The drama "Shin Minami no Teio" ("New Emperor of Minami"; Fuji, Tue., 10 p.m.) is based on a popular comic about a charismatic moneylender in Osaka. Shinsuke Daito plays Ryuichi, a young man who is determined to meet Ginjiro (Chihara Junior), the legendary moneylender of the Minami district. Ryuichi admires Ginjiro for his manly attributes. Despite the fact that some people refer to him as a loan shark, he's honorable, strong and loyal. The younger man begs Ginjiro to hire him as one of his men.
Ryuichi is assigned the case of Imamiya (Shigeru Uchida), a banker who can't seem to turn a profit and thus risks dismissal. Breaking under pressure from his sarcastic bosses, Imamiya borrows money from Ginjiro and pretends it's money he made through honest banking.
The documentary showcase "Sennyu! Riaru Sukopu" ("Immersion! Real Scope"; Fuji, Sat., 11:25 p.m.) travels to a village in China where all 8,000 residents are painters. And they're not ordinary painters, but oil painters who copy world-famous works of art for commercial sale. The village is authorized by the government, and the copies of famous works by Picasso, Van Gogh and others are sold for as little at ¥900 a piece.