# Top 16 Japanese Drama Series of All Time

> Tearjerkers and legal showdowns, slow-burn romances and revenge sagas — decades of unforgettable J-drama go head to head. Cast your vote!

*By YPB Team · Published June 21, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-16-japanese-drama-series-of-all-time*

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## Current results (3 votes)

1. **Hanzawa Naoki** — 33.33% (1 votes · score 1000/1000)
   The record-breaking banking revenge drama about a banker fighting corruption with his motto 'double payback'.
2. **Woman** — 33.33% (1 votes · score 943/1000)
   The 2013 family drama about a widowed mother struggling to raise her children.
3. **Galileo** — 33.33% (1 votes · score 943/1000)
   The mystery drama featuring a genius physicist who solves baffling crimes with science.
4. **Great Teacher Onizuka** — 0% (0 votes · score 771/1000)
   The 1998 series following a reformed biker gang leader who becomes an unconventional high-school teacher.
5. **Hana Yori Dango** — 0% (0 votes · score 692/1000)
   The hugely popular 2005 romance about a working-class girl clashing with four wealthy boys at an elite school.
6. **Beautiful Life** — 0% (0 votes · score 600/1000)
   The blockbuster 2000 romance between a hairdresser and a librarian who uses a wheelchair.
7. **Hero** — 0% (0 votes · score 600/1000)
   The hit legal drama starring Takuya Kimura as an unconventional prosecutor challenging office norms.
8. **Liar Game** — 0% (0 votes · score 491/1000)
   The psychological thriller about an honest student dragged into a high-stakes deception tournament.
9. **Pride** — 0% (0 votes · score 491/1000)
   The 2004 romance starring Takuya Kimura as the captain of an ice hockey team.
10. **Nodame Cantabile** — 0% (0 votes · score 491/1000)
   The beloved music-school romantic comedy about an eccentric pianist and an ambitious conductor.
11. **1 Litre of Tears** — 0% (0 votes · score 491/1000)
   The tear-jerking 2005 drama based on the real diary of a girl living with a degenerative disease.
12. **Code Blue** — 0% (0 votes · score 360/1000)
   The medical drama about young doctors on a helicopter emergency response team.
13. **Mother** — 0% (0 votes · score 360/1000)
   The acclaimed 2010 drama about a teacher who abducts an abused child to save her.
14. **Quartet** — 0% (0 votes · score 360/1000)
   The critically praised 2017 ensemble drama about four strangers forming a string quartet.
15. **Long Vacation** — 0% (0 votes · score 200/1000)
   The iconic 1996 trendy drama pairing a struggling pianist with a jilted model as roommates.
16. **Kazoku Game** — 0% (0 votes · score 200/1000)
   The 2013 dark drama about a mysterious tutor who upends a dysfunctional family.

Tags: romance, tv shows, japan, japanese drama