Desperate Sunflowers

July 1590, Odawara. Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had surrounded the Odawara Castle for over 3 months, hoping to conquer this last obstacle to his dream of the country's unification. Standing at the gate of the castle, a lone man facing the menacing guards shouted out: "Do not throw your lives away. Treasure living!". Not long after, the castle gates opened and the reigning lord surrendered. The name of that man is Kuroda Kanbee. An excellent military strategist, he worked hand-in-hand with Hideyoshi to unify the country.

Two surgeons with contrasting objectives are asked to work together in a city hospital. While one of them strives to achieve fame and power through his work, the other wants to save human lives.

Kurisu has always admired his father, who runs a tax accounting firm, and dreamed of working with him one day. To broaden his skills, he joined a major tax firm, but a professional setback left him disillusioned. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets racehorse owner Sanno Kozo, reigniting his sense of purpose.

SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games.  These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking.  Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.

Hasebe Kaori is a rookie movie director. She consults with new screenwriter Kai Chihiro about her movie's screenplay. The script is based on the Sasazukacho Family Murder Case that occurred 15 years ago. That murder case involved a hikikomori man who murdered his younger sister at their home and then set their home on fire. The fire also killed his parents. The town where the murder took place is also the hometown of Kai Chihiro. Both Hasebe Kaori and Kai Chihiro have secrets related to the family murder case. While Hasebe Kaori and Kai Chihiro look into this murder case for their movie, a shocking truth is uncovered.

Keiichi Kaburagi is arrested as a suspect in a murder case and sentenced to death. He escaped from prison during the transfer, but while fleeing, he rescues the people he meets in his hiding place from the predicament. And when the rescued people realize that Kaburagi is a wanted death-row prisoner, they begin to wonder, "Is he really a murderer?"

Drama set in the historical Warring States Era of Japan. Tokaido name Imagawa Yoshimoto personally led his army to invade Owari Province territory, now in Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City area, was the leader Nobunaga of this surprising burst of death. After the war, the Imagawa clan who originally dominated the Tokaido region fell away, and the victorious Oda Nobunaga quickly expanded his power in Central Japan and the Kinki region, laying the foundation for his future control of the central government of Japan.

Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.

Daichi has served time for murder, and is now living a life without hope. One day he is suddenly told by his former love that he has an 8 year old daughter called Hana, who is suffering from leukemia. Although he is shocked, when it becomes clear he can save Hana by being her donor, fatherly love overwhelms him and he finds meaning in life again. However, a conspiracy leads to his arrest for murder. Unless he takes the transplant surgery scheduled in two weeks, he can’t save his daughter’s life. Desperate, he starts his great escape.

Having lost his job and the company he built, a 36-year-old man at rock bottom goes on a wistful solo trip to Japan in search of the love he left behind.

In spite of a longstanding tradition forbidding women from working in a sake brewery, Retsu, a young blind woman, challenges herself to overcome her disability in order to save her family's sake business.

Michi, a 26 year old high school math teacher, tentatively accepts her boyfriend’s proposal of marriage, uncertain of her love for him but feeling pressure from her father and society to do what is expected of her. Hikaru, a 17 year old boy frustrated by his home life with his single mother and having been expelled from many high schools for bad behavior, enters Michi’s class as a new transfer student. As their relationship grows they realize that they both feel that they have lost themselves to the pressures of those around them, and it is this common bond that draws them dangerously close. What follows is a heart-wrenching story of forbidden love where Michi must face society’s judgement for corrupting a minor, abandoning her fiance, and disappointing her parents and co-workers.

College student Kahoko is the quintessential overprotected child born out of today's Japanese society. Shielded by her parents, Kahoko grew up completely pampered and became somewhat of a miraculously naive "test tube human." She is 21 years old and about to start working for a company, but she has never slept away from home, had a part time job, chosen her own clothes, or even ridden a train alone. Kahoko has had her picture taken, but she has never taken a picture herself. Now, Kahoko is about to step out of her germ-free isolation pod and into the germ-infested world. It won't be long until she realizes, "I'm different from everybody else!" She has been her mother's best friend all her life and her father can't live without her. As they become emotionally unstable from the changes that Kahoko goes through, their family begins to fall apart. That's when Kahoko herself and the people around her begin to see the strength that hides deep within.

At 55, Kan-ichi Kanzaki is the old-fashioned and overbearing father of the Kanzaki family: his wife Miyako, his son Tadashi, and his two daughters Sayuri and Suzu. Being an “oyaji,” a stubborn middle-aged man that cannot keep his opinion to himself, Kan-ichi is particularly bothered when he views what he believes to be a failure in the public’s morals. But unlike the occasional stranger, his kids have to live under his scrutiny every day, and there are plenty of family crises to draw his ire. Although he can be strict, his actions are driven by his love for his family, and one can’t help but be touched and amused by the loving efforts of such an “oyaji.”