Aibou TV Season 1 Episode 5 - Eyewitness(目撃者)

Subtitle: Eyewitness(目撃者)

 The episode starts out with three puns - shitai( したい, I want to do it and 死体, dead body), ya(矢, arrow and や, I don't like it), and tokumei(匿名, anonymous, and 特命, special order, also the name of the division our heroes work in).

 Superintendent Supervisor Onoda is driving his grandson Kentarō to school when the boy says that he needs to use the bathroom. Superintendent Onoda decides to park the car close to a wooded vacant lot so that the boy can take care of business in private. As they're heading back to the car, Kentarō notices a dead body on the ground with an arrow through his heart. Not wanting to be involved, Superintendent Supervisor Onoda makes an anonymous phone call to the police to report the man's death.

The sōichi determine that the body belongs to Sōhachi Taira(平良 惣八), a teacher at Sakae Number Three Elementary School(栄第三小学校). While there, Mamoru Tezuka(手塚 守), a clever student who attends the school comes up to the sōichi and tells them that he saw the man who school kids nicknamed "no good person (ろくでなしrokudenashi)" talking to Mr. Sōhachi the night he was murdered. 

Fumihiro Sasaki(佐々木 文宏), aka the rokudenashi, is arrested soon afterwards. During the interrogation, he says that his bow gun was stolen and has been missing for a few days. Some time later, he received a word processor-typed note detailing the bow gun's location. When he came to the vacant lot to retrieve his bow gun, he saw Mr. Sōhachi's body. Scared, he ran back to his parent's house with the bow gun, but didn't know how to get rid of it and so hid it in the attic of his parents' house.

Did the rokudenashi really murder Mr. Sōhachi? Why did he or another murderer use the bow gun to commit the murder?

Sergeant Kaoru's friend Rokurō Asakura(浅倉 禄郎) makes a short guest appearance in this episode.

Other characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Kōken Onoda(小野田 公顕) - The superintendent supervisor is taking his grandson Kentarō(けんたろう) to kindergarten when the boy notices the body of a man with an arrow through his heart.

Kentarō(けんたろう) - Superintendent Onoda's grandson, a kindergarten student who first discovers the body.
Sōhachi Taira(平良 惣八) - A teacher at Sakae Number Three Elementary School(栄第三小学校) who was murdered with a bow gun. A while before the teacher was killed, he went to Fumihiro Sasaki(佐々木 文宏)'s house to demand an explanation for the times he pointed a loaded bow gun to elementary school children passing by his parent's house.

Kyōko Maehara(前原 恭子) - Another teacher at Sakae Number Three Elementary School(栄第三小学校). She is Mamoru's homeroom teacher and is concerned about him
Mamoru Tezuka(手塚 守) - A clever ten year old student at the Sakae Number Three Elementary School(栄第三小学校). Inspector Ukyō notices him reading The Stranger by Albert Camus at the school library on a school holiday. His parents died in an accident three years ago and is now living with other relatives. Mamoru says he saw the rokudenashi talking to Mr. Sōhachi the night he was killed

Fumihiro Sasaki(佐々木 文宏) - Nicknamed "no good person(ろくでなし)" by the elementary school students who pass by his house on the way to and from school, Mr. Sōhachi had argued with him about the times he pointed a loaded bow gun to elementary school students. According to Sasaki, the bow gun was stolen from him, and he only got it back when he went to vacant lot and found the bow gun next to Mr. Sōhachi who had already been shot.

Aibou TV Season 1 Episode 4 - An Underwear Thief and a Dead Body Who Was Alive(下着泥棒と生きていた死体)

Subtitle: An Underwear Thief and a Dead Body Who Was Alive(下着泥棒と生きていた死体)

 Sergeant Ueda(上田) and Kasamatsu(笠松) from Takizawa Station(滝沢署) apprehend Tatsurō Niki(二木達郎), an underwear thief. The police staff members at Takizawa Station(滝沢署) ask for help from the police staff at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department to confirm Tatsurō's statements about the locations where he stole each of the panties. As expected, the Tokumeigakari pair is assigned this embarrassing task. They are eventually able to confirm all of Tatsurō's statements except one. Inspector Ukyō thinks it's odd that Tatsurō got just one pair wrong, especially since it's the last pair of underwear he stole just before he was arrested.

Ever the perfectionist, the inspector digs for evidence to confirm Tatsurō's statement. They eventually find out that it was the apartment resident's visiting mother's underwear that got stolen, but by then, they the Tokumeigakari pair had unearthed a cover-up at Takizawa Station(滝沢署) about Mr. Akai, a drunk man who died in an unmarked police car on the same night Tatsurō was apprehended.

What happened that night to Mr. Akai and why did the Takizawa Station(滝沢署) try to hide this fact?

Characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Ueda(上田) - Police sergeant who caught Tatsurō on his way to look for the thief who robbed a book store.

Kasamatsu(笠松) - Police sergeant riding along with Sergeant Yamada who helped Sergeant Ueda apprehend Tatsurō.

Hideki Sako(佐古 秀樹) - Regional division sergeant who was driving the drunk Mr. Akai to the hospital when he diverted his car to help search for thief who robbed a book store.

Ryōko Watari(渡 涼子) - Her visiting mother's underwear was stolen.

Kunio Oda(織田 國男) - The up-and-coming policeman, commissioner of the Takizawa Station(滝沢署).

Bunji Yanagi(柳 文治) - Deputy commissioner of the Takizawa Station(滝沢署).

Tatsurō Niki(二木 達郎) - The underwear thief with a perfect memory of where he stole his numerous collection of panties.

Akai (赤井) - The man who died from alcohol poisoning.

Kōken Onoda(小野田 公顕) - The Superintendent Supervisor meets Inspector Ukyō at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant to discuss the cover-up.

Aibou TV Season 1 Episode 3 - The Secret Former Idol, Now Married

Subtitle: The Secret Former Idol, Now Married(秘密の元アイドル妻)

 Yūji Kagayama(加賀山 友二), a drug dealer for the Kantō Region Kibune Group(貴船組) fell to his death, but oddly enough, his body was found on top of the footbridge. The sōsaikka suspects that a rival drug gang from the mainland, lead by Fongwei Chen(陳 風偉), killed Yūji as a result of a retaliatory attack after one of their members were injured in a scuffle three days ago.

 We first see our heroes help Superintendent Kakuta and his anti-organized crime division, patiently hiding and collecting evidence in a parking lot where Fongwei Chen(陳 風偉) and his group of drug dealers are about to make a drug deal. Before they could move in to make the arrests, the sōsaikka cops move in to arrest them for Yūji's murder. A pair of drug dealers escape in the ensuing chaos.
Inspector Ukyō predicts the escaped drug dealers' next actions and wait for them in the rakugo house. It just so happens that Shōraku Tachibanatei(橘亭 青楽), the last performer at that sitting, is about to perform. While watching the show, Inspector Ukyō notices something wrong with the Shōraku's performance. Before he could find out why, the two drug dealers walk into the room, and the Tokumeigakari pair arrests them at the end of Shōraku's performance.

What did Inspector Ukyō notice? Is Shōraku or his wife Minako somehow involved in Yūji's death?

This is the first time we see Hiroko(ヒロコ), the owner of the gay bar Beard and Rose and... (髭と薔薇と…). In this episode, he only appears as a witness who saw Minako talking with Yūji at Shinjuku Park(新宿公園) the night Yūji was murdered.

Other characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Yūji Kagayama(加賀山 友二) - the drug dealer for the Kantō Region Kibune Group(貴船組) who was killed after being pushed off  the footbridge.

Fongwei Chen(陳 風偉) - the leader of a group of drug dealers from mainland China.

Shōraku Tachibanatei(橘亭 青楽) - Rakugo performer.

Minako Kuramoto(倉本 美奈子) - née Ogino(荻野), Shōraku's wife and a former idol, married for over ten years, they are called the Mandarin Duck couple(おしどり夫婦), a couple that really gets along.

Aibou TV Season 1 Episode 2 - A Professor's Wife and the Professor's Lover

Subtitle: A Professor's Wife and the Professor's Lover(教授夫人とその愛人)

 Sergeant Kaoru is in a restaurant waiting on Miwako for a lunch date with her when he spots a woman about to jump off from the top of a building a few blocks away. Arriving at the building, he is relieved to see that she hadn't jumped.

When Sergeant Kaoru and the other policemen who also climbed the building talk to her however, she confesses that she just murdered a man. Investigating the supposed scene of the crime, they find out that not only is the body not there, they can't find any trace of a crime occurring at the location. Her husband, a professor and a high ranking official, says that his wife is mentally unstable and she only imagined that she murdered someone.

Did she just imagine murdering someone, or did her husband somehow cover up the murder?

Other characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Jyuichirō Kanbayashi(神林 寿一朗) - Junko's husband. He is a professor at the Shūmeikan University(修明館大学) and also is a committee member on the National Public Safety Commission(国家公安委員).

Junko Kanbayashi(神林 淳子) - Professor Jyuichirō Kanbayashi's second wife. Mrs. Kanbayashi is a former geisha from Mukōjima(向島). After almost jumping off a tall building, she tells Sergeant Kaoru and the other policemen who arrived there that she killed a man. Currently, she is seeing a psychiatrist for panic disorder which, according to her husband, started because she found out that he is having an affair.

Tatsuya Inoguchi(猪口 達也) - Mrs. Kanbayashi's lover before she got married. The man she supposedly killed.

Mayumi Matsui(松井 真由美) - Professor Kanbayashi's lover.

Aibou TV Season 1 Episode 1 - A Man with Dynamite Trespasses into the Commissioner's Office! A Detective is Taken Hostage!? There's a Shadow of a Woman behind the Crime...

The subtitles used in the TV episode blog entries were taken from the official guidebooks and DVD sets. These subtitles were not included as part of the aired episodes.

Subtitle: A Man with Dynamite Trespasses into the Commissioner's Office! A Detective is Taken Hostage!? There's a Shadow of a Woman behind the Crime...  (警視総監室にダイナマイト男が乱入! 刑事が人質に!? 犯罪の影に女あり…)

 This is the very first episode of the TV series.

Kineo Tabata(田端 甲子男), a self-proclaimed "model citizen," takes Sergeant Kaoru hostage by threatening him with dynamites Tabata attached to his own body. Tabata forces Sergeant Kaoru to lead him to the Commissioner's Office, demanding that the commissioner show up and talk to him. Inspector Ukyō, as usual, finds a way to end the situation without bloodshed.

After being scolded by Superintendent Uchimura for this incident, Sergeant Kaoru mopes around wanders around Tokyo instead of going to work. While using the restroom in the Daikoku Department Store(大黒デパート), he sees a desperate man, Eisuke Miki(三木 英輔), run into a bathroom stall. Later, the sergeant notices that Eisuke had left a brown paper shopping bag in the bathroom stall. Although he can't find Eisuke, he finds out that Eiske works at the Teiyoh Trading Corporation and goes to the Teiyoh Trading Corporate Building to return the bag.
Some time later, Eisuke's body is discovered floating in the river. While trying to determine whether Eisuke's death is an accident or murder, the Tokumeigakari pair encounters a thief who had broken into Eiskue's home. The thief was looking for something, possibly an item hidden in the brown paper shopping bag that Sergeant Kaoru found. Using Sergeant Kaoru's offhand remark as a clue, Inspector Ukyō discovers a shocking secret inside the paper bag. Was that the reason Eisuke was murdered?

Guest characters appearing in the story

Eisuke Miki(三木 英輔) - The man who left the brown bag in the department store and was later found dead in a river. He worked in the general affairs department for the Teiyoh Trading Corporation(帝陽物産). He is Reiko's boss and Nakasone's secretary.

Reiko Iwazaki(岩崎 麗子) - Secretary for President Hiranuma at the Teiyoh Trading Corporation. She had an affair with Eisuke that ended about an year ago.

Keiichi Shinozuka(篠塚 敬一) - An employee who was forced to spend his working days in a small room (reference room) with nothing to do. This was Teiyoh Trading Corporation's way of forcing an unwanted employee to quit. He tries to threaten President Hiranuma through Reiko with information about Eisuke's death, saying that he drank with Eisuke on the day he died and knows that the president murdered Miki. He later comes forward to confess to Miki's murder saying he pushed Miki into the river by accident, arguing over the question - which team will win Central League for Nippon Professional Baseball next year.

Sōichirō Hiranuma(平沼 総一郎) - Current president of Teiyoh Trading Corporation.
Iwao Sakakibara(榊原 巌夫) - Member of the House of Representatives who was receiving bribes from Hiranuma.

Nakasone(仲宗根) - Former company president of Teiyoh Trading who was was forced out in a coup d'état. Currently a director at the company.

Kōken Onoda(小野田 公顕) - This is first time we see Superintendent Supervisor Onoda of the National Police Agency.

Aibou Preseason Episode 3 - Assistant Medical Professor Plummeting to His Death Murder Mystery

This is the last of the preseason episodes.

Subtitle: Assistant Medical Professor Plummeting to His Death Murder Mystery(大学病院助教授、墜落殺人事件!)

 Inspector Ukyō is admitted to the Teikoku Medical University Hospital for appendicitis. Sergeant Kaoru, Miwako, and Ms. Tamaki visit Inspector Ukyō in the hospital after he is out of surgery. While looking out the hospital window, they all see a man fall to his death. It turns out that the man who fell to his death, Sadakazu Imai(今井 貞一), was a doctor at the hospital. Although his death first appears to be a suicide, Inspector Ukyō suspects otherwise, and the Tokumeigakari pair starts to investigate. Was Assistant Professor Imai murdered, and if so, how and why was he murdered?

Other characters appearing in the story

Manami Kouno(鴻野 麻奈美) - The lady doctor who performed Inspector Ukyō's appendectomy.

Shōhei Sano(佐野 昌平) - Another doctor at Teikoku Medical University Hospital.

Fusako Ōtani(大谷 房子) - A nurse at the hospital.

Sadakazu Imai(今井 貞一) - The assistant professor and doctor at the hospital who fell to his death.

Kensuke Dazai(太宰 謙介) - Assistant professor who was competing with Assistant Professor Imai for professorship at the university hospital.

Chiechan - The little girl at the hospital who claims to have seen Assistant Professor Imai already dead before he fell to his death.

Aibou Preseason Episode 2 - A Terrifying Serial Ripper!

Subtitle: A Terrifying Serial Ripper!(恐怖の切り裂き魔連続殺人!)

 The second of the three preseason episodes aired as a Saturday Wide Theater special. Five women are murdered, eerily mimicking the Jack the Ripper case. What is the meaning behind the murders and who is the culprit?

CSI Yonezawa officially introduces himself in this episode, although he appeared in the first episode. This is also the first time we see Kaoru and Miwako's college friend, Rokurō Asakura(浅倉 禄郎), a prosecutor leading the investigation to find the ripper.

Other characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Kenji Sugawara(菅原 謙次) - drug dealer.

Kikuko Minoura(箕浦 喜久子) - Sugawara's lover (one of the ten).

Etsuko Kunieda(国枝 悦子) - first victim.

Yōko Wakamatsu(若松 陽子) - second victim.

Mika Suzuki(鈴木 美加) - third victim.

Sanae Shibata(柴田 早苗) - fourth victim.

Emiko Nakamura(中村 江美子) - fifth victim, discovered by Inspector Ukyō while chasing Kenji.

Noriko Imamiya(今宮 典子) - High school student. Nicknamed Tenko by her friends. The Tokumeigakari pair was on a stakeout to apprehend Sugawara by observing Kikuko's apartment from Noriko's family's apartment located right across Kikuko's apartment. Inspector Kaoru later apprehends her for prostitution.

Maiko Ichimura(市村 麻衣子) - Prosecutor Asakura's secretary and lover.

Aibou Preseason Episode 1 - Did a Police Detective Kill a Cop? After Being Seduced by a Woman in a Red Dress... What Is the Mystery Behind the 4-3 Left on the Corpse?(刑事が警官を殺した? 赤いドレスの女に誘惑され... 死体に残る4-3の謎とは?)

Before Aibou became a regular TV series, three Aibou episodes aired during the "Saturday Night at the Mysteries (土曜ワイド劇場)" time slot. The success of these three episodes lead to the first season of Aibou.

These preseason episodes aired with subtitles near the beginning of the show, although none of the regular season Aibou episodes aired with subtitles.

Subtitle: Did a Police Detective Kill a Cop? After Being Seduced by a Woman in a Red Dress... What Is the Mystery Behind the 4-3 Left on the Corpse?(刑事が警官を殺した? 赤いドレスの女に誘惑され... 死体に残る4-3の謎とは?)

 The very first episode of the series. We get to see most of the main cast make their first appearance, including Inspector Ukyō, Sergeant Kaoru, and his lover Miwako who is a journalist for the Teito Newspaper.

Sergeant Kaoru attempts to arrest a wanted criminal Kisaburō Abe(阿部 貴三郎) but is taken hostage instead. This incident is broadcast live on TV, embarrassing the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. As a result, Sergeant Kaoru is transferred to the Tokumeigakari division, the "graveyard of human resources." Berated by Inspector Ukyō and upset at his condition, Sergeant Kaoru drinks until he passes out at a bar named Bar Refrain. Things go from bad to worse as he wakes up inside an unfamiliar apartment with a dead man who turns out to be a cop in the next room.

Can the Tokumeigakari pair clear Sergeant Kaoru's name and find the real killer? How is this case related to the sales of illegal firearms?

This is also the one and the only episode where Inspector Kaneko(金子), Inspector Ukyō's senpai, makes his appearance.

Other characters appearing in the story

Junya Hayakawa(早川 純弥) - Bartender of the Bar Refrain

Shunsuke Matsubara(松原 俊輔) - The deceased cop

Ayako Koizumi(小泉 綾子) - Matsubara's lover.

First Post!

Welcome to The Scaffolding blogging site. I'm still new to this blogging thing, and I'm afraid that it's going to show in my posts. I do hope I'll improve and turn this blog into a site my readers find useful and fun.

In this blog, I hope to write and post information and possibly comments about Japanese Drama shows I and my family watch. To start things off, I will be posting about an old favorite - the Aibou(相棒) TV series.

The Aibou TV series is a long running mystery show in Japan about a pair of detectives working in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department(警視庁). Inspector Ukyō Sugishita (杉下 右京) has been solving cases there since the start of the series. Throughout the years and seasons, he has worked with three different detectives:

1. Sergeant Kaoru Kameyama (亀山 薫), from Preseason to Season 7 Episode 9
2. Lieutenant Takeru Kanbe(神戸 尊), from Season 7 Episode 19 to Season 10 Episode 19
3. Sergeant Tōru Kai(甲斐 享), from Season 11 Episode 1 to the latest episode

Overall the writers of the series managed to balance light-hearted comedic scenes with more serious scenes. There are good mysteries in many of the episodes although some episodes place heavier emphasis on the human element. Aibou has been a popular series in Japan for many years, and I think a good place to start this blog.