Yami no Bansosha

Details

 * Title: 闇の伴走者
 * Title (romaji): Yami no Bansosha
 * Title (English): Partner in Darkness
 * Format: Renzoku
 * Genre: Mystery, Crime
 * Broadcast network: WOWOW

Season 1

 * Episodes: 5
 * Broadcast period: 2015-Apr-11 to 2015-May-09
 * Air time: Saturday 22:00

Synopsis
The widow of a famous deceased mangaka finds an unpublished manga manuscript. It appears to be drawn by her husband. The drawings depict a disturbing story of a man who draws very well, stalking and killing a young woman, and burying her. Moreover, newspaper clippings of a series of women disappearing in the 1970s were found alongside the work. The widow hires former police turned investigative researcher related to publications, Mizuno Yuki to verify if the works were indeed done by her husband, and whether he had some connection to the said disappearances. Armed only with superficial knowledgeable of manga, Yuki enlists the aid of Daigo Shinji, an eccentric free-lance manga editor who has a vast knowledge on the topic. True enough, Shinji is able to provide valuable information regarding the artist of the strange manuscript, just by clues found in the drawings. Whoever this artist is, Yuki believes that he was responsible for the disappearances, and sets out to look for him. Soon, another woman is found missing...

Cast

 * Matsushita Nao as Mizuno Yuki
 * Furuta Arata as Daigo Shinji
 * Tanaka Tetsushi as Kazumine Kei
 * Fujino Daiki as young Kei
 * Kaname Jun as Ozawa Yukihide
 * Maeno Tomoya (前野朋哉) as Takeuchi Kyosuke
 * Yoshizawa Rie (吉沢梨絵) as Miyawaki Aki
 * Nomaguchi Toru as Terada Mikio
 * Moro Morooka as Eto Kensuke
 * Ishimaru Kenjiro as Mochizuki Hidemasa
 * Fujii Mina as Sonoda Kimiko/Muroya Shoko
 * Okumura Kae as Tatsumi Akiko
 * Morimoto Leo as Yajima Tomoyuki
 * Nukumizu Youichi as Coffeeshop Master
 * Fujita Yumiko as Mizuno Kazue
 * Tanokura Yuta (田野倉雄太) as Kawauchi Hiroshi
 * Morishita Yoshiyuki as Komatsuzaki Kazuo
 * Hirata Mitsuru as Kaihara Akihiko
 * Tamoto Soran as young Akihiko
 * Maya Kyoko as Ajima Yoshiko
 * Bengal as Ajima Fumiya

Guests

 * Kuno Makiko (久野真紀子) as Morita's Wife (ep2)
 * Saito Yosuke as Wachi Koichiro (ep2)

Production Credits

 * Original work: Nagasaki Takashi (長崎尚志), Yami no Bansosha --Daigo Shinji no Ryoki Jiken Files (novel)
 * Screenwriter: Sato Dai (佐藤大), Aso Kumiko
 * Producer: Kita Reiko, Kawada Naohiro (川田尚広)
 * Director: Miki Takahiro (三木孝浩)
 * Music: Grand Funk

Season 2

 * Season 2 Title: 闇の伴走者 ~編集長の条件
 * Title (romaji): Yami no Bansosha ~Henshucho no Joken
 * Episodes: 5
 * Broadcast period: 2018-Mar-31 to 2018-Apr-28
 * Air time: Saturday 22:00

Synopsis
Three years after solving a series of cases involving missing women in the 1970s, publications researcher Mizuno Yuki and talented manga editor Daigo Shinji have lost touch with each other. Incidentally, Nanbu Masaharu, a legendary chief editor for a manga magazine for adult readers fell to his death from the top of a building. It was ruled as an accidental death. Before he died, it seemed he found an original manga manuscript that had been missing for years, and had returned it to its rightful owner. Mizuno was tasked to look into this incident. In the process, she crossed paths once again with Shinji, who took over Nanbu's job as chief editor. Together, they find clues that seem to indicate that Nanbu might have been murdered after all. One of the clues was an old drawing that seemed connected with the Shimoyama Incident, which is regarded as one of Japan's most famous post-war mysteries...

Cast

 * Matsushita Nao as Mizuno Yuki
 * Furuta Arata as Daigo Shinji
 * Tsuda Kanji as Horio Satoshi
 * Shiraishi Shunya as Ito Shota
 * Konno Hiroki as Watanuki Yoshimasa
 * Yagi Akiko as Nanbu Kayoko
 * Mizuhashi Kenji as Tamura Kei
 * Maeno Tomoya (前野朋哉) as Takeuchi Kyosuke
 * Komiya Hironobu (小宮浩信) as Miura Taichi
 * Yoshizawa Rie (吉沢梨絵) as Miyawaki Aki
 * Nomaguchi Toru as Terada Mikio
 * Tanabe Kenichiro (田鍋謙一郎) as Ishida Yoichi
 * Kanai Yuta as Takei Hayato
 * Hashimoto Ichiro (橋本一郎) as Kawabata Tetsuji
 * Abe Shohei as Ogi Toshinori
 * Morimoto Leo as Yajima Tomoyuki
 * Nukumizu Youichi as Ijuin Ryunosuke
 * Maya Kyoko as Ajima Yoshiko
 * Hiraizumi Sei as Ogi Toshikatsu
 * Tanaka Min as Menjo Keizo
 * Iwamatsu Ryo as Nanbu Masaharu

Guests

 * Hashimoto Jun as Wakamatsu Hiroshi (ep2)
 * Agata Morio (あがた森魚) as a homeless man (ep2)
 * Uchida Chika (内田慈) as Kurata Akina (ep2)
 * Sakata Masanobu as Akai Hiroshige (ep2)
 * Natori Yukimasa as Hanyu Kota (ep3)
 * Hashizume Jun as Tsukamoto Shusuke (ep4)
 * Fuke Norimasa as Shono Takayuki (ep5)
 * Kataoka Reiko as Watanabe Haruko (ep5)
 * Nagai Toshie (永井利枝) as an eyewitness (ep5)

Production Credits

 * Original work: Nagasaki Takashi (長崎尚志), Henshucho No Joken -Daigo Shinji no Hakuran Suiri File- (novel)
 * Screenwriter: Aso Kumiko
 * Producer: Kita Reiko, Kawada Naohiro (川田尚広), Hatori Kenichi (羽鳥健一)
 * Director: Miki Takahiro (三木孝浩)
 * Music: Grand Funk