Top 20 FujiTV drama theme songs as chosen by 10,000 people

FujiTV's variety programme "Kono sekai wa 1derful" aired a top 20 ranking of FujiTV drama theme songs as chosen by 10,000 people on 17 April 2025. 

• The dramas' titles are reflected within the brackets. 
• The links lead to music videos or live performances of the theme songs.
• The years when the dramas were aired are reflected at the end of each line.

What is clear from this ranking:

• FujiTV's golden age for its dramas were indeed the 90s - the top 10 were all from this era.
• The most "recent" entry in this ranking was already 3 years ago.
• Seems like the dramas from the past 2 years haven't left as much of an impact on viewers unlike some from decades ago which are still remembered fondly.

Are your favourites in this list? 

1) "Love Story wa totsuzen ni" by Oda Kazumasa (Tokyo Love Story) - 1991

2) "SAY YES" by Chage & Aska (101 kaime no proposal) - 1991

3) "Ima sugu Kiss Me" by LINDBERG (Sekai de ichiban kimi ga suki) - 1990

4) "Kimi ga iru dake de" by Kome Kome Club (Sugao no mama de) - 1992

5) "Makenaide" by ZARD (Shiratori Reiko de gozaimasu!) - 1993

6) "Sekaijuu no dare yori kitto" by Nakayama Miho & WANDS (Dare ka ga kanojo wo aishiteru) - 1992

7) "La La La Love Song" by Kubota Toshinobu with Naomi Campbell (Long Vacation) - 1996

8) "YAH YAH YAH" by Chage Aska (Furikaereba yatsu ga iru) - 1993

9) "Kanashimi wa yuki no you ni" by Hamada Shogo (Ai to iu na no moto ni) - 1992

10) "Saboten no hana" by Zaitsu Kazuo (Hitotsu yane no shita) - 1993

11) "Sora mo toberu hazu" by Spitz (Hakusen Nagashi) - 1996

12) "HANABI" by Mr.Children (Code Blue) - 2008

13) "Sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana" by SMAP (Boku no ikiru michi) - 2003

14) "TRUE LOVE" by Fujii Fumiya (Asunaro Hakusho) - 1993

15) "Gin no ryu no se ni notte" by Nakajima Miyuki (Dr. Kotoo shinryoujou) - 2003

16) "Everything" by MISIA (Yamato Nadeshiko) - 2000

17) "Subtitle" by Official Hige Dandism (silent) - 2022

18) "Tomorrow never knows" by Mr.Children (Wakamono no subete) - 1994

19) "Love Somebody" by Oda Yuji (Odoru Daisousasen) - 1997

20) "Poison" by Sorimachi Takashi (GTO) - 1998

Top 10 private network dramas in the Heisei era with the highest single episode rating (Daily Shincho)

With the impending end of the Heisei era, there are lots of rankings, surveys, articles about anything imaginable in the media these days. Daily Shincho did a check on the top 10 private network dramas in the Heisei era with the highest single episode rating i.e. excluding NHK and here are the results with the year of broadcast in brackets:

"Hanzawa Naoki" is still unbeaten for the last six years since it became the monster blockbuster of 2013. Looking at the results, it's obvious that the days of dramas easily exceeding the 20% mark are long gone. It may be a long time before another big hit in the 30% range ever comes up in the Reiwa era with more and more sources for your drama fix including Netflix, HBO Asia, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video other than the traditional TV stations and many alternative forms of entertainment besides TV spreading the viewership base further.

In case you are wondering, I actually watched everything in this list (which gives you a clue as to how old I am) and naturally, there are some which I like more than the others for various reasons! I watched "101 Kaime no Proposal" when I was still a kid who knew nothing much and I actually remembered the scene of Takeda Tetsuya jumping in front of that truck more than the love story itself because I was laughing at how ridiculous it seemed (sorry, no romantic bone in me back then). "Ienakiko" was shocking and painful to watch due to the constant bullying of Suzu (Adachi Yumi) but it was gratifying and encouraging to see how she overcame hurdle after hurdle. "Long Vacation" introduced me to Takenouchi Yutaka (although it was his clean look in "Beach Boys" which got me hooked) and I am still listening to the songs from then even to this day. And not forgetting "Hanzawa Naoki" which I felt was a bit far-fetched because that kind of insubordination would never happen in a company, much less a Japanese bank - but the story of a nobody fighting against power and status probably resonated with everyone who faced similar issues and had no way or courage to fight like Hanzawa. So many beautiful memories from the Heisei era dramas!

How many of the top 10 have you watched before? Do feel free to share your thoughts with me!

1) Hanzawa Naoki / TBS / 42.2% (2013)
2) Beautiful Life / TBS / 41.3% (2000)
3) Kaseifu no Mita / NTV / 40.0% (2011)
4) Hitotsu Yane no Shita / FujiTV / 37.8% (1993)
5) GOOD LUCK!! / TBS / 37.6% (2003)
6) Ienakiko / NTV / 37.2% (1994)
7) HERO / FujiTV / 36.8% (2001)
8) 101 Kaime no Proposal / FujiTV / 36.7% (1991)
Long Vacation / FujiTV / 36.7% (1996)
10) GTO / FujiTV / 35.7% (1998)

Source: Daily Shincho

Preview of "GTO" - Summer 2014

Title: GTO
Official website: here
Official Facebook page: here
Official Twitter page: here
O.A. Start Date: 8th July 2014
Timeslot: Tuesdays 10pm
Broadcast by: KTV / FujiTV
Original manga by: Fujiwara Toru
Theme song: Highschool love by E-girls
Cast: AKIRA, Higa Manami, Yamamoto Yusuke, Ono Takehiko, Kazami Shingo, Maruyama Tomoki, Mabuchi Erika, Anan Atsuko, Fujisawa Ayano, Tayama Ryosei, Shirota Yu, Kuroki Hitomi

The 16th Nikkansports Drama Grand Prix - Summer 2012

Here are the results of the 16th Nikkansports Drama Grand Prix for the summer 2012 season (numbers indicate votes received):

Best Drama
1) Ume-chan Sensei / NHK / 351
2) Rich Man, Poor Woman / FujiTV / 156
3) GTO / FujiTV / 131
4) Kuro no Onna Kyoushi / TBS / 75
5) Tokkan / NTV / 62

Best Leading Actor
1) Oguri Shun / Rich Man, Poor Woman / 279
2) AKIRA / GTO / 217
3) Matsuyama Kenichi / Taira no Kiyomori / 180
4) Toyokawa Etsushi / Beautiful Rain / 158
5) Watase Tsunehiko / Keishicho Sousa Ikka 9 Kakari / 134

Best Leading Actress
1) Horikita Maki / Ume-chan Sensei / 496
2) Inoue Mao / Tokkan / 140
3) Eikura Nana / Kuro no Onna Kyoushi / 124
4) Nakama Yukie / Ghost Mama Sousasen / 118
5) Ashida Mana / Beautiful Rain / 99

Best Supporting Actor
1) Takahashi Katsumi / Ume-chan Sensei / 220
2) Matsuzaka Tori / Ume-chan Sensei / 171
3) Iura Arata / Rich Man, Poor Woman / 74
4) Kitamura Yukiya / Tokkan / 72
5) Eguchi Yosuke / Iki mo dekinai natsu / 64

Best Supporting Actress
1) Ishihara Satomi / Rich Man, Poor Woman / 246
2) Minami Kaho / Ume-chan Sensei / 173
3) Suzuki Sawa / Tokkan / 75
4) Saito Yuki / Iryu Sousa / 72
5) Nakatani Miki / Beautiful Rain / 68

Source: Nikkansports

GTO gets off to good start at 15.1%

GTO starring EXILE's AKIRA, scored 15.1% in the Kanto region for its first episode shown on 3 July. It also recorded relatively high ratings in other regions of Japan e.g. 16.2% in Kansai, 17.7% in Nagoya, 14.9% in Sendai, 20.6% in Hiroshima and 17.1% in Shizuoka.

The drama was first made in 1998 starring Sorimachi Takashi and Matsushima Nanako and got high average ratings of 28.3% with a final episode rating of 35.7%.
Source: Mantan Web

GTO remake starting in July 2012

EXILE member AKIRA will be starring in his first leading role in the remake of 1998 hit drama "GTO" where he plays the legendary teacher Onitsuka Eikichi. The original series which had an average rating of 28.3%, had featured Sorimachi Takashi and Matsushima Nanako who met through this drama and got married later in 2001. Filming is scheduled to begin on 27 May and the drama will begin its run via FujiTV on Tuesdays at 10pm.
The heroine in the new series Fuyutsuki Azusa will be played by Takimoto Miori while Kuroki Hitomi plays the principal of the school who hires Onitsuka. Tayama Ryosei takes on the role of the department head who dislikes Onitsuka while Onitsuka's close friends who live with him are played by Yamamoto Yusuke and Shirota Yu.
Source: Sanspo

EXILE's AKIRA to take on the leading role in GTO remake

EXILE member AKIRA will be taking on the lead role in the remake drama of GTO due to be shown from July 2012 on FujiTV at 10pm Tuesdays. The role had initially been given to Akanishi Jin but he was dropped due to his surprise marriage announcement to Kuroki Meisa. According to insiders, AKIRA was selected not only for his wild image but also because of the manga author's wishes. AKIRA made his debut as an actor in 2008 and this is his first leading role in a drama.

Source: Nikkansports

Akanishi Jin loses his role in the GTO remake drama

Akanishi Jin has officially been taken off the cast list of FujiTV summer drama GTO as reported on 14 April. According to insiders, Johnny's Jimusho had made the request to Kansai TV which is in charge of producing this drama as part of the punishment given to Akanishi for getting married to Kuroki Meisa without informing the company.

The drama which is a remake of 1998's hit starring Sorimachi Takashi, is due to be shown from July on Tuesdays at 10pm. Akanishi's involvement in the role had been decided before his surprise marriage on 2 Feb. The decision to drop Akanishi had been made at the end of last month.

Source: Sanspo

Akanishi Jin's nationwide concert tour cancelled, role in GTO unconfirmed

Following his surprise marriage to Kuroki Meisa, Johnny's Jimusho has finally announced how they will punish Akanishi Jin for not informing them before he got married. First of all, his scheduled nationwide arena concert tour which is supposed to begin in early April will be cancelled. The tour consists of 7 performances in 5 cities i.e. Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo and Fukuoka and should have ended in early May. Any expenses or losses arising from the cancellation will be solely borne by Akanishi. The announcement of the tour had been made in January during a fan event at Yokohama Arena and details of the tour were supposed to have been announced in mid February. However, with Akanishi's surprise marriage to Kuroki, Johnny's Jimusho decided against announcing any details of the tour. After discussing with various parties including companies inconvenienced by this sudden development, the agency then decided on this penalty against Akanishi.

In addition, despite rumours that Akanishi had been scheduled to star in July's remake of hit drama "GTO", the agency and the TV station concerned both confirmed that nothing has been decided yet and that his schedule from now on remains open.

Source: Nikkansports

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JE really means business this time, it seems. Cancellation of the tour and plans to star in a drama aren't that much of a big deal since this is something that usually happens if an artiste gets into trouble. However, if you think of the fact that he has to bear the costs of the cancellation (deposits may have been made to secure the venues, equipment and staff involved in the concerts), this might be a big dent to his pocket especially if his schedule stays blank for a long time. Akanishi should actually count his lucky stars that tickets haven't been sold yet. Otherwise, he might have to fork out more money in the end. Now that Kuroki is also not working, it leaves people to wonder how they are going to survive if there is going to be a baby on the way. Till now, they still haven't confirmed if Kuroki is pregnant. It'e bewildering why they are holding back on this piece of news.