"Sukeban Deka" season one drama, recap nineteen 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 14.0% which was a drop of 1.3% from the previous show and this aired on September 12, 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

             

 

 Right above are five photos of this drama's heroine Yuki Saito who played Saki Asamiya. This was her first major role so Yuki has had a 39 year career, she's been in too many dramas to count but her singing is what she may be more known for. In September Yuki will be hitting the age of 59 but still looks decent considering her age, I've always thought she was very attractive or at least in her thirties to mid forties. Yuki's bio is huge enough to fill up a few posts but do recommend reading up about her as she's had an interesting and at times unusual life but to this day is still is still loved by so many in Japan. And remains busy for I've recapped some older series she's appeared in, two are recent shows from 2021 with one being "Watashi no Otto wa Reitouko ni Nemutte Iru" which was a suspenseful thriller. The other was "Kotodamasou" which starred Nanase from Nogi and that was her best drama to date, do recommend both and though Yuki wasn't the lead actress in either show played important characters. In older recaps have included some old videos of her J-Pop tunes, it's worth visiting YT to view more and to me most of those slightly older tunes are much better than what passes as J-Pop these days....

 Haven't been doing much editing to the above bio section the past few shows, when it gets near the end of the series we viewers don't learn too many new things. But may do some for Saki's bio in episode 21 for have we learned the true identity of her father?! It is wise to read the older recaps and sure most viewing this post have. I do often rehash what's taken place coming into the current recap and will do so for today but so much has been happening in this series can't focus as much on prior episodes. This show began off with the above three screenshots and were of what had taken place in the previous episode. First is that the Takanoha Academy high school is now under control of the evil Mizuchi Group, the elder daughter Reimi(~23)is the main person behind most of their activities. Two episodes ago the Mizuchi family had acquired the elite Eiko Arts Academy which is a music school and bet there's a few other schools under the family's control. The elder Mizuchi Gouzo wants to rule Japan and don't most crazed villains want to take over a country or the world?! His and Reimi's strategy is to teach the country's students that the Mizuchi Way is how a person should live and you could say they're brainwashing students but wouldn't that work better on children much younger than teens? Gouzo is a man we haven't seen much up to now but he should be an important cog in the next four episodes, he's the sixth richest man in Japan and for the most part hasn't interfered with how his daughters have been doing his dirty work.

 Also above you can see a man holding his chest, that's Youichi Katagiri who was shot by the middle aged sister Ayumi(19) when the last episode ended. Youichi had been an ace cyclist and even competed in the Olympics, he became a part-time spy for an unknown government organization and his mission was to take down the Mizuchi family. When Youichi got too close to the truth he was killed and what a ruthless family this is as Saki knows all too well. That's her in the bottom screenshot and she had just been roughed up by Ayumi, all of the details are in the last recap. Saki could have easily been shot by the youngest sister Kumi(17) but the trio had been given orders from their father to spare her life and bring Saki to his office for a meeting which did confuse the young women. Just before Youichi died he whispered to Saki that she had a connection to Gouzo Mizuchi but never said what it was though I had an inkling after seeing this episode's title which is "Revealed, the secret of Saki's birth!". Some details came out about the connection but much more should be revealed in the next show which I haven't viewed yet, there's only four more to go after today's pair of recaps and now finally to what took place in this 19th episode.

 That's Gouzo Mizuchi in some above screenshots and also there will be more further on down. He owns so many companies and as mentioned is the sixth richest man in Japan though he's used many illegal and violent tactics in the past to amass his wealth. A few times the name Mizuchi Concern will be seen in the screenshots which is Gouzo's main company which controls all of his smaller ones, up until now it's been called the Mizuchi Group and I'll continue using that. His three daughters Reimi, Ayumi and Kumi were naturally a bit confused at why their father had ordered them to spare Saki's life and why he insisted on a private meeting with her. The oldest and most intelligent daughter Reimi above said there has to be a connection between the two and how right she could be! After his daughters departed his lush office Gouzo made an offer which shocked Saki, how about working for the Mizuchi Group? In the third screenshot Gouzo showed Saki a photo of two people, the man is Dr. Horner and the young woman is his daughter Amy, both are American. This doctor is a very respected man and researcher, what he's developed is a form of Cybernetics which can control how you think and would be better than brainwashing students which could take years and even then the success rate is well less than 100%. His research is not quite complete and don't think Dr. Horner wants to finish it as he knows many will try to steal his creation for evil purposes which of course is Gouzo's plan.

 Some months back Dr. Horner went into hiding, we never saw him in this episode but will in the next. The scientist needs to stay hidden for he's so worried his Cybernetic research will fall into the wrong hands but how long can he remain in hiding? His daughter Amy will be coming to Japan in two days, Gouzo's plan is to kidnap Amy to force the doctor to give up all of his research. This is where Saki comes in, Gouzo wants her to be the person to kidnap Amy and if successful will relinquish control of her high school Takanoha Academy. Gouzo also brought up the name of Saki's mother Natsu and she hadn't been mentioned in at least ten episodes. Natsu is still awaiting execution for killing her husband eleven years ago, Gouzo said he could pull some strings to free her! At first our heroine Saki refused this devious man's offers though in the end did agree if Gouzo vowed to follow through on his promises. She then left the office but of course Saki was just trying to bide time which is why she lied saying she would help out Gouzo. Soon coming back were Gouzo's three daughters and he told them of the plan which infuriated the trio. Gouzo added in that the kidnapping of Amy is also a competition to see who is better, Saki or his daughters for their mission too is to nab Amy! **** The father did add in the victor would be in line to be his successor but was be serious about Saki running his company?! Gouzo doesn't trust Saki fully in the kidnapping of Amy which should lead him to Dr. Horner but Gouzo did add in don't kill this young Deka Saki without his permission. That's why Reimi thinks there's a connection between them and very shortly she may have guessed what that is! In the bottom screenshot above Saki was meeting with her Dark Agency handler Jin and why wouldn't this very secret government organization be protecting Dr. Horner? Saki told Jin of Gouzo's plan and offer, he said to follow through with the kidnapping of Amy and if that's successful they'll figure out step two of this off the cuff plan.

 That's Saki with the recently arrived Amy Horner at Haneda Airport, before the young girl could even catch her breath Saki had whisked her away! And in the nick of time for the sisters Ayumi and Kumi were only a few seconds away from nabbing the esteemed scientist's daughter. The pair, along with a group of their henchmen, chased after the pair in a taxi but to no avail as Saki had her scooter all set to go and tore away! The two sisters are evil to the Nth degree but know no quit so we'll be seeing them again very soon, actually it'll be Saki seeing them to her dismay. Our heroine's destination was an abandoned warehouse and seems like at least one scene has to happen at one of these places in an older show! This was a very frustrating first meeting for Saki and Amy, neither knew how to speak the other's language! Amy had no clue about Saki's mission or her involvement with Dark Agency nor that the Mizuchi Group had planned on kidnapping the young woman! A very irritated Saki was getting nowhere with Amy who was about to leave but as it shows above Saki clocked her in the jaw, then proceeded to tie up the woman and left for help! In the last show the remaining 32 Takanoha Academy students had been expelled by Reimi Mizuchi and have no where to go, why didn't any local leaders step in to help? Saki paid a visit to a group of her old mates and asked for their help, doesn't anyone speak English? Saki had told her best friend Sanpei above about her current mission and all about the Mizuchi sisters, he did save Saki earlier in the series when Ayumi had shot her in the shoulder. Speaking of recovering the quasi gang leader Miyako has done so after trying to kill herself by jumping off a bridge two shows ago, that's her above trying to converse with an awaken Amy with no success.

 But able to get slightly through was Sanpei and he's a likable seventeen year old who has been invaluable to Saki a few times though receives little credit. The way Sanpei said his words in English was far from perfect but Amy understood enough of what he was saying, that Amy's life is in danger and they need to find her father Dr. Horner quickly! Which may not be a wise plan as the group of Takanoha Academy students had been trailed secretly to the warehouse and the goons would love for the group to lead them to the doctor/scientist. When no movement was made by the students the gang, which was led by Ayumi, began to fire tear gas cannisters into the building, at last fifty(!) and bedlam quickly broke out. However Saki and Sanpei were able to keep their wits about them, Saki grabbed Amy and fled one way. Meanwhile Sanpei, with the help of Miyako, was able to divert the gang to the opposite direction which allowed Saki and Amy to flee. This group led by Sanpei got into a exciting scrap with this group of thugs and more than held their own. Not at the scene was the elder Mizuchi sister Reimi who you could say is the Leader of Operations for her family's corrupt company. She investigated what the connection could have been between Saki and her father Gouzo, as Reimi says above she's found out Saki's mother Natsu once worked as a secretary for her father over fifteen years ago. Hmmmm, though she didn't say it out loud we knew what Reimi was thinking and is it possible that her father Gouzo is also the father of.... SAKI?!?!

 Final segment and am in such a nice groove in keeping these recaps at three of them plus a mini intro. What took place is in the above batch of screenshots and the first five below. There's only about five minutes to go in the show so may have made the above paragraphs a tad too long. At her Mizuchi Group office Reimi had assembled her two younger sisters Ayumi and Kumi to tell them of her findings about how Saki's mother had once worked for their father many years ago. Currently the mother Natsu is in prison for killing her husband eleven years ago, Gouzo Mizuchi is such a powerful man so had tried to bribe Saki into helping him out finding Dr. Horner and in return he would have sprung the mother from prison! I wonder if that would have happened but we all knew it would never get that far as there's no way Saki would ever help the elder Mizuchi out! Reimi knew this so has gone against her father's orders and demanded her two sisters find and.... eliminate Saki!!!! Who at this time was with Amy, the pair had ducked into an eatery and of course it was a place that had the finest of American cuisine as it was a Burger joint! While there Amy handed Saki a piece of paper which was a handwritten note and map, the pair still can't communicate so well. But much of the writing was in Japanese so Saki was able to deduce that Amy was to meet a man named Yamamoto that night at a pier. This man knows the location of Amy's father and will bring her there but you know what they say about the best laid plans....

 When she was conversing with her sisters Reimi had told them at the airport she had a guard slip a homing device into Amy's handbag, does she and the Mizuchi Group already control most of Japan?! This was the first we viewers heard of it and because of the device Reimi knew where Saki and Amy were heading, to that pier and it was off for the two younger sisters to finally rid the world of Saki! At the pier Yamamoto did arrive but his appearance wasn't a long one as he was quickly hit in the chest with a enhanced knife! That was courtesy of the youngest sister Kumi and that's her above holding some knives. Soon bedlam broke out and Saki's fighting skills seemed to return after disappearing in the previous two shows as she had been beaten twice. While Saki was holding her own Amy was able to talk to Yamamoto for a few seconds before he died. The man uttered the words 'Madrid Dahlia' or something very close to that which confused the girl, after Yamamoto succumbed Amy fled the scene and left the fighting to Saki! Who at that moment was taken down by the middle aged sister Ayumi, soon Kumi arrived and there's only twenty seconds to go. Kumi said she was going to kill Saki even though she may be her.... SISTER and of course hearing that word shocked Saki to no end, that bombshell was what ended this episode. Which was another terrific show, this series has been solid since the first episode but the last dozen have been truly must watches! I am enjoying this series immensely and even though there's still another five episodes to go highly recommend this series a bit earlier than usual. The next post has the recap for episode twenty and will Saki have her first Mizuchi family reunion?!!!!