The sixth episode of the TV drama "Secret ~THE TOP SECRET~" (Kantele/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10pm), starring actor Rihito Itagaki and Yuto Nakajima from the popular group Hey! Say! JUMP , will be broadcast on March 3rd.
The drama is based on Shimizu Reiko's "Secret - Top Secret" published in the manga magazine "Melody" (Hakusensha) and its spin-off work "Secret Season 0". The script is written by Sato Tsumako, who has worked on the "Unfair" series (same network) and the movie "Onmyoji 0" (2024). The story is set in the Forensic Science Laboratory No. 9, commonly known as "No. 9". Itagaki plays Maki Tsuyoshi, head of the No. 9 laboratory, while Nakajima plays Suzuki Katsuhiro, a former member of the No. 9 who lost his life in an incident, and Aoki Ikko, a rookie investigator who looks just like Suzuki and is later assigned to the No. 9.
Episode 5 depicts the second half of the stabbing of a pharmacist on a commuter train and the serial murders along the line. Aoki (Nakajima) learns that Yukiko (Kadowaki Mugi) is infected, and pretends to be infected and boards the train without regard for his own safety. He rages at the culprit who appears, his voice trembling. Meanwhile, Maki (Itagaki) captures another important person who "turned a blind eye to the murder," and the truth of the incident is revealed. The final scene, in which Yukiko, who has recovered safely, pulls Aoki close to her and kisses him before dashing off, drew a great response, and the sudden closeness between Aoki and Yukiko makes it seem as if the delicate love triangle between Maki, Aoki, and Yukiko will become even more complicated.
Episode 6 begins with the discovery of a waxy corpse at the site of an abandoned housing complex. The body had not mummified but retained its original form due to the special environment of low temperature and high humidity, and Yukiko believes it must have been buried 20 to 25 years ago. Given the concentrated stab wounds in the lower abdomen and the brutality of the murder, Yukiko advises Maki that the Ninth should investigate the case, but Maki refuses. In the end, Aoki, who keeps asking Maki why she is refusing, decides to investigate on his own.
Yukiko receives a wedding invitation from her friend Hamada Aoi (Fujima Sawako), whom she hasn't seen in a long time. She learns that although she is already living with her fiance Hayase Sho (Kida Keisuke), her brother Hisashi (Hashimoto Jun), who raised her alone, doesn't like Sho. Still, Yukiko smiles at the sight of Aoi looking happy, but suddenly Maki appears and tells Aoi, whom she has met for the first time, that she should reconsider this marriage, pointing out something Aoi has been hiding. Yukiko is outraged by Maki's insensitive behavior and enters the "Ninth", but instead of apologizing for his rudeness, Maki blames Yukiko for not noticing something strange about her friend. Meanwhile, Aoki, who has been struggling to recreate the MRI images of the waxed corpse, is surprised to see a certain person appear on the screen... and so the story unfolds.
Fujima, who plays the guest role of Hamada Aoi in episode 6, participated in the filming and said, "I haven't worked with Lee Kwang-in since we co-starred in the drama "Silent" (2022). He looked great in a suit and looked like firewood itself. This was my first time working with Kadowaki-san, but he was very frank and cheerful, and I was very happy to be able to act with him." Regarding episode 6, he said, "Even if you can overcome emotional wounds, the wounds themselves can never disappear and can ruin a person's life. There were many things that made me think about the role." Jun Hashimoto, who plays Aoi's older brother Hamada Nao, and Hitonari Hamura, who plays Nao's childhood, also made guest appearances.
