"Abunai Deka" drama: Episode one of 51(!!!!) recap

 

 Air Dates: October 5, 1986 until September 27,1987 on NTV, Sunday nights at 9:00 pm

Director: Toru Murakawa, this episode's rating was 14.4%

Subs were once again done by GEO9875, this was one huge project to do so will give a huge thumbs up for doing the subs and hope the recaps gives the series it's proper justice. 

Main Cast: Wrote this up after viewing the first two shows and know there will be a lot of editing to the bios as we have so much to learn about the characters. The first two get the most screen time by far but the other four main characters are also very key to this drama. The setting is the Minato Police Station in the Naka ward of Yokohama and the station is part of the Kanagawa prefectural police. If you enjoy J-Pop songs then this show has some superb tunes, most know I'm a fan but do prefer the music from the 80's. Plus there's no beating the hairdos of women from that era! This series also goes by the name of....

 Hiroshi Tachi as Toshiki Takayama.... You'll see Taka often in the screenshots. He's about a 35 year old man who is an investigator of serious crimes and the gangsters go out of their way to avoid him! Takayama has a bit of a 'cool persona' about him and is an ace with guns, he's the partner of Oshita but seems they didn't start working closely together until the first episode. While both are aces with guns their methods also get them in hot water with their superiors but the pair usually come out on top at the end as far as solving cases go.

Kyohei Shibata as Yuji Oshita.... About the same age as Takayama but looks younger. During the first episode Oshita blurted out he's got a bit of a shady past and it surprised many he became a sergeant. He knows how to pick a lock and some other methods criminals use, sure we'll find out more as time goes on. Like his new partner Takayama he is quite adept using all guns, unlike his partner Oshita isn't much of a 'people person' as Takayama is the one who often interviews witnesses, criminals or others. 

Atsuko Asana as Kaoru Mayama.... Member of the Juvenile Division which shares the same office as the Investigative Unit which Takayama and Oshita are a part of. Karou has gone out to crime scenes with the detectives but they never let her get in on the real action.

Toru Nakamura as Toru Machida.... Not a rookie but hasn't been an inspector for all that long. Machida is the best fighter in the unit and also the women swoon over him but he does have a girlfriend which he said in the first show. 

Nana Kinomi as Yuko Matsumura.... How about that hairdo?! Yuko is the chief of the Juvenile Division but haven't seen her make much of a contribution to any cases so far. She does share some unknown secret from the past with the Investigative chief Kondo that took place ten years ago, will that become part of the story? She's also quite the 'Fashion Queen' who often shows up at the station in some new glittering outfit.

Shizuo Chujo as Takuzo Kondo.... Chief of the Investigation Unit, smart man but seems to be more concerned on what he'll be having for lunch! But at one time Kondo was feared by the Yokohama gangsters and has been on the force for thirty years.

 There's a few more minor characters such as the detective Yoshi, chief Tanaka and female officer Hitomi,  if their roles become larger will add them onto this list.

 Just a random scene from the series which of course isn't subbed but thought it'd be nice to have a bit of action so you have a clue on what I'm talking about.

 

 Too many blogs or sites don't give credit to the subbers and it's not an easy job, I try to give the subbers credit in the above section for all dramas and films. So want to give a big thanks for subbing this series to GEO0975, it's the fourth series in a year I've recapped from them. What a project this was as it's a 51 episode series which took quite a long time to do so they deserve a nice round of applause. That 51 episodes is correct, have a feeling I will view all of the shows but will all be recapped? For now will make no promises on how many will be done, if the dramas for 2023 are subpar just may recap this entire series. What may make it easier is to think of this as five dramas with ten episodes each which it actually is. Was reading up on this show and it was so popular it kept getting renewed so it went from ten to 51 episodes and there's even been a series of films plus a second season. 

 What I enjoy most of about pre-2000 dramas is that... there's no cellphones! How I hate those things, especially in dramas and watching those one sided conversations is such a drag. In these older shows the characters actually talked and interacted face to face which makes all the difference in the world plus the way the characters conversed was so much more literate. Enough blabbering as it's time to begin this recap and not sure where to begin, guess in the beginning makes the most sense! Almost every episode is a stand alone story and as time goes on you and me will be learning much more about the main characters, after this post is the recap for the second episode.

**** Prior to 1990 Japanese TV shows were filmed in 4:3 aspect or full screen, since then its been a size of 16:9. So that means these screenshots will look very different than the ones I do these days, after a while you really don't notice the difference. Also in recaps use the last name for the male characters and first names for the women, been doing that for a while and not sure why though it's not the case for every drama.

 The series revolves around the detective team of Takayama, sometimes called Taka, and Oshita. But in the beginning it didn't seem the two were partners yet though from the second episode on they will be. It appears Takayama is the older of the two by some years but actually think their ages are about the same. The above screenshots are how this long series began, in the first is Oshita on the left while on the right is Shibano who is a known actor but his role in this drama is a minor one. The pair were alerted about a potential bomber in the area, its a case the Minato and Tokyo police have been working on for quite a long time. Eight years ago there was a rash of terrorist bombings, it was done by a team whose members were all caught and have served their sentences. However there was one who alluded the police, that was a man named Kazuo Iwata who has been using the alias name of Yoshino. Finally there was breakthrough on the case as the fingerprints of Yoshino were a match for Iwata, with Oshita being in the area where he lived he was sent to capture the bomber along with Shibano.

 In the second screenshot above in the middle is Iwata aka Yoshino who of course denied being the bomber. A quick search of his shabby apartment turned up some radio bombs and a powerful gun, at last the final bomber would be brought to justice! Not quite yet as Iwata pulled a fast one and was able to jump from his second story balcony and it looked like he would remain on the lam. If there's one thing Oshita won't do is give up, it took a taxi(!) to catch the fleeing Iwata but Oshita nabbed his man. However the case is far, far from over as when Oshita returned to the apartment an unthinkable occurrence had taken place. The radio bombs and gun were missing, a search of the apartment proved fruitless. So while Oshita was able to arrest the bomber Iwata he didn't follow procedure as either he or Yoshi should have remained in the apartment which didn't happen. For now Oshita's only penalty will be to write a letter of apology to his supervisor Kondo but there still is that big mystery. What happened to the bombs and if they were stolen will they be used on the public by Iwata's possible accomplice?

 Didn't take long before those bombs were put to use, the following day there was an explosion at a bar named Papillon which resulted in two deaths. However the intended target appeared to be the bartender Domoto and at about the fifteen minute mark was the first appearance of the ace investigator Takayama. He's now on the case and ended up being teamed up with Oshita whose skills with people are lacking. But not with Takayama who has this unique ability to put a person at ease and make them become a barrelful of information. Takayama, with Oshita watching but not learning, has discovered that this new bomber is a very young man around twenty in age, could he be Iwata's trainee? Domoto may have been a bartender but you could tell by his looks he was also a gangster, never did hear Yakuza mentioned. He was eventually found at a sauna by Takayama and Oshita who dragged him into the Minato station for questioning but this older man's lips were sealed! Domoto is being held, not as a suspect but more for his protection and that didn't last long as the man slipped out off a bathroom window.

 Whoever this bomber is won't stop until Domoto is dead!!!! First there was an attempt on Domoto's life before he was hauled into the station which was that a bomb was underneath his car, that's above and he escaped in the nick of time thanks to Oshita. But Domoto doesn't have nine lives, after he fled from the police station he was confronted by this young bomber and Domoto had no clue who this man was. And he never did learn this man's name as within five seconds he was shot to death on a busy Yokohama street. In an odd coincidence the same old woman who witnessed the man at the bomb scene also viewed Domoto's shooting. That death was too much for Oshita who dragged Iwata in for more questioning but was able to get nowhere. He usually doesn't with suspects and it took Takayama's cool demeanor to make Iwata open up a bit. He's confessed that the bomber is a young man named Imamura who he had been training but it seems this young man has plans to betray Iwata. Imamura must have been staking Iwata's apartment out, when the detectives went in pursuit of the fleeing Iwata is when Imamura made his move to steal the bombs and powerful gun which had eight bullets left.

 Now the hunt is on for Akiho Imamura who is right above and there was a major twist involving his arrest. Imamura will be turning the age of twenty at the end of the day, that means he'll become an adult and may charged as a minor for the bombing that killed two people and any other crimes he may commit in the next ten hours. On this search is when we learned of Takayama's 'people skills' as Imamura had left a long trail, while Oshita is very persistent and never quits but he gets easily frustrated trying to interview people. Not Takayama and after being an ace with guns his main talent is putting others at ease. So the new team has learned that Imamura had frequented the Papillon bar where two were killed by his bomb and there's little doubt he also shot the bartender/gangster Domoto, for now the pair haven't found what Imamura's motive may be. Do have to add in that though this is a very action packed and serious drama it's also a bit humorous and offbeat, especially with what takes place at the Minato police station.

 Time is winding down but the pair have made headway, mainly because of Takayama's skills at communicating with people. The deadline to nab Imamura is down to five hours, least the deadline before he becomes an adult and the duo is now up to a trio. Joining Takyama and Oshita is the young inspector from the Juvenile Unit Atsuko, if Imamura is arrested before midnight then he would be charged as a minor which is why Atsuko may have been involved. As mentioned in the intro it was so nice not seeing everyone use cellphones as all of the interaction was done face to face. It was also interesting to see a lot of mid-1980's things such as computer games and those really came a long way in a short amount of time. This investigation moved right along as the trio have arrived at their final stop which was the apartment of a woman named Remi. She knows Imamura slightly, mainly because a few nights ago Remi was the first woman Imamura ever rolled around in the hay with! She's a prostitute and while she didn't know Imamura all that well Remi did have some key info on the man as her home base was the Papillon bar. That brings up a question which was how Imamura was allowed to go in there if he was just nineteen?

 Final segment and while I explain all of the key details in recaps do leave a few things out just in case you decide to view a drama. An exciting climax as Imamura still had a radio bomb left, while the trio of Atsuko, Oshita and Takayama were questioning Remi Imamura snuck up to her balcony where he slipped a motorized model car on to it. Attached to the car was a radio bomb, Imamura quickly fled and called the quartet from a pay phone that was across the street, pay phones are close to extinct too! During Imamura's conversation with everyone he never did ask for any kinds of demands or perhaps he never had the chance to. As mentioned a few times already the deadline to arrest Imamura as a minor is at midnight, it's now 11:05 pm. However Imamura's watch had stopped for he forgot to wind it, Takayama told him it was 10:05 pm to buy him and Oshita a bit more time. Had just mentioned that Imamura hadn't asked for any demands so the bomb wouldn't be activated, am now thinking he didn't want anything except to blow the quartet sky high to Kingdom Come! Imamura during the phone call did say how he was out to get those who had bullied or made fun of him in the past, such as the bartender Domoto, Remi and his old bomber trainer Iwata. 

 Say that because Imamura told the quartet their time is up and was about to press the detonator on his control. Just before that button was pushed Oshita jumped out onto the balcony, picked up the model car bomb and heaved it into the pond next to the phone booth where it exploded. Imamura zoomed away from the scene on his motorcycle but there's no stopping either Takayama and Oshita when they want their man! After a chase where Imamura was thrown off his bike he was cornered but still had his modified pistol, he's no ace shooter and soon the gun was empty of bullets. Takayama approached the cowering young man and to Oshita it appeared his partner was going to shoot Imamura though of course that didn't take place. When Imamura had been firing his gun it was slightly before midnight, when the arrest took place it was about 12:05 pm so would he be charged as an adult or minor? At the station Takayama is known as a hard boiled cop so it was a shock to his chief Kondo and the Juvenile leader Yuko that Takayama had written on his report the arrest had taken place a few minutes before midnight! So Takayama does have a bit of a soft spot as being charged as a minor means his punishment will be much less severe and that brought us to the end of the first episode.

 Decent recap but think they will get better as we go along as I'll be learning so much more about the characters. Did view the second episode already and thought that was a better story, that's the next post. Have plenty more screenshots below to help you follow the story a bit better, as mentioned can't talk about every single thing or this recap would be twice as long. Most of my drama recaps the last few months have been for 25 minute episodes, these shows are 45 minutes so the recaps will be longer but will try to keep them all at four medium sized segments.