01 A working-class girl clashes with, then falls for, the richest and cruellest boy at her elite school.
10 Best Japanese Drama Series
By Vlad Zakh · July 30, 2026
Shogun’s recent adaptation introduced a mass audience to Japanese-set prestige drama, while Midnight Diner and Terrace House show the country’s TV at its smallest and most intimate. Tokyo Vice splits the difference as an English-language crime story. Boys Over Flowers pits a working-class girl against the cruellest rich boy at her school, Erased lets a man travel back in time to stop a tragedy, and First Love reunites two old sweethearts across two timelines. Followers, Giri/Haji and Alice in Borderland round out the list.
01 
02 Former high school sweethearts reunite decades later, told across two intertwined timelines.
03 A photographer and her circle navigate ambition and fame in the age of social media in Tokyo.
04 A tight mystery-thriller structure that plays well for viewers who prefer plot over spectacle.
05 An American journalist covers the crime beat in Tokyo, based on Jake Adelstein's real memoir.
06 A Tokyo detective travels to London to find his missing brother and gets tangled in the yakuza underworld.
07 Aimless young people are trapped in an empty Tokyo and forced to play deadly games to survive.
08 A reality show about strangers living together, shot with an unusually gentle, unscripted tone.
09 A late-night Tokyo diner and the regulars whose quiet stories unfold over simple, comforting meals.
10 An English navigator caught in a brutal political power struggle in feudal Japan, adapted from James Clavell's novel.
Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.
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