Title: 東野圭吾ミステリーズ Higashino Keigo Misuterīzu (Mysteries)
English Title: Higashino Keigo Mysteries
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2012
Episode: 11
Cast:
- 中井貴一 Nakai Kīchi
- 唐沢寿明 Karasawa Toshiaki
- 田中麗奈 Tanaka Rena
- 戸田菜穂 Toda Naho
- 西岡徳馬 Nishioka Tokuma
- 坂口憲二 Sakaguchi Kenji
- 八木のぞみ Yagi Nozomi
- 八神蓮 Yagami Ren
- 雛形あきこ Hinagata Akiko
- 松下奈緒 Matsushita Nao
- 田中幸太朗 Tanaka Kōtaro
- 観月ありさ Mizuki Arisa
- 吉田栄作 Yoshida Eisaku
- 反町隆史 Sorimachi Takashi
- 加藤あい Kato Ai
- 長澤まさみ Nagasawa Masami
- 妻夫木聡 Tsumabuki Satoshi
- 安藤政信 Ando Masanobu
- マイコ Maiko
- 戸田恵梨香 Toda Erika
- ユースケサンタマリア Yusuke Santamaria
- 満島真之介 Mitsushima Shinnosuke
- 平岡祐太 Hiraoka Yuta
- 三浦春馬 Miura Haruma
- 大野拓朗 Ohno Takuro
- 広末涼子 Hirosue Ryoko
- 山口紗弥加 Yamaguchi Sayaka
- 篠原涼子 Shinohara Ryoko
- 田辺誠一 Tanabe Seīchi
- 音尾琢真 Otō Takuma
- 鈴木京香 Suzuki Kyōka
- 小澤征悦 Ozawa Yukiyoshi
- 西田尚美 Nishida Naomi
- 矢田亜希子 Yada Akiko
SYNOPSIS
This drama series features 11 of popular mystery writer Higashino Keigo's best short stories.
Sayonara Coach (Goodbye Coach)
Professional archer Mochizuki Naomi failed to qualify for the Olympics and she would be too old to qualify for the next one. She was found dead in her archery club's training center and she left a recorded video message for her Coach Ishigami Junichi. Although Naomi's death seems to be suicide, Detective Suzuki Kazuma suspects that she was murdered.
Hannin no Inai Satsujin no Yoru (The Night of the Murder Where There Was No Murderer)
A woman who works as a private tutor was found dead in a wealthy family's house. Private tutor Sato Takuya found the body and wanted to report it to the police, but the family begged him to keep quiet and they will pay him JPY20 million.
Endless Night
Tamura Atsuko recently got married to Tamura Yoichi. Yoichi had to go to Osaka for business, and Atsuko refused to go with her husband and decided to stay in Tokyo. One day, Atsuko receives a call from the police that her husband was stabbed to death by someone in his shop in Osaka. Atsuko travels to Osaka to identify her husband's body and to help the police with their investigation.
Reiko to Reiko (Reiko and Reiko)
Lawyer Asano Yoko takes on cases by juvenile delinquents and through their trials, she argues that her clients' protection and education are more important over giving severe punishment in juvenile law. Yoko claims, "A heart that believes in human goodness is something that we should not forget. No matter what the circumstances are, people change." On her way home from work one night, Yoko encounters a scared young woman who doesn't know who she is. The young woman is later identified as Yamashita Reiko and she is a suspect in a murder case. Yoko agrees to be Reiko's lawyer and defends her in court.
Amai Hazu na Noni (It’s Supposed to Be Sweet)
Nakagawa Hiroko died of carbon monoxide poisoning when she was barely six years old. Her father Nakagawa Nobuhiko left her alone to run errands and although he intended to get back right away, a robbery took place while he was in the nearby convenience store and he was injured in the mayhem. Nobuhiko has recently gotten remarried to Nakagawa Naomi and she was the one who found Hiroko already dead. A year after his daughter's death, Nobuhiko is still suspecting that his wife may have killed Hiroko.
Charade ga Ippai (Full of Charades)
Calligraphy teacher Aoyama Yayoi went to her ex-boyfriend Kitazawa Takanori's apartment to bring a box of his things and she finds his dead body writing the letter 'A' on the floor using his blood. Police investigations revealed that Takanori may have stolen the last will and testament of one of Yayoi's students, a president of a huge company, and the criminal who killed Takanori may be after Yayoi next.
Shiroi Kyoki (The White Weapon)
Abe Kozo died after falling from the window of his office building in an apparent suicide. Tamiya Junichi, the detective who is working on the case, suspects that he may have been murdered because he was working overtime with his subordinates Nakamachi Yukiko and Morita Hisashi on the day the incident occurred.
Chīsa na Koi no Monogatari (A Small Tale About One's Intention)
High school students and close friends Nakaoka Ryo, Yukihara Tatsuya and Saeki Yoko are always together. Their relationship dynamics start to change though when Tatsuya and Yoko began dating. Although Ryo is also in love with Yoko, he couldn't confess his feelings as he doesn't want to ruin their friendship. One day, Tatsuya is found dead after falling from the rooftop of their school building. Although Tatsuya's death is assumed to be suicide, Ryo has a lot of unanswered questions: Why would Tatsuya kill himself? Why did Tatsuya go in the rooftop? Is Tatsuya with someone else at the time or is he alone? Ryo tries to find the answers to all his questions.
Kekkon Hokoku (Marriage Report)
Currently unemployed and single Īda Tomomi receives a notification of marriage from Yamashita Noriko, a close friend from junior college. Tomomi is confused when the woman in the attached picture looks nothing like her close friend. She couldn't contact Noriko for three days so Tomomi decides to go and meet with her.
Nijyu-nen me no Yakusoku (The Promise That Was Kept for 20 Years)
Yamaoka Asako has been living with Murakami Teruhiko for about two years but they did not make any promises with each other. Suspicious that Teruhiko is hiding something from her and having doubts about his feelings for her, Asako secretly follows him around.
Saisei Majutsu no Onna (The Woman with Rebirth Magic)
Negishi Minekazu married into his wife Negishi Chizuru's family and the couple decided to adopt a baby because they couldn't conceive one on their own. The couple enlisted the help of Nakao Akiyo, a renowned doctor who helps hopeful couples to have children. Akiyo has a list of requirements that the prospective parents must meet in order to become adoptive parents, and she investigates Minekazu closely.
REVIEW
Higashino Keigo Mysteries is composed of separate and unrelated mysteries. Some cases are interesting, some cases are just so-so, and some cases I didn't find interesting at all.
I think the general statements about the world of mysteries are interesting. If you're not familiar with the mystery genre, you will be informed about certain standards and expectations with the said narrative device.
In the world of mysteries...
- the first person to arrive at the scene is suspect
- a passionate love drives a person to action that is unimaginable
- sometimes the dead have lots to tell
- a detective with bad habits have unexpected reasoning abilities
- a person who is able to solve a case has a unique sense of smell (his nose is sharp)
- an unrelated person has an important piece of evidence
- the more a person seems kind, the deeper the darkness in the heart
- the wife has extremely sharp intuition
- as a careful handling of a final message will be necessary, the direction of the investigation will change drastically in a way that creates great confusion
- assumptive and violent people sometimes show some aberrant behavior
- the kind of people who rely on quick and easy assumptions are lonely people
- generally words such as "but to end his own life..." are not the truth
- a picture is not able to fully reflect the true relationship between people
- all persons concerned, even people who seem to be connected by some relation unknown to others, are offenders
- it is difficult to live while keeping a secret especially when it has to do with a person's death
- there are times when the conclusion is changed at the last moment
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東野圭吾ミステリーズ Higashino Keigo Mysteries
