Aibou TV Season 7 Episode 1 - Backflow~Stupor within a Sealed Room(還流〜密室の昏迷)

Subtitle: Backflow~Stupor within a Sealed Room(還流〜密室の昏迷)

 Superintendent Supervisor Onoda invites the Tokumeigakari pair to a photo exhibit of modern Africa, then to Representative Setouchi's fundraising party. Shortly before leaving the party, Sergeant Kaoru catches a glimpse of his high school acquaintance Kōichi Kanetaka(兼高 公一) who is supposed to be volunteering overseas as a NGO staff member. The sergeant finds out that Kōichi is staying in one of the rooms at the hotel from a hotel staff working at the front desk, Because no one picks up the phone when the staff member calls the room, the sergeant decides to drop by Kōichi's room to say hi. No one answers the door, and reluctantly, the sergeant leaves but not before slipping a note under the door reprimanding his friend for not announcing his return to the country. The next day, Sergeant Itami calls Sergeant Kaoru and tells him that someone slashed Kanetaka's carotid artery in the hotel room the previous night. Sergeant Kaoru and Inspector Ukyō tracks down Kanetaka's killer who executed an unusual escape plan.

Locations

tōnan'Ajia(東南アジア) - southeast Asia

Sarūin(サルウィン) - The fictional country where Sergeant Kameyama's friend Kōichi Kanetaka(兼高 公一) was stationed at for the last several years.

Kōwa daigaku byōin(光和大学病院) - Kowa University Hospital. Tamio Kyōgoku(京極 民夫) is currently hospitalized here.

Shingapōru(シンガポール) - Singapore.

Characters appearing/mentioned in the story

Haruki Ōkōchi(大河内 春樹) - General Inspector Ōkōchi summons the Tokumeigakari pair at the start of the episode. He declares that the higher ups in the police are not pleased at them meddling in the investigations, especially Inspector Ukyō. Near the end of the episode, he chastises CSI Yonezawa for helping the Tokumeigakari pair all the time.

Yonezō Setouchi(瀬戸内 米蔵) - Former minister of justice and currently a representative. Representative Setouchi drops by the NGO Pelican's office shortly after the Tokumeigakari pair had also entered the office to ask the office staff what they knew about Kōichi Kanetaka(兼高 公一)'s last trip to Japan. The former minister remembers meeting Kanetaka two years ago at a banquet held inside the Japanese embassy in Sarū~In(サルウィン). Kanetaka had come in to pick up another reluctant attendee Tamio Kyōgoku(京極 民夫).The former minister recalls Kanetaka as a young man with straightforward eyes.

Kōken Onoda(小野田 公顕) - Superintendent Supervisor Onoda invites the Tokumeigakari pair to join him and Representative Yonezō Setouchi(瀬戸内 米蔵) at a photograph exhibition depicting the impoverished living conditions in Africa. They later attend Representative Setouchi's charity party (disguised as a campaign donation party).

Masayuki Ogasawara(小笠原 雅之) - Manager of the department dealing with non-ferrous metals at a leading trading company Fuji Shōji(富司商). He is staying in room 1014 at the same hotel Kanetaka was killed.

The Tokumeigakari pair determine that he is responsible for the crime and corner him with the evidence. He admits to the crime but declines to make any further comments after he is taken to Keishichō's interrogation room. He declines Inspector Ukyō's offer to get him a lawyer. The Sōichi take over the questioning shortly afterwards, but Ogasawara maintains is silence, even abstaining from picking up a cellphone call. This makes the Sōichi suspicious, and they want to search Ogasawara's belonging for definitive incriminating evidence, but Superintendent Uchimra refuses to give permission: Ogasawara is still in the interrogation office voluntarily, and they don't have any other evidence besides his initial confession (and partial fingerprints in his hotel room indicating that he used superglue to obscure his fingerprints.) His silence eventually forces Sergeant Itami to take a shocking course of action.

Later a couple of homeless men discover two pairs of suits in a brown bag. The more expensive suit was covered in blood, and Odasawara confirms that both pairs of suits belonged to him by wearing the bloody jacket.

Shin'ichi Tasaka(田坂 晋一) - Ogasawara's subordinate and collaborator. He called Ogasawara's cell phone while the Sōichi was interrogating Ogasawara. The following day, the Sōichi visit the Fuji Shōji(富司商) office after arresting Ogasawara and realizing that Tasaka called Ogasawara earlier, However, Tasaka told the company that he was "going on a vacation," and managed to get on the plane leaving Japan before the police could arrest him.

Kōichi Kanetaka(兼高 公一) - NGO Pelican overseas staff and Sergeant Kaoru's high school acquaintance. In high school, he used to wear a long jacket and ride around on a motorcycle. However, he had turned his life around since graduation, and had worked as a volunteer for NGO Pelican helping impoverished people around the world. For the last several years, he had been stationed at Sarū~In(サルウィン), where he digged wells then taught the local people how to maintain that well. Sergeant Kaoru and Kanetaka last talked to each other at a high school reunion party.

He was killed in room 1006, a luxurious non-smoking room, at the same hotel where Representative Setouchi held his fund raising party during that party.  Though he had always called the NGO office in Japan before returning to the country even on private trips, for some reason, he did not alert the staff about his return trip this time. In his schedule book he had circled several days of the calendar with the words "Singapore, Sky/Empty" written inside. His passport indicated that he had visited Singapore during those circled days.

Tamio Kyōgoku(京極 民夫) - Founder of NGO Pelican currently hospitalized at Kowa University Hospital(光和大学病院 Kōwa daigaku byōin). Representative Setouchi looks up to Kyōgoku as his teacher. The representative had visited the NGO Pelican office following Kyōgoku's request to encourage the staff during this difficult time.

Kyōko(恭子) - NGO Pelican volunteer.

Yamaguchi(山口) - NGO Pelican volunteer.

Emiko(恵美子) - NGO Pelican  volunteer.

Sachiko(佐知子) - NGO Pelican volunteer.

Okuda(奥田) - NGO Pelican volunteer.

Trivia

We find out that Sergeant Kaoru graduated from Niigata Prefectural Agano West High School(新潟県立阿賀野東高校 Nīgata Kenritsu Agano Higashi Kōkō).

The song that played at the start of the episode is "Bye Bye Baby" from the South African movie Tsotsi. It was composed by Mark Kilian and Paul Hepker featuring Vusi Mahlaselathe, and is the 16th track from the movie's soundtrack.

The song that played at the end of the episode is called "Legend of the Equator(赤道伝説 Sekidō Densetsu.)" It is the 5th track on disk 1 from Himekami(姫神)'s album "Complete Best 'Festival of the Gods, Song of the Wind'(コンプリート・ベスト「神の祭、風の歌」 Konpurīto Besuto `Kami no Matsuri, Kaze no Uta.')"