As the lockdown restrictions in the UK ease and things start to look up, you may not want to stay indoors in the warmer weather. But if you’re searching for a new TV series to binge on weekday evenings, read on for our top five Japanese shows currently available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
1. Midnight Diner and Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (深夜食堂, Shinya Shokudō)
No list on incredible Japanese TV would be complete without mentioning this anthology series. Join the regular customers and mysterious chef at a small, late-night diner in Tokyo’s Shinjuku, as they explore life, love and relationships. Expect to laugh, cry and feel good.
Available to stream on Netflix
2. Tokyo Girl (東京女子図鑑, Tōkyō Joshi Zukan)
This thought-provoking 30-minute drama follows a young woman as she moves to Tokyo, navigating her career and love life in different neighbourhoods throughout her 20s and 30s. Great for those looking for a more raw, realistic depiction of young Tokyoites.
Available to stream on Amazon Prime
3. Erased (僕だけがいない街, Boku Dake ga Inai Machi)
A young man's ability to time-travel gives him the strange chance to prevent the events leading up to his mother's death 18 years ago, in this suspenseful mystery-thriller.
Available to stream on Netflix
4. Alice in Borderland (今際の国のアリス, Imawa no Kuni no Arisu)
Wander an abandoned Tokyo in this science fiction meets thriller, where a trio of friends discover that they must participate in twisted and violent games in order to survive.
Available to stream on Netflix
5. The Naked Director (全裸監督, Zenra Kantoku)
Follow one ambitious man's unusual journey towards revolutionising Japan's porn industry in the 1980s.
Available to stream on Netflix
Image: Netflix / MBS