Rakuten Viki April 2023 Schedule Announced

The Rakuten Viki April 2023 schedule has been announced and includes binge-worthy new Korean, Chinese and Japanese dramas. The premier destination for Asian content is debuting popular webtoon adaptations Joseon Attorney: A Morality and Duty After School, Junta Shima’s hit manga brought to life, Murai in Love, and much more.

In addition to the Rakuten Viki April 2023 content, fans of the Korean reality competition program Peak Time are in for a real treat as an exclusive livestream of this season’s finale will stream on Rakuten Viki’s YouTube channel on April 19 at 6:30 a.m. PDT.

The Rakuten Viki April 2023 lineup also includes popular titles moving to AVOD (advertising video on-demand) such as Decoy: Part 1, Melancholia, Poong, The Joseon Psychiatrist 2, Strangers Again, Today’s Webtoon, and Why Her? These binge-worthy titles, which are normally only available with a subscription, are now available for free for all to watch and enjoy.

Rakuten Viki is available to anyone to watch for free (with advertisements) or without advertisements with tiered subscriptions of Standard for $5.99 USD a month and the Plus Pass for $9.99 USD. Rakuten Viki is available on several platforms like desktop, mobile, and web.

Rakuten Viki is a premier destination for Asian entertainment, with a global audience that comes to Rakuten Viki’s over-the-top (OTT) platform for dramas, variety shows, movies, awards shows, and Viki Originals – translated into 150+ languages by a community of avid fans.

Reaching more than 65 million fans in over 250 countries via Rakuten Viki and its entertainment news community, Soompi, the company also develops and invests in Viki Originals.

RAKUTEN VIKI APRIL 2023 SCHEDULE

The Heavenly Idol – Korea – New Episodes Debuting Weekly Starting February 15
Pontifex Lembrary (Kim Min Gyu) is widely regarded as having the most divine power ever. While he fights against a devil, he gets transferred to a different world. Pontifex Lembrary then finds himself in a small dormitory and possesses the body of Woo Yeon Woo, who is a member of the unpopular idol group Wild Animal.

Romance of a Twin Flower – China – New episodes debuting weekly starting March 21
Nie Sang Yu (Goodbye My Princess’ Peng Xiao Ran) inexplicably wakes up to find that she has lost her memory. And, for some reason, she is now living in the manor of a powerful marquis. Worse, she discovers that everyone in this palace seems to think she is someone else – a woman with a reputation for treachery, scheming, and evil!

She comes to understand that she is supposedly married to Ning Yu Xuan (Moonlight’s Ding Yu Xi), the cold-blooded, aloof, and impetuous master of the manor. Nie Sang Yu resolves to leave and launch her own business. However, regaining her “freedom” won’t be easy. Could her unique charms melt Ning Yu Xuan’s icy heart? And what will happen when everyone learns the secret of her true identity?

Miss Chun is a Litigator – China – New episodes debuting weekly starting March 25
In China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), Chun Tu Mi (Zhuang Da Fei) is a young woman from a family that has served in the military – at the Emperor’s service. Her father is a great hero, but he has been jailed for a crime he did not commit. She decides to do whatever she can in order to prove his innocence and have him released from prison.

She resolves to do this by becoming a lawyer – unheard of for women during this time. Through the course of her efforts, she discovers she has a natural aptitude for the law. She quickly builds up a reputation as a woman who will stop at nothing to bring the wicked to justice.

This helps her win the hearts of the poor folk, whom she helps stand up to their wealthy oppressors. But it also catapults her into the spotlight. Important figures at the Imperial court think they can use her to their own benefit.

She also unwittingly wins the hearts of powerful young men – including Crown Prince Wu Wei (Fan Zhi Xin) and a misunderstood young assassin named Ye Cha (Huang Jun Jie). Could her quest for justice also lead her to love’s door?

Nothing But You – China – New episodes debuting weekly starting March 27
Liang You An (Zhou Yu Tong), a professional elite who has entered a bottleneck period in her life, and Song San Chuan (Leo Wu), an athlete who is used to sitting on the bench, by fate meet and join a tennis club. One of them is a club manager that has changed professions completely, and one is a badminton player turned tennis player.

The two and their teammates made great efforts to work hard and overcame difficulties together to create an extraordinary professional club. During the course of these events, Liang You An and Song San Chuan gradually begin to develop feelings, while also confronted with conflicting ideas and experiences.

Fantasy Boys – Korea – New episodes debuting weekly starting March 30 on Viki Pass Plus
The global boy band project that will make the whole world excited begins. Fantasy Boys is season two of “My Teen Girl.”

The emperor of K-pop, Shim Chang Min of TVXQ hosts the show, which features legendary artists like Jang Woo Young of 2PM, Jinyoung of B1A4, songwriter Kang Seung Yoon, and even a producer SOYEON of (G)I-DLE. With the legendary artists’ training, who will write a new history of K-pop?

Road Home – China – Full series debuting March 31
A story about former lovers reunited after ten years to find their road home. Investment director Gui Xiao (Tan Song Yun) and Explosive Ordnance Disposal police Lu Yan Chen (Jing Bo Ran) were each other’s first love. As Lu Yan Chen left to join the police academy, Gui Xiao’s family experienced drastic changes. Their relationship from their school days simply comes to an end.

When they meet again after eight years, the words “I’ll recognize you even when you turn into ashes” make them realize that they still miss each other. Two years later in a snowy border town, Gui Xiao and her friend are stranded. In desperation, Gui Xiao dials Lu Yan Chen’s number and the adventure begins.

Duty After School – Korea – Debuting March 31
The students and teachers at Sungjin High School receive a terrifying shock when they witness the start of an alien invasion. Coming from the skies, horrific “eggs” hatch violent insect-like creatures that attack humans. The invasion is worldwide, and the South Korean military fears it will be overwhelmed.

In desperation, the President announces that mandatory conscription will begin – and that all third-year high schoolers – male and female – must join the armed forces. Soldiers arrive at Sungjin High School. And the third-years – who only have 50 days until they are supposed to sit their university entrance exams – must commence their military training in the school playground.

They must learn how to shoot rifles, fight hand-to-hand, and navigate obstacle courses…in their school uniform! Putting the students through their paces will be the platoon leader Lee Choon Ho (Shin Hyun Soo). Meanwhile, the class teacher Park Eun Young (Im Se Mi) is determined to do what she can to keep her students out of harm’s way. Will the high schoolers help save the planet from doom?

A Date With the Future – China – Debuting [early April TBC]
From a rescue operation ten years ago to their encounter ten years later, firefighter Jin Shi Chuan (William Chan) and Xu Lai (Zhang Ruo Nan), who’s now a journalist and a dog trainer become partners. Ten years ago, Xu Lai was rescued by firefighter Jin Shi Chuan and his rescue dog Zhui Feng. In order to comfort an injured Xu Lai, Jin Shi Chuan agrees to a ten-year promise.

Ten years later, Xu Lai returns to China as a journalist and a dog trainer. She meets Jin Shi Chuan at a rescue site. He not only fails to recognize her but also mistakes her for an unscrupulous reporter. When the search and rescue dog team is formed, Xu Lai becomes Jin Shi Chuan’s partner due to her international qualifications as a dog trainer.

She wins over everyone with her tried and tested skills. As reporters and firefighters, the two people always meet on the frontlines. In repeated life and death encounters, they gradually fall in love.

Joseon Attorney: A Morality – Korea – Debuting April 1 on Viki Pass Plus
Adapted from the popular webtoon “Joseon Lawyer,” this is the story of the wicked lawyer Kang Han Su (Mad Dog’s Woo Do Hwan), who files lawsuits that are previously planned and uses the feelings of wronged victims to his advantage, as he unintentionally becomes revered as a hero and a problem solver among the common people.

Eventually, he matures to become a just lawyer. Yi Yun Ju (Homemade Love Story and kpop girl group WJSN’s Bona) is a person who commissions a case in order to exact revenge.

ANIMALS – Japan – Debuting April 4
Shikimori Umi (Suzuki Airi) is part of the production staff on a popular TV talk show. She is worked to the bone by her supervisors, who always make her work overtime so that she rarely has time for herself. As a result, she is always tired, and has no time for a love life.

One day, she falls asleep on the set during a live broadcast – and this shameful moment makes her reevaluate her life. She realizes that there is no way to change her boss – so she quits the company. She switches jobs, moving to a completely different field – the world of makeup and beauty. She finds an entry-level post at a makeup company named Animal Beauty.

At first, she begins to worry that she has made the wrong choice, when she gets off on the wrong foot with the firm’s CEO Sakaki Keisuke (Jin Shirasu). But she soon discovers that the CEO is not quite as abrasive as he seems – and that he might even have a crush on her! She also meets Kazao (Jack o’ Frost’s Honda Kyoya), a handsome and talented photographer who works at the company.

She develops a friendship with him, and also begins to feel a mutual attraction forming. Will Umi’s career change prove to be a success? And might it even lead her to love?

Six Survivors – Japan – Debuting April 7
From the mind of Kazune Yamamoto and the manga “According to Six Survivors,” comes a romantic comedy with a horror twist. When the infectious outbreak was first reported in Chiba, Japan, no one could believe it was real. But when Riri Mizukami (Rent A Girlfriend’s Hiyori Sakurada) meets one of the infected on the way home from her softball club, she knows this virus is going to change the world forever.

Escaping to a public shelter with the rest of her club, Riri believes that they’re all safe, but when it’s discovered that someone inside the shelter has been infected, she fears her life may be at its end. Lucky or not, Riri escapes the shelter and soon finds herself holed up at a shopping mall in Makuhari, but Riri isn’t the only survivor now calling the mall home.

Forced to live with several men and women of all ages and occupations, Riri and her new “family” must work together to find ways to survive. While the world outside the mall is a literal zombie hellscape, life inside the mall isn’t all that bad.

With enough provisions to last everyone quite a while, an odd sense of comfort settles over the survivors, causing some to begin to wonder if they might find love. But can one find love amid a zombie apocalypse?

Decoy: Part 2 – Korea – Debuting April 7
Eight years ago, Noh Sang Chun (Heo Sung Tae), the mastermind of a financial fraud scheme that duped tens of thousands of South Korean victims into investing billions of dollars worth of their savings into a bogus project, went on the run. He attempted to evade the law by escaping to China. But the nation was rocked when news of his death broke.

Now, almost a decade later, a justice-loving police detective named Goo Do Han (Hwayugi’s Jang Geun Suk) makes a startling discovery… In the course of investigating a domestic murder case, Goo Do Han finds evidence implicating Noh Sang Chun as a suspect. How could it be that this fraudster – thought to have died years ago – is linked to the case?

It falls to Goo Do Han to try to determine if Noh Sang Chun is actually dead or not. If he is dead, who could the real murderer be? If not, where was Noh Sang Chun hiding all this time? As the detective continues to investigate, he begins to wonder if there might be a link between the fraud of eight years ago…and the mysterious murder!

I Will Be Your Bloom – Japan – Debuting on Viki April 14
There was a time when Asuka Nakamachi (Tsubasa Honda) had everything in life she ever wanted. Teaching at a local high school, Asuka was thrilled to have finally made her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher come true. But now, at the age of thirty, Askua’s dreams have crumbled around her.

After suffering a gutting failure, Asuka was forced to give up her dreams and set aside her career as a teacher. Withdrawing from the world around her, Asuka found herself wandering through her days, aimless and alone. Without any real purpose to her life, Asuka eventually wanders her way into a job working as a live-in housemother for a dormitory in which a struggling boy band resides.

Unfamiliar with the group, Asuka is shocked to find that one of her former students, Dan Sagami (Captivated by You’s Fumiya Takahashi), is the group’s leader. As Dan’s former teacher, Asuka was the one who used to encourage him to pursue his dreams.

Now Asuka finds their roles have reversed as she begins to find inspiration in Dan’s leadership and his undying passion to make his dreams come true. Bolstered by this new wave of inspiration, can Asuka find the strength to come to terms with her past mistakes and start to take those first tentative steps toward a brighter future?

MURAI in LOVE – Japan – Debuting April 21
Junta Shima’s hit manga comes to life! Murai (I Will Be Your Bloom’s Ryubi Miyase) is a high schooler who has long dark hair. He is incredibly clever and regularly gets top grades in his class. He is also madly in love with his famously cold and aloof homeroom teacher Tanaka (Hikaru Takahashi).

One day, Murai asks the students to fill in a form explaining what they want to do when they leave school. Murai writes “Marry Teacher Tanaka” on his form. Tanaka scolds him and tears the paper into shreds – telling him that she dislikes men with long, dark hair.

But Tanaka hides a secret that she shares with nobody. She is madly in love with a video game character named Hitotose, from an “otome” (female-targeted) video game named “Feudal Era Love Scroll.”

The day after she rejects Murai, however, Tanaka gets a shock – Murai turns up at school looking every inch like Hitotose, replete with the very same bleached blonde hair as her video game crush. Will she be able to resist his charms now?

Ideal Boyfriend – Japan – Debuting April 28
Onodera Yumeko is a high-powered career woman working in a venture company but lives sloppily at home. While anticipating a proposal from her boyfriend, she finds herself dumped by him suddenly. When she meets a mysterious guy who looks exactly like her first love, this causes her life to be turned upside down.

Finland Papa – Korea – Debuting April 29
A healing drama about a cafe named “Finland Papa” where people in need of emotional healing gather together and play the roles of each other’s “fake family.” After losing her family, Lee Yu Ri (Touch’s Kim Bo Ra), a young woman in her twenties, starts working at this cafe where she’s able to grow and heal her inner wounds. It is managed by a faceless owner (UP10TION’s Kim Woo Seok) who winds up falling in love with Lee Yu Ri.