is a Japanese drama series which tells the story about two men, one a

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

and another a member of the yakuza, who seek to find the truth about a murder that happened twenty years ago which was clamped down by the police. It is based on the manga of the same name by Kanzaki Yuuya. The 10-episode long drama was released in 2015 starring Toma Ikuta and Shun Oguri in the leading roles. The first episode was aired on January 16, 2015 and the series concluded on March 20, 2015. Apart from Ikuta and

Oguri Naoyuki Oguri (born 1963), who performs as simply Oguri, is a dancer and choreographer from Japan who lives in Los Angeles, California, where he works creating and teaching dance. His work is influenced by the tradition of the Japanese Butoh style ...

, the series also starred

Juri Ueno is a Japanese actress. She first gained recognition in the 2005 film ''Swing Girls'' where she was a recipient of Newcomer of the Year prize at the Japanese Academy Awards. Ueno achieved mainstream success for playing the titular role in the live ...

as Mizuki Hibino, Kotaru Yoshida as Kaoru Mishima,

Kenichi Takito is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Ken'ichi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢一, "wise, one" *健一, "healthy, one" *憲一, "constitution, one" *謙一, "humble, one" *建一, "build, one" ...

as Shinichi Chouno and Yo Yoshida as Tomiko Tachibana.

Aoi Nakamura is a Japanese photomodel and actor. He belongs to the talent agency LesPros Entertainment. History Nakamura Aoi entered the entertainment industry when he won the Grand Prix at the final round of the 18th '' Junon'' Superboy Contest held in No ...

appeared as a member of the supporting cast in Episode 1 as the petty thief Sawatari. It was after eight years that Oguri and Ikuta came on board in the same project. The last time they shared screen was in the 2007 live action adaptation of the shoujo manga series Hanazakari no Kimitachi e or Hana-Kimi.

Plot

Ikuo Ryuuzaki ( Toma Ikuta) comes across as a bumbling detective with a penchant for smelling around for clues like a "sniffer dog" as put by his partner Mizuki Hibino. Famous for having the highest arrest rate in the second bureau of the Tokyo Police department, he seems to be a promising young detective with a keen sense of justice. Tatsuya Danno ( Shun Oguri) is a promising young member of the Yakuza, rising swiftly up the ranks due to his quick, swift thinking and suave good looks. He has a tendency to joke with a dead-pan expression, catching everyone off-guard at times, well everyone except his loyal right-hand man Fukamachi. These two men seemingly have nothing in common but are currently moving forward powered by the same desire: to take revenge on the "man with the gold watch" who suppressed the investigation and their statements about witnessing the murder of their teacher, Yuiko-sensei, who was more of an older sister/mother figure to them in the orphanage. A murder disguised as suicide in the opening episode of the series paves way for the expose of the rampant corruption present in the higher tiers of the police department. Trusting his nose (both literally and figuratively), Ikuo manages to find the culprit along with some covert help from Tacchan or Tatsuya Danno. Also, they uncover the vestiges of truth about the Kintokei-gumi, the "men with the golden watch" who seemingly had more sinister points of interest about the establishment of Mahoroba Orphanage where the protagonists lived until that fateful murder occurred. As the series progresses, both the characters evolve in their own ways as they grasp every straw to uncover the truth. Ikuo falls for his partner Mizuki even though he realises that her father might be Yuiko-sensei's killer. As Tatsuya put it, "Can you kill him if the truth comes out that way?" In the finale, Tatsuya deliberately tries to create a rift between Ikuo and himself as he realises that Ikuo had unwittingly created a life revolving around a new and trustworthy set of comrades who unflinchingly trust him. But he was surprised when Ikuo turned up, especially when the murderer was discovered to be someone unexpected and someone whom Tatsuya didn't want Ikuo to kill.

Cast and characters

Main

* Toma Ikuta as Ikuo Ryuzaki * Shun Oguri as Tatsuya Danno *

as Mizuki Hibino * Yo Yoshida as Tomiko Tachibana *

Tsuyoshi Muro is a Japanese actor who appears on stage and screen. He debuted as an actor in 1999 and has appeared in the "Bayside Shakedown" series, NHK's '' Gochisosan'', and ''Yūsha Yoshihiko''. Filmography Film * ''Hentai Kamen'' (2013) * '' Jossy's'' ( ...

as Takeshi Fukamachi * Nana Seino as Konatsu Tamura * Kumiko Takeda as Kirino Abiko * Ken Mitsuishi as Kunihiko Hibino *

as Shinichi Chono * Kotaro Yoshida as Kaoru Mishima * Hashinosuke Nakamura as Kiichiro Kitagawa * Ryōko Hirosue as Yuiko Kashiwaba

Guest

as Sawatari (episode 1) *

Gou Ayano is a Japanese actor. Career Ayano was featured in several roles beginning in 2003. In 2009, he appeared in Takashi Miike's ''Crows Zero 2''. His role in the film was described by Mark Schilling of ''The Japan Times'' as "a tall, pale-faced, deli ...

as Nachi Sosuke (episodes 7-10)

Ratings

In the tables below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.

References

External links

* (in Japanese) * {{IMDb title, id=tt3929046 Japanese television dramas based on manga Kin'yō Dorama 2015 Japanese television series debuts 2015 Japanese television series endings Works about the Yakuza