Slow Dance

Kurata Sui is a 30-year-old man, who is honest and kind to people. He first went on an airplane when he was middle school student. After that, he has always wanted to become an airplane pilot. Finally, after going through rigorous training, he has been promoted as the first officer for an airline. One day, as the first officer of the flight, he experiences a difficult time because of bad weather. Due to the excellent work of a female air traffic controller, Kurata Sui and the captain are able to land the plane safely at Haneda Airport. Since then, even though he doesn't know her name or what she looks like, Kurata Sui has fallen in love with the air traffic controller just by listening to her voice.

This 2 night special takes off during their graduation, where Chiaki-senpai & Nodame left for Europe. The first special centered on Chiaki's story, the story tells about Chiaki's dream to be a conductor. Nodame on the other hand attended the conservatory to attain her dream to one-day play the piano for Chiaki. After her hard work, Nodame was given a chance to have a mini recital. During the recital, Chiaki saw her worth and realized that he cannot go on with out her.

When a classically trained young conductor meets a free-spirited pianist at music school, their romance and their music have a hard time harmonizing.

Chiaki is an aspiring conductor who faces the challenge of leading an orchestra which is made up of substitutes. Nodame gives her support to her beloved as she works hard towards achieving her dream to pass a promotion exam at their music conservatory. Will Chiaki be able to revive a broken down orchestra and launch his musical career? What will become of Nodame and Chiaki's relationship?

Nodame and Chiaki mutually decide that it would be for the best if they parted ways for a while so Nodame can practice for an upcoming competition. However, when things don’t go her way, she gets impatient and depressed. While Nodame is away, Chiaki’s former pianist Rui Son returns to take her place. To make matters worse, Rui and Chiaki are set to play the song Nodame dreams of playing with Chiaki herself: Ravel’s “Concerto in G Minor”.

Nao spent her formative years living at Kogetsuan, a well-established Japanese confectionery shop, where her single mother worked as a pastry chef. She is the same age as Tsubaki, heir to the store, and they become each other's first love. One morning, Tsubaki's father and head of Kogetsuan is stabbed and found covered in blood. Nao's mother is arrested based on the six-year-old Tsubaki's testimony and the little girl is kicked out of the shop. Nao's mother died while the investigation was going on, preventing the truth to emerge. Fifteen years later, the case is still shrouded in mystery. Is she really the culprit?

Shin Karino is an unpopular manga writer and he is single. He lives in an apartment complex that has a rule forbidding children from living there. One day, Shin Karino's doorbell rings. When he opens his apartment door, he sees a small boy. The boy is 5-year-old Kotaro Sato. Kotaro Sato tells Shin Karino that he moved into the neighborhood. Shin Karino makes a weird face, because of the rule of his apartment complex. Kotaro Sato says that he lives by himself. At first, Shin Karino is annoyed by Kotaro Sato, but residents of the apartment building, including Shin Karino, become attached to Kotaro Sato.

Dumped by a cheating fiancé and unemployed, 29-year-old Sayaka takes a job offer on the condition that she gets married in six months!

Rei Iwatsuki moved from her hometown Kōchi to Tokyo to pursue her dreams. On arrival, she found a job as a waitress in a restaurant and met guitarist Ryuuji Shintani. Ryuuji liked her voice and invited her to join his band as the vocalist, The Survival Company (also known as Sabakan). The two started a relationship but then broke off when Rei wanted to write her own songs. Rei met other girls also working in the restaurant, Hirono, Ryoko and Maki, all in pursuit of their own dreams, and became good friends with all of them. One day, Rei receives news that Takashi was seen in New York and she decides to go look for him...

A cadre of backup dancers is left astray when their star singer moves on with her life and marriage. They each had their own ambition and hope, which subconsciously rested on the star power of the singer. When plan A does not work, they cling to plan B. When that does not work, in an act of desperation, they are assigned to plan C by their agency. A fight and unprofessionalism seems to put the Backdancers on permanent ice.

Each of four very normal high school first-year students - who are very close friends - tries to find their own answer to the question: "The earth will perish on Christmas Eve on December 24th of 2004. What will you do until that day comes?"

Tokyo Friends is a Japanese television drama released on June 3, 2005. Unlike many other dramas, it was never aired on TV but released as a set of 3 DVDs. Volumes one and two contain the first 4 episodes while volume three contains the last episode. Each episode is approximately 70 minutes. The Tokyo Friends Premium Box was also released which includes all 5 episodes, a bonus DVD, and 12 postcards. Although this is a very typical Tokyo-story and was never aired on TV, it was quite successful probably because it was Ai Otsuka's debut as an actress.