Season 1 • Episode 5
LatestTamotsu is suspected of murdering his actress wife Shizuka Harada. He flees to Taiwan and commits suicide. Tamotsu’s friend Banji Masuzawa works as a private detective, and has doubts about Tamotsu’s death, but the case is covered up by powerful media mogul Heizo Harada.
Acting
Asano's hollow-eyed grief carries every scene
Cinematography
Taiwan and Tokyo as mourning spaces
Writing
Unhurried dread, Raymond Chandler in translation
Tadanobu Asano
Banji Masuzawa
Go Ayano
Tamotsu Harada
Koyuki
Aiko Kamiido
Arata Furuta
Joji Kamiido
Ai Tominaga
Seshino Takamura (Yoshino Koumura)
Rina Ohta
Shizuka Harada
Kenichi Takitoh
Morita
Keisuke Horibe
Hajime Takamura
Rila Fukushima
Lily
Tsutomu Takahashi
Gonda
Tomorowo Taguchi
Haneoka
Yuki Izumisawa
Shosuke Kaneda
Eri Ishida
Middle-aged woman
Kenichi Endo
Kishida
Kotaro Yoshida
Endo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Jiro Asada's novel, previously adapted in 1978 with entirely different tone. This version strips away exposition until you're as lost as Banji.
The 2014 release coincided with real Japanese media scandals around political pressure on reporting. Heizo's empire feels borrowed from actual newspaper dynasties.
JP
