at a local real estate office, Soichi isn’t exactly unsuccessful in his career but when it comes to women, he has absolutely no luck. Still living with his parents, Soichi often wonders if his luck will ever change. Ironically enough, it does; but not in the way he was expecting.

Done supporting him, Soichi’s mother decides to walk away, leaving her son to find a way to survive on his own. With no idea how to cook, clean, or generally take care of himself, Soichi wastes no time in accepting his co-worker, Ryota Maki’s (Kento Hayashi), offer when he invites Soichi to live with him. Though Soichi is happy to be enjoying Ryota’s impeccable housekeeping skills, he’s completely caught off guard when he learns that Ryota has long had a crush on him. To make matters even more complicated, Soichi’s boss, Musashi Kurosawa (Kotaro Yoshida) has recently confessed his love for him.

Surrounded by men with strong feelings for him, Soichi finds himself caught in an unexpected love triangle. How will he be able to sort out his own feelings when he’s constantly being pulled in opposite directions?

One of the very first Japanese boys’ love dramas, “Ossan’s Love S1” is a 2018 Japanese romantic comedy drama directed by Saito Yuki and Toichiro Ruto.

Ossan’s Love

Unexpected Love Team

Two years ago, Kyoka Sawada (Juri Ueno) suffered a heavy blow when her mother suddenly passed away. Unable to bear the thought of her father, Rintaro Sawada (Yutaka Matsushige), living alone, Kyoka made the life-altering decision to move into her father’s home. Since then, Kyoka and her father have struggled to move forward with their respective lives.

After the death of his wife, Rintaro’s entire world felt lifeless. As a Japanese language scholar, Rintaro poured all his energy into his work, a decision that put his relationship with his daughter in a precarious position. Unwilling to turn his attention elsewhere, Rintaro and Kyoka often found themselves at odds. Burdened with the responsibility of taking care of a father who only seemed interested in arguing, Kyoka often dreams of the day she can finally start living her own life. Little does Kyoka know, that day might not be as far off as she imagines.

While rummaging through his late wife’s belongings, Rintaro stumbles upon a divorce document. With his eyes now opened to his late wife’s true feelings, Rintaro believes the time is right to remarry. As he searches for the perfect wife, Rintaro pushes Kyoka toward marriage as well. But can finding a suitable life partner be as easy for Kyoka as her father makes it seem?

Exploring the delicate lines between life, love, and family, “Is Love Sustainable?” is a 2022 Japanese romantic drama directed by Nobuhiro Doi, Daisuke Yamamuro, and Akiko Kato.

Is Love Sustainable?

Sustainable Heartbeats

Soichi Haruta (Tanaka Kei) is a 35-year-old former high school basketball player who has been working at a sportswear company for several years. The company is in financial trouble, however, so he leaves his job and decides to switch careers. He eventually finds work as a flight attendant at Tenku Peach Airlines. He is somewhat awkward and bumbling, but appears to have found a protective mentor in the experienced Captain Kurosawa Musashi (Kotaro Yoshida).

But one day, Soichi Haruta discovers the reason why Kurosawa Musashi seems so keen to help him: The Captain has drawn pictures of him that he keeps hidden in his locker – and appears to be in love with his young subordinate! And to compound the confusion, he is drawn into a love triangle that also comprises a mechanic by the name of Shinomiya Kaname (Totsugi Shigeyuki) and an amorous young co-pilot called Ryu Naruse (Yudai Chiba). Will any of them end up winning Soichi Haruta’s heart?

“Ossan’s Love S2” is a 2019 Japanese drama series that was directed by Yuki Saito, Ruto Toichiro, and Yamamoto Daisuke.

Ossan’s Love: in The Sky

Love Found Team

A year ago, coworkers Soichi Haruta (Kei Tanaka) and Ryota Maki (Kento Hayashi) found love. But, after some time apart at the workplace, Soichi Haruta returns to the office where his one-time boss Musashi Kurosawa (Kotaro Yoshida) still works. The latter once fell head-over-heels in love with Soichi Haruta, but now warmly welcomes him back to the fold. Ryota Maki, meanwhile, has transferred to the firm’s HQ.

However, surprises lay in wait as a project team from headquarters arrives on a special mission. One of the team’s members, coincidentally, is Ryota Maki. But the presence of other attractive teammates starts to cause friction between Soichi Haruta and Ryota Maki. And to make matters even more confusing, an accident causes Musashi Kurosawa to forget all his prior memories of Soichi Haruta. When the older man sees Soichi Haruta after losing his memory, he falls in love with the latter...all over again! Can Cupid sort out this tangled mess – or is Soichi Haruta and Ryota Maki’s relationship already doomed?

This movie is a follow-up to “Ossan’s Love.”

“Ossan’s Love The Movie～LOVE or DEAD” is a 2019 Japanese movie that was directed by Ruto Toichiro.

Ossan’s Love The Movie～LOVE or DEAD

the ginger ale team

Asami Inaba (Keiko Kitagawa) is an ordinary, unassuming office worker. One day, her boyfriend answers a phone call in a taxi, but is in such a rush that he leaves his cell phone behind him on the seat. She calls him later, but a stranger answers the phone instead. A couple of days later, the phone is returned and she thinks the matter is behind her.

But in fact, she soon comes to realize that someone has managed to access the phone, correctly guessing its passcode and then downloading all of its contents. This person now begins to stalk Asami Inaba, using data from the phone to open up chapters of her life she thought were completely private. Pulling on clues from the phone like a string, this mysterious person is somehow able to access her and her acquaintances’ social media pages and bank accounts – sowing the seeds of chaos in both her personal and financial life. To make matters worse, a spate of brutal killings has also begun...and the female victims all bear an uncanny resemblance to Asami Inaba!

“Stolen Identity” is a 2018 Japanese movie that was directed by Nakata Hideo.

Stolen Identity

The Stolen Team 

WOWOW

Natsu Takato (Asami Mizukawa) is a woman in her mid-thirties and to the outside world, she appears to have a near-perfect life. She is a popular screenwriter who has been commissioned to write for a major new work. She lives with her apparently devoted husband Takatou Shogo (Hidekazu Mashima) in the suburbs of Saitama. Her husband is a former TV network director, but has become a stay-at-home house husband and her business manager, taking care of financial matters and chores while she ostensibly focuses on her work.

However, Natsu Takato is beset by an irrepressible sense of lust that leads her to pursue an extramarital relationship with a theater director. And she also begins to feel that her husband’s influence is starting to encroach on her writing – and that he is trying to micromanage her creative processes. She decides to split from Takatou Shogo – much to her family’s annoyance – and moves to the capital, Tokyo, to live on her own. In the big city, more romances beckon for Natsu Takato, but where will this new adventure take her?

“Double Fantasy” is a 2018 Japanese drama series that was based on a novel of the same name by Murayama Yuka and directed by Minorikawa Osamu.

DOUBLE FANTASY

🍎🔥 Forbidden Fruit 💋🍏

Fuji TV

At twenty-eight, Junko Sakuraba’s (Satomi Ishihara) greatest dream is to live and work in New York City. Unfortunately, working as an English language school teacher isn’t getting her any closer to her dreams. As disappointed as she is at being so far from making her greatest dream come true, Junko is even more disappointed in the fact that she’s soon turning twenty-nine and still has never had a boyfriend.&nbsp;

With a funeral service to attend, Junko has little time for thoughts about dreams or men. But things take an unexpected turn when she notices a handsome monk praying at the temple. Well aware of the fact that a funeral isn’t the best time to find a guy, Junko tries to ignore him but fate decides to make things difficult. With her legs numb from kneeling so long, Junko’s attempt to stand ends in disaster when she accidentally knocks a bowl of ash from the altar on the handsome monk’s head. Mortified, Junko tries to convince herself it’s okay because she will never see him again. But fate, it would seem, has one more trick to play.

Tricked into a matchmaking session by her family, Junko arrives only to find that the other party is none other than the handsome monk, Takane Hoshikawa (Tomohisa Yamashita). Will this second meeting go better than the first or have the two been doomed from the start?

Adapted from the manga series of the same name by Miki Aihara, 5→9 From Five to Nine is a romantic comedy drama directed by Shin Hirano, Hideyuki Aizawa, and Masaki Tanimura.

5→9 From Five to Nine

⏰ From 5→9 Straight to Burnout

Takumi (Nakamura Shido) is a man who lives with his wife Mio (Takeuchi Yuko) and their six-year-old son. But when Mio dies suddenly, Takumi’s whole world falls apart. He is heartbroken, and left totally unsure how to make ends meet. He struggles to keep the house in order and his own health begins to suffer, leaving him blacking out on occasion and unable to stop his son from blaming himself for Mio’s death. The young boy’s only consolation is looking at a children’s book Mio once gave him. To book tells the story of a star that vanishes, but returns during the rainy season.

One day, as the heavy rains begin to fall, Takumi and his son come across what appears to be Mio, sitting in a woodland, taking shelter from the rain. But there’s a problem with this “version” of Mio – she doesn’t have any recollection of who she is, and does not recognize either of them. Takumi takes her in and begins to tell her the story of how they met and fell in love. But is this really his dead wife, come back to life? And is the story he is telling her really what happened all those years ago?

“Be With You” is a 2004 Japanese movie, based on a novel by Takuji Ichikawa, and directed by Nobuhiro Doi.

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