TRILL surveyed 300 men and women nationwide, ages teens through 70s, on the “most memorable detective drama,” and the results blew up on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports News+ board. No. 1 was “Aibou,” often called “the pinnacle of detective dramas,” followed by No. 2 “Bayside Shakedown” and No. 3 “Who’s the Dangerous Cop!?” In response, the thread filled with support for Showa- and Heisei-era shows like “Deka Kizoku” (Detective Aristocrat), “Taiyo ni Hoero!” (Bark at the Sun!), “Seibu Keisatsu” (Western Police), and “Hagure Keiji Junjouha” (The Maverick Detective), with some pointing out “it’s only popular because it’s still on air” — and the fact that everyone’s picks varied wildly by generation became a big part of the debate.
TRILL, Oct. 13
Watching a detective drama, it’s often not just the twists of the case that pull you in — it’s the banter between characters and the lines that stick with you afterward. For shows that have stayed beloved over the years, those memories are often tangled up with watching as a family, or catching reruns again and again.
This time we surveyed 300 people nationwide, ages teens through 70s, on which detective drama left the biggest impression on them. The responses reveal exactly why each show has stuck in so many people’s memories. Take a look — the results might have you nodding along.
No question, Deka Kizoku (Detective Aristocrat) was way more entertaining than Aibou.
102AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:24
Re: #3
Agreed — though I mean Deka Kizoku 2 and 3 specifically.
When I first saw the Aibou cast I figured it was just a Deka Kizoku rehash, but I remember being surprised that Mizutani Yutaka's character turned out to be the exact opposite type.
Though honestly I barely remember the Hiroshi Tachi/Hiromi Go version of Deka Kizoku.
4AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:46
The most crime-ridden area in Japan —
anywhere under Nanamagari Precinct's jurisdiction. (the fictional police station from Taiyo ni Hoero!)
7AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:48
Here comes 'Mr. Contrarian': "Deka Kizoku is better." (5ch slang for someone who reflexively argues the unpopular opinion)
16AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:50
No joke, I mean it —
Daitokai PARTII.
33AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:57
Re: #16
"For whaaat purpoose~" ♪ (lyric from the Daitokai theme song)
18AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:52
And here I thought it'd be Tokusou Saizensen (Special Investigation Frontline)….
59AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:07
Re: #18
Surusu Miyaguchi
Chiriano (character nicknames from Tokusou Saizensen)
26AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:56
Oh, detective dramas, lol. Gotta be Abu Deka (Who's the Dangerous Cop!?). I still go see the new movies every time one comes out.
28AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:56
Uwasa no Keiji Tommy to Matsu (The Rumored Detectives Tommy & Matsu) isn't even on the list —
guess it got inducted into the hall of fame and disqualified from the nominations?
30AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:57
Never seen any of the top 3.
For me it's really just Hagure Keiji Junjouha and Taiyo ni Hoero as the big two — haven't watched anything else.
31AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:57
Up until recently they were rerunning Hagure Keiji Junjouha at 4am.
Now it's Seibu Keisatsu (Western Police).
34AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:57
G-Men '75, Uwasa no Keiji Tommy to Matsu, Shitetsu Engan 97 Bunsho, Seibu Keisatsu, Taiyo ni Hoero, Hagure Keiji Junjouha, Space Sheriff Gavan, Tokusou Saizensen, the Totsugawa Keiji series, Keishichou Sousa Ikkachou, Keishichou Minamidaira-han ~ Seven Detectives, Oshii Keiji… so many classics, it's hard to pick. Guess I'll go with Seibu Keisatsu after all.
35AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:58
Don't talk about detective dramas if you're some young punk who doesn't even know Taiyo ni Hoero! or Seibu Keisatsu.
Yujiro-san was a legend.
36AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:59
Taiyo ni Hoero, Tokusou Saizensen, Netchuu Jidai, Tommy to Matsu, Seibu Keisatsu, Abu Deka —
for my generation it's probably Abu Deka (Who's the Dangerous Cop!?).
39AnonymousOct 13, 2026 06:59
Everyone else needs a full hour, but Deka-kun wraps the case up in 30 minutes — clearly the most efficient cop of them all.
40AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:00
If we're talking 'memorable,' I'd say Bayside Shakedown — the lines and the BGM come to mind instantly.
Furuhata Ninzaburo too.
43AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:00
If you were 100% sure the answer was Taiyo ni Hoero, you're pushing 50 or older.
47AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:01
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIIIIS?!" (Yusaku Matsuda's legendary ad-libbed line)
49AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:01
Aibou at least bothers with some actual deduction. Bayside Shakedown and Abu Deka barely do any detective work at all.
53AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:03
I want to say Cold Case… but that one leans pretty heavily into human drama rather than actual detective work.
54AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:05
Aibou has this tendency where the bigger the plot gets — Cabinet intelligence, spies, terrorism — the more boring the show becomes.
111AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:25
Re: #54
It's precisely because the cases are small-scale that making the hero a superman still works as a story. The moment they try that same trick on a huge, sprawling plot, the whole thing falls apart.
55AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:05
Detective dramas died the moment cell phones and smartphones became widespread.
56AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:05
Inspector Sugishita isn't even technically a detective — he doesn't have arrest authority, let alone investigative authority. (referring to Aibou's protagonist)
58AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:05
Aibou being No. 1 is just because it's still airing and everyone happens to know it.
60AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:08
Tried to come up with the 'big three obscure detective dramas,' but…
Keishichou Satsujin-ka (Metropolitan Police Homicide Division)
The Cop
…that's all I could think of.
66AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:12
Re: #60
Keitai Deka (Cell Phone Detective)
72AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:16
Re: #60
Deka Yoroshiku! (Detective, Nice to Meet You!)
61AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:09
Bayside Shakedown, Abu Deka, Okashina Deka — the hot-blooded, passionate type of show.
62AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:10
Aibou feels like a show TV Asahi suddenly started pushing hard at some point. Does anyone around you actually watch it that much? If this were a ranking of period dramas, it'd be the kind where Mito Komon takes No. 1.
63AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:11
No. 1 has gotta be Taiyo ni Hoero, right?
68AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:14
If we're talking Mizutani Yutaka, there's also the one with the hit theme song — Netchuu Jidai: Keiji-hen (Cop Edition) isn't even on this list. It's way more entertaining than Aibou, but kids today can't even watch it. Such a shame.
117AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:27
Re: #68
The cast of Netchuu Jidai: Keiji-hen was stacked on an insane level.
74AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:17
Gotta be TEAM, with Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Masahiko Nishimura. I'd love to watch that one again.
77AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:17
No. 1 is obviously Hagure Keiji Junjouha.
You don't even need to watch it to know that.
103AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:24
Deka Yoroshiku, obviously.
Beat Takeshi just nonstop yelling "you bastard, you idiot!" lol
109AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:25
Re: #103
That show was ridiculously entertaining, lol
105AnonymousOct 13, 2026 07:24
"There's someone I can't forgive~" (iconic theme-song lyric)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9JyldHU0AAx-UZ.jpg
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Detective dramas trace back to the 1970s with Taiyo ni Hoero! (Bark at the Sun!) and Seibu Keisatsu (Western Police), followed by Abu Deka (Who’s the Dangerous Cop!?) and Deka Kizoku (Detective Aristocrat) in the ’80s and Bayside Shakedown in the ’90s, with Aibou establishing itself as the long-running staple from the 2000s onward. This time’s No. 1, Aibou, scores high on name recognition largely because of how long it’s run and the fact that new seasons are still being made — a point the thread picked up on, with comments like “it’s only known because it’s still on air.” Meanwhile, support for shows like Deka Kizoku and Taiyo ni Hoero split clearly along generational lines, and the very criteria people used to judge the shows — whether there’s real deduction involved, or how deep the human drama runs — also differed by generation, which is part of why the discussion kept talking past itself. Note that the original article doesn’t break down the exact vote counts.
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