"Mystery to Iunakare" drama, episode ten recap

 

 Air Dates: January 10th until March 28, 2022 on Fuji-TV, Mondays at 9:00 pm

 Total of twelve episodes, first show was seventy minutes in length but the others will be the usual 46 minutes. Blitz Fansubs is once again doing this drama, they're also doing another current series I'm viewing and recapping.

Ratings:

Episode one, 13.6% .... episode two, 12.7%.... Episode three, 13.2 %.... Episode four, 13.3%

Episode five, 10.0% .... Episode six, 10.2% .... Episode seven, 12.3% .... Episode eight 10.6%

Episode nine, 11.6% .... Episode ten, 12.0%

No doubt the drop in ratings for two shows was due to the Olympics.

Main Cast: The series takes place in Tokyo and most of the action revolves around cases being investigated by the fictional Otonari police station. However all of the stories and cases will end up involving the 21 year old college student Kunou and unlike other dramas will be using the character's last names as that's all they've been using. A huge plus for this series is that it doesn't star any of my fave actresses or Idols. But I've seen all of the cast in many other dramas and they're all superb actors, so far superb describes this drama!

Masaki Suda as Totono Kunou.... In real life Masaki turned 29 in February but plays the 21 year old Kunou who is attending the prestigious Toei university. He's such a loner but doesn't act like a nerd or outcast at all, he makes sure others know he's never had a job, girlfriend, any other friends nor socializes in the least. But somehow Kunou has the intelligence of a Sherlock Holmes and let's others know how to solve their life problems. But not in an egotistical way as he is a down to earth guy though on occasion others have wanted to beat Kunou for telling them how to live properly. The name Totono is a play on words as it means neat and orderly which seems like another apt description for him.

Sairi Ito as Seiko Furomitsu.... The only female detective at the Otonari station and was looked down upon by her male counterparts. So much that Furomitsu had written a letter of resignation up in the first show but after meeting Kunou changed her mind about quitting. She is a dependable person whose confidence is growing with each show.

Matsuya Onoe as Yuto Ikemoto.... Detective at the station and in a way kind of a goofy man. In the first episode his wife had a child though his marriage wasn't going all that smoothly, that is until meeting Kunoe who gave him some solid advice though he himself has never been married nor had a girlfriend. Ikemoto was the only one for a while who treated Furomitsu as somewhat of an equal.

Michitaka Tsutsui as Mariaki Aoto....Inspector at the Otonari station and is kind of a hard man to figure out. Aoto is a bit quiet though there could be some good reasons for that, he was once a Deputy Inspector but got demoted for a case where he targeted the wrong suspect. That happened seven yeas ago but Kunou remembered the case and told Aoto where he may have gone wrong.

 Guest Stars: There's going to be many known actors making some guest appearances.

 Eita Nagayama as Garo Inudo.... Though we mainly just see him in flashbacks he does play an important part in this series and expect to see a return from him in the final two shows. To learn more about Garo read the second and third recaps, his sister had been murdered and along with his two cousins Garo tried to find the killer. Which did happen and the trio got their revenge but are on now on the run from the law. Kunou and Garo got along so well together and it's possible Garo has a hand in the some of the events that have been taking place. He'll be making a return in the final two episodes.

Mugi Kadowaki as Raika.... Not her real name but one she went by up until the end of this episode and the only name Kunou used talking to her. We first met Raika in the sixth show when the story was about a pair of young men who helped out abused children by.... burning their parents to death! Raika had a slight role in that story which we learned about as she made a return appearance in this episode and was still at the hospital Kunou had stayed at.

Mirai Shida as Sayaka.... This show has had so many known guest stars and she was a semi fave of mine who I hadn't seen in years. Sayaka was a waitress at her father's restaurant however when Kunou visited it in this show there was danger lurking which only he could figure out.

Keisuke Horibe as ????.... We never did learn his real name but when Kunou visited the restaurant he impersonated Sayaka's father but was actually a wanted prowler.

Previous recaps

Episode one .... Episode two .... Episode three .... Episode four

Episode five .... Episode six .... Episode seven .... Episode eight .... Episode nine

There's some terrific news as last week it was announced there would be a second season. No start date has been set but was under the impression that it'll be sometime in the second half of this year.

 Should have had this recap done a week ago. But I've viewed and recapped so many dramas these last five months, more than usual so did become a bit burnt out. That happens on occasion, just need a week off from dramas and then am roaring to go again! So a rarity happened in this series which I'm so glad about which is that two extra episodes were added as there was only supposed to be ten shows. Won't view them until this post is written up though those episodes have nothing to do with this one. The added episodes will have the conclusion of Garo's case that took place in the second and third shows, we've heard his name mentioned many times since but haven't seen the man nor his cousins.

 This episode was the oddest of them all, there was only a mini mystery for Kunou to solve which lasted for about ten minutes. The main topic of this show was the return of Raika who we saw often between the sixth and eighth episodes, what a mysterious young woman she was and still is. One reason is that Raika isn't her actual name which of course I'll be discussing. At times this was a confusing show but have noticed when you start writing something up that confusion tends to disappear and hopefully that'll happen, on with the second to last recap for this series. This will be a stand alone post and will have the final two recaps in about ten days.

 In the opening scene the date was December 30th, most of the action will be taking place on New Year's Eve and the hours after midnight. Though her name isn't really Raika will be using that name until the end as so didn't Kunou who also didn't realize Raika was an alias or should I say one of her split personalities! Kunou was visiting Raika at the hospital, physically she's fine but has some head problems which she finally revealed to us later. During that visit the head of the greenhouse asked the pair what they were doing for New Year's, neither had any plan so Raika said why not spend the night together? To Kunou does that mean a date and he's never been on one before, he kept telling himself to get such thoughts out of his mind! In the second screenshot above Kunou was making himself a dinner before the big night out, the Hatsumode he's talking about is a tradition in Japan when people visit a shrine or temple, that word is for their first visit of the year.

 Kind of a low key night out and you wouldn't expect anything less from Kunou. The important fact I learned early on was Raika's age though her exact one was never said. At first thought she was about 23-25 in age but in reality she's about eighteen and how I learned that will be coming up. In the middle screenshot is the detective duo of Furumitsu along with her partner Ikemoto. Really thought their roles would be more important, we have seen plenty of her but wish Furomitsu's role had been a bit meatier. There's been a violent criminal prowling the area and the pair were out keeping the streets safe on this very busy night. They happened to see Kunou and Raika together at a shrine, they didn't stop to chat with them as Furomitsu has become very jealous of Raika though she keeps that hidden. Kunou is 21 or perhaps now 22 in age and never celebrated New Year's Eve as most others do, neither has Raika. So she suggested staying out well past midnight but according to Kunou why bother as all places will be closed. Not so fast with that assumption said Raika as she pointed to an open restaurant which was about to close but the waitress insisted to her father to serve one last couple. That screenshot is above along with one of Raika reciting some numbers.

 We first met Raika in the sixth episode and the extremely unique thing about her is that while she was at the hospital she had memorized the entire "The Thoughts of the Emperor" book. Not just word for word but the location of every paragraph, what was on each page, etc. which is how she communicated via messages with Kunou. For instance that screenshot a bit above where Raika was saying numbers meant for Kunou to check a certain page, the paragraph and line, he always carries around a copy of the book. We didn't know it until later on but the passage Raika mentioned was referring to how nervous their waitress Sayaka was. Kunou had noticed that even before Raika and Sayaka seemed so petrified of her father Kunio who hadn't wanted Kunou or Raika to be served a meal. We'll learn why soon enough but Sayaka's mind was all over the place and what she had suggested the pair have for a meal wasn't even on the menu! And the pair did need some suggestions as it was the first time either had ordered a meal in a restaurant which is hard to believe.

 Most of this longish scene had to deal with Raika's background and why she was in the hospital. Kunou had been under the impression that Raika's condition was a life threatening one as she often mentioned she would be disappearing from the hospital when the first Cherry trees blossom or around the end of Mach. However Raika finally opened up about her illness which wasn't one where she would die and instead she's had some serious emotional problems. More than just regular ones as she has a split personality and she has no clue how many there are! The Raika Kunou is talking to is one of those split personalities and her real name is Chiyako who Kunou had thought was her twin sister. Raika and her other sides had come out many years before when she had been badly abused by her father, even though she was just 10-12 in age it was more than physical abuse as it was also sexual. It had gotten so severe she enlisted the help of Ihara and Roku who we met in the sixth and seventh shows. Raika had painted a picture of a flame in front of her house as a message to the pair who came to her 'rescue' and burned down the house with her father still inside! So since then Raika has been in and out of foster homes and the hospital but finally has a proper family who will take her in and that's the reason she'll be leaving the hospital.

 So when Raika goes with that new foster family her Raika personality will be disappearing with her real self Chiyako taking over. Raika told Kunou when that happens she'll have no memories of ever having known him so this will be their final time together! There's a bit more to her illness which is too long to explain every detail but many tidbits are in the screenshots. Meanwhile the pair are having a very enjoyable meal and as mentioned it was the first time either had ever ordered Yakiniku and several other dishes. But the main focus was on the waitress Sayaka who was so terribly frightened of her father Kunio and why? During the meal she had dropped so many hints on what was taking place and only Kunou could realize what those clues were about. My only minor complaint about this drama is how we only learn about what Kunou is thinking after the fact, it'd be a bit better if us viewers had more of an idea what was going on at the time.

 So with the meal finished the pair left the restaurant and Kunou escorted Raika back to the hospital. She knew something was going on with Sayaka but not to the extent Kunou did who mentioned above to Raika he would be making a call, we didn't know then but it was to his detective friend Ikemoto. The detective soon arrived at the restaurant with a group of other officers who pretended that they wanted to grab a late meal. But actually it was a ruse to get in the place and before long this man named Kunio was under arrest. Of course Sayaka had been frightened to death as this man had tied up her parents who were hidden in the kitchen, could death have been awaiting the trio if not for the deduction of Kunou? This man had been impersonating Sayaka's father so was naturally irate when she let Kunou and Raika into the restaurant. She had given Kunou many cryptic messages about her situation and no one but Kunou could have figured them out. Though we have to wait a while to hear Kunou's deductions least everything gets explained well and once again he saved the day. This man Kunio had also done other evil deeds like this one over the last several weeks and was wanted by the police but without Kunou's help who knows when he would have been nabbed if ever!!!!

 Final segment and that restaurant scene lasted much longer than I thought. We saw a flashback after the arrest scene where Kunou was having his final conversation with Raika who had opened up more about her illness. She told Kunou that even if he saw Raika again after she became her real self Chiyako not to approach her as there is a chance some of their memories as friends may come gushing out and who knows what would happen then. Also in that scene Kunou admitted Raika wasn't the only person to be abused as s child as she showed her a scar on his upper chest, Kunou said that was from being abused but didn't go into any other details. Throughout this series we did have an idea that Kunou's childhood wasn't a happy one and will more be explained about it in the final two shows? Kunou did see Raika one more time at the hospital but kept hidden in the wings. He observed her leaving the hospital with her new foster family and though the now named Chiyako did catch a glimpse of Kunou she didn't recognize him.

 Had thought for the longest time that Raika was about 25 in age as she was played by a 29 year old actress but with her going to a foster family surmised she was probably only about eighteen in age. After seeing Raika/Chiyako for possibly the final time Kunou headed back to the hospital where in it's yard was a Cherry blossom tree and there is where the pair seemed to meet most often. You could tell Kunou was a bit heartbroken as Raika may have been her first true friend ever plus she was the easiest person for Kunou to ever talk with. Not that's he's an introvert but he prefers being by himself but perhaps he's made his second friend. Arriving on the scene was the detective Furomitsu who since the first show has such a crush on Kunou though she's five years older. She could tell how down in the dumps Kunou was and as the show ended you can see above how Furmomitsu said she'd love to be his friend! So that ends this recap and while it may not have seemed so this was the oddest episode to date. The final(12th) show just aired three days ago and when it's subbed will be viewing the final two shows which I'll have posts for at the end of next week.