The Japanese entertainment industry includes a wide range of television dramas. Among these, mini-dramas give you entertainment on to go with bite-sized episodes. Whether it's romance or thrilling suspense, these dramas will leave you craving for more. Here are some mini-dramas you can binge-watch
1. Ru: Taiwan Express (2020)
The drama Ru: Taiwan Express revolves around Tada Haruka, who works for a general trading company in Tokyo. The company chose her to go to Taiwan for a High-Speed Rail project. She once visited Taiwan during her University days, where she met a Taiwanese guy named Eric. Eric showed her Taiwan for a day. However, after that, they lost contact, and she thought she would never be able to meet him again. But after six years, she was back in Taiwan, which opened the possibility to meet him again. The drama is only 3 Episodes long, so one can Binge-watch in a night.
2. Ideal Boyfriend (2022)
The drama revolves around Onodera Yumeko, a woman with a successful career and an emotionally wounded after her breakup. Yumeko encountered a mysterious woman identical to her first love who turned her life upside down. She was so obsessed with him that she asked him to pretend to be her boyfriend. It's a small but heartwarming drama exploring the ups and downs of Yumeko's quest to have an ideal boyfriend.
3. Aku No Hado (2019)
In the city of Kawasaki, a series of mysterious murders occur; the victims are women found hanged. The police struggled to find serial killers due to a lack of leads. However, Detective Iguchi suspects Nogi and believes he kills victims for pleasure. After investigating, they found out, he was himself a victim of a crime that occurred in the past. Nogi tries to track down the killer while being chased by police.
4. Bunshin (2012)
Bunshin is a Sci-fi drama based on a Novel. The drama follows the story of a woman named Mariko, who always thought she didn't look like her parents, and Futaba, a student who wants to pursue a music career. Mariko was shocked when she watched Futaba on TV; she was her doppelganger. When they get to know each other, they realize besides their appearance, their interests also match. However, there was a one-year gap between the two; they tried to uncover the truth behind their births.
5. Diary (2018)
The drama revolves around Miyata Ayaka, who was engaged to her colleague Hiyama Yuichi. However, she had not told her mother about her engagement. Yuichi forces Ayaka to tell her mother about it, and her mother comes to meet Yuichi and she agrees to their marriage. However, she goes in a comma after a sudden brain hemorrhage. She was in a coma for the past three months. Then Ayaka discovers her mother's diary, which she was exchanging with her classmates in school days. From the diary, she discovered that her mother had told her many lies. She travels to her mother's hometown with the diary to find out the truth behind things written in the diary.
6. Enjiya (2021)
The drama Enjiya is about a man named Tomoki who lost his job and whose fiancee left him the day before marriage due to a false accusation of molestation. Tomoki thinks of taking his own life. While standing on the edge of a rooftop, he saw a lady being attacked by a man with a knife. He tried to save the woman but ended up being stabbed. However, the attack was staged, and he was not seriously injured. Tomoki learned it was Enjiya, a staged event where a client can request to do anything in exchange for money. So, he decided to hire an Enjiya specialist, Aika, to take revenge against those who falsely accused him of molestation.
7. Haru No Noroi (2021)
Natsumi's sister, Haru died at the age of 19 due to illness. Haru was engaged with Togo. Togo's parents suggested Natsumi to date Togo. However, Natsumi turned down their proposal. Natsumi asked Togo to take her to the places he used to go with Haru, to relive her sister's memoirs. Togo agrees and takes her to places around. While spending time, Natsumi realized she was attracted to Togo, she also experiences guilt to like her late sister's fiancee.
8. Kishibe Rohan Wa Ugokanai (2020)
The drama Kishibe Rohan wa Ugokanai is a live action of manga. It's the story of a popular mangaka, Rohan. Each episode contains different short stories. The story of the first episode is featured from the manga millionaire village, where Rohan finds himself tangled in an incident inside Millionaire's mansion. The second episode is based on the short story Kushagara from the novel by Ballad Kitaguni, where Rohan gets a peculiar request from a fellow manga artist, Jugo Shishi. The last episode is taken from D.N.A., where Kyoka asks Rohan to help her boyfriend gain his memories, which he lost in a car accident.
9. Kono Koi Wa Tsumi Nano Ka!? (2018)
The drama Kono Koi wa Tsumi nano Ka!? Features a heartwarming love story between Tae Komada, a shogi player, and Taiga Kohinata, an office worker. They meet during their daily commute, leading Taiga to fall for Tae. The drama is adapted from a manga of the same name.
10. Kimi No Koto Dake Mite Itai (2022)
The drama is about a high school romance between two childhood best friends, Nagase Yuma and Asakura Sakura. Sakura has a crush on Yuma, but he is not aware of it. Sakura was afraid to confess his feelings, thinking it might affect their friendship. However, as they were in senior year and it was their last year together, Sakura got the courage to share his feelings with Yuma.
