Unexpected - Love Story in Maison Ginseiso -

The prequel to the TV series "Tiger and Dragon" broadcast as a two-hour special before the series.

The film is set in Edo period. As an orphan child Mio starts working at a restaurant in Osaka where she learns how to cook. When she turns 18, she moves to Edo (today's Tokyo) where she opens her own restaurant.

Next door to Chuo TV's offices is "Manhattan," a coffee shop for aficionados. The owner's passion for coffee is almost a sickness and all he wants is for his customers to enjoy their coffee. He is a man of few words. If he has to say something, he gets his waiter Shinobu Gamo to speak on his behalf. Owner's real name is unknown. He would prefer to be addressed as the shops' "Master" rather than its owner - not that anyone is aware of this. He gives his all to coffee. Despite his wishes, his regular customers don't really come to taste the coffee. They are there because of love. They use his shop as a place for dates, marriage proposals and break-ups. He doesn't show it, but it saddens him that his customers are so preoccupied with affairs of the heart and not the coffee.

Makimura Kimiko, freelance journalist and city-girl extraordinaire, marries into a traditional Japanese family. Most overbearing of the Yamamoto Family members is Isojiro's mother, Shimako, who seems to think Kimiko is the perfect wife whose knowledge of the traditional Japanese arts knows no bounds. Kimiko on the other hand is sloppy, a bad cook unless it happens to be microwavable, and couldn't tell a shamisen from a bagpipe if her life depended on it. Bombarded by customs, Kimiko's only desire is to never step foot in the Main House again. But with the interference of her husband, Isojiro, who can't seem to say no to his mother, Kimiko finds herself back in a place she calls Hell and smack in the midst of some crazy tradition her in-laws want her to participate in.

It is the Spring of 1814. The restaurant “Tsuru-ka” is gaining much popularity after its chef, Mio, won the prestigious cooking competition. One day, the owner of “Tsuru-ka”, Taneichi, employed young Fuki to be the attendant for customers’ shoes. Mio could fully empathize with young Fuki, who was an orphan and yet was courageous enough to survive on her own. Around the same time, the famous novelist Seiemon started coming to “Tsuru-ka”. Even though Seiemon criticized Mio’s cooking each time, he always returned to the restaurant daily.

Minare Koda, a floor manager at a small restaurant in Sapporo, tries to deal with her bad breakup with an ex-boyfriend. In the process, she drunkenly vents her frustrations to an older man sitting next to her at a local bar. The following day, she discovers that the man works as a producer at a nearby radio station, which broadcast her drunken ramblings over the airwaves. As Minare's voice gains her more attention than her work at the restaurant, she ends up becoming a late-night radio talk show host at the same station, trying to balance her talk show with her daytime life to make ends meet.

A gang of underground street fighters calling themselves "Guilty" think they've hit the mother load when they mug a thief and discover he's carrying a bag filled with cash, unaware it's been ripped off the notoriously ruthless Yakuza who'll stop at nothing to reclaim what's theirs.

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.

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.”

Kaoru Mitazono (Masahiro Matsuoka) is a talented housekeeper with an usual secret. Kaoru is actually a guy! Besides cooking, cleaning and babysitting Kaoru Mitazono has the unusual habit of discovering secrets held within the family of her employers.

Nasuda Ayumi is a young travel nurse who gives a bad first impression. In fact, he had been an excellent nurse practitioner in the US. He has the qualifications to carry out certain medical procedures and assist doctors in surgeries. However, some circumstances trigger his return to Japan where nurse practitioners are relatively unknown and nurses are still expected to do what doctors order. Ayumi ends up working at Amano General Medical Centre where he encounters a mysterious, legendary nurse Kuki Shizuka who will become his partner. Shizuka cleans “quietly” just like his name suggests and gets mistaken for a cleaner by the hospital staff including Ayumi. But he is actually a super nurse with boggling skills.

A young yakuza thug apprentices with an indebted comic "rakugo" performer, whose not-so-fashionable son runs a clothes shop in the Harajuku backstreets.

Ren Kamijō is the director of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Liaison Division. His father is a former police officer. An incident in Ren's childhood triggered his thirst for power, and he has his sights set on heading the police force by becoming its Superintendent General someday. Ren believes topping the faction that he belongs to is the shortcut to fulfilling his aspiration. He is driven by ambition and has no qualms carrying out work, no matter how dirty it is. His childhood friend Sawa Mizuki, a senior detective in the First Investigation Division, often opposes his stance and mindset as a detective but is the only one who knows about his past.

Haruko Abe (Emi Takei) received her meteorologist license at the age of 11. She is a genius weatherwoman. Haruko now works as a meteorologist on a morning information program. Due to her incredibly blunt personality, a lot of people at her workplace dislikes her. Meanwhile, Haruko tries to solve cases with Detective Gota Aoki (Tadayoshi Okura), using her extensive knowledge of the weather.

The show is based on the "Jiu" suspense novel series by Honda Tetsuya. Motoko (Kuroki) is a fierce, physically capable investigator with a strong battle instinct, while Misaki (Tabe) is more intellectual, kind-hearted, and naive. The two of them are both working to track down Jiu, the ringleader responsible for a series of brutal crimes.

Akemi Ninomiya is a hardcore mystery fan. Although she is only a college student, she is wealthy and owns a building. Private Detective Morio Ukai prefers tracking down lost pets for wealthy clients rather than murder cases which brings in little money. The duo join forces to solve various suspicious cases.