One Year to Live, Buy a Man: Release Date, Plot, Cast And Everything to Know About Netflix’s New Japanese Romance

A woman who saves every yen she earns. A host boy who asks to borrow money. A cancer diagnosis that flips everything upside down. That’s the unlikely spark behind One Year to Live, Buy a Man, Netflix’s next big Japanese romantic drama, and it’s landing globally on November 5, 2026.

Based on Toriko Yoshikawa’s novel of the same name, the film pairs Battle Royale star Ko Shibasaki with Zom 100 actor Eiji Akaso in a story that sounds equal parts heartbreak, humor, and healing.

One Year to Live, Buy a Man- Overview

What’s the Story About?

Meet Yui Katakura, a 40-year-old single woman who treats saving money like a sport, deliberately skipping romance, marriage, and everything “uneconomical” along the way. Then a routine checkup delivers a gut-punch: she has a year left to live. Strangely, instead of despair, she feels relief — no more reason to save.

Enter Sena, a broke, pink-haired nightclub host who casually asks Yui for a loan. Her response? She “buys” him outright for 720,000 yen. What starts as a transactional, almost absurd arrangement slowly warms into something real, as an unexpected love begins to bloom between two people who’ve both given up on conventional happiness.

Meet the Cast

• Ko Shibasaki as Yui Katakura — Making her Netflix debut, Shibasaki brings decades of acclaimed work from films like Serpent’s Path and Silent Parade, plus her breakout role in the cult classic Battle Royale.
• Eiji Akaso as Sena — No stranger to Netflix, Akaso previously led Inheritance Detective and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, and now steps into the shoes of a charming, down-on-his-luck host.
• Supporting cast includes Michitaka Tsutsui as Yui’s ex-boss, Naomi Nishida as her free-spirited coworker, and Mari Hamada, Yui Narumi, and Yoko Moriguchi rounding out a story rich with family and workplace tension.

Japanese cinema has a long history of blending quiet melancholy with warmth, a tradition well explored on Wikipedia. For more upcoming Netflix release dates, first looks, and streaming news, keep checking technosports.co.in for regular updates.

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