"Sukeban Deka" season one drama, recap 23 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 10.4% and don't understand why it was so low compared to the rest of the series, this aired on October 17, 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. In the 22nd episode Natsu was found innocent as her former boss Gouzo Mizuchi had committed the murder. At the end of that show Saki was relieved of her duties working with Dark Agency after her mother was released from prison but in the next episode Saki was once again a DEKA!!!!

 

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. She must have tangled with Saki five times and though she won a few battles in the end run Ayumi lost all of her wars against her most bitter rival! At the end of the 22nd episode she was arrested after her father had been duped into revealing all of his and the family's dark secrets!

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 was unable to play the ivories for a while. Kumi is a very skilled bow and arrow shooter along with being adept at riding a motorcycle. At the end of the 22nd episode she was arrested after her father had been duped into revealing all of his and the family's dark secrets!

 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. She was the only Mizuchi family member not to go to prison or to die, the final two shows are a death match against her bitter rival Saki(!) though Reimi does respect her quite a bit.

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! After being duped into confessing many of his crimes in the 22nd episode Gouzo shot himself in the head in front of Saki, Jin and Sanpei. For a few episodes it appeared Gouzo may have been Saki's real father after raping her mother Natsu but in the end run don't think he was her true father.

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, 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

Episode 21 .... Episode 22

             

 

 Final two recaps for this outstanding series and I am honestly going to miss viewing this show! In the next post will have my grade and thoughts about the series, won't be viewing the finale until this post is complete. Unsure what will be up next as I have such a backlog of dramas to watch, will get to most but won't be recapping too many of them. For now am really leaning towards my next series to recap being "Kyukyu Sentai GoGo Five" and above are some pics from it. Up until a month ago had never heard of it and that's the case with so many Sentai and/or Tokusatsu shows. The above series is from 1993-94 and seems like the heyday for those kinds of shows were from the early 1970's to right around when this series aired. It's not definite but highly likely this will be my next show to recap and it has been a while since doing posts for those kinds of shows but have watched a few that I didn't recap. It takes a while to create the above section but the effort is worth it as it is mighty impressive so the first set of recaps would be about ten days after the final one for this series. **** The show that could beat out the above is "Gosei Sentai Dairanger" which is from the same year and that too looks like a winner..... may need a coin to decide the winner!

 Won't be doing anything special for these final two posts, the recaps themselves should be the same length though the intro section will be a bit larger. Did update the bios of five characters above even though it may not be needed or at least for those viewers who have been perusing these recaps. If so thanks for that and what a shame this ultra terrific series is coming to an end as the two recaps for today wrap up this drama. Didn't mention it above but there are two more seasons of this show, I have both and will be recapping them but let me take a break from a Sukeban series as the last two shows I've recapped have been in that genre. For the final post think I will have one more mini feature on the show's main star Yuki Saito and she would have been a huge fave of mine had I been blogging from 1985-2000! In that final post will also have my grade, few more comments about the series and hope it ends on a high note as this is the top series I've viewed in the past year. Speaking of those other two seasons this one had 24 episodes, those other two have a combined 83(!) plus a special which is why I need a break before diving into them. There's also two movies from those other seasons and do have both DVD's, I have watched those so often but not for a while so was thinking they could also be in line for some posts. Sadly Yuki had become a big star while this was airing and wasn't in either of those next two seasons nor was in either movie.

 That bottom screenshot above is how this episode ended and it caught my eye for a special reason. Because there's two photos near the top where Saki is holding her powerful Yo-Yo in front of a fire, until now there were no scenes such as that. But there was to end this show so was wondering if they may taken some extra photos from that scene to promote the show and have it on VHS covers as DVD's weren't around forty years ago! The first screenshot is the title of this second to last episode, the three after were from the first minute. Which gave a brief recap of how the last show ended and where the series currently stands. I highly recommend reading the prior recaps as there isn't enough time to discuss all that's happened, especially in the last two episodes. When episode 22 ended Saki was reunited with her mother Natsu as it had been proven her former boss Gouzo Mizuchi had been the person who murdered her husband Toshiya. It's still up in the air who the true father of Saki really is, it easily could be Gouzo after he raped Natsu but she feels the father was Toshiya and to both women it doesn't matter anymore.

 Gouzo Mizuchi was such a cruel person who had a goal of ruling Japan but of course that ended up being a shattered dream. His two youngest daughters Ayumi and Kumi had both been arrested after Gouzo had been tricked into revealing many of his crimes and the key one was the murder of Saki's father. When Gouzo realized how badly he had been duped he shot himself in the head which happened in front of Saki, Jin and Sanpei. His oldest daughter Reimi had slipped away and remained at large, she was the true leader of her father's corrupt company Mizuchi Group. It appeared Reimi had died in a fire as she had set off some bombs in her company office and the place was collapsing, Saki was there and barely escaped. But in the final few seconds of that show the eerie voice of Reimi came out of nowhere and threatened Saki, her mother Natsu and best friend Sanpei. So the final two episodes will be a Death Match between Saki and Reimi who wants to avenge how Saki destroyed her dream of ruling Japan! Once her mother was found innocent of her husband's murder Saki had fulfilled her mission as a Dark Agency undercover detective so was relieved of her duties. That didn't last long as she was recruited to once again fight against eternal evil and let's finally get to what took place in this episode!

 Bit of a slower episode as far as the action and intensity goes but it was hard to keep up the frantic pace of the previous shows were but this was still a decent episode and set itself up nicely for the finale. The opening scene only lasted for about fifteen seconds and things zoomed right by but it was so key to this final story and hurt in an accident was the girl lying unconscious in the top screenshot. Her name is Kazumi Kimura, she's seventeen in age and in the same class as our heroine Saki at the Takanoha Academy high school. A group of five motorcyclists had run down Kazumi while she was walking through a tunnel, it appeared she may have been dead but the doctors at a nearby hospital have saved her. The huge question was who would want to hurt such an innocent and unassuming seventeen year old girl? This was the first we've heard Kazumi's name in this series but Saki and her classmates seem to really like this girl and will do anything to help her out. In the third screenshot is the teacher we see most often who is Numa and he's a decent man who was the only staff member at Takanoha Academy who stood up for the students while Reimi and her Mizuchi family tried to take control of the school. As Numa says Kazumi lived alone with her younger sister and that is so common in dramas where a high school student lives alone or with a younger sibling, that's legal in Japan? Did mention Reimi Mizuchi and talked about her in the intro section, it will be a Death Match between her and Saki to end this series off.... you know who my money is on!!!!

 Above you can see Reimi talking top a group of five cyclists, they were the ones who ran down Kazumi and had been ordered to do so by Reimi. However the target was Saki, Saki had obtained a tiny mascot to attach to her school bag and it was one that had a homing device planted in it by Reimi! But at lunch Saki had switched that small mascot with Kazumi, the riders were ordered to attack the girl with it and not knowing who Kazumi was they almost killed the wrong girl. Which incensed Reimi but in a way it wasn't the cyclists fault and they still got paid 1.5 million yen from Reimi! That was attempt number one in this final story by Saki's most ruthless opponent to date, her previous #1 rival had been Reimi's younger sister Ayumi who was arrested at the end of the previous episode. There will be plenty more of Reimi coming up but haven't said much about Saki yet who for now hadn't realized that it was her who was to be attacked and not Kazumi. Coming into this series Saki was such a juvenile delinquent and seemed she could never be reformed but she's turned into such a decent young woman. Saki's taken it upon herself to watch over Kazumi's younger sister who is right above, her name is Yukari Kimura and is six in age. She seems quite grown up for her age and of course was so down in the dumps with what happened to her older sister Kazumi but bonded with Saki very quickly. After not being with her mother Natsu for over eleven years because of that murder charge Saki had just moved back in with her. Not for long as Saki told her mother she would be staying with Yukari until Kazumi was released from the hospital and Saki did seem to relish being a mother! That's her above making dinner and it sure looked yummy to me, in the bottom screenshot Saki was saying to herself she was feeling like a mother and did watch over the young girl for the entire episode.

 So even though her father is dead, her two sisters are imprisoned and the Mizuchi Group is in shambles Reimi had retained much of it's wealth and still had the dream of ruling Japan! Though she's so sinister Reimi is extremely intelligent and bet she planned for any future snags. But her one obstacle has been Saki and after at least five attempts on her life Saki is still standing to the fury of Reimi! You wouldn't think it would be so difficult to kill a seventeen year old and why not hire a pro assassin to to the job once and for all?! Which is what Reimi finally did and you can see the man she hired above, his name was never mentioned so will use the man's real name which is Shunsuke Mizoguchi. The man is Japanese but has been working in America as a Super Weapons Researcher, not for the government but for terrorists! Mizoguchi is the best around when it comes to creating weapons but think Reimi should have hired a sniper or some other pro killer. What struck me as unbelievable is the screenshot of Saki above where she was filmed walking along the street, that short video had so much footage of her at school, on the street, etc. and how could Reimi and her associates have done that? Also in the batch of screenshots above you can see the device that Mizoguchi created, it was ingenious but was also a weapon that had many possibilities of failure.

 Mizoguchi's creation was a doll named Mika and at the time(1985) dolls such as that were popular in Japan so he created as exact duplicate of one. His Mika doll was a talking one but could only utter a few sentences, one was to ask your name. Mizoguchi had installed a mini voice recognition device in the back of the doll that looked like something in your current laptop, it was a recording of Saki's voice. So when the Mika doll asked Saki her name and she answered her full name of Saki Asamiya the doll would match the two voices as being the same and go into action. With the action being it activated a bomb which would explode within twenty seconds which was a clever device but couldn't Mizoguchi have devised a more direct way of killing Saki? Mizoguchi did demonstrate the doll bomb for Reimi which was a success, the following day she gave the doll to Yukari who was returning home from school. The mother of the sisters died two years ago and the father has been abroad for his work, why didn't he bring his daughters? Reimi gave Yukari the Mika doll and said it was a present from her father which overjoyed the six year old girl. Above and below you can see Yukari showing off the doll to Saki and things never worked out as planned. Because for so long Saki never said her complete name to the doll when it asked her which meant the bomb couldn't be activated, didn't Reimi or Mizoguchi think of such a possibility?

 Final segment, what took place in the last 6-7 minutes is right above and the first five screenshots below. While another solid episode not as much seemed to happen and this was the easiest recap to write up in this series and one of the shorter ones too. The Mika doll also had a receiver so Reimi and Mizoguchi could listen to what was being said, it was so frustrating because Saki never said her full name! She came so close many times but never got past saying Saki with no last name and after a while Reimi had had enough! Mizoguchi tried to calm her anxiety and even made some 'moves' on Reimi as she is kind of an attractive woman. However those 'moves' of Mizoguchi went nowhere as you can see in the third and fourth screenshots above. When he had wrapped his arms around Reimi she deftly took a knife out of her pocket and stabbed him as Mizoguchi seemingly didn't know what had happened! Reimi said to herself she doesn't need anyone to kill Saki for it should be her who does the deed and I think the slaying of Mizoguchi was her first time killing someone. Time flew by in this show and I rarely look at how many minutes remain in these episodes as there's never any dull or filler scenes. At the hospital Saki's classmate Kazumi is doing better, she's finally awoken after being unconscious for a few days but it will be a while until she can be discharged. Saki had brought Yukari to the hospital, while not terrific news least some of Yukari's fears have been alleviated. While Saki was carrying a sleeping Yukari home on her shoulders an unexpected encounter took place, it's with the man right above.

 Who is Saki's ex-handler for Dark Agency, Kyoichiro Jin, at the end of the previous show Saki had been allowed to leave the secret organization when her mother was released from prison. However at the time all had presumed Reimi was dead but of course that's not so, Jin does have one more mission for Saki! Which is to find and eliminate Reimi who Dark Agency feels will grow powerful again in a short amount of time but to Saki why should she endanger her life again? To that Jin told his best ever Deka that it was Reimi's goons who had hurt Kazumi, if Saki doesn't find and destroy Reimi more innocent people will get hurt. Plus so won't Saki as killing her is currently Reimi's #1 goal, so Saki agreed to Jin's request and she did get back her enhanced Yo-Yo. Shortly after returning to Yukari's home Saki told the girl she was going out and to Yukari it seemed Saki was saying goodbye forever. In a way she was as Saki wasn't going to wait and eliminating Reimi couldn't be delayed any longer! Know Saki is confident in her fighting abilities but Reimi is an extremely tough opponent and it appeared Saki wasn't totally sure she would be returning to Yukari! The young girl could sense her fear and did ask Saki to at least introduce herself to the Mika doll before she left and finally she did tell the doll her full name! You can see what happened below as the doll's eyes lit up and Saki instantly knew it was a bomb! She quickly scooped up Yukari and made it outside in the nick of time, there were only twenty seconds to go at this point. Coming out of the shadows was Reimi who once again said Saki was lucky but not for long, I don't know why Reimi didn't have a gun to end Saki's life right then and there?! That ended the episode and also this recap, as mentioned many times I am going to miss this series! The next post has the what took place in the final show which I haven't viewed yet.