Nikuko is a brash, jolly, scattered, and passionate woman in an otherwise sleepy seaside town in northern Japan. She’s also the single mother of 11-year-old Kikuko, who is her opposite in many ways. Kikuko is a string-bean of a young girl, pensive, quietly curious, and methodical in how she approaches life in this small harbor town. Nikuko embarrasses Kikuko as any mom of a preteen would, but Nikuko’s bold spirit makes her especially well-known in a town where Kikuko herself wants nothing more than to simply blend in. As Kikuko navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school, enhanced with touches of magical realism from her ever-present imagination, a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair’s tender relationship.
A talk show where hosts explore the intriguing aspects of Horipro, a renowned talent agency, by interacting with its notable members and uncovering lesser-known facts.
A talk show where Matsuko Deluxe, along with guests and experts, delves into specific eras of recent Japanese history. The program explores the lifestyles, trends, and statuses of people during those times, often using television and popular culture as a lens.
Join Matsuko Deluxe and her team in a meeting as they do an in-depth exploration of places that have been the talk of the town recently.
It’s a fact. There are hopeless human beings who exist in society and while they may be referred to as being “OUTcasts” from the general public’s perspective, they remain true to themselves, in honesty, more so than the general public. In fact, this may be exactly why they have become these “OUTcasts”. After all, many legendary scholars or artists seemed to have lost their common sense or stood out from society in general. There is only a fine line between those on the outside and those on the inside. Hosts Matsuko Deluxe and Hiroyuki Yabe will guide you through this cheerful talk variety show, rooting for the underdogs!
Yoshitaro Katayama (Masaki Aiba) became a police detective after having followed the will of his father who had been known as a great detective. However, Yoshitaro can never step into murder scenes because he faints whenever he sees blood, and criminals are able to easily slip away because he is afraid of heights. He also has phobias of women and ghosts. Moreover, he hates to doubt people more than anything, so he happens to believe whatever people say. Thus, Yoshitaro has tried, in vain, to quit his job a number of times in the past, but his brother Hiroshi (Naohito Fujiki), who loves mystery novels, and his super active sister Harumi (Aya Omasa) always manage to convince him to remain as a detective. One day, hopeless Yoshitaro finds a calico cat that somehow understands what people say and sometimes shows great reasoning power. With the help of strange hints given by this cat, Yoshitaro luckily succeeds in solving the cases.