Yuichiro Hirakawa

Director

January 23, 1972 (54 years)

Oita, Japan

Biography

He graduated from the Broadcasting Arts Department of Nihon Kogakuin College of Technology. In 2009, his drama "JIN" (TBS) won 33 domestic and international awards. In recent years, he directed the film "Whisper of the heart", the film "The Promised Neverland", the drama "Stepmother and Daughter's Blues" (TBS), and the drama "Heaven and Hell: Two Psychos" (TBS). He also directed the drama "Burn the House Down", which became a hot topic when it was released on Netflix in July 2023.

Filmography

7.2

Burn the House Down

After her mother took the blame for a tragic fire 13 years ago, Anzu plots revenge by working as a housekeeper under a pseudonym for her icy stepmother.

7.9

Jin

After awakening in the Edo era, a neurosurgeon uses his medical knowledge to help those around him while searching for a way back to the present day.

7.3

Stepmom and Daughter Blues

Eight-year-old Miyuki lost her mother several years ago and has since lived with just her father, Ryoichi. One day, she is suddenly introduced to Akiko, who is to be her new mother. Akiko uses her stellar business skills to try to win the little girl over, only to fail miserably. Ryoichi tries to reason with Miyuki, but to no avail. Akiko changes tactics and tries to get Shimoyama, a woman in the neighborhood who knows Miyuki well, on her side.

7.4

Ikebukuro West Gate Park

Living in Ikebukuro — an area infamous for juvenile crime, 21-year-old Makoto Majima becomes associated with a youth gang called the G-Boys. A troubleshooter known for his cool headedness and ability to get things done, Makoto diffuses tense situations around Ikebukuro to keep his friends and others out of harm's way. However, the mysterious death of his girlfriend and an escalating gang turf war threaten to be more than Makoto can handle.

7.4

Into the White Night

What happens with two children commit two different muders in order to protect each other? Does salvation exist for them? In order to walk beneath the sun once more, Ryouji and Yukiho find themselves in a twisted web from which neither can escape without abandoning the other. Having no one but each other, this drama follows the events the follow that fateful day… 14 years ago.

6.3

Everyone’s Demoted!!

Hiroshi Kataoka works at a bank. He receives a promotion to manager of the Kamata branch. He is also informed that the Kamata branch will be shut down and he does not have to work hard. After the branch's shutdown, he will work again at the bank's headquarters. Hiroshi Kataoka is embarrassed by the situation. He sees the branch employees work hard and they do not know the branch will close. Hiroshi Kataoka is conflicted between his job and his employees.

7.2

Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange

Ayako is a 35-year-old detective who is hardworking and has a strong sense of justice. However, she is inflexible and works too hard, which causes her to fail often. One day, she arrested a wanted suspect for a murder case, but, unfortunately, her soul was exchanged with the suspect just when she was looking forward to her rewards.

8.5

Black Kite

Yasu's mother passed away when he was very young and his father abandoned him. Yasu's wife, Misako, also lost both her parents when she was young. The two spend their days in happiness, watching their young son, Akira, grow up. Unfortunately, a freakish accident occurs that results in Misako sacrificing her life to protect her son. Yasu loses himself in grief and remorse, but recovers as he vows to raise his 3 year-old son as best as possible.

8.8

Brass Dreams

Hikuma Koichi was a saxophone player, but he suffers from the after-effects of an accident. Due to that, he turned his back on music. Hikuma Koichi finds hope in the high school brass band. The band consists of problem students. Koichi struggles to instruct the brass band and to give them hope.

7.0

A Life

When Okita Kazuaki was starting out as a doctor, he was forced to resign from the hospital. He left his girlfriend Danjo Mifuyu behind and went to the US alone. 10 years go by and he comes back as a surgeon with outstanding skills to save his former teacher from illness. His teacher is none other than his ex-girlfriend’s father. In the time that Okita was away, Mifuyu had married his own good friend Masao, who is now the deputy director and the heir of the hospital. To make matters worse, this friend was the one who plotted to drive him out form the hospital 10 years ago. Okita has to face all sorts of ordeals to save his teacher. But he never gives up amid the swirl of love, desire, friendship, jealousy and pride. Okita may be awkward but deals with patients with all his heart. His way of life gets the people working at the hospital to start asking themselves what real healthcare is.

8.4

Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World

"I thought I might be using a lifetime's happiness in a moment. I was that happy and she was that beautiful." A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It's 2004 and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks "I have been in a world without her for 17 years." Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has been living as if half of him died with her since then.

4.0

Kurokouchi

Detective Keita Kurokouchi (Tomoya Nagase) continues to extort money from politicians whom Keita Kurokouchi has information on. By using his information he is able to crack unsolved cases. Rookie Detective Mayo Seike (Ayame Gouriki) is excellent with her job and also a bit naive. She conducts an internal investigation on Detective Keita Kurokouchi, but they become partners and work on cases together..

6.3

Stand Up!!

Stand Up!! is a Japanese television drama which ran weekly for three months in 2003. The drama, which stars Kazunari Ninomiya of Arashi and Tomohisa Yamashita of NEWS, centers around the lives of the last four virgins left in their highschool as they struggle to lose their virginity over their final high school summer vacation. A 6-DVD Box Set featuring all eleven episodes, as well as six individual volumes were released in Japan on December 18, 2003.

6.5

Mars: Zero's Revolution

Zero Mishima is a mysterious 19-year-old transfer student who incites dropout high school students to "destroy this world with me." Although he is a mysterious person, he is adept at controlling people's hearts, and has the charisma to slip into the gaps in people's hearts and manipulate them with his skillful words. Instigated and guided by Zero, high school students eventually form a video group called Mars, and attempt to destroy the society created by adults then rebuild it...

7.5

366 Days

No description available

7.0

The Battle of Mr. and Mrs. Sasaki

No description available

4.5

Never Let Me Go

30-year-old Kyoko has a "job". The story starts with her looking back 20 years to her boarding school of Yoko Gakuen in the mountains. Tomohiko, Miwa, and Kyoko are all in the same grade. Inspired by the educational philosophy of the principal - Emiko, teacher Tatsuko joins the boarding school staff, but soon finds the school rather strange...

N/A

Who Do You Think You Are?

While working in the leisurely atmosphere at a food company's factory, Futaro is asked to return to their corporate headquarters by his good friend. Unfortunately, he finds himself assistant to Izumi, a highly demanding expert on Italian food culture. Futaro gets off to a rocky start with his new female boss, and always seems to be saying or doing the wrong thing. He also doesn't seem to be particularly suited to his new position on the Italian Restaurant Project, considering he doesn't even like tomatoes! But Futaro may still have a few tricks left up his sleeve that he can use to win over Izumi and find success in his new job.

N/A

A Twist of Fate

Eri and Shuji meet as next door neighbors and over the course of a year become lovers. However, just as Shuji is planning on asking Eri to marry him, they are each offered job opportunities at opposite ends of the globe. Pulled apart by their careers, they happen to meet years later and are surprised to find they still have feelings for one another. However, the fact that they are both in serious relationships with other people promises to complicate matters.

6.7

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun

High school student Hoshi Izumi loses her father suddenly in an accident. One day, Sakuma, the waka gashira of a small and weak Yakuza gang in Asakusa - the Medaka Gumi - pays Izumi a visit along with the gang members. The death of their former kumicho (Boss) puts Medaka Gumi on the verge of a breakup. Therefore, Sakuma begs Izumi, the former boss's only distant relative left, to succeed to the kumicho position. Izumi is taken by surprise and keeps refusing at first. However, she ends up becoming the 8th kumicho of the Medaka Gumi! The police tell her that her father's death may possibly be a homicide case. There's also Mayumi, a mysterious woman staring closely at Izumi's father's photograph at his funeral. The situation becomes complicated when the drug-dealing vicious yakuza, Hamaguchi Gumi, comes into the picture as well as Sandaiji Hajime, a politician whose public stance is to eliminate drugs.