Best movies & TV Shows like Wakaba

An earthquake destroys a Russian Nuclear Power plant.

When a deadly mist engulfs Paris, people find refuge in the upper floors of the buildings. With no information, no electricity and hardly any supplies, Mathieu, Anna and their daughter Sarah try to survive the disaster.

Heaven is now happily married and ready to settle back in her hometown. But after a trip to Farthinggale Manor, Heaven is persuaded to stay. Lured by her grandfather to live amidst the wealthy and privileged Heaven seems to have it all until the ghosts of her past rise up once more, threatening her precious new life.

Volcanologist Harry Dalton comes to the sleepy town of Dante's Peak to investigate the recent rumblings of the dormant volcano the burg is named for. Before long, his worst fears are realized when a massive eruption hits, and immediately, Harry, the mayor and the townspeople find themselves fighting for their lives amid a catastrophic nightmare.

The tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family—every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope.

Suzume, 17, lost her mother as a little girl. On her way to school, she meets a mysterious young man. But her curiosity unleashes a calamity that endangers the entire population of Japan, and so Suzume embarks on a journey to set things right.

Filmmaker Kimberly Reed returns home for her high school reunion, ready to reintroduce herself to the small town as a transgender woman and hoping for reconciliation with her long-estranged adopted brother Marc. Things are complicated by the shocking revelation that Marc may be the grandson of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, forcing Kim and her family to explore questions of sexual orientation, identity, severe trauma and love.

Jiro Sawada is a sophomore in high school when a false accusation drives him out his hometown: a small village in Fukushima Prefecture. The entire village is abandoned after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, but Jiro returns there to live. Before long, members of his family come and join him.

It is just another day in the small town of Hamlin until something disastrous happens. Suddenly, news breaks that a series of nuclear warheads has been dropped along the Eastern Seaboard and, more locally, in California. As people begin coping with the devastating aftermath of the attacks — many suffer radiation poisoning — the Wetherly family tries to survive.

Hina Satou is a 13-year-old who loves figure skating and lives in a port town in Miyagi Prefecture. After losing her mother in the 2011 earthquake, she and her father are currently living in temporary housing. With sad memories of the earthquake and memories of a gentle mother, the cheerful Hina continues to move toward her dreams.

In her search for answers, 17-year-old Haru sets out on a long journey across the country to the town where, in 2011, the devastating tsunami swept away her brother and parents. This road trip takes the young woman, who is still haunted by her loss, from Hiroshima to Tokyo and Fukushima and all the way to Ōtsuchi, where her family home once stood. On the way she encounters other people, other stories, other lives and other losses. Landscapes and faces. The journey ends in the middle of a garden in full bloom among the scarred surroundings of her coastal hometown.. In it stands a telephone box which, even though it is no longer connected, is used to speak to those who cannot be reached any other way.

Arakawa Ao lives happily on his own and hardly ever leaves Shimokitazawa, where he works at a vintage clothing shop, goes to occasional concerts and hangs out at his favorite bar. Then, he gets an unusual request to appear in an independent film.

"Hankyu Densha" follows the lives of various people who commute on Hankyu Railway's Imazu Line - connecting the cities of Nishinomiya and Takarazuka in Hyogo prefecture. One of the commuters is Shoko (Miki Nakatani), an office worker in her 30s who lost her boyfriend to a younger colleague. There's also a college student (Erika Toda) who is so easily persuaded by her no good boyfriend. Other commuters include a grandmother & granddaughter, a house wife, a female high school student, and a female otaku college student. Although the train ride takes only 15 minutes between two stations, the lives of these commuters are changed as they interact with each other...

A young girl and her brother come of age at their great grandmother's house in Virginia during the 1940s. After a family tragedy, a young girl moves from New York with your younger brother to live with their great grandmother on a Virginia farm and comes closer to understanding the land and roots that inspired her father's writings while discovering herself, the love of family, and the power of truly believing.

Ito Marika stars as the lead in this 2022 SP that tells the story of a group of friends, who run a food wagon serving sandwiches made with local produce, and their interactions with a farming family that they meet in Takasaki City in the Gunma Prefecture. TV Tokyo has teamed up with Takasaki City, Gunma in order to showcase a series of programs and dramas that are part of its efforts towards creating programs aimed at regional development in Japan. This will be its third production, following “Hatake Sono Manma Restaurant” in 2020 and “Nouka no Mikata” in 2021.

January 16, 1995. Tsuyoshi Takahashi, a young student at Shiokaze elementary, is driven solely to get excellent grades. Because of this he often ignores those around him in his pursuit of perfection. Miho, a young girl in his class that wishes he would appreciate the people around him. Kazu a sickly and bed ridden classmate that lives near him. January 17, the 1995 Kobe / Hyogoken-Nanbu Earthquake strikes killing more than 6000 people and leaving 300 000 more homeless. Measuring 6.9 on the Richter Scale, it was the largest Earthquake to hit Japan since the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. In the aftermath of the quake, Tsuyoshi's finds his priorities changing. Dealing with the death of one friend while helping another to cope with a very personal loss, Tsuyoshi is forced to mature into someone who can no longer ignore the suffering around him.

Sisters "Manamo" and "Minamo" live separately in Hiroshima and London since the divorce of their parents. The elder sister Manamo lives in Hiroshima with her mother, she is a high school student, but moonlights at a Japanese cabaret-club. After her mother remarries and moves to Yamaguchi Prefecture, Manamo lives by herself in Hiroshima. One day, her younger sister Minamo returns from London to visit Manamo. It is ten years since they have lived together, and they argue every day.

A man and a woman meet the day before the 15th anniversary of the Great Hanshin earthquake. Both experienced the quake as a child but left soon after the quake. During the course of the long night walk, their life after the quake and the complex relationship to the city of Kobe gradually surface.

A love story directed by Otsuru Gitan, an actor, novelist, and film director, who directed all screens in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture. A business man who has everything, including money, a woman, and fame, falls into the abyss and carries a large amount of debt. A man who felt in danger died and eventually moved to Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, which was affected by the earthquake. A man who decided to live quietly as a reconstruction volunteer, staying at his aunt's house, but seeing the people around him who live without suffering the difficult reality, his desire begins to tingle again. Inspired by my aunt's daughter who gave me a mysterious atmosphere, he was a man who vowed to come back. Starring Sasaki Kokone of “Hello, My Dolly Girlfriend”.

Baby Daddy follows Ben, a young man in his early 20s living the life of a bachelor in New York City with his buddy, Tucker, and his brother, Danny. Their lives are turned upside down when they come home one day to find a baby girl left on the doorstep by an ex-girlfriend of Ben's. After much deliberation, Ben decides to raise the baby with the help of his friends and his protective and sometimes over-bearing mother, Bonnie, and his close female friend, Riley.

The Casagrandes tells the story of Ronnie Anne, an independent, adventurous, 11-year-old who explores city life with her big, loving, multi-generational Mexican-American family.

Will, a street-smart teenager, moves from the tough streets of West Philly to posh Bel-Air to live with his Uncle Philip, Aunt Vivian, his cousins — spoiled Hilary, preppy Carlton and young Ashley — and their sophisticated British butler, Geoffrey. Though Will’s antics and upbringing contrast greatly with the upper-class lifestyle of his extended relatives, he soon finds himself right at home as a loved part of the family.

Mackenzie "Mickey" Murphy is a hard-living, foul-mouthed, cigarette-smoking woman who moves to affluent Greenwich, CT to raise the spoiled kids of her wealthy sister who fled the country to avoid a federal indictment. She quickly learns what the rest of us already know - other people's children are awful.

Amachan is the 88th 2013 NHK asadora written by Kankuro Kudo (Tiger and Dragon, Unobore Deka). It's about Amano Aki (Nounen Rena), a 16 year old girl from Tokyo who goes to her mother's former home in Sodegahama, a fishing village in Kitasanriku, Iwate prefecture for the summer break. She falls in love with the sea and its people, and decides to stay on to become an Ama (women divers who fetch clams and sea urchins for tourists) just like her grandmother, Natsu (Miyamoto Nobuko). Her decision is welcomed wholeheartedly by Natsu and the other locals. However, her mother Haruko (Koizumi Kyoko) does not like the idea at first. She has a strained relationship with Natsu, and her extreme dislike of the sea, diving and the countryside is one of the reasons why she left her hometown 24 years ago. Eventually, she decides to stay in Sodegahama with Aki, considering that she is contemplating on getting a divorce anyway and does not want to go back to her husband in Tokyo. She also notices that it might be good for Aki for she seems livelier and happier in Kitasanriku than in Tokyo. The road towards becoming a full-fledged Ama-san is tough for Aki as she encounters tests and hurdles. One day, a video of her as an Ama gets uploaded in the city's tourism website, transforming an ordinary high school girl into an overnight Internet sensation. Suddenly she is called upon to use this opportunity to attract tourists to a city suffering from depopulation.

Uno Meiko is the daughter of parents who run a western style restaurant in Tokyo. She marries and moves to Osaka with her husband. Meiko experiences cultural differences between Tokyo and Osaka, as she lives as a mother and wife in Osaka.

Mare is an elementary school student. She lives with her family in the city, but, right before her father goes bankrupt, they run away and settle down at a fishing village in Noto. The family rents a couple's home who run a salt pond. Mare's father starts a new business, but it also fails. Her mother supports the family by working at the salt pond. 8 years later, Mare, about to graduate from high school, decides to work for the Wajima local government. She wants to have a steady job, unlike her father. Her job is to support people who move to Noto.

The 74th NHK Asadora Drama is Junjo Kirari, which means something along the lines of "pure-hearted Kirari." The story is set in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture in the era around the Second World War. When the story opens in 1928, the heroine, Sakurako, is a very active seven-year-old girl. Indeed, even in the first episode she exhibits her confidence and enthusiasm. But above all else, Sakurako is interested in becoming a jazz pianist, and music features extensively in the plot.

In 1930 and as a young child, Tsuneko Kohashi lives at Enshu in Shizuoka Prefecture. She has a happy life with her parents and two younger sisters. Things change after her father dies from tuberculosis. Her father asked Tsuneko Kohashi to take care of the family in his place. Due to financial difficulties, her mother Kimiko decides to move the family to Tokyo where Tsuneko's grandmother lives.

The 77th NHK Asadora is Chiritotechin. Location includes Fukui prefecture. This renzoku is about Wada Kiyomi (referred to as Kiyomi-B), a girl brought up in Fukui who moves to Osaka in search of her soul. In Osaka, Kiyomi-B becomes enchanted with rakugo, a Japanese traditional form of comic storytelling, and pursues a career in rakugo. In the summer of 1982, Kiyomi-B and her family move to Obama of Fukui, her father's hometown. Kiyomi-B's grandmother and uncle welcome the family, but Shotaro the grandfather does not allow Masanori to take over the Wakasa lacquer chopsticks making. One day, Kiyomi-B listens to rakugo at Shotaro's factory and becomes fond of it. Shotaro and Kiyomi-B become close through rakugo.

The 95th NHK Asadora is about Sumire, a girl born in the uptown of Kobe in the early Showa period. In the wake of wartime devastation, she works hard toward making children's clothes for a living, and later establishes a first-ever children's goods store in Japan. -- NHK

College student Kahoko is the quintessential overprotected child born out of today's Japanese society. Shielded by her parents, Kahoko grew up completely pampered and became somewhat of a miraculously naive "test tube human." She is 21 years old and about to start working for a company, but she has never slept away from home, had a part time job, chosen her own clothes, or even ridden a train alone. Kahoko has had her picture taken, but she has never taken a picture herself. Now, Kahoko is about to step out of her germ-free isolation pod and into the germ-infested world. It won't be long until she realizes, "I'm different from everybody else!" She has been her mother's best friend all her life and her father can't live without her. As they become emotionally unstable from the changes that Kahoko goes through, their family begins to fall apart. That's when Kahoko herself and the people around her begin to see the strength that hides deep within.

Suzume is a girl born to a family running a small restaurant in Gifu Prefecture. She loses her hearing in one ear from a disease. Encouraged by her loving parents and childhood friend, she lives through an eventful life with a tenacious spirit.

Having a hard time making ends meet after her divorce, Millicent Torkelson moves her three children to Seattle, where she becomes the nanny to the spoiled Morgan children.

Toko Ikuta lost her parents in a car accident at the age of 3. Afterwards, her uncle, who ran a barbershop in Morioka, raised her and she had a happy childhood. Toko Ikuta was active as a local idol and she dreamed of becoming an actress. At the age of 19, she is set to take an audition in Tokyo. The day before her audition, on March 11, 2011, the great Tohoku earthquake and tsunami hits Japan. In the autumn of 2011, Toko Ikuta works at a cafe. She goes with her Korean co-worker Han Yoo-Ri to do volunteer work in Kesennuma as the area recovers from the devastating tsunami. There, Toko Ikuta meets Kiyotaka Shimizu who is a university student from Tokyo and a member of a student volunteer group. While spending time together in Kesennuma, Toko Ikuta and Kiyotaka Shimizu develop feelings for each other.

Natsuna Kunugi, a university student in Tokyo, visits Kumamoto in search of friends who she could not contact following the Kumamoto earthquakes. There, she meets local people who are full of compassion and uniqueness, including the energetic junior high school student, Izumi. A heartfelt coming-of-age story begins.

An Kazutaka is a young, bashful psychiatrist whose jazz piano skills are as good as a pro. Right after they have their first child, the Great Hanshin Earthquake strikes. Although his family is affected by the disaster, he begins to search for what he can do as a psychiatrist. As he listens to the stories of disaster victims, he realises that he can help not by treating them, but restoring their capacity to heal. Later on, he compiles his observations of the disaster-hit area as a psychiatrist into a book and wins a prize for social sciences.

Dr Xand van Tulleken and Raksha Dave tell the dramatic story of the Boxing Day Tsunami, which killed more than 250,000 people.

Rio Sanada is the president of "Sanada Wellness" and an up-and-coming businesswoman who is selected as one of the "100 people in their 30s who will change the world". She is reunited with her former love interest Daiki Miyazaki, who is now a detective, after 15 years as an important witness to a murder case. In Gifu Prefecture in 2006, Rio is a third-year high-school student who wants to go to the University of Tokyo. She took good care of her younger brother in lieu of their busy father. Before Daiki could confess to her, an incident occurs at the dormitory.

Iwakura Mai lives with her parents Kota and Megumi and older brother Haruto. Her father Kota runs a small factory in Higashi Osaka, a district that is known for its craftsmen. Mai is shy and withdrawn. But when she visits her grandmother Shoko who lives on Nagasaki’s Goto Islands which has a rich natural environment, she is entranced by the Baramon kites that catch the wind and soar high in the sky. Wanting to fly high in the sky like these kites, Mai’s longing swells into a dream to become a pilot. Even though she works hard, the path to getting there is tougher than she had imagined. As Mai deepens her ties with the people living in her two hometowns of Higashi Osaka and Goto, her dream eventually takes a new form. She gathers enthusiastic friends to build a small electric plane that can fly to and from the islands. Her dream becomes a wing that carries everyone’s dreams and takes off.

Blamed by some, hailed as heroes by others, those involved with Fukushima Daiichi face a deadly, invisible threat — an unprecedented nuclear disaster.

A strict but loving grandma solves a myriad of issues for the people around her! Doumeki Miki lives in a small rural village surrounded by abundant nature and beautiful scenery. After becoming a widow at an early age, she’s spent many years working as a leader in her village. A beautiful, intelligent woman in her 70s, she’s incredibly spry, with perfect posture.

The 57th NHK Asadora Renzoku Drama. Story's settings include Kobe and Sasayama. It is a story about the conflicts between generations and the relationships within families. A strong mother-daughter theme and a sister-brother theme exist.

Fight is a story about fifteen year old Yuu, whose family becomes separated after an incident involving her father's spring factory. With her undying spirit to "fight" off every obstacle arising in life, Yuu maintains her positive attitude and moves forward in hopes of the day when her family will reunite again.

Nature is rich in blessings but can also be harmful to human life. People across Japan have been resilient, learning their lessons and passing them on for generations. Their countless efforts to cope with the harsh environment eventually created a world of bounty -- a world that's sustained by a delicate balance between diverse plants and creatures. Satoyama is a living history of humans, animals and the natural environment that have survived together for centuries. This 8K documentary series captures the supreme beauty of the Japanese countryside -- a place where gentle slopes left by landslides have been carved into rice terraces, where meltwater from heavy snow is used to nurture colorful carp, and where lush grasslands have been created on volcanic ash. And it shows how people can rediscover traditional, sustainable agriculture and benefit from the unique satoyama ecosystem.

Natsumi is the 23 years old daughter of a master baker in Yokohama and in training with her father to become a pastry chef. She lives with her parents and younger brother in Yokohama. One day she travels to Iwate Prefecture with her boyfriend Masaki for his grandmother Katsuno's 77th birthday. While they are there, Katsuno, head okami of a famous ryokan in Morioka City, becomes ill and asks Masaki to return to run the ryokan. Natsumi returns to Yokohama and later Masaki visits, asking her to disregard their earlier plans to get married because he will return to Morioka as requested by Katsuno. However, Natsumi surprises him with a vow to become the ryokan's okami. Is Natsumi in for clear skies as suggested by the series name?

The year is 1947, August. Ono Junko's family is being evacuated to Wakayama and the father is going to war. A few years later, the father has returned from Manchuria but he also brought a boy that had been abandoned by his mother. The boy is Yuta and the family will adopt him.

This is the story of a young mother, Kitayama Nazuna, and her son Taiyo from Ohma, a small town at the tip of a peninsula in Aomori. Taiyo's father, Murai Kento had aspirations to be a professional boxer but due to a detached retina he was forced to abandon his dream. Leaving Nazuna behind, he left for America, with another woman, to get treatment for his eye-problem, unaware that Nazuna was pregnant. As his life is boxing he quickly returns to the ring after the operation turns out to be successful and once again he dreams of becoming a professional boxer. However, success eludes him and he returns home to Japan. Nazuna meanwhile has given birth to her son and moved to Tokyo to search for Kento. By chance she finds Kento. When discovers he has become a father, he tries to make up for lost time. The show picks up their story as Nazuna, Taiyo and Kento begin family life together. Of course things are not as simple as they appear.

At the age of nine, Haruka moves from Osaka to Yufuin with her father Yosuke and her younger sister Asuka because Yosuke hopes to open a restaurant in the town. Her mother Yuko, however, chooses to stay in Osaka and the parents soon get a divorce. Yosuke starts running a restaurant but ends up closing it down soon after. Ten years later, Haruka supports her family by working part time while going to a junior college. Worrying about Haruka, Yuko invites her to come to Osaka and offers her a job. Although she has not forgiven her mother, Haruka decides to earn money in Osaka to help Yosuke reopen the restaurant. Through various experiences in Osaka, Haruka gradually understands her mother and grows as a tour planner with her talent for pleasing people.

The series takes place in 1962 Osaka. Hanaoka Machiko, 37, is single and works at a hardware store in Osaka City while doing literary work. One day, she falls ill due to overwork and falls in love with Tokunaga Kenjiro, the doctor who examines her. Kenjiro and Machiko marry. But Kenjiro, who lost his first wife to illness, lives not just with his five children, but his brother, sister, and parents. In a comical and heart-warming way, the drama depicts Machiko's struggle with the new family while pursuing her career as a novelist.

A young woman Chiaki whose family runs an old miso company in Nagano Prefecture, the only daughter of old traditional family. For generations, they were making soybean paste for living. Now she needs to take over this business and rebuild it. She lives through the hardships of postwar Japan.