The New Year's Day special "Finale" of the popular detective drama "Aibou Season 24" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm), starring Mizutani Yutaka and Terawaki Yasufumi, was broadcast on January 1st, and the name of "Dark Knight" Kai Toru (Hiroki Narimiya) suddenly appeared, causing a stir.
The "Dark Knight" was the perpetrator of a series of assaults targeting only criminals, which was depicted in season 13 (2015). His true identity was Kai Toru, the "third generation partner" of Sugishita Ukyo (Mizutani).
In this New Year's Day special, the Special Missions Unit tackles a series of murders based on the detective novels of popular mystery writer Shosuke Mimasaka (Yasunori Danta). Mimasaka is planning to write his next work based on the Dark Knight, and has met with Kyo, but this has drawn the ire of Kyo's father, Mineaki (Koji Ishizaka), who is attached to the National Police Agency Commissioner General's Office. During the interview, it is revealed that Kyo will soon be released from prison after serving his sentence.
Two years ago, in the New Year's Day special of season 22 (2024), an incident involving Kyo's family was depicted, but with Kyo being mentioned again this time, viewers on social media were expressing their surprise, with comments such as "Wow...I can't believe they're talking about the Dark Knight," "I was shocked when they started talking about the Dark Knight," and "I was surprised when they made such a bold statement about Kaito!"
Furthermore, there were also voices expressing hope for Kaito's reappearance, such as "Is it true that Kaito is scheduled to be released from prison?!", "Kai Kyo's sentence is over and he'll be released soon? There's a real possibility that Kai Kyo will appear again," "Is this a setup for his reappearance...?", "I can wait, thinking that this is a flag that we'll see Kaito again," "The flags have been steadily piling up this time, so it wouldn't be strange if Kaito were to reappear in the final episode of this season," and "Hiroki Narimiya is also returning, so I think he'll make a reappearance."
