"Akai Meiro" drama, episode 23 of 26 recap

 

 Air Dates: October 4, 1974 until March 28, 1975... Friday nights at 9:00 pm on TBS/Daiei

There's 26 episodes that are 46 minutes in length, this series is also known as Red Maze

 Once again the subs were done by GEO9875, fifth series I've recapped by them. This is the first of a long running RED series, there were a few more dramas and some TV specials.

The average rating for the drama was 18.9% with a high of 22.7%.

Main Cast: Thanks again to GEO9875 for doing the subs for this series, another classic that has been revived. This could prove to be a challenge for me and may write up 6-8 recaps before publishing any. The recent series I finished "Abunai Deka" had 51 episodes but all were stand alone stories. This drama is one long 26 episode story so don't want to have long gaps between the recaps, every now and again do need a break so that's where the challenge will be. Am writing most of this up after viewing two shows, know there will be much editing to the character's bios and a few new ones may have to be added in. But I am looking forward to this series and it has started off strongly, except for a pair of Sentai shows this is the oldest drama I've viewed. 

 This drama has such a strong cast, so many were stars at the time or became one. Ken Utsui is the older man above, he sadly died ten years ago but what a terrific actor he was. Playing his wife who died early on was Akiko Koyama, she'll be turning ninety this year and have seen her in so many older films, she was so classy and attractive. Momoe Yamaguchi needs no intro as she may be the most popular Idol in the history of Japan, recommend reading up on her. Yusaku Matsuda died at the age of forty in 1989, he was a star actor but could be known more for being the father of two current popular actors Ryuhei and Shota Matsuda. Some others in the main cast are also known, will talk about a few of them in future posts. Below on the left is Takeo who was killed at the end of the first episode, on the right is her old friend Yukiho and could that conversation be the key behind everything that will take place?

 Ken Utsui as Masato Yuki.... A psychiatrist who has just returned to Japan after spending three years in NYC as a college lecturer/professor about the minds of criminals. In Tokyo Masato works at Towa Medical University Hospital, he's the leader of a new section called Laboratory of Criminal Psychology and Medicine. Masato's wife was Takeo who was murdered early on, he's the father of the next character Akiko. He seems to be a calm and collected individual but does Masato have a secret past, such as did he have an affair with Yukiko? That never happened but in the fifth episode we did learn that Masato isn't the true father of Akiko, who is? The answer to that is in the final character bio.

 Momoe Yamaguchi as Akiko Yuki.... Masato's fifteen year old daughter who is a freshman in high school. She's also the daughter of the following woman and a major question is if Akiko is truly Taeko's daughter, will be doing much editing for this character. Which hadn't happened through ten shows but since then Akiko's role had grown and she could be the key figure to all of these incidents and mysteries.

 Akiko Koyama as Taeko Yuki.... Though she was murdered at the end of the first episode still have her in this section as Taeko is so important to the story. We will be seeing her in flashbacks as the main story is finding out who was her killer? While Masato was in America a huge question is was Taeko having an affair, she acted so secretly upon his return. Another puzzle for now is if Taeko is the birth mother of Akiko? No and that was revealed in the fourth episode but Taeko had raised her since birth.

Yusaki Matsuda as Jun Tsuzuki....  Jun is 26 in age and is currently unemployed, he had been a construction worker. He's the younger brother of the below woman, something unknown(for now) happened in Jun's past which has made him so dour and unsociable. At the end of the second episode he was arrested for the murder of Taeko but personally think he's innocent. In March 1971 his then girlfriend Fujiko had been raped and murdered by a middle aged man. Masato had done the evaluation on this man who he deemed unfit to stand trial which would be Jun's motive if he is the actual killer of Taeko. Jun was arrested again in the sixth episode for Taeko's murder but near the end of episode eight was released. The key bit of evidence had been his work helmet but according to the Forensics Unit it had been tampered with and who is trying to frame Jun? That ended up being Misaki who was charged in episode twenty with her killing. Around the 16th show Jun began to have problems with his arms and fingers, Kyoko deduced it was Meningioma which is similar to a brain tumor. Jun's condition ended up getting much worse, in the 20th show he became blind and shortly after died in Kyoko's arms.

Aiko Nagayama as Yukiko Sakurai.... Jun's older sister who is married but it seems to be a loveless marriage. Yukiko also has a few mysteries surrounding her, one is did she have an affair with Masato before he went to America three years ago? She had grown up with Taeko but the pair did drift apart, because of the affair? Or perhaps something else such as I'm thinking that Yukiko is the birth mother of Akiko!!!! The two women hold a very dark secret and have for fifteen years, that happens to be the age of Akiko! **** In episode five it was revealed Yukiko is the true mother of Akiko, the father's name is Egami who killed someone fifteen years ago and is still on the lam.

Ryoko Nakano as Kyoko Sonoda.... New clinical psychologist in Masato's criminal unit. Kyoko seems to be such a nosy woman but also very competent at her work, she is very attractive and wonder if she has set her eyes upon her leader Masato? Yes she does which many have noticed though not Masato, Kyoko had attended a university in Germany. Beginning with the 14th show began to wonder if Kyoko may be involved with all of these sordid incidents, if so that would make for such an interesting storyline.

 Makoto Sato as Yusaku Yanagida.... Prosecutor who is also Masato's lawyer, advisor and his best friend. The pair have known each other for decades and Yanagida seems to be a real decent man who is also trying to solve the mystery of Taeko's murder, that's him on the left below. He too once had the hots for Taeko but lost out to Masato though it never affected their friendship.

Masaya Takahashi as Professor Oyama.... He's Masato's superior at the university and don't know much about him to to date but he doesn't seem to like Masato and may not be trustworthy. That's Oyama on the right below, he cares more about the college's image than his own staff. In the fifth show some anger had arisen with the university staff because of Masato doing the evaluation of Jun, in a surprise Oyama has his back and will stand up for him. No longer as in episode ten Oyama will now be the leader of Masato's criminal lab and will take all of the credit! **** In episode 19 Oyama gave Masato back the leadership of the criminal lab again. But more importantly Oyama tried to run over Masato at the end of the show, it wasn't the first time he had tried that and Oyama soon drove his car into a bay at Izu ending his life.

 Here's a few others of the cast who we see now and again though don't have huge roles.

Goro Oshi as Goro Murai.... Owner of the Village Snack shop seen often and Jun's best friend. Goro was also good friends with Misaki who visited his snack bar often. 

Norihiko Yamamoto as Toshihiko Misaki.... A photographer and a character whose role wasn't that large or important until the 15th episode. However Jun had his suspicions about Misaki such as was he involved in the harassment of Masato's family and could he have possibly murdered Taeko? It appears the answer to that is yes, Misaki was arrested in the 20th show for her murder and did confess but it also appears he may have been working under someone or possibly could have had an accomplice. 

Goro Tarumi as Hidehiko Sakurai.... Yukiko's husband and owns a combo clothing factory and store. They had been in Yukiko's family for decades but had fallen upon hard times, Hidehiko has worked hard to make it profitable again.

Isao Tamagawa as Sakazaki.... Lead detective for Taeko's murder case.

Toshiaki Nishizawa as Masaru Egami.... We first learned of him at the end of the fifth episode. Over fifteen years ago he had been dating Yukiko in Kyoto and had gotten her pregnant. In March 1959 Egami had robbed and murdered a woman, since then he's been on the lam but is the.... true father of Akiko!!!! Many who knew of Egami thought he was dead but has now resurfaced in Tokyo, why as the statue of limitations ends in less than four months and could be have been involved in Taeko's murder? By the end of the eleventh show is doesn't appear so but it also seems as though an unknown man is trying to protect Egami from the police and Masato.

Previous recaps.... May be difficult to read many of them but if you've been following the story there would be no need. However much does happen in each show so don't have the time to explain everything that has taken place up until this point, some of the above is very informative but reading a few of these would definitely help.

 

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

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

Episode nine .... Episode ten .... Episode eleven .... Episode twelve

Episode thirteen .... Episode fourteen .... Episode fifteen .... Episode sixteen

Episode seventeen .... Episode eighteen .... Episode nineteen .... Episode twenty

Episode 21 .... Episode 22

 

 Seems once you die or get arrested in this series we seldom hear about that character, sometimes not at all! Of course we hear often about Taeko as her murder in the first episode was the main story for so long but it's now turned into the secrets of Akiko's biological parents. Oyama died in episode nineteen, Jun the following show and we never heard either name mentioned once. Misaki is in jail awaiting trial for Taeko's murder, his name was also never mentioned plus neither was Yanagida who will be the prosecutor and is Masato's best friend. However we did meet a new character, one that we saw for about twenty seconds in the previous episode though it's unknown if he will be in the final three shows. There was one major addition to the storyline(s) and it had to deal with the speech Masato gave at a conference which ended off the last show. Sure I will get some details wrong about it but will try to make it easy enough to understand.

 As mentioned may be a bit off with figuring out what Masato's new research will be but should be fairly close, if more is learned in the next show may edit this section. When Masato returned to Japan from America 5+ months ago he began a new department at Towa University/Hospital called Criminal Psychology Lab. There he would interview suspects for the police, are they competent enough to stand trial, spend time in prison, are still dangerous, etc. Masato always had an open mind while doing interviews but after his wife Taeko was murdered he began to look at criminals a bit differently, much harsher would be accurate. In that last show Masato gave a speech at a very prestigious conference on the minds of criminals and told the audience he had a new research project beginning. He wanted to look at the minds and lifestyles of criminals, did they turn to crime because of genetics or was it because of society? Masato told the crowd he was going to use his daughter Akiko as his test subject, that's mainly because her father Egami has murdered someone but he didn't let the crowd know that. So that's the new project in a nutshell, don't want to go any further and make this recap a medical one!

 The next day Akiko had read an article in the paper about her father's speech, Masato wants her to be his guinea pig? That upset Akiko quite a bit but not as much as when Masato told her if she wants to live with her birth mother Yukiko he wouldn't stand in her way! Masato noticed in the last episode how well Akiko got along with her real parents Yukiko and Egami, so to him Akiko living with Yukiko may help out his research! That's what Yukiko told Masato when he approached her with the idea, for fifteen years Masato raised her as his own daughter and now wants to use her as a test subject???? It does sound cold but Masato isn't that kind of man and did say the decision would be up to Akiko. Who that day in gym class had fallen off a balance beam and injured her shoulder, she was rushed to the hospital. Akiko wasn't badly hurt and already there had been Yukiko, her husband Hidehiko is torn on whether he wants Akiko to live with them but if it makes Yukiko happy then he'll stand behind her. To Masato and we viewers Akiko's decision was a surprise, that's in the bottom screenshot above and told her father she wants to move in with Yukiko!!!!

 Of course Akiko's response stunned Masato who didn't say a word. However Akiko leaving his house could be key to his new research as Masato is wondering even after not seeing your real birth parents for fifteen years would the person, such as Akiko, still feel a string 'blood bond' with those 'strangers'. Masato is such an intelligent man but sometimes has a hard time understanding how your everyday people think. After downing a few cocktails at a club he stopped at the Snack Village eatery which is around the block from his house. The owner Goro was closing up but decided to have a few drinks with Masato, those screenshots are above. Once again it took your average person to make Masato see how things really are, Goro has known the family for so long and told Masato that Akiko will always think of him as her real father. I felt that Masato wanted to believe him but what can he do as when Akiko gets discharged from the hospital she'll be moving in with Yukiko! In the bottom five screenshots above is a man who we met very briefly at the end of the last episode, his name was never mentioned but he was at the conference where Masato gave his speech and seemed to know Kyoko quite well.

 The man's name is Takaki Saijo and the pair had gone to the same university in Germany. Saijo is still there and had just come to Japan for the conference, two days later he called up Kyoko to go out to dinner with him. Kyoko wavered on that offer but did show up though two hours late. Six months ago is when Kyoko returned to Japan and I've always wondered if it was because she wanted to work with Masato, will they ever hook up? It appeared Kyoko and Saijo had dated briefly but were never an official couple though did know each other so well. Saijo has really missed Kyoko and said why not return to Germany with him? To that she of course said no but just for now, in the future Kyoko said that could be an option and as Saijo says above he'll be waiting! Haven't viewed the next episode so don't know if this will continue on or if Saijo will be leaving Japan again, you'd think he would be staying or else why were the two given so much screen time together?

 We're past the halfway mark of this episode and there hadn't been a scene yet with Kyoko and Masato together. The pair did meet up at work and it's when Masato dropped the bombshell of Akiko going to live with her real birth mother Yukiko, Kyoko was stunned to hear the news. I had the impression Masato was beginning to drift away from Kyoko a bit in the two scenes they were in together. Wonder if Masato started to become a bit jealous of Kyoko as she's the one who Akiko turns to for help and advice. Hope they're not drifting apart as to me they would make for a nice couple. As you can see above it's moving day and Akiko is now part of Yukiko's household, it has to be hard for her too as Yukiko has never had to be a mother figure before. You can also see above Akiko sitting dejectedly at her new desk, she was staring at a photo of herself, her father Masato and her mother Taeko. Though she didn't utter a word you knew Akiko was thinking.... Did I make a huge mistake?'. The older woman above is Yukiko's maid Kume, up until the last episode we may have only seen her for forty seconds a show. But she did get a bit more screen time then and also in this episode.

 To me Kume is a suspicious woman, not that she's done anything bad but there's just that something creepy about her. I've had the feeling that Kume may actually be Yukiko's mother and perhaps she is, she told Akiko that she's been with Yukiko for such a long time and wonder if she had the same thought as me? Later on that day arriving home was Yukiko's husband Hidehiko and he doesn't seem to have any problems with Akiko now living with them. This was a short yet strange scene, Hidehiko sat down and asked Yukiko to bring him that day's newspaper. When she took it off the shelf a note fell that had been beneath it, that screenshot is above and it says Egami is a murderer!!!! Of course Hidehiko was a bit irate but also curious, who could have put that note there? I'm thinking it had to be Kume as she was the only other person in the house, could she have written that to get Akiko to leave? Akiko did overhear a bit of that conversation and fled to her new bedroom, meanwhile Yukiko dashed to Masato's house to tell him of the note and what steps should they take? Not much action in this show but there was in the final ten minutes, Kume called Yukiko at Masato's house to say Akiko has disappeared!

 Fairly sure Akiko didn't overhear the part about Egami being a killer but think that's the conclusion she came to about her real birth father. Akiko had skipped school that day and went to a bookstore where she looked up the laws about statues of limitations. In Japan for murder it expires after fifteen years so Akiko was able to put two and two together to figure out why Egami needed to remain in hiding for another month. She then went to see Kyoko at her apartment but she was still at work, Akiko did leave her a note telling Kyoko to stay at her apartment and she would keep trying to call her. That waiting paid off as Akiko was able to get in touch with Kyoko and asked to meet her at the nearby Nature Park, that's also where Akiko would often meet Egami. Before Kyoko left her place she notified Masato of what was going on, Kyoko said it was best to see Akiko alone but that is not what happened. Akiko told Kyoko she trusted her advice and could depend on her more than anyone else these days, is there any possibility Kyoko could give her the exact details of Egami's crime????

 Kyoko did waver at that request and not sure if she would have replied with the truth but in the end didn't need to. For appearing on the scene at the time was Masato, he thanked Kyoko for her help but said let him answer the question and she soon left. Masato had brought some old newspaper clippings of Egami's murder and was going to show them to Akiko. But before Masato did he uttered the above words that Egami is a murderer, those were the final words spoken in this episode and brings this recap to it's conclusion. Didn't think as much took place in this episode compared to other shows but when writing this up realized quite a bit did happen. So sure the next show will begin off with the second half of that above scene, hope these next few shows concentrate more on Taeko's murder and have a strong feeling Akiko will be returning to Masato in the next episode.