The eighth 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 17th.
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.
In the seventh episode, the first of a two-part series, Saki (Aoi Utano), the only daughter of Foreign Minister Sendo (Namase Katsuhisa), is kidnapped. Awaji Masato (Ibu Masato), who lost his daughter 20 years ago and has sworn revenge on Minister Sendo, emerges as a suspect. Aoki (Nakajima) is kind and straightforward in his desire to save the girl, and therefore shows his boldness without regard for danger. Motivated by Aoki, Maki (Itagaki) also sets out to rescue the girl, and the bond between Maki and Aoki as a buddy team, who care for each other, grows stronger... and so the story unfolds.
In the second part, episode 8, Sendou stops the rescue by the Japan Coast Guard as soon as he finds out that the girl abducted in the container is not his daughter Saki, and makes a decision that could be described as leaving her to die. While Maki is angry at Awaji for taking advantage of the MRI investigation of "The Ninth," he is unable to understand his true intentions as to why he made another girl take Saki's place.
Awaji, who succeeded in meeting Sendo face to face in the hospital room, provokes Sendo by saying that as long as he is alive, his brain cannot be seen, and therefore Saki's whereabouts will never be known. The police are also searching for Saki's whereabouts, but they have few clues, and without Awaji's testimony, it was only a matter of time before Saki's life would end. Sendo apologizes to Awaji for his actions 20 years ago, which led to this crime. He kneels down and begs Awaji to tell him where Saki is. Awaji suggests to Sendo that there is a way to find Saki without apologizing.
The identity of the girl in the container who was used as a substitute for Saki is revealed. Aoki heads to the rescue by helicopter, and Maki appeals directly to the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency (Toshiyuki Toshiki) for cooperation in the rescue operation. However, another shocking trap is hidden in Awaji's revenge against Minister Sendo...
Regarding episode 8, Itagaki commented, "In episode 7, Minister Sendou beat Maki up quite a bit (by pushing her away, etc.), but in episode 8, Maki gets revenge. She's not going to let herself be beaten up. Aoki goes to the rescue, and Maki fights Minister Sendou behind the scenes. I hope you'll look forward to that battle." Nakajima commented, "Aoki does something crazy on his own again, so if you take a step back, it might be a little more interesting. Seeing Aoki running wild makes you think, 'You're going at it again!'"
