The Best TV Shows on NHK G

Every NHK G Show Ranked From Best To Worst

Discover the best of NHK G with our list of over 20 series, meticulously updated for June 2025. Icons of NHK G, Ohanahan and Mayuko hitori made their debut in 1966 and 1971, setting industry standards. From 1966 through to 2018, NHK G has accumulated a diverse collection of over 20 television shows.

  • Miotsukushi
    Miotsukushi (1985)10.0

    In the early Showa era, the town of Choshi in Chiba Prefecture was divided by the conflicts between the worlds of "land" and "sea". Born to Kyubei Bando, the owner of a long-established soy sauce brewery, and his mistress Rui, Kaworu was taken in by her father and raised as a prim and proper lady. As she grew up, she fell in love with Sokichi, the eldest son of an established fisherman; alas, their two families were in conflict. This is a story of pure love between two people that grew beyond the boundaries of the old customs that they were brought up with. It is a drama that depicts their turbulent journey of love and the bonds of the people from an old and established family working tirelessly to protect their naturally brewed soy sauce business through the ups and downs.

  • Massan
    Massan (2014)8.0

    Massan is based on the lives of Masataka Taketsuru and his wife Jessie Roberta "Rita" Cowan, a Scotswoman Taketsuru met while studying abroad.

  • Kingdom
    Kingdom (2012)7.8

    In the Warring States period, young orphan Xin vows to aid King Zheng of Qin in his quest to unify China by becoming a general himself.

  • Half Blue Sky
    Half Blue Sky (2018)7.8

    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.

  • Yowamushi Pedal
    Yowamushi Pedal (2013)7.1

    A timid, anime-loving teen gets drawn into a school cycling club, where his new friends help him face tough challenges to develop his racing talent.

  • Kimi no na wa
    Kimi no na wa (1991)7.0

    A story of a man and a woman who meet amid the Great Tokyo Air Raid in 1945.

  • Beppin-san
    Beppin-san (2016)6.3

    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

  • Ohanahan
    Ohanahan (1966)N/A

    The 6th NHK Asadora. Starring Fumie Kashiyama as a woman, born in the Meiji era, who raises a family by herself.

  • Mayuko hitori
    Mayuko hitori (1971)N/A

    Kano is known as a "cocoon child" whose father is an agriculturist. Her mother disappeared when she was little and since then Kano has been wondering why her mother left her thus changing the shape of her life.

  • Kita no kazoku
    Kita no kazoku (1973)N/A

    The 13th NHK Asadora. Starring Youko Takahashi in a story about a brother and sister coming of age in Hakodate and Kanazawa.

  • Hatoko no umi
    Hatoko no umi (1974)N/A

    A woman who lost her memory after experiencing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

  • Mizuiro no toki
    Mizuiro no toki (1975)N/A

    The 15th NHK Asadora. Starring Shinobu Otake in a story about a young woman striving to become a doctor and her mother, who is a nurse. The first six-month Asadora. Average rating of 40.1%.

  • Chotchan
    Chotchan (1987)N/A

    The 38th NHK Asadora. Based on the autobiography of Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's mother.

  • Hirari
    Hirari (1992)N/A

    The 48th NHK Asadora Renzoku Drama is Hirari. Story's settings includes Tokyo. Hirari is a young and energetic girl. She loves the sports, sumo, very much and would like to find a career. However, there isn't any suitable career for a female in this area. Nevertheless, she still works hard towards her dream, and at last, she gets a chance to become a sumo stable's nutrition consultant.in this field. However, there isn't any suitable career for a female in this area. Nevertheless, she still works hard towards her dream, and at last, she gets a chance to become a sumo stable's nutrition consultant.

  • Eenyobo
    Eenyobo (1993)N/A

    A woman works hard to become a good doctor even though she is separated from her husband.

  • Hashiran ka!
    Hashiran ka! (1995)N/A

    Set in Hakata, the series is about a young man who wants to play rock music even though his father expects him to follow him in making Hakata ningyou (a traditional Japanese clay doll). One of the few Asadora starring a male character.

  • Yanchakure
    Yanchakure (1998)N/A

    The 59th NHK Asadora Drama is Yanchakure. Location includes Osaka. In Osaka, "yanchakure" is a bit of an old word which is used to describe tomboyish or mischievous young girls. Mizushima Nagisa happens to be such a girl, that, no matter how well-intentioned her motives nor how hard she tries, Nagisa just seems to end up failing. In fact, she has failed at different things in her life so many times that she has come to see it as a source of personal strength, her philosophy being one of, "It's natural for a human being to fail many times in the course of their life and thanks to those failures we can become adults."

  • Asuka
    Asuka (1999)N/A

    The 61st NHK Asadora Drama is Asuka. Set in Kyoto in the home of a traditional Japanese candy-maker, Asuka is the story of one young girl's dream to one day walk in her father's shoes and become a top candy-maker in the male-dominated world of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Asuka grows to be a healthy, adventurous young girl with a deep curiosity and, a desire to become a candy-maker like her father. This NHK drama is one of the best in years with an excellent cast, a well-developed story based on extensive research into the traditional worlds of candy making and the tea ceremony in Kyoto, and beautiful scenery and settings in Kyoto and the surrounding areas.

  • Honmamon
    Honmamon (2001)N/A

  • Welkame
    Welkame (2009)N/A