FanAsia has rounded up the Japanese series premiering in September 2026.

Read more: New Japanese Dramas: August 2026

«The Game of Death or Youth»

(デス（青春）ゲーム, Death (Youth) Game, Death (Seishun) Game)

Premieres 06.09.2026
10 episodes, TV Asahi
Cast: Yamasaki Ten, Fujimoto Kodai, Yoshizawa Kaname, Kikuchi Hinako

Akana's best friend, the popular and successful student Chiroma Chiaki, suddenly takes her own life. Akana is unable to come to terms with the loss. Soon, posts appear on social media hinting that the school may have been involved in the tragedy. Students demand an investigation, but the administration refuses to give clear answers. Then Akana's classmate Sosuke decides to take matters into his own hands. He devises a brutal death game to expose the perpetrators. Akana is forced to make an impossible choice.

«Hollow Cross»

(Utsuro na Jujika, 虚ろな十字架)

Premieres 06.09.2026
4 episodes, WOWOW
Cast: Katori Shingo, Akaso Eiji

Michimasa Nakahara, a former advertising agency employee, now runs a pet funeral home he inherited from his uncle. Eleven years ago, he went through a divorce and has never fully recovered from the grief. One day, a detective visits him with news that Nakahara's ex-wife has been murdered on the street. The killer is quickly arrested, but his testimony is full of inconsistencies. Nakahara begins to retrace his ex-wife's life after their separation in a bid to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, paediatrician Fumiya Nishina, a dedicated doctor and loving husband, learns that his father-in-law killed a woman on the street for money. As relatives of the perpetrator, Fumiya and his family now face public harassment.

«Plastic Beauty»

(ダウンタイム)

Premieres 17.09.2026
8 episodes, Netflix
Cast: Matsuoka Mayu, Naka Riisa

Talented plastic surgeon Fumi Numata believes her calling is to save lives. After losing her hospital post, she takes a job at a clinic run by the capricious star of aesthetic medicine, Rin Toyoma. Rin claims to help people achieve beauty, and their opposing views quickly escalate into a fierce rivalry. As Fumi delves deeper into a world of luxury clinics and patients' endless desires, she witnesses its dark underbelly — obsession, delusion and hidden suffering.

«The Story of a Certain Man»

(絶望できない男)

Premieres 18.09.2026
4 episodes of 30 min., Kansai TV
Cast: Daito Shunsuke, Aibu Saki, Hachimura Rintaro

This is the story of a man who has experienced incredible highs and lows. In his youth, he was desperate to break into television, founded his own company and produced music shows, but then lost his sponsors and fell deep into debt. His life became a series of disasters. Yet time and again, he found the strength to get back on his feet. After a decade, the hero rediscovers his purpose in life and returns to his profession.

«Blossom»

(ブラッサム)

Premieres 28.09.2026
125 episodes of 15 min., NHK
Cast: Ishibashi Shizuka, Watabe Atsuro, Kuninaka Ryoko

The story is set in Japan during the Meiji (1868-1912), Taisho (1912-1926) and Showa (1926-1989) eras. The heroine, Tama Hano, was born in Yamaguchi and has dreamed of the wider world since childhood. After being dismissed from her teaching post, she moves to Tokyo, where she enters a literary competition and becomes a writer. Her life is marked by one trial after another: the Great Kanto Earthquake, war, marriage and divorce, bankruptcy and debt. Yet even in the face of hostility and misunderstanding, she remains true to herself, finding the strength to bring happiness to others through her books.

«How to Make a Doting Boyfriend»

(Dekiai Kareshi no Tsukurikata: Se kara Honmei ni Naru Onna no Ko no Hanashi,
溺愛カレシの作り方 〜セから本命になる⼥の⼦の話〜)

Premieres 30.09.2026
10 episodes, TV Tokyo
Cast: Yoda Yuki, Nomura Shuhei

City hall employee Sakura Shirai is hopelessly in love with her senior colleague, Keisuke Watanuki. After a passionate night together, she hopes their relationship will develop further, but Keisuke begins to ignore her. Realising that he is a heartless cad, Sakura still cannot bring herself to fall out of love. Then she stumbles upon a strange doll that starts talking to her. Guided by a so-called "love fairy", Sakura undergoes rigorous training to transform herself from a casual fling into a "real" girlfriend. This comedic story explores just how hard — and how hilarious — it can be to fight for your own happiness.