"Sukeban Deka" season one drama, recap 21 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 13.2% as this and the next two episodes saw a decrease in the ratings and don't know why, this aired on September 26, 1985.

 

 

 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 first screenshot at the end of 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 episode, 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 .... Episode fifteen .... Episode sixteen

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

             

 That's an intriguing title for this episode and more curveballs were thrown at us in this and the next recap than the entire series combined up until now! Was going to discuss a pair of the Mizuchi sisters in one of these pair of recaps but no sense doing so as I want to leap right into what took place. However will say the oldest Mizuchi sister Reimi was played by Hitomi Takahashi and recognized her the minute I saw her in episode fifteen but didn't know her real name. She's never been a star but has been in so many dramas over the years and I've seen her in plenty of things. So she's had a successful career and was 24 in age when this drama aired. Not having a long career was the actress who played her slightly younger sister Ayumi, her name in real life is Yasuko Endo or I should say that was her name. For five months after this series ended Yasuko died and though it was reported as a suicide how it took place was rather mysterious and sounds like a case for one of those true crime shows. Yasuko was just seventeen in age and had just recorded her first ever J-Pop single so that left many people wondering was it truly a suicide? That's a sad piece of trivia for today and below is the link to her JA.wiki page which has a lot of bio info and if you use her Kanji characters you can do even more searching about the tragedy:

Yasuko Endo ja.wiki page

 Talk about mysteries and we had more than our share in these two episodes!!!! Wow, there too many enigmas thrown our way and I needed a scorecard to keep track of everything. Sure if you're reading this then it must mean you've read most of the previous recaps and have been following this show so thanks if you've been doing that. If you haven't been following the series then you'd definitely be lost so the above section for previous recaps is essential reading and that section does make it easy to begin with the first episode and read them in order up until this show. The recaps are easy reading posts and except for a few details here and there usually just talk about what's happened recently in this series, such as how the last episode ended and where the story currently stands. With the help of her Dark Agency handler Jin plus her two Takanoha Academy friends Sanpei and Miyako Saki was able to once again thwart the efforts of the evil Mizuchi family. Whose goal in life is to soon rule Japan and they're going at it in an odd way, by taking control of the nation's schools and brainwashing students but that could mean the plan couldn't take effect for decades though sure they have some other plans up their sleeves!

 The Mizuchi family consists of the very wealthy father Gouzo along with a trio of sisters, the youngest is Kumi and her slightly older sibling is Ayumi who has been Saki's bitter rival since episode eleven. Starting with the fifteenth episode the oldest sister Reimi has returned to Japan after attending college in America, she's the true leader of this family's dream to rule their country and you'll be hearing plenty about her. Also about her wealthy father Gouzo who claims that Saki is his daughter from an affair he had with her mother Natsu 18 years ago when the woman was his personal secretary at Mizuchi Group which is the main family corporation. Of course so much more has happened and that's why reading the recaps leading up to this show are so important. In the first minute what took place is those above screenshots, Saki was sitting alone in her apartment and was still in a daze thinking that her true father could be the sinister Gouzo Mizuchi! What she had been thinking was in the first two screenshots, the third is of Saki recalling the night her father, Natsu's husband, perished in both a fire and from being stabbed. There will be quite a bit of flashback scenes in today's two recaps with the main focus being what really happened to Saki's father Toshiya when she was six in age, we learn the sordid details of how and why the man died in the next recap which could also result in the demise of the monstrous Mizuchi family! Did give away a few spoilers above and let's finally get to what took place, not as much action but both episodes had so much intrigue and suspense. **** For the first time since episode's one and two watched a pair of shows before beginning on the recaps. This episode ended on such a cliffhanger so wanted to see what the outcome would be!!!!

 The Mizuchi family(Reimi) still has the Takanoha Academy high school under their control along with many other schools in the Tokyo area but how many more thousands of them are in Japan for them to conquer? That school mentioned was where Saki attended but was expelled in episode sixteen but wrongfully though she was never reinstated, as a matter of fact all of the students have been expelled or quit and that goes for the staff too! Which means Saki has nothing to do most days, for a while she was finally able to lead a normal life attending school but that's been taken away from her by the Mizuchi family and she is so down in the dumps. So much that I wondered if Saki may do something very cruel to herself such as ending her life, she did blabber to herself while at her apartment and was making no sense. When she left Saki ran onto her best friend ever who is the boy above Sanpei, for him it was love at first sight way back in the first episode! Sanpei is such an upstanding young man who is Saki's classmate, when she bumped into him after leaving her place she muttered about needing to part ways! Sanpei has played a huge part in helping her solve some missions and has even saved her life twice, Saki trusts him fully and told Sanpei the horrific story of the Mizuchi family! He knows who they are but this was the first he had heard of Gouzo Mizuchi possibly being Saki's father but that didn't affect Sanpei in the least as he's been in love with her since the first second, above is the first time Sanpei told her his feelings.

 That screenshot was after a major scene, when she had first bumped into Sanpei Saki said she was going to visit her mother in prison and wanted to hear the true story of who her father was! Natsu is her mother's name, eleven years ago she had killed her husband Toshiya and is serving a life sentence, one that's been upgraded to the death penalty! That's how Saki got involved with Dark Agency as the leader Shirei said he could get Natsu off death row if she would help them battle crime! For about ten episodes we didn't hear anything about Saki's mother but she'll now play a major part of this two episode story as Gouzo Mizuchi is claiming his affair with Natsu resulted in the birth of Saki! So she wants to hear the true story and headed to the prison along with Sanpei and also her Dark Agency handler Jin, not sure why he was there. Saki hasn't talked to her mother in years as every time she would visit Natsu wouldn't even see her daughter. But this time she did agree to see Saki though Natsu never uttered a word until the very end of their brief meeting. Saki said she had come for answers and deserved to hear the truth, some screenshots above are from that encounter. Saki went on and on pleading for her mother to reveal the truth and it didn't appear as though Natsu would ever say anything. But she did utter a few sentences, one was that Saki wasn't her daughter and what did Natsu mean? That she's not Saki's biological mother or that she's disowned her, what she meant will be revealed in the next recap. Natsu also added in that she never wanted to see Saki again and the mother then left. Saki was so down before that visit and now that depression has dropped another hundred levels(!) but Sanpei was there with some very comforting words. But all in all Saki never got any answers from her mother, especially the most important one which is if Gouzo is her true father!

 I always make that second paragraph too long but the above wasn't as bad, what I try to do is follow the screenshots you see. That scene after the prison visit didn't end right away, as Sanpei was comforting a distraught Saki arriving on the scene were.... two of her possible step-sisters! Above in black is Ayumi who has ben battling Saki since the eleventh episode, in blue is her younger sister Kumi who seems to be the most horrific of the three sisters. We never see the oldest sibling Reimi getting her hands dirty, she's the brains behind the Mizuchi Group and of their plans to soon rule Japan! As far as plans go the one for Ayumi and Kumi right then was to.... end the life of Saki! Their father Gouzo had forbidden anyone from killing Saki for so long but towards the end of the last show seemed to relent but deep down I think he doesn't want to see his fourth daughter murdered. Ayumi is an ace with a rifle, Kumi with a bow and arrow plus both are so adept at riding motorcycles. However both missed with their shots as this ambush moved on to a construction site and some large pipes were the saviors of Saki and Sanpei but eventually the pair were trapped like rats. You can see Sanpei above shielding Saki as he would take a bullet or arrow for her, he certainly proved his love for Saki by doing that!

 However taking a bullet may not be enough to allow Saki to escape, after so many other attempts it appeared the Mizuchi sisters were finally going to be the end of Saki! Not so fast as for at least the fifth time in this series coming to Saki's rescue was her Dark Agency handler Jin, that's him above with a pistol. He had trailed Saki and Sanpei from the prison as he had an inkling what may happen, his shots didn't hit Ayumi but was enough to scare her off. Meanwhile Saki had used her powerful Yo-Yo to snatch Kumi's bow and is the Yo-Yo string 200 feet long? So for now our heroine Saki is safe and so isn't Sanpei, wonder if Saki will ever return some of those romantic feelings he has for her? After the encounter Saki was brought to the main Dark Agency office, so wasn't Sanpei as by now he knows almost everything about Saki's secret life. The man you see wearing sunglasses is the Dark Agency leader Shirei, usually we only hear his voice on cassettes or VHS tapes. Jin is Shirei's top agent and also perhaps second in command, we never have heard any details about this ultra secret government organization. Saki agreeing to join Dark Agency is why the execution on her mother hasn't been carried out and she's done so much for them so doubt if the killing will ever take place. The Dark Agency for so long has been after the Mizuchi family whose power has become more immense than ever, Shirei knows they must act fast or the goal of this sinister family to rule Japan may be achieved sooner than expected! So it was time for Shirei to reveal the truth about what really happened eleven years ago to Saki as far as the death of her father goes but even Shirei was missing some key facts which we learned of in the next recap.

 Final of three segments and I am in such a nice routine doing these recaps so am going to hate seeing this series end. What took place in the last 6-7 minutes are the screenshots right above along with the first five below, the others feature more of what took place in this episode. In the above scene the Dark Agency leader Shirei may have had more screentime than what he had in the previous twenty episodes combined! We learned many details pertaining to Saki's younger days along with more about the Mizuchi family, quite a bit but Shirei was unaware of some things which will be revealed in the next show. It's been presumed until now that Saki's mother Natsu had killed her husband Toshiya by stabbing him and then letting him burn in a fire. That is true Toshiya died that way but what was not accurate was who did the actual stabbing, even Shirei thinks it was Natsu! Shirei brought up an incident that occurred which even Saki had forgotten as she was only six in age. Saki had testified in court about what she recalled the evening when her mother Natsu killed Toshiya but Saki didn't see the actual murder. However a key detail was that Saki swore another adult had been in the room where the crime took place and had kicked over a gas stove that ignited the fire. However she had no idea who the man was but did recall he had a burn mark on his chest. In Japan there's a panel of three judges who hear a case and decide the verdict by a vote, two didn't believe Saki's story of another person being there when her father was killed which meant Natsu was found guilty of murder! You can see this scene in the above screenshots, Shirei does believe Saki saw another man the night her father was killed and was one of the reasons she was recruited to be an undercover detective for Dark Agency. Shirei and Dark Agency have been going after the sinister Mizuchi family for some time now but with no success, the same goes for a few other government agencies.

 

 Shirei fully believes that the Mizuchi father Gouzo was involved in the death of Toshiya Asamiya but has no proof, not much of what Shirei thinks may have happened the night her father was killed would stand up in court. Shirei did tell Saki, Jin and Sanpei a bit about the evil Mizuchi family and how their ultimate goal is to take control of Japan. It does seem like an impossible task however the family is inching closer each day to achieving that dream so it may be up to Saki to save the entire country! More took place in that scene which is in the screenshots and will also be discussing more of it in the next recap. The top screenshot below shows some of the remaining 32 Takanoha Academy students who were expelled, those and the teacher Numa wouldn't leave and he's still holding classes outside of the school but with guards around! Right after that you can see Reimi talking with her father Gouzo who would prefer that Saki somehow be spared her life for he still feels his unknown daughter(!) could be an asset to their diabolical scheme! Not Reimi who feels the young Deka can't be trusted plus I think Reimi may be concerned that Saki could eventually wrestle control away from her running the Mizuchi Group. That is if Saki ever did become a corrupt person which will never happen, that scene took place at Takanoha Academy and Reimi was ready to give a press conference which will be discussed in the next recap. While that was going on Saki, Jin and Sanpei had broken into Takanoha Academy and subdued most of the guards. Soon secretly listening to that conversation that was taking place in the director's office was Saki and she knew there was no time to spare. Speaking of time there was only twenty seconds to go, in the fifth screenshot below the episode ended with a very large man finding Saki listening at the door, he proceeded to begin throwing her around brutally and as you can see was about to strangle her!!!! So that ends this recap and what a thrilling conclusion to this episode, so thrilling I dove right into the next show to see how that scene ended! The next post has the recap for episode 22 and I'm getting slightly sad as that means there's only two more episodes to go in this must watch series!