FRONTRUNNERS

FRONTRUNNERS highlights professionals at the very forefront of their field. We showcase their amazing work, discover their motivations, and learn about the challenges they face in the future.

RISING

Going beyond the horizon. Meet Japan's entrepreneurs whose innovative thinking is changing traditional mindsets in their various fields of work.

Life on Remote Islands

Japan has over 14,000 islands, many of them small and home to only a few people. Life on these remote islands is full of surprises and variety, as well as deep-rooted history and traditions.

アキバ冥途戦争

Akihabara is the center of the universe for the coolest hobbies and quirkiest amusements. In the spring of 1999, bright-eyed Nagomi Wahira moves there with dreams of joining a maid café. She quickly dons an apron at café Ton Tokoton, AKA the Pig Hut. But adjusting to life in bustling Akihabara isn't as easy as serving tea and delighting customers. Paired with the dour Ranko who never seems to smile, Nagomi must do her best to elevate the Pig Hut over all other maid cafés vying for top ranking. Along the way she'll slice out a place for herself amid the frills and thrills of life at the Pig Hut. Just when Nagomi's dreams are within her grasp, she discovers not everything is as it seems amid the maid cafés of Akihabara.

SHIROBAKO

In a school in northeastern Japan, five friends in the animation club, Aoi, Ema, Shizuka, Misa, and Midori swear to complete a new anime called "Shinbutsu Konkou SHICHIFUKUJIN" with some donuts. Since then, day after day, the five spend all of their time on anime production. The awe of going from rough sketches to animation, and the awkward acting in the after-recording session... The final product was finished at the cultural fair six months later. After they graduated they still pursued animation and swore on some donuts that they would make another anime together.

ムチャブリ! わたしが社長になるなんて

Hinako is the executive assistant to the CEO of Relation Gate, a startup company growing at breakneck speed. Apt to listen to his gut feelings, her boss bombards her day in and day out with tall orders he concocts on a whim. Life is far from chill for Hinako, who hasn't had a boyfriend in six years. She barely even has time to sit and think carefully about her future. Each long workday ends with the same toxic thought, "I find no meaning doing this!" as she clutches a beer and lets out a huge sigh.

先輩がうざい後輩の話

Futuba Igarashi's new job would be great if her senpai, Harumi Takeda, wasn't so incredibly annoying! Futuba hates his laugh, she hates how big he is, and she really hates that he treats her like a little kid. Just because Futuba is short and looks young doesn't make her a kid, and just because she spends so much time with Takeda doesn't mean she sees him as anything but an annoying senpai...or does she?!

ぼくたちのリメイク

Hashiba Kyouya is a 28-year-old game developer. With his company going bankrupt, and him losing his job, he returns to his hometown. Looking at the success of creators of his age, he finds himself regretting his life decisions as he lay distressed on his bed. As Kyouya wakes up, he discovers that he has traveled ten years back to the time before he entered college. Will he be able to finally make things right?

アグレッシブ烈子

Frustrated with her thankless office job, Retsuko the Red Panda copes with her daily struggles by belting out death metal karaoke after work.

90 Day: The Single Life

Six singles from the various 90 Day Fiancé series give dating another shot. Letting go of their past proves difficult as they have to go through first dates and falling in love all over again. The singles seek out the help of dating coaches, events, apps, friends and family.

トクサツガガガ

The series is based on the manga Tokusatsu Gagaga, a comedy manga by Tanba Niwa. Tokusatsu Gagaga series follows Kano Nakamura, an office lady played by Fuka Koshiba, who is secretly a tokusatsu otaku, a toku-ota. She lives her life by the code of tokusatsu heroes and often envisions herself as one as a means to make it through her daily struggles.

Living Undocumented

Eight undocumented families' fates roller-coast as the United States' immigration policies are transformed.

Dwars door de Middellandse Zee

Ten Oorlog

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan

Dynamic reenactments and expert commentaries bring to life the tumultuous history and power struggles of a warring 16th-century feudal Japan.

Ärger im Revier

When problems arise, Falk and Ingo from Bielefeld and Nadine and Holger from Berlin are the first on the scene. The four are patrol officers and have learned that a good knowledge of human nature helps them most on the street. Keeping calm is their top priority. But when a troublemaker causes trouble three times during their shift, the police officers can get really angry...

The Birth of Europe

The series reveals how the success of peoples and nations of Europe was controlled by the natural mineral resources of the land: from Stone Age flints to the uranium of the Nuclear Age.

Japan with Sue Perkins

From sumo wrestling to robots, Japan's traditions and high-tech innovations fuel host Sue Perkin's cultural exploration in this docuseries.

Someone You Thought You Knew

This true-crime series tells stories of actual murders committed not by strangers but by someone the victim knew, someone hiding in plain sight, or someone leading a double life. These wolves in sheep's clothing use deception as a weapon to try to get away with murder.

Battles Won And Lost

This sweeping World War II series examines the outcome of battles fought in every major theater. It shows that these battles were decided by strategy and by which armies could capitalize on the terrain or gain better access to supplies. Whether waged by the Allies or by Hitler and the Axis powers, victory or defeat could determine possession of territory, resources, or the will to go on fighting.