There are many lists of Japanese time travel dramas and here we have collected the 10 best. Japanese series with time travel have developed the tastes and interests of drama fans around the world.
When in fact, time travel has actually established itself as a whole new genre. And J-drama started releasing lots of time travel TV shows that mix the genres of romance, comedy, action, and gripping thriller. That makes it even more interesting to watch.
Therefore here are 10 J-dramas with interesting time travel elements with plots through parallel timelines. Check it out below!
Best Japanese Time Travel Dramas
1. Seishun Cinderella
Hagino Shion is a 29-year-old beauty consultant. Shion lives a happy and fulfilling life even though she has never had a boyfriend.
However, one day, she participates in a blind date party and that triggers a flashback where she was rejected by her first love in high school, who told her, “If you’re going to confess, you should at least put your appearance to good use”.
As if pulled back by the trauma of her past, Shion somehow returns to the past and becomes a 17-year-old high school student again.
Using the makeup techniques she has honed, Shion decides to shift to a different timeline compared to what happened 12 years ago.
This Japanese romantic time travel drama was released in 2022 with 10 episodes. You can watch it on Viki and it stars Rinka Kumada and Kyoya Honda.
2. Ashi Girl
This Japanese series tells the story of Hayakawa Yui, a 16-year-old girl whose only strength is her ability to run fast.
When his loner but genius younger brother invents the time machine, he is accidentally sent to the Warring States era. There she met the young master of the Hagi clan, Hagi Tadakiyo, and fell in love with him.
After returning to modern times, he learns from his middle school teacher that the Hagi clan will be wiped out in history.
Desperate to save this young master, he finds his way back to the Warring States era, and his adventure begins there.
Ashi Girl is one of the best Japanese time travel dramas was released in 2017. It has 12 episodes and stars Kuroshima Yuina and Ito Kentaro.
3. Saigo no Restaurant
It tells the story of a restaurant called Heaven’s Door that was once a popular fine dining restaurant, but after a change in management, the clientele has steadily decreased.
Once upon a time, a high school student named Chie Ariga came to work part-time at a restaurant. But he found there were barely any customers left to serve.
When the restaurant owner considers closing the place, various unexpected customers start showing up. Oda Nobunaga? Cleopatra? Napoleon? Every week, the staff has to please another famous customer from history.
This Japanese tv series about time travel stars Tanabe Seiichi and Fukuda Mayuko. It was released in 2016 with 8 episodes.
4. Shitteru Waifu
It tells the story of Motoharu, an ordinary man who travels back in time, only to find out that he was unhappily married to another woman and found his love for his original wife.
This is one of the best Japanese time travel dramas. It was released in 2021 with 11 episodes. This tv show stars Okura Tadayoshi and Hirose Alice.
5. Boku Dake ga Inai Machi
Fujinuma Satoru is an aspiring manga artist. He has the ability to travel back in time before a life-threatening incident, where he is able to prevent it from happening.
When his mother is killed by an unknown assassin, Satoru’s abilities suddenly send him back eighteen years to the past, when he was still in elementary school.
That later gave him the opportunity to prevent a kidnapping incident that claimed the lives of three of his childhood friends; two classmates and a young girl studying at a nearby school.
This Japanese tv series stars Furukawa Yuki and Uchikawa Reo. It was released in 2017 with 12 episodes and is available on Netflix.
6. Todome no Parallel
The storyline of this drama follows Otaro, a handsome man who is crazy about money. He even used his good looks to seduce women and then blackmail them. He doesn’t care what his age or background is.
One day he accidentally meets the wrong woman and finally dies. But strangely he finds himself back in time, which is 7 days before he dies.
Todome no Parallel is also known as Kiss That Kills. This is one of the best Japanese time travel dramas released in 2018. It has 10 episodes and is available on Hulu. This tv show stars Kento Yamazaki, Mugi Kadowaki, Mackenyu, and Yuko Araki.
7. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo
Yoshiyama Mihane is a 3rd-grade middle school student and he is a member of the photo club at his school. One day he smells lavender in the science lab and he suddenly gains the ability to time-leap.
On the other hand, Fukamachi Shohei is Mihane’s classmate. He actually comes from the year 2122 and is a researcher. At this time Shohei loses a drug that allows him to return to the year 2122.
Meanwhile, Shohei hypnotizes those around him and lives as a high school student. However, as time goes by, Mihane and Shohei start to have feelings for each other.
This time travel Japanese series was released in 2016 with 5 episodes. This tv show stars Kuroshima Yuina and Kikuchi Fuma.
8. Ryuusei Wagon
It tells the story of Nagata Kazuo, a man who has faced many problems in the past six months. He is told he has been laid off, his wife Miyoko wants a divorce and their son Hiroki will not stop the violence in the home.
And in Kazuo’s heart, there is antagonism with his father Tadao who has terminal cancer. As Kazuo sits on the bench in front of the train station, he wonders where he went wrong.
Then a wine-colored cart suddenly appeared and the person driving it was Hashimoto Yoshiaki who should have died five years ago. His son Kenta who rode him must also die.
Kazuo rides on this mysterious wagon with the two of them and of course, traveling around important places in the past, he begins to realize what’s wrong with his wife and son.
This tv show stars Nishijima Hidetoshi and Kagawa Teruyuki. You can watch one of the best Japanese time travel dramas on Prime Video. It was released in 2015 with 10 episodes.
9. Retake – Toki o Kakeru Omoi
The series’ story follows Aratani Shinji, a man who has lost everything – his career, family, and friends – as a result of a twist of fate.
Working as the head of the Census Management Section at the Ministry of Justice, he carries out a secret mission directly from the Parliamentary Secretary for Justice to isolate time travelers, who have come from the future, in a special housing area and put them on probation.
This Japanese tv show about time travel was released in 2016 with 8 episodes.
10. Samurai Sensei
Takechi Hanpeita was a samurai from the Tosa domain who campaigned for the expulsion of foreigners. But unknowingly he travels 150 years from the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate to present-day Japan.
In the future, he becomes a teacher at a private school run by Saeki Makoto in a remote rural village through unexpected events. There he also solved all kinds of problems in the village with methods unique to a samurai.
One of the best Japanese time travel dramas was released in 2015 with 8 episodes. This Japanese series stars Ryo Nishikido, Kamiki Ryunosuke, and Higa Manami.
Those were the lists of the best Japanese time travel dramas that have plots through interesting parallel timelines and you must watch them. Thanks for reading this article, have a nice day!
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