Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語), or Detective Story, is an action Japanese TV series starring Yūsaku Matsuda that was originally broadcast on Nippon TV in 27 forty-five-minute episodes from September 18, 1979 to April 1, 1980. The show had various directors including Toru Murakawa, Kiyoshi Nishimura, Yukihiro Sawada and Yasuharu Hasebe.[1][2]
| Tantei Monogatari | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Keiichi Ozawa Yasuharu Hasebe Toru Murakawa |
| Starring | Yūsaku Matsuda |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nippon TV |
| Release | September 18, 1979 – April 1, 1980 |
Plot
editShunsaku Kudō sets up office in a rundown building as a private detective after spending five years as a cop in San Francisco where he became familiar with firearms. Kudō was originally envisioned as a standard hard-boiled type but star Yūsaku Matsuda looked too much like a rebel so the character ended up riding a Vespa scooter, smoking Camel cigarettes and dressing in a black or white suit and sunglasses. Also living in the building are two young girls (American actress Nancy Cheney and Kahori Takeda) who fuss over the detective.[1][3]
Cast
edit- Yūsaku Matsuda as Shunsaku Kudo
- Mikio Narita as Chief Detective Hattori
- Mitsuko Baisho as Masako
- Michihiro Yamanishi as Detective Matsumoto
- Nancy Cheney as Nancy
- Kahori Takeda as Kahori
- Tetsuo Nose as Tattoo Guy
- Hiroshi Shimizu as Iizuka
- Osamu Shigematsu
- Yukiko Tachibana
- Ryoko Watanabe
- Hiromi Hirata
Reception
editTantei Monogatari with its easy-going humorous style earned high ratings while on the air and later acquired a cult following. Nippon TV published a book about the show titled Yomigaere! Tantei Monogatari (Come Back! Detective Story) in 1994 and Toei Video later released the whole series.[3] Toei also released the entire series as a boxed set of Blu-ray discs in 2015.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b Clements, Jonathan; Tamamuro, Motoko (2003). The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. pp. 60–61. ISBN 1-88065681-7.
- ^ "探偵物語(1979)" (in Japanese). AllCinema. Retrieved 2015-05-12.
- ^ a b Schilling, Mark (1997). The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. Boston: Weatherhill. pp. 127–129. ISBN 978-0-8348-0380-0.
- ^ "Tantei Monogatari Blu-ray Box". CD Japan. Retrieved 2015-05-13.