Japanese Shows & Movies Coming to Netflix in 2025 & Beyond

While Japanese dramas don’t carry the same weight as K-dramas, year on year they continue to get increasingly popular with subscribers around the world. We’ve put together a preview of all of the exciting Japanese dramas you can expect to see on Netflix in 2025 and beyond.

We’ve omitted any anime projects from the preview to condense the list. You can find our ongoing preview of anime coming to Netflix in 2025 here.

Here are the Japanese dramas you can look forward to watching on Netflix in 2025 and beyond.

Japanese Drama Shows Coming to Netflix in 2025

Inheritance Detective (Season 1)

Episodes: 10 (Weekly)
Genre: Drama, Legal | Runtime: 54 Minutes
Cast: Akaso Eiji, Saurada Hiyori, Yamoto Yuma, Ochiai Motoki, Shibukawa Kiyohiko
Netflix Release Date: February 9th, 2025

Picture: Inheritance Detective

Inheritance Lawyer is a rare case in which we’ve seen a new weekly series set to drop but won’t carry the Netflix branding, thus not making it a Netflix Original series. Regardless, we’re excited to see the drama arrive.

Former lawyer Haie Nao runs his own office as a private detective who specializes in inheritance cases. The quirky detective loves coffee and uses his incredible intellect to help those in need while also respecting the will of the deceased and ensuring any hidden truths are revealed in family conflicts.

Glass Heart (Season 1) N

Episodes: TBA
Genre: Drama, Music | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Satoh Takeru, Miyazaki Yu, Suda Masaki, Machida Keita, Shison Jun
Netflix Release Date: TBA

Adapted from Mio Wakagi’s novel, Yu Miyazaki will lead Netflix’s adaptation as Akane Saijo. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the novel receive an anime adaptation.

Aspiring drummer Akane Saijo is suddenly kicked out of her band but is invited to join a new ensemble when Naoki Fujitani stumbles upon her talent.

Last Samurai Standing (Season 1) N

Episodes: TBA
Genre: Drama, Period | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Okada Junichi, Takayuki Yamada
Netflix Release Date: 2025

Picture: Okada Junichi (left) –

The adaptation of Shogo Imamura’s novel, Last Samurai Standing promises to deliver on some incredible fight choreography as the series is centered around 292 warriors, who during the late 19th Century in the Meiji period, gather at the Tenryuji Temple in Kyoto, to take part in a bloody competition that will see the winner walk away with 100 billion yen.

Romantic Anonymous (Season 1) N

Episodes: 0
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Oguri Shun, Han Hyo Joo, Akanishi Jin, Nakamura Yuri, Song Joong Ki
Netflix Release Date: 2025

Romantic Anonymous is a collaboration between Korean and Japanese artists and creators and can potentially be a big hit for Netflix. 

Sosuke and Hana have a chance encounter thanks to their love of chocolate. However, due to their social anxiety, Sosuke can’t touch, and Hana can’t make eye contact, which brings unique challenges to their budding relationship.

Alice in Borderland (Season 3) N

Episodes: 8
Genre: Thriller | Runtime: 60 Minutes
Cast: Yamazaki Kento, Tsuchiya Tao
Netflix Release Date: 2025

Easily the most successful and popular Japanese live-action adaptation returns for one final round later this year!

Soul Mate (Season 1) N

Episodes: 8
Genre: Drama, Romance | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Isomura Hayato, Ok Taec Yeon
Netflix Release Date: 2025

Picture: Ok Taec Yeon (left) and Isomura Hayato (right)

Isomura Hayato and Ok Taec Yeon star as two young men who fall in love over the course of a ten-year story, taking place in cities across the world, such as Berlin, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Japanese Drama Shows Coming to Netflix Beyond 2025

Human Vapor (Season 1) N

Episodes: TBA
Genre: Drama, Legal | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Yû Aoi, Shun Oguri
Netflix Release Date: TBA

Picture: The Human Vapor (1960) – Toho Studios

One of the iconic films of Japanese cinema in the 1960s, finally decades later, the film is now being adapted into a television series. The series is centered on a man who is granted the ability to transform himself into a gaseous state, but rather than using his new powers for good, he starts robbing banks.

Quiztopia (Season 1) N

Episodes: TBA
Genre: Thriller | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Takayuki Yamada
Netflix Release Date: TBA

Picture: Takayuki Yamada (left) and Kokumin Kuizu manga cover (center) – Kato/OHTA Publishing Company

Takayuki Yamada stars as eccentric, charismatic, and tyrannical K-ichi, the host of Japan’s government-mandated and dystopian quiz show.

The series takes place in an alternate reality in Japan, where a quiz show has a tyrannical hold over the people after being established by the Japanese Constitution. High risk and high reward, the winners are granted one wish by the government, but the losers face fines, forced labor, or conscription. The show pushes contestants to their limits, causing them to pursue their heart desires no matter who and what the cost.

Japanese Drama Movies Coming to Netflix in 2025

Demon City (2025)

Director: Seiji Tanaka
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime | Runtime: 106 Minutes
Cast: Tôma Ikuta, Masahiro Higashide, Miou Tanaka, Ami Tôma, Tarô Suruga
Netflix Release Date: February 27th, 2025

Picture: Toma Ikuta in Demon City – Netflix

The film stars Toma Ikuta, who was previously seen in the heart-wrenching Netflix series Beyond Goodbye. 

Ikuta plays the role of Shuhei Sakata, a hitman on a quest to avenge the deaths of his wife and daughter. Sakata’s fight is against a shadow organization of masked criminals that control the city of Shinjo. 

Bullet Train Explosion (2025) N 

Director: Shinji Higuchi
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Ken Takakura
Netflix Release Date: TBA

As part of the 50th anniversary of the original Bullet Train movie, a remake of the classic is headed to Netflix in 2025. Any fans of Shin Godzilla should be excited for Bullet Train Explosion as director Shinji Higuchi is at the helm of the film. 

The film is centered around a group who attempt to extort money from the government by planting a bomb on the Bullet Train and threatening to blow it up.

10Dance (2025)

Director: Otomo Keishi
Genre: Romance | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Machida Keita, Takeuchi Ryoma, 
Netflix Release Date: 2025

Picture: Takeuchi Ryoma (left) and Machida Keita (right)

In this romantic Japanese drama, Machida Keita stars as Sugiki Shinya, and Takeuchi Ryoma stars as Suzuki Shinya. The pair play rival ballroom dancers who have mastered their respective fields. Still, one day, Sugiki invites Suzuki to compete with him to conquer the competition of all ten competitive dances. 

My Hero Academia 

Director: Shinsuke Sato
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure | Runtime: TBA
Cast: Leon Masuda, James Marler
Netflix Release Date: TBA

It remains unclear where in the development phase My Hero Academia is, but it should be one of the biggest live-action adapted releases on Netflix thanks to the franchise’s popularity. The story is centered around Izuku Midoriya, a powerless human in a world where superpowers called quirks are commonplace, but only the best-become crime fighters. Despite being quirkless, this doesn’t deter Modoriya from dreaming of becoming the world’s greatest hero.

What Japanese dramas are you excited to watch on Netflix in 2025? Let us know in the comments below!