Best movies & TV Shows like Aitai Toki ni Anata wa Inai

Sawa, a home helper for a middle class family with an elderly infirm grandfather, is forced to stretch her morals to keep her job. As a result, she finds herself broke and out on the street. She survives her first night by striking up an ambiguous friendship with a kindly old man, gaining access to a portion of the immense wealth held by Japan's aging population. She continues with similar encounters, and while these begin as scams or revenge on rampant sexism, they ultimately become vulnerable intergenerational exchanges.

Setsuko, a 55-year-old single 'office lady' in Tokyo, is given a blonde wig and a new identity, 'Lucy,' by her young unconventional English instructor. 'Lucy' awakens desires Setsuko never knew she had. When the instructor suddenly disappears, Setsuko must come to terms with what remains--herself.

Based on the life of pioneering manga artist Shinichi Abe, "Miyoko asagaya kibun" starts from the 1970's in Asagaya District of Tokyo where Shinichi Abe began his career with then model girlfriend Miyoko.

Set in Shizuoka and Tokyo, Japan in the late 1980's. Takkun is a university student in Shizuoka attempting to find a job. Mayu is a dental hygienist. They meet through a blind date and begin to date, but Takkun finds a job in Tokyo and goes there. They begin a long distance relationship, but their relationship breaks down.

Tetsuo is a young man living in Tokyo, who falls in love with a deaf-mute factory girl. He has always felt jealous of his college-educated brother, but ultimately wins both the girl and his father's acceptance and support in a touching and refreshing way.

A man and a woman committed double suicide in Kanazawa City. Immediately after the incident, Yoshiko Shiota, a woman living in Tokyo, contacts the local newspaper of Kanazawa, saying she wants to read the novel serialized in it by Ryuji Sugimoto. How did this woman know the novel is serialized in the newspaper? And why does she want to start reading it in the middle of the story? Which article was she actually interested in? Sugimoto cannot help making his own investigations about Yoshiko, but the more he searches, the more astonishing facts come to light...

An alcoholic civil servant wakes up under a cherry tree in Tokyo next to a bar hostess with whom he's impulsively made a suicide pact. Though he's now changed his mind, he agrees to travel with her to Hokkaido, her preferred site for ending it all.

Tokyo, Japan, 1989. Lucy Fly, a foreigner who works as a translator, begins a passionate relationship with Teiji, a mysterious man obsessed with photography.

This work, in which Tetsuya Takehora picked up a megaphone and Komatsu Komatsu wrote the script, is a youth ensemble drama depicting young people who are worried about the stage in Aomori Prefecture. In front of Masami Kimoto, who had an awkward relationship with her lover Michio Oda for some reason, her childhood friend Teruo Ikeda, who returned to Aomori for a temporary return from Tokyo, appears. Teruo, who gained confidence through a part-time job called "self-rental," influences the relationship between Masami and Michio.

Trapped in her anemic career and love relationship, a 30-year-old TV commercial director returns to her countryside home in the company of a free-spirited friend. In a bittersweet reunion with an alienated family, her childhood memories of freedom and yearnings creep in the dreamlike blue hour, transcending into a lyricism of self-realization – at once whimsical, agonizing and yet hopeful.

Two Tokyo co-workers come across a destitute young lady in search of a place to live.

Stuck in a fishing village in Hokkaido, Tadao's grand-daughter Haru is desperate to visit Tokyo, a trip Tadao is reluctant to make.

In a suburb north of Tokyo that seems to be secluded from the world’s madness and malice, Yusuke Mizuhara works as a lifeguard at a swimming pool. With no family, friends or love, his life is lonely and monotonous. One day, he goes to another pool as a replacement guard with his unpopular co-worker Koji Shirasaki…

Toshihiko Tanaka is a boy who entered Kakegawa High School with his friends Kenji & Kazuhiro, in order to play soccer with Yoshiharu Kubo, a great soccer player whom they have idolized. While his other two friends were reluctant to play again, "Toshi" eventually convinces them to play for the team. The team soon find themselves in the midst of a quest to the All-Japan High School Championship, while overcoming obstacles along the way.

A tale of tragic love between Yoshimori, a station employee at a quiet, rural station, and Kahori, the wife of the heir to a family fortune. When Kahori's husband uncovers their affair, the star-crossed lovers try to flee with Kahori's daughter. Their search for safety and happiness takes them across the nation, from Hokkaido to Kagoshima. Filmed on location, this is an unforgettable story of romance told against the backdrop of some of the most beautiful scenery in Japan. --TBS

A video-based Japanese language study course for English speakers. The show uses a drama called "Yan and the Japanese People" for instruction. This drama consists of scenes which focus on the experiences of a young man named Yan, a foreigner living and working in Japan.

He was the pride of his police department as the number one armed robbery buster... until he had his heart broken by the sudden flight of a fiancee from his life. Now "Detective Lovesick" finds his crime-fighting mojo and his chance at rising through the police hierarchy slipping away. Spending his days in a desperate search for the love of his life, Detective Lovesick is a man in love with himself and idolizes his drinking buddy, who is a romance psychologist. He loses himself to love easily, even at work, falling for every femme fatale he investigates and after a lot of hair pulling, ending each case with a marriage proposal. "Marry me or be under arrest." But will any woman accept such a proposal? Suspense, comedy and romance all converge in a libido-rich police drama unlike any you've ever seen.

A story about a young man named Masaya, whose lifelong dream is to go build a life in Tokyo. Masaya thinks his life in his hometown is uncool. A few years later, he manages to move to Tokyo but not without any consequences. In Tokyo, he learns the hard way about the meaning of life, survival, love, insecurities, desperation and hope. He also learns the struggles of living in a big city and trying to fix his relationship with his parents, especially his mom.

Chizuru loves Yuudai; Yuudai loves Chizuru. Yet neither of them can say it clearly because each is uncertain about the other’s feelings and is afraid of being hurt. Trapped by their insecurities in a relationship that’s going nowhere, they drift further and further apart. While Chizuru thinks this is the end of the road, Yuudai struggles desperately to overcome his cowardly nature before he loses what is most important to him. There are two stories to every relationship, but can love survive if they don’t meet halfway?

Set in an old prestigious ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant) in a small town in the center of Tokyo, a young itamae (cook for Japanese dishes) struggles his life, love and work while the long-lasted ryotei and the beloved old town face the change to survive the time. This heartwarming drama shows the intimate relationship of the community that has been lost nowadays, asks what the most important things in your life is, and tells how difficult it is to make a decision. The story is told in the form of a letter from him to his unknown father with lots of humor and love.

Asahi Mikuri‎ya works at a photography studio, located near the sea. In the past, Asahi Mikuri‎ya dreamed of becoming a famous photographer, but now he as a cameraman for weddings and school events. Asahi Mikuri‎ya was also in love with a woman, but she suddenly left him. Natsuki Chiyohara‎ then appears in Asahi's life. Natsuki works as a manager at a well known Italian restaurant in Tokyo. During the worst moment in her life, when her boyfriend dumps her, Asahi appears and even takes a picture of that moment. Natsuki begins work as a chef at the "House of Sea," located in the same seaside town where Asahi lives. Asahi's former senior classmate runs the restaurant. Natsuki and Asahi have their past in common and they begin to get closer. Meanwhile, Taniyama is Asahi's former junior classmates. She holds feelings for Asahi.

Taira Kei has a talent for contemporary dance since he was young and went to study in Germany to join a dance company in his teens. He has won several international competitions and was referred to as a “prodigy”. However, he encountered a setback in the middle and got frustrated. He returned to Tokyo and takes a part-time work while he tries to re-capture his dream. Nishihara Yui is a Chemisty teacher in her 30s, working at a prestigious high school. Even while continuing a love affair with a married colleague, she was still lonely until she meets Kei and gets swallowed in passion.

The lead, Dr. Sadami Shiratori worked in the operating room at a famous Tokyo hospital was around death on a daily basis. His own father, Teizo Shiratori is also a doctor, called Grandfather as he raised the estranged children of his wayward son, he practiced medicine in a small town on Hokkaido, Japan’s most northern island. His practice was limited only to terminal patients…in their own homes. He cared for them and helped both them and their families prepare for the ‘final journey’.

Chiharu is the wizard in charge of the magical crisis counter-measure division. His days are stressful until he meets Toyohi at his favorite bar, and the two hit it off. The two begin a budding relationship, until an accident at work causes Chiharu to devote more time to his work, and begin to push Toyohi away.

Follows the story of love, friendship and growth of six young men and women who move from countryside to the big city of Tokyo, each with their own dreams and aspirations. Among them is Sugihara Oto and Soda Ren. After her mother died, Oto was raised by adoptive parents in Hokkaido. Although she has given up on having any high hopes or big dreams for her future, she still remains positive and faces life with optimistic attitude. One day, she finds out the fact that her adoptive parents are planning to marry her to the wealthy man in town in order to solve their financial debt. Soda Ren was raised by his grandfather in Fukushima. Ren works hard on one job after another in order to earn the money to buy back his grandfather's land so that they can start farming again. By chance, Oto and Ren meet in Hokkaido and they decide to move to Tokyo to find new life to change their fate and future. However, as soon as they arrive Tokyo, they get separated in the crowds...

30-year-old Kamata Rinko is single and a struggling scriptwriter. She has no boyfriend and keeps having night outs at drinking spots with her girlfriends Kaori and Koyuki. “If I become beautiful, a better guy will appear!” “If we grow to like each other, we can get married!” They will not stop talking about these hypothetical questions. Then a younger, handsome, golden-haired guy suddenly utters, “These “what if” women!” and the trio have to face the harsh reality that they are no longer girls. Rinko enters her 30s while still immature, seeking happiness and struggling with romance and work.

Sherlock has a peculiar character flaw. She does not open her heart to strangers. She is Japanese, but was born in Britain. She now works as an investigation consultant for the police department. Wato Tachibana is an excellent surgeon and is guided by the principal of justice. Sherlock and Wato Tachibana get to know each other through a case and begin to rely on each other.

Dako is a con woman. She stays at a suite in a luxury hotel and schemes to take money from vicious wealthy people like yakuza bosses and evil businessmen. She works with Boku-chan and Richard. Boku-chan is a sincere and timid young con man. Richard is a veteran con man. Dako is able to master knowledge from various professions in a short period of time and disguises herself as someone working in that field. Along with Boku-chan and Richard, they carry their plans using fantastic teamwork.

Due to the nation's low birth rate and aging population, the Japanese government implements a new policy. The new policy requires single men and women from the age of 25 to 39 to go on government planned blind dates. The government randomly selects men and women as blind date partners. Each person can say no 2 times if they do not like their partners. If they say no for the third time, then they have to serve 2 years on an anti-terrorism activities support team. Tatsuhiko Miyasaka is a 26-year-old single man and he works as a systems engineer. He lives in Tokyo alone. Due to trauma from his middle-school days, he does not trust people and he has a fear of germs. Meanwhile, Nana Fuyumura is beautiful single woman and works at a radio broadcasting station. She lives with her family in Tokyo. Tatsuhiko Miyasaka and Nana Fuyumura meet at a government mandated blind date.

The adventures of Sazae Fuguta and her family and friends in their Tokyo suburb.

Pinku (the Japanese softcore film sub-genre) has a long and historied part in Japanese cinema. The genre has existed for over forty years and seen many ebbs and flows. One of the directors during the heyday of the movement was the prolific Muranishi Toru. Adapted from a novel about the man, this series depicts the character, his art, vision and his interactions with the approving and disapproving folk around him.

Hiroshi Tanaka moves to Tokyo after being laid off from his job.

Mutsumi (Serena Motola) is a rookie designer and she is employed at small design company Lemon Design. She is busy with prep work for magazine shoots, like scouting locations and working with photographers. She has doubts about her work not being that of a designer. Tetsuko (Megumi) senses Mutsumi’s feelings. She tells Mutsumi that she is a salaryman. Mutsumi doesn’t understand why Tetsuko told her that.

Takashi learns there’s more to this exclusive high school than meets the eye when he’s recruited into its ultra-secret, mega-capital investment club.

When Sakuragi Haruko's father's factory is bombed, Oba Hiroto stops Haruko when she tries to rescue her father from the fire. They meet again a few years later when Haruko is working as a nurse and Hiroto is brought in as a patient with a heart condition. The second couple is a Korean man, Boku Hitoshi, and another nurse, Yamada Kazue