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The story
Kadokawa Pictures’ The Detective Story (1983) has been confirmed for free streaming on the YouTube channel “Kadokawa Cinema Collection” from 20:00 on October 2 through 19:59 on October 16. Starring Yakushimaru Hiroko as a college student and Matsuda Yusaku as a down-and-out detective, it’s a bittersweet romantic suspense story based on the novel by Akagawa Jiro. On the 5ch Geinou/Sports News+ thread, nostalgic posts poured in comparing the film to other Kadokawa releases from the same era — Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, The Tragedy of W, and The Targeted School — along with trivia about the cars and motorcycles of the time, and talk of how well Matsuda Yusaku is still remembered since his death.
The hit film The Detective Story, starring Yakushimaru Hiroko and Matsuda Yusaku, has been confirmed for free streaming on YouTube. It will be available on the YouTube channel “Kadokawa Cinema Collection” for a limited two weeks, from 20:00 on Friday, October 2 through 19:59 on Friday, October 16. A slightly bittersweet romantic suspense story about a college student and an unimpressive detective who get tangled up together by chance. Based on the novel by Akagawa Jiro.
[Story]
Arai Naomi is a college student summoned by her father, set to leave for America in a week. Now that the time has come, she’s starting to have second thoughts. Noticing her unease, Hasenuma, her father’s former secretary, hires a detective named Tsujiyama to act as her bodyguard. To Naomi, this man in his thirties is the picture of a hopeless old fogey. Even as his persistent tailing wears her down, she starts to notice a clumsy, very human warmth in him. Then a major incident erupts around Tsujiyama: his ex-wife Sachiko, suspected of killing the heir to a yakuza family, comes running to his apartment for shelter. With yakuza enforcers closing in, the three of them manage to escape thanks to Naomi’s quick thinking. Once they finally make it back to her house and hear Sachiko out, Naomi believes in her innocence — and, driven by her sense of justice and a bit of a taste for adventure, decides to hide her at home while she and Tsujiyama go looking for the real culprit together. Before long, Naomi realizes she’s strangely drawn to Tsujiyama. “No way, that old fogey. He’s way too old for me, and we don’t even match in height… but still…”
Source: amass.jp / Original article here
What people said
Matsuda Yusaku managed to hang on to some relevance through the Heisei era, but once Reiwa rolled around he became a completely forgotten figure of the past.
Though it's not just him — Ishihara Yujiro and Misora Hibari became relics of the past too.
Of course, that alone makes it plenty worth watching.
Hint: check two posts down lol
Also, Kudo-chan's not in this one. (nickname for a fellow actress of the era)
Yakushimaru Hiroko's songs are all classics, so I still listen to them to this day.
Right up there with 'A Homance' in the boring department. (another Matsuda Yusaku film)
Pretty sure it even got a one-off TV drama adaptation.
The one where Horii Yuji wrote the story under a pen name, right? (Horii Yuji, later famous as the creator of Dragon Quest)
Kind of like how Shueisha managed to rebuild their headquarters thanks to Kurumada Masami, huh lol (creator of Saint Seiya)
I think the double feature was 'The Second Generation Is a Christian.'
When it originally came out, the double feature was actually 'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.'
I loved the original novel — I feel like the protagonist was a guy in that version — but I still went to see the movie back then.
Those big white earrings Yakushimaru Hiroko wore were the trend at the time.
Wonder how they'd look watching it again now.
I loved the original novel of 'The Targeted School,' so I was floored when I saw the movie.
'I am the universe!'
Can't believe Minegishi Toru actually took that role…
Even playing the same final-boss character, Honda Yasuaki was a lot better looking in the TV drama version.
Heavily featured vehicle: Honda VT250F (1st generation, 1982)
That reminds me of the BE-FREE.
Might've only worked because it was that era — hard to say how it'd land watching it now.
It's a romance built on a mystery-thriller foundation.
'83 gave us this one.
'86 gave us 'Seven Men and Women: A Summer Story.'
The settings probably shifted a lot in those few years, so whether it's your taste, I couldn't say.
but the words just turn into wind.
I love you — but, well, maybe.
Surely.
Songs with lyrics this poetic have really disappeared, huh.
'Someday, Someone Will Be Killed' (1984)
Honda MBX50 (1984, later model)
60km/h self-regulated model (7.2ps → 5.6ps)
Basically, the Japanese film industry barely survived thanks to Kadokawa Haruki, lol
Yakushimaru Hiroko / Harada Tomoyo
Yamaha YZR500
Factory machine from the 500cc class of the Road Racing World Championship (WGP)
s://i.imgur.com/4o1F8Pl.jpeg
Rosemary Butler (79) — looks like she's still alive.
Background and talking points
This film was released in 1983, based on a novel by Akagawa Jiro, and produced by Kadokawa Haruki Office as one of its “Kadokawa Pictures” — a series built around pairing Yakushimaru Hiroko with Matsuda Yusaku. The same title, The Detective Story, was also used for a TV drama starring Matsuda Yusaku that aired in 1979, but the two share neither story nor source material, so they’re easy to mix up. On the thread, the movie version was the main topic, drawing plenty of posts comparing it to other Kadokawa films from the same period, like Sailor Suit and Machine Gun, The Tragedy of W, and The Targeted School. Kadokawa films of that era were built on a strategy of pairing a leading actress’s idol appeal with the name recognition of the original novel, and Yakushimaru Hiroko, Harada Tomoyo, and Watanabe Noriko were at the center of that approach. Opinions in the thread split between nostalgic affection for the film and the view that it was actually pretty thin on substance — not a simple like-it-or-hate-it divide. Some comments noted that Matsuda Yusaku’s name recognition has faded since his death, though this came up more as a remark on generational turnover than a judgment of the actor himself.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Yakushimaru Hiroko & Matsuda Yusaku co-star — Free YouTube streaming of the film ‘The Detective Story’ confirmed, starting October 2 at 20:00.”
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