Kie Kitano

Okuhara Natsu was born in Tokyo in 1937. In 1945, she loses both parents to war and becomes an orphan, but her father’s comrade, Shibata Takeo, takes her in and moves to Tokachi in Hokkaido. In an unfamiliar land surrounded by unfamiliar people, Natsu feels lost at first, but surrounded by Tokachi’s vast nature and its strong, yet compassionate people, she grows up to be a strong girl. When Natsu enters elementary school, she meets Yamada Tenyo who draws lovely pictures of horses. Tenyo tells her that in America, animation in which pictures move is becoming popular, Natsu’s curiosity is piqued. Upon graduating high school, Natsu goes to Tokyo to look up her brother, and takes a jump into the world of animation.

After her mother took the blame for a tragic fire 13 years ago, Anzu plots revenge by working as a housekeeper under a pseudonym for her icy stepmother.

Dr. Shindo seems cold, but is a competent surgeon. He is also an ER doctor capable of accurate decisions and treatment, who always tries to see things from the patient’s side. Although once retired from his profession, he one day discovers someone in need of help, who he treats and rushes to the Kohoku Medical University Emergency Center. This incident encourages him to once again work as an ER doctor. Confrontation erupts between female doctor Tamaki, and Shindo, now a just-arrived ER doctor. While this human drama depicts the relationships among doctors and nurses, it appeals emotionally to viewers on the subject of life.

The 74th NHK Asadora Drama is Junjo Kirari, which means something along the lines of "pure-hearted Kirari." The story is set in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture in the era around the Second World War. When the story opens in 1928, the heroine, Sakurako, is a very active seven-year-old girl. Indeed, even in the first episode she exhibits her confidence and enthusiasm. But above all else, Sakurako is interested in becoming a jazz pianist, and music features extensively in the plot.

Based on the manga by Ritsu Miyako, this unique drama pairs a penniless detective with a razor-sharp eye for detail with a mysterious woman who can detect lies...?! Together, they unravel complex cases where truth and deception intertwine like threads in a delicate web, all set against the backdrop of a retro-modern cityscape.

Miki Ichinose is a 14-year-old schoolgirl who is very outgoing and cheerful. She lives with her parents and younger brother. She is in a romantic relationship with Satoshi Kirino who is 15 years old. They keep their relationship a secret from their parents because Miki is young and Satoshi is expected to excel in school and get into a university so he can take over the family business by his overbearing mother. One night, after a date, they sneak into a treehouse and consummate their relationship. Soon after, Miki suspects that she is pregnant and steals a pregnancy test, which her mother later finds. She is taken to a doctor who confirms her pregnancy. Initially upset, Miki's parents promise they will support her. Miki tells Satoshi of the pregnancy and he takes the news well. However, his mother is furious when she learns of it and forbids the two from seeing each other.

Adapted from Keiko Suenobu's manga "LIFE," this drama delves into the dark side of high school life. The story focuses mainly on bullying, but the manga also touches on subjects such as self-mutilation, suicide, and rape. Kitano Kii stars as Ayumu Shiiba, one of the students bullied by a group of classmates led by Ayumu's former friend, Manami Anzai (Fukuda Saki).

A transgender bar owner and a troubled housewife uncover buried regrets and get caught in a murder mystery in Osaka, where literature and intuition guide them toward the truth.

A private high school by the sea... All of the senior students devote themselves only to their studies for college entrance exams from the end of the summer. One day, an unconventional teacher gets posted at this high academia-oriented school. His name is Sakurai Sakutaro. His background is a mystery. Nobody gets what he's talking about. He's pushy and bold. The students are reluctant to open up to him who sticks his nose into their private affairs. But Sakutaro keep trying to help them overcome their problems He also encourages and guides them, and they eventually develop a bond of trust. "Live in the moment which exists only now"... His message gradually gets through to his students.

Kishi Minetaro is a skilled and serious-minded plastic surgeon. He looks down on doctors earning money through cosmetic surgeries as well as on women asking for such medical procedures. However, having to repay his father's debt, Minetaro chooses lucrative work at a clinic specializing in aesthetic plastic surgery. The clinic is full of beautiful women, including the director Yukawa Mari, who is well known for her skills in breast reconstruction, a highly-trusted doctor Ichii Mutsumi, and a cheerful nurse Kishitani Aoi. But most of them have already had some work done to their faces, and they strongly believe that “faces are for lives.” Various types of patients visit this clinic. As Minetaro needs to keep this job to continue paying off the debt, he has no choice but to respond to the patients' selfish requests, such as, “I need my previous face back because my husband suspects that I may cheat on him now that I have a surgically-altered, young-looking face,” or “I want to change my face and look different from my twin sister.” But their wishes makes him wonder...If they change their appearances, will their futures become brighter? Will their worries disappear? “Beauty” is the keyword set in this human drama, depicting the true feelings of women through the eyes of a surgeon who isn't attuned to reading a woman's mind.

A 38 years-old single woman Mugimaki Satoko’s life has completely changed after being diagnosed with a "lifelong" illness. She is forced to quit her job and finds an old housing complex with a monthly rent of 50,000 yen. With her landlord living next door and a sketchy cook, Satoko encounters "medicinal cuisine," a way of eating seasonal food to maintain bodily functions. A story that will warm you from the bottom of your stomach, just like a bowl of rice porridge, is about to begin!

“Who is the last person you would like to see？” When junior high school teacher Sakuraba Ayako wakes up, she sees a man standing there. Calling himself a guide of this mysterious place that extends in front of them, he tells her that this is “goodbye’s other side”. As his words sink in, Ayako recalls that she has died. She lets slip that she had never thought she would die in this manner. Visitors to this other side can meet people of this world one last time within a 24-hour time period. Ayako immediately thinks of her son Yuta and husband Hirotaka. However, the guide says the ones she can meet are only those who still do not know about her death. Ayako goes to the house of her former teacher Ishibashi Nobuyoshi. She is greeted by his daughter Megumi, but Nobuyoshi passed away about two years ago…

The wives take down the worst husbands who trample on their wives' dignity! A new, "at-home" revenge story that depicts the extreme situations of three couples at the end of their marriages and their condemnation of their husbands in an omnibus format!

Takenouchi plays an aquarium employee named Kengo, who seems ordinary at first glance but actually possesses a secret that he would sacrifice everything in order to protect. Meanwhile, Ueto plays Risa, a young woman working in the sex trade in order to pay off her brother's debt, though her situation has led her to contemplate suicide. These two characters, both full of despair, meet each other and end up entering a contract marriage purely for its benefits. However, as they overcome various troubles, their relationship begins turning into true love.

A comedy drama set at a cineplex in a rural city and it features the people working there. Mizusawa Kenta is the general manager of the cineplex while Nakazuka Kaori is a manager who is transferred to the cineplex from the parent company.

Kiwako Nonomiya is devastated after Takehiro Akiyama, the married man she has been having an affair with, manipulates her into getting an abortion by promising to marry her and then refusing to divorce his wife. Kiwako then learns of Takehiro's wife's pregnancy. One morning, while Takehiro and his wife Etsuko are away, Kiwako sneaks into their home to get a look at their six-month-old child. Without a thought for the consequences, she carries the baby away. Kiwako then raises the child as her own, while being a fugitive from the law.

At a police unit dedicated to supporting crime victims, two women with contrasting approaches work together to help survivors rebuild their lives while confronting the emotional aftermath of tragedy.

Toko Aso and Hisae Aso are sisters with a "queen" and "slave" relationship. The older sister, Toko, has the beauty and talent that everyone envy and is currently the president of a company. Despite looking perfect, Toko has another side which she only exposes to her younger sister. Hisae on the other hand, only sees the reason for her existence when she is with her older sister. However, the relationship between the two sisters starts to fall apart after Toko fell in love with a man.

A heartwarming drama inspired by true stories of individuals who built new lives in 12 cities and towns across Fukushima.

Okita’s older sister, Mitsuba, visits the quarters of the Shinsengumi to announce her marriage to the trader Kuraba Toma. The two siblings spend time together. Mitsuba worries that her brother has no friends and in order to assure her, he introduces Sakata Gintoki, who happened to pass by, as his best friend. Meanwhile, there are reports of strange boats going in and out of Edo. Hijikata Toshiro investigates this and it turns out that the incident has an unexpected link to Mitsuba.

When a comatose salaryman's spirit becomes her unexpected wingman, an ordinary office worker's love life gets hilariously extraordinary.

When the creator of the world, Arceus, comes to pass judgement on humanity for the theft of the legendary Jewel of Life, Ash and his friends are sent back in time to possibly reverse the events that led to Arceus' vendetta.

Crocodile Gena works in a zoo - a crocodile. Every evening he returns home to his lonely apartment. Finally he tired of playing with himself in chess, and Gene decides to make friends. On the ads pasted around the city, responding animals and people. First comes a girl with a homeless puppy Gal, followed by the Cheburashka...

A high school couple experiences young love and heartache as they're faced with the prospect of long-distance dating after graduation.

Set in the 1990s during Japan's "band boom" era, the film tells the tale of a girl in high school, Asako, who goes to a concert and meets Natsu, vocalist of the new band LANDS. Asako ends up being the band manager, but as the band's popularity starts to soar, the band's friendship begins to suffer.

A new female detective joins the special investigations team and dives into some of their hardest cases in this follow-up to the series 'Unfair.' The team investigates a grisly video circulating online that asks viewers to answer 'yes' or 'no' questions with potentially deadly outcomes.

Minoru has spent most of his life being protected by his spunky female best friend Aki. Fed up, he decides to take up boxing. However, just as he manages to get stronger than Aki she becomes obsessed with boxing herself.

A new female detective joins the special investigations team and dives into some of their hardest cases in this follow-up to the series 'Unfair.' Just as a girl asks the team for help finding her missing father, a man calls to say he has four hostages and makes a cryptic request.

Shinjiro Watari, a former tap dancer, plays the lead as a dancer who is forced into retirement following an accident while on stage. He tries his hand at Directing, but struggles to make the transition. Shinjiro turns to alcohol to cope with his plight. But when the manager of a theater being closed down turns to Shinjiro to direct its final performance, he works with a group young dancers and in the process learns a few things about himself. The movie is very well done and worth the price of admission. A view into the Japanese dancing world, as well as Japanese society.

Akira Mochizuki survived a kidnapping as a child. Now, she's a detective, and there are signs that the kidnapper may be back again after 20 years.

On the first day of school for third-year junior high student Nakahara Sawako (Kitano Kie), her father (Haba Yuichi, Off Balance) announces that he is quitting his teaching position and absolving from all parental responsibilities. For Sawako, this is only the latest episode in her family's parade of problems. Three years ago her father attempted suicide, and since then, things haven't been quite the same, with her mother (Ishida Yuriko, Miracle in Four Days) moving out and her studious older brother (Hiaraoka Yuta, Be With You) giving up school. Amidst the family drama, Sawako finds her own balance, working hard in school and developing a romance with cheerful transfer student Oura (Katusji Ryo, Aegis). But more obstacles lie ahead, changes that will throw her already fragile life further awry.

Film adaptation of an original story from Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum Director and Akutagawa Prize winner Yuichi Seirai, directed by Taro Hyugaji, who made the live-action version of Grave of the Fireflies. Depicts the fateful encounter between a daughter whose mother has died and a mother whose daughter has died. Jazz pianist Makoto Ozone makes his debut as a film composer. University student Kiyomi (Kie Kitano) is wracked by guilt after her mother dies of a heart attack the night they have an argument. Meanwhile, Saori (Izumi Inamori) finds out she is pregnant, but her daughter died a year before, and she is terrified of losing another child.

Set in the beautiful natural surroundings of Boso Town, Chiba Prefecture, this heartwarming drama depicts the bonds between people connected by letters. Ryuhei Kaieda is a postman who takes pride in delivering letters quickly and reliably. Two years ago, he lost his wife and has been raising his middle school daughter Ayumi Kaieda and elementary school son Teppei on his own, but conflict arises between him and his daughter over her future education.

Natsumi (Kie Kitano), an art college student, has been living a listless life without going to university for a few days after her boyfriend Kakeru (Jingi Irie) suddenly goes abroad to study. Then one day, alone in her apartment, she picks up a sketchbook, it was something she received from her grandmother's belongings when she was little. She starts drawing without thinking, and to her surprise, it's a magical sketchbook where what she draws comes to life...

Hosted by veteran comedian Tamori, "Bizarre Tales 2008 Spring Special" presents five tales. 1. Sakki Yori mo Ii Hito - starring Ito Hideaki. 2. Kore……Mite…… - starring Toda Erika. 3. Hinodedori Shouten Machi Ikiiki Day - starring Funakoshi Eiichiro. 4. Sukitōtta Tsuitachi - starring Kitano Kie. 5. Flashback - starring Sakai Masato.

Following the death of his wife professor Kyoichi leads a solitary life by the sea. A stray cat called Mii, who was being fed by his wife, not only continues to drop by, but also seems to be visiting the altar Kyoichi has set up for his deceased wife. While uncomfortable with the cat and its visits, he nonetheless takes up a search when Mii goes missing. The endeavour connects him with the town's folk and reveals that he is not alone.

A series of short stories explore the connection of love between dogs and people.

The talented Korean tenor, Bae, who penetrate the audience's hears through his delicate and powerful singing, is on the rise to stardom at the European opera scene. Sawada, a Japanese music producer, is searching for a new tenor for an upcoming performance. He watches a performance of Bae and invites him to Japan, which marks the beginning of friendship. But, the thyroid cancer strikes Bae. During an operation, the nerves of his vocal cords has be cut due to the widely spread cancer. Unfortunately, Ba ends up losing his voice at the peak of his career. Sawada cant's stand to watch Bae's miserable so he starts to look for a solution.

25-year-old Nanami is managing an amateur band. She is broke, cannot pay her rent, and the singer has run off. Yoshinori is 65. His wife dies the day before his retirement. Having suddenly lost everything, he becomes desperate. After the two accidentally meet, Nanami moves into Yoshinori's place and invites a few other people to become their flatmates – the beginning of an extraordinary life together.

Young women disappear one after another in drizzling rain. They all hear the “cursed song” of the Cage Song before they vanish into thin air. Kitaro and his friends investigate these mysterious cases when they meet Kaede Hiramoto, a high school girl who finds herself involved in this mystery. With the help from the librarian of Yokai Library, they find out that the curse was caused by an evil Yokai that was released from 1,000 years of sealing. To save Kaede, they are to gather the 5 ancient musical instruments and perform the ritual to seal the evil Yokai again, which has to be done within 48 hours!

Kaori is an intense kendo fighter who has been training since she was young. Sanae is a girl who has only participated in kendo casually, but somehow manages to beat Kaori in the final tournament of junior high school. Although Sanae doesn’t particularly care about it, Kaori holds a grudge, setting up a rivalry that bleeds over into high school.