Beginners! (2012): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 2012, Beginners! is a comedy and drama series.

What it’s about. Shimura Teppei (Fujigaya Taisuke) grew up watching his policeman father who would ride side-by-side in marathons because he was a motorcycle cop, and dreamt of being a marathon runner as a child. But Teppei’s father lost his job and disappeared. Teppei ruined himself by becoming a well-known delinquent in the area. Under the influence of his childhood friend, Yuichi, Teppei chose to become a policeman after graduating from high school. He miraculously passed the recruitment exam and entered the police academy. However, he has been assigned to a “class of reserves” (Goriki Ayame, Koyanagi Yu, Okamoto Azusa, Mizusawa Erina, Ishii Tomoya, Mori Ren) which is a gathering of odds and ends. There are eight of them and each day they are only instructed by the assistant teacher, Ryuzaki Misaki, to sweep the academy grounds ... ...

Who’s in it. Beginners! stars Taisuke Fujigaya as Teppei Shimura, Hiromitsu Kitayama as Danji Tachibana, Ayame Goriki as Hiro Momoe and Tokio Emoto, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 7.3/10, Beginners! has been warmly received by audiences.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Beginners! page.

If you liked it. Fans of Beginners! tend to enjoy Rick and Morty, My Hero Academia, One Piece and The Umbrella Academy.