"Sukeban Deka" season one drama, recap fifteen of 24 episodes

 

Air Dates: April 11 to October 31, 1985 Thursdays at 7:30 pm on Fuji-TV

Based upon the manga by Shinji Wada, there were some differences between the manga and this series such as two new characters but for the most part what took place in the manga was followed... Subs by Mashhamid though a few others have also subbed this series

Ratings: Average for all 24 episodes was 13.04%, the high was 17.0% while 9.6% was the lowest and that happened twice. This episode's rating was 12.0% which was one of the lower ratings, perhaps because it was Summer(?) and this aired on August 8, 1985.

 For my first two 'comeback dramas' after taking a four month break picked a pair of ancient ones, good timing for this series as it aired exactly forty years ago! No solid reasons for picking these but thought the pair, the other was "Shoujou Commando Izumi", would be easier to recap as they're both 25 minute shows and though I do enjoy 45+ minute episodes they can take a while to write up. Sure many of you readers may have a basic knowledge of these DEKA series which were very popular back in the 1980's as there two more seasons after this plus some movies. But there were also many films in this genre that were released from about 1970-74 though they weren't nearly as innocent as this show or movies but do recommend those 1970's films which are among my favorites.

 May do a bit of editing to these first few paragraphs though then again may delete them and throw in some other thoughts or info, we'll see how things work out. Did say I was hoping for a pair of easier dramas for my return to recapping but neither one will be as easy as expected. This one especially and have a strong feeling the Bio section will be needing a lot of editing as we go along plus I bet there are going to be many characters who come and go. Will admit I was really confused about many things after viewing the first show which was only so-so until the end and wondered did I make the right decision as this is a long series with 24 episodes. However the second show was so much better and didn't begin writing this up until viewing that one, that does happen often where the first show is working out the kinks. For the previous series did five batches of three recaps as it was a fifteen episode show which worked out well. So was going to continue that with this series and have eight batches of three recaps but now I'm not sure what to do, am leaning on going back to having two at a time and will decide that at the end of the next recap which is the post below this one.

 The heroine in this series was Yuki Saito who was eighteen when the show began in April 1985, she turned nineteen while it was airing. Wouldn't call Yuki a superstar but she's an actress most drama fans should know of as she's been so busy over the last forty years appearing in too many dramas, movies and stage plays to count! Yuki is also a singer who has about ten albums and 25 singles along with doing many other theme songs to dramas, she does the ending song to this show. Yuki is now 58 in age and she was an attractive woman back in her twenties and thirties, not saying she looks bad now but as mentioned is getting up there in age. Enough of an intro as there's always another mini section after the main character bios which are below and will be editing them quite often.

 Most of the action will be taking place at the Takanoha Academy high school but in episode one the setting was St. Annes school which did slightly confuse me. Episode two is when Saki enrolls at Takanoha Academy and we didn't meet most major characters until then or at least the main students. Most of these photos at the top are of Saki holding a Yo-Yo, it's no ordinary one! When it flips open it shows the Police Crest as Saki is an undercover detective and what power it has. The Yo-Yo can smash through steel and if a person gets hit with it they're down for the count, the steel string is very long and can also double as a pair of handcuffs.

 Yuki Saito as Saki Asamiya.... There is so much to say about Saki and not enough space! Saki's mother Natsu is currently on death row for killing her husband Toshiya, that happened when Saki was six in age which was eleven years ago. For the next nine years don't know yet what became of Saki but by the age of twelve she was a delinquent. She did enter high school but was expelled from Takanoha Academy at the age of fifteen and sent to Kanto Kita Juvenile Center but there was something about Saki or perhaps her circumstances which attracted the attention of the two men below this bio, Jin and Shirei. They're the top two executives of the very secret government department Dark Agency, they've recruited Saki to become an undercover detective as being a teen will allow to work much more efficiently at high schools. Of course Saki refused at first but the offer included an apartment, clothes and such plus a huge kicker. Which is that if Saki successfully completed a mission her mother Natsu's death penalty would be voided though would have to finish a prison sentence. To that offer Saki agreed but the Dark Agency did renege on their end of the deal and came up with an excuse for Saki to do another mission which she reluctantly said yes to so think that scenario of Dark Agency using Saki will continue on. Know more changes will be done to Saki's bio but that covers what we learned in the first two episodes. Saki's mother Natsu is in the bottom screenshot, don't think we'll be seeing her too often.

 

Koji Naka as Kyoichiro Jin.... The top agent for Dark Agency and is Saki's 'handler'. Jin was a cool looking man and was very respected by his superior Shirei. Jin is very skilled at martial arts though we haven't seen him in a physical fight through eight episodes and drives a yellow Porsche 911. In episode fifteen we learned that Jin was born in 1956 so that would make his age 29, he had attended a university in America and graduated in 1982. That meant he was 26 at the time and after returning to Japan Jin began to work for the National Police Agency, the Dark Agency must be an offshoot department. After beginning with the police none of Jin's records or activities are in their database so it's like Jin has been erased from the Earth, discovering that was the very devious older Mizuchi sister Reimi.

 Hiroyuki Nagato as Kurayami Shirei.... Leader of Dark Agency and the person who recruited  Saki to be an undercover detective at high schools. To me it appears Shirei is the one toying with Saki and saying he'll void her mother's death sentence to keep her doing missions, think Jin does have a soft spot for Saki and doesn't like seeing her used. Shirei had been a judge at one time and was one of the six on the panel for Natsu's murder trial! Perhaps that's why he chose Saki to be a secret detective as he had been keeping tabs on her for about a decade and felt she was finally ready for action! Don't know if it will continue on for the whole series but when Shirei appears in screen we never see him clearly, he is an older man and maybe keeping his face obscured adds to the mystery.

 The remaining characters are all from Takanoha Academy which is a high school, in Tokyo? No characters appeared in the first episode so these bios will definitely need to be edited for future posts, the top characters are the students. Don't think any teachers will be key to the stories but will add one in plus the principal. Saki had attended this school when she was fifteen in age but had been expelled in her first year and sent to a detention center, she's now returned to the fury of many who remember her!

Chiaki Watanabe as Miyako Yumekoji.... She too is a delinquent girl but unlike Saki was never sent away to a detention center and is very intelligent though her ego is a bit too large. When Saki had been expelled Miyako took 'control' of the school or in other words has become the leader of the school's undesirables. Who are females and you never see girls have male underlings in these shows or films, of course those henchmen(women?) are Yes People who bully others. None of that group of Miyako's followers will have large roles but we will be seeing them often enough, the names of the main four girls are Tomiko, Hanako, Masayo and Tamami. That's them in the first screenshot below, Miyako is on the left and in the center of the second screenshot. Miyako is a very attractive teen and for now hates Saki with such a passion so a theme for the first half of the series will be of her trying to take Saki down. Of course Miyako doesn't know Saki is an undercover detective and had felt she returned to Takanoha Academy to take control of the female gangs which was not the case.

 Yasuyoshi Masuda as Sanpei Nowaki.... That's an odd name and don't recall ever seeing either of those before. Senpai wasn't at Takanoha Academy when Saki was enrolled there two years ago, when he first saw Saki in present times it was love at first sight for Senpai!!!! Who had no idea of Saki's past but was so enamored with her ultra coolness plus she was attractive. Unsure(doubt) if Saki will ever return Senpai's feelings of love but think he will become a trusted ally. By the third episode Sanpei has become friends with Saki, not best friends yet but he is her only one.

  

 Genji Kawai as Miyagawa.... Principal of Takanoha Academy and he probably won't be an important character but should be in most episodes, he's the older man sitting at the desk.

 Hiraizumi Sei as Numa Juzo.... PE teacher at the academy and also the home room teacher of Saki's. Juzo was strongly opposed to Saki being able to reenroll at the school but like all didn't know she was an undercover detective. He also works in  the guidance department and can be extremely strict though usually is fair to all except not at first towards Saki.

 The Mizuchi family.... just added these four characters in as they will be so very important for at least the next eight episodes. Least the three sisters will, doubt if we'll see much of the father but just in case we do added his name in here. We first met Ayumi in episode eleven, then Kumi in the thirteenth and the elder Mizichi sister Reimi in episode fifteen.

Yasuko Endo as Ayumi Mizuchi.... Though just seventeen in age when this was filmed in the show she was at least a year older than Saki. Ayumi comes from a very wealthy family and is the president of the Kanto Region Student Council Union among other things. Ayumi used that position to try and take control Saki's high school Takanoha Academy but that failed, she's Saki's most bitter enemy and also her toughest opponent. **** Checked up on the actress and read a very sad story, six months after this show ended Yasuko committed suicide and was just seventeen in age. Besides acting she was also about to begin a singing career at the time of her death which was from jumping out of a seventh story window. That death was very suspicious at the time and so many rumors began to spread about why the tragedy occurred but no one knew the real answer.

Natsumi Asano as Kumi Mizuchi.... I seventeen in age which is the same as Saki and is another sister who needs to be avoided! Though such a low life person Kumi is a very talented pianist and the competition she was in was the focus of episodes thirteen and fourteen. At the end of the 14th show she got into a scrap with Saki, Kumi's right hand and arm was injured so she'll be unable to play the ivories for a while.

 Hitomi Takahashi as Reimi Mizuchi.... We finally met the oldest sister in the fifteenth episode, she's just returned to Japan after attending college in America. Reimi is quite an attractive woman but also one you don't want to tangle with as she is so ruthless. And devious as she's vowed to take down Saki for hurting her two younger sisters and to me it's not Ayumi who is Saki's most dangerous opponent but Reimi! She has quite the setup at her father's office which is the top screenshot below, considering this drama took place in 1985 Reimi had some tech gadgets which are common today but were very rare back then.

Shigeru Kamiyama as Gouzo Mizuchi.... Don't think we'll be seeing much of him but his fortune is so key to the sisters enacting their revenge on Saki! Gouzo owns the Mizuchi Corporation and is supposedly the sixth richest man in Japan, his family never loses and often have to resort to such underhanded and violent measures to achieve that!

Previous recaps

 There will be some new storylines and characters added into the series as we go along so off course will add in any major characters and keep editing to the existing characters also. Have said in other dramas how in a way it could be easier to wait until the entire series has been finished or pick a certain show to wait until, say the midway point. Then you could go into one post and click on the links for each episode as doing it that way makes it so much easier to read plus this is the only was you can read them in order quickly as searching could take a while. You do see the characters in the screenshot below in most of these kinds of dramas, ones where the story is ongoing. Those Hiragana characters spell out Tsudzuku which means To be continued and of course it means the story. After that screenshot is also the title of this current drama, in episode fifteen decided to no longer have videos for this series.

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

         

               

 Got rid of that section with a video, there weren't nearly as many as I thought for this series and by doing so it also makes these recaps shorter. Did add in four new characters, the three devious Mizuchi sisters and their ruthless father! Also did edit Jin's profile a bit but not Saki's as we haven't learned anything new about her for so long, bet it's been at least eight episodes since her mother was mentioned. Was planning on viewing the next episode before writing this up though didn't, so often it's hard for me to get the motivation to begin these recaps so while I have it may as well take advantage! Think this may be another two episode story, the previous pair of missions/cases for our Deka heroine Saki were also two episodes and think those work out the best. Don't know what happens in the final two shows of this 24 episode series but do know that up to the 22nd episode the trio of Mizuchi sisters will be making Saki's life a living hell! The sister Ayumi has done that to Saki for the prior four shows, she had a bit of help with her slightly younger sister Kumi in the last story.

 That's Kumi with a cast on her right hand above, she is a talented piano player but won't be able to play the ivories for a while after being injured by Saki at the end of the previous episode. When that show ended we briefly met the above woman Reimi who is the oldest of the three Mizuchi sisters. Ayumi has been one tough opponent for Saki, perhaps the toughest one to date. However to me Reimi may be the most difficult opponent that Saki will ever tangle with, Reimi has just returned to Japan after graduating from an American university so she's also quite intelligent besides being so brutal, you'll be learning much more about her as we go along. There wasn't much action in this show however the intensity level was at its highest. After the seven minute mark of this episode it really reminded me of the 1974 movie "The Conversation" and that's my all time favorite American film. In that movie Gene Hackman played an expert surveillance agent/spy/wire tapper who late in the film had the tables turned on him and it became quite a psychological thriller. Saki too was fooled and you could really feel her frustration a few times so all in all the second half of this episode may have been the best part of the drama up until now. The post below this will have part two of the story and let's get to what took place.

 That's Reimi in the top screenshot, there's no break for her after spending five years abroad studying as the honor of the Mizuchi family needs to be fully restored! That's the elder Mizuchi in the second screenshot, Gouzo is supposedly the sixth richest man in Japan and owns many corporations, his tactics to make a profit have often been far from legal! The last story dealt with a prestigious piano competition and the youngest sister Kumi had entered it, she is a talented player who I think was stripped of her first place award for a very underhanded scheme. She attends the elite Eiko Arts Academy which the elder Mizuchi mentions above, his first name is Gouzo. He just purchased that musical high school before the last story and don't know if that will be a key to this ongoing story again. That ongoing story until episode 22 will be of the sisters Reimi, Ayumi and Kumi enacting revenge upon Saki who has thwarted three family crimes in the last four shows, Reimi is so intelligent and will be Saki's toughest opponent to date. At her father's main corporate office Reimi has her own tech room which is the third screenshot, it was very advanced for 1985 and computers weren't a big part of our lives back then. Haven't mentioned Saki much until now, she's still attending the Takanoha Academy high school and seems to be a decent student but will college be part of her future after the exciting life of an undercover Deka?

 At the school is a new male transfer student, his name is Takeshi Hayashi and has quickly captured the hearts of most female students! Takeshi is quite good looking, smart, a whiz at sports and has such a sparkling personality, seems like most male students are jealous of him including Saki's best friend Sanpei. Even Saki seems to have been a bit smitten with Takeshi as she tells Sanpei in the middle screenshot above, Saki also has one other friend who we didn't know of until now and her name is Ichiko. Who seems like a nice seventeen year old but isn't overly attractive, however Takeshi made his moves on Ichiko to be his girlfriend and right then I began to have my suspicions about him. He told Ichiko he wanted to pull a gag on Saki, she readily agreed but at the time knew it would be far from a funny prank. After school Sanpei was walking Saki home, you can see he asked about the Mizuchi sisters who have been quiet but we know something devilish is up their sleeves! While walking rushing up to the pair was Ichiko, she told Saki she knew her true identity of being an undercover Deka and dashed away. In hot pursuit was Saki who caught up to Ichiko and demanded to know where she learned that information. Which Ichiko never had a chance to answer for a hidden man had thrown a knife that was a bullseye into Ichiko's heart! She slumped to the ground dead and the knife did appear to look so similar to a letter opener but it did kill a person! Immediately Takeshi began to scream that Saki had killed Ichiko, before long a crowd had formed chanting Saki was a murderer and soon after the police dragged away Saki! You can see her above denying she killed her friend, she told the police the person that would back Saki up is her Dark Agency handler Kyoichiro Jin and to call him pronto!!!!

 Updated Jin's character bio in this post as many secrets were revealed about him and the details were discovered by the oldest and smartest Mizuchi sister Reimi! That's her in the top screenshot above at the computer, she was able to hack into the National Police database and that was quite an achievement for 1985! Reimi discovered that Jin had entered the National Police after graduating from an American University in 1982, at the time Jin was 26 in age. But after that date there were zero records for Jin who seemed to have disappeared off the face of the Earth! Not quite for after joining the police Jin became a high ranking official and spy for the very secret Dark Agency, an elite department of the National Police. So Reimi's search ended there but least she now knows who is backing Saki though she knows almost zero about the Dark Agency. At the station Saki's pleas for them to contact Jin were fruitless as he had no records at the National Police, she's never tried contacting Jin before as it's always been him or his boss Shirei who notifies Saki of a new mission. But least the police had no evidence to hold Saki as there were no witnesses or fingerprints on the knife so she was released. However it appears the Mizuchi family has a mole at the police department for how else could Reimi have listened to the detectives interrogating Saki? Meeting Saki after her release was Sanpei which is above, she felt sure the killer is another student at Takanoha Academy but who???? Right then an angry Takeshi passed by and swore to Saki he would take revenge against her for killing the love of his life.... Ichiko!

 So while I had become a bit leery of Takeshi earlier when he asked Ichiko out so hasn't Saki now after this encounter but at the time she had more important things going on in her life.... all bad! Had mentioned the older and must see movie "The Conversation" in the intro and what had happened was the wire bugger's apartment had been bugged so the tables were turned on the master eavesdropper Harry Caul. When the movie ended what a state of paranoia he was in as he had ripped apart his place looking for the bugs which he never found, that was such an intense and disturbing scene! So wasn't this scene as Saki had received a call and the person at the other end(a disguised Reimi?) began to toy with Saki's mind. How could she trust and work with a man like Jin who almost let her be charged with murder, where was this trusted handler when she needed him the most? The caller added in a few other comments to really raise the paranoia level of Saki which worked, she had also noticed someone had been snooping around her apartment. Saki looked everywhere for a bug and as you can see above she was tearing her place apart but had zero success. Eventually Saki did finally find a bug under a desk and destroyed it, how little she knew! For at that moment tanning by her mansion's pool was Reimi Mizuchi along with her two sisters, as she says in the bottom screenshot 'There isn't just one bug Saki!'. This devious yet well thought out plan of Reimi's is working out so well, Saki may be framed for a murder plus she's now becoming a bit crazed(!).... or is that what she wants those around her to think????

 Final segment and while not a lot of action this had to be the best episode yet, each show seems to be a tad better than the previous one and what a superb series this has turned into. What took place in the final 5-6 minutes is above and the first five screenshots below. The day following her release and after the night of ransacking her apartment looking for bugs Saki returned to the Takanoha Academy high school hoping to find clues about the murder of Ichiko. However she was stopped at the entrance by the PE teacher Nuba in the first screenshot. He told Saki the admin staff had decided to suspend her because of the incident though Nuba doesn't believe Saki could have killed Ichiko. The students didn't think that way as when Saki was departing they all yelled at her and were screaming she's a bloody murderer! The person who instigated the crowd was the new school favorite Takeshi, right at this moment deduced he had been planted at Takanoha Academy by Reimi and quickly knew that deduction was right on the money. With school not an option Saki visited a mini mall to kill time, she had been tailed there by Takeshi but Saki was aware of him. For the first time in this show we saw Jin and that's him in three screenshots above. He didn't say too much about why he couldn't help Saki when she was arrested but it's very important for Dark Agency to keep a very low profile. Jin is fully aware that the oldest Mizuchi sister Reimi is behind this plot to frame Saki and make her crazed so perhaps her acting that way has been a ruse. The Mizuchi family has become the #1 target of Jin and the Dark Agency, he did tell Saki that so she understood why certain things had to be done and Jin's plans have worked to date. During their encounter the pair did pull off a trick to fool Takeshi who had followed Saki and a pair that had tailed Jin to the mall. Saki demanded to meet the Dark Agency leader Shirei and said it loud enough so all could hear her, when Jin refused the request Saki fled on her mini scooter with Takeshi on her tail.

 Going in the opposite direction was Jin and the pair that had been following him were still in hot pursuit, this plan worked as Jin's goal was to get these men as far away from Saki as possible. What also worked is that it appeared Saki was so fed up with Jin and the words from that mysterious caller had been believed by Saki but their disagreement was just an act and Saki fully trusts Jin with her life! Don't know what happened with Jin who led his tailers on a wild goose chase, though that worked Saki could have used Jin's help desperately! In the bottom screenshot above and the first few below are what took place in the final two minutes. Saki had stopped her mini bike, jumped off and threw herself in the way of Takeshi's bike! It wasn't said out loud but we viewers and Saki knew that Takeshi had been working secretly for the devious Mizuchi sisters, bet they warned him of how dangerous Saki could be in a fight. For Takeshi surprised Saki by throwing a knife at her and it stuck in her left shoulder, it was the same type of knife that killed Ichiko! Saki wasn't badly hurt and to her that was a confession from Takeshi that he had been the true killer of Ichiko and Saki had been so close to being framed for the crime. She was about to dash up to Takeshi to force him to reveal who was behind his crimes and what were the future plans of this secret group. But in such a shocker a gunshot was heard, Takeshi slumped to the ground holding his chest and within a few seconds his life expired! Wow, what a shocker that was and coming out of the shadows was the below detective whose name is Sawaki, he had been an interrogator when Saki had been falsely arrested. As the episode came to its conclusion Sawaki said he witnessed Saki kill Takeshi and led her away in cuffs, that's how this show ended and what a finale! If you are really into intrigue, suspense, backstabbing and devious tactics this episode had it all, the next show had even more of the same and the thrilling second half of this story is in the following post. The bottom screenshot is from a mini preview they have at the end of a show for the next episode, you can see that Saki was about to enter a prison!!!!