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| Kotaro Koizumi, Rika Izumi et al in Me No Kabe |
RIVETING story about an earnest salaryman named Tatsuro Hagizaki (Kotaro Koizumi) who gets caught in the middle of an intricate crime web when his colleague gets taken by a loan scam and disappears, leaving Hagizaki to pick up the clues and find out what happened to him. But there is darkness around every corner and no one is who they seem to be…and he may ultimately find the well goes deeper than he thought possible!
Hagizaki works at a failing company named Electric Works, where he and his senior partner and friend Sekino (Masahiro Komoto) are pressured into finding funds to cover their losses for the quarter. But no matter what, they are already far in debt and cannot get loans through usual means.
An associate at a banking firm, Yamasugi Kitaro (Jinnai Takanori) regrets to inform them that his bank cannot help them- but says he does knows of a person who can get them in touch with someone who CAN get them the money they need, a man named Horiguchi.
Sekino and Hagizaki are set to meet up with this Horiguchi (Kota Yabu) , but just as they are about to meet, Hagizaki is called away to secure another loan.
He sees Sekino meeting up with Horiguchi from afar as he’s on his way out, and everything looks like its going smoothly…but as he's about to leave, he notices a striking young woman (Rika Izumi) also paying keen attention to the transaction between Horiguchi and Sekino in the sidelines.
When she notices him looking at her, she gives a curt smile and walks off. Who is this mysterious woman and why is she spying on the meeting? Hagizaki doesn’t know, but she will become a bigger piece of the puzzle in the days to come…
The next day Sekino has good news from the meeting. A major foods company named Ajio Foods has offered to work thru Horiguchi by trading promissory notes! If Sekino's company can procure a check promising them 200 Million Yen in the future, they will trade a promissory note of 190 Million yen they can cash out immediately. Electric Works will of course lose out on 10 million in the long run, but they will be saved from ruin for the time being.
Things sound sketchy but Ajio Foods is reputable and they have no other option to pay off their outstanding loans and stave off closure. Sekino is given the go-ahead to proceed, and the company pulls together the funds to make the 200 Promissory note to exchange for the 190 lifesaving note!
Sekino takes the note and goes to make the exchange. He meets up with Horiguchi who has come with the 190 Promissory Note. They both travel to Ajio Foods to officially make the trade, where he is briefly met with the president and then made to wait alone while his check clears. And then he waits...and waits....
Late that day, Hagizaki is on pins and needles as he has not heard back from Sekino and is worried about what may have happened.
Fearing the worst, they call Ajio Foods, where they find that no such transaction has been made and in fact, the Company President is away on business and has not been in for some time! Furthermore, they have never heard of this Horiguchi either! The whole thing , it seems, is a sham of some kind!
Electric Works suspects Sekino fabricated the entire deal, but Hagizaki assures them that the man Horiguchi does exist, though he admittedly did not see him clearly. He attests to Sekino's honesty but cannot say where he might be!
Late that night, Hagizaki FINALLY gets a call from a distraught Sekino- who, in anguish, describes how he was tricked by the conmen into giving up the real 200 mil promissory note for a fake 190 mil one, and then left to wait in the room. He waited til the feeling of impending doom took over and he ventured out, only to find he'd been tricked and the man named Horiguchi had disappeared!
He suspected Yamasugi had a hand in this deception (as he was the one who introduced Horiguchi to him), and though he denied it, Sekino has his suspicions and followed him after work. Trailing him to a building, he sees Yamasugi leave...and shortly after, Horiguchi himself!
Horiguchi gets into a car and speeds off, but not before Sekino can get the number!
Sekino tells Hagizaki the license of the car and says he’s going to follow it…and that is sadly the last time Hagizaki hears from him.
Haguzaki wants to call the police immediately, but the company is worried about their reputation and decide for the time being to keep silent about it for the sake of the company. Placing the company above the safety of their employee, they instruct everyone to keep quiet about the con while they try to retrieve the promissory note.
It is up to Hagizaki to figure out what happened, and with the help of a journalist friend named Muraki (Yusuke Kamiji), tracks down the car Horiguchi go into. It turns out it is the car of a known politician and that he frequents a Cabaclub where he is keen for a young hostess there.
Hagizaki finds out the name of the Club and, without anything else to go on, goes down to see if he can find out anything. He goes into the bustling place and is seated as he scans the crowd for clues...And the first thing he sees is the beautiful woman he saw at the original meeting between Sekino and Horiguchi!
Her name is Etsuko Uezaki, and it may be that this gorgeous woman has the secrets to the entire elaborate scheme…But will she be friend or foe?
And with that, they left us with a "To be Continued!" ARGHH MAN, I was SO invested in this story and it was over before I even realized! SO GRIPPING!
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Kotaro Koizumi plays his usual role of the kind and caring person in Tatsuo Hagizaki, and you like him right away and hope he succeeds in shedding light on the whole affair. And WOW, Rika Izumi is simply stunning as the mesmerizing Etsuko Uezaki, easily one of the most alluring roles of hers yet!
So captivated by this drama and very sad to find it will be a mere 5 episodes. Maybe that’s a good thing- keeping the story tight and lean , focused on the main plot. Should be a good one!
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PS: this drama is set in 1990, and not only are the costumes and styles spot-on, even the drama ITSELF looks like it was from 1990! So murky and grainy, was like it was dubbed on NGN back in the day! LOL
Classic films like Me No Kabe, Kuroi 10 nin No Onna and the like are inspiring some really great dramas of today!
