The fifth 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 February 24th.
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 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 No. 9.
In episode 4, pharmacist Satonaka Kyoko (Nakamura Yurika) is stabbed to death on a private railway train, and a series of murders occur along the same line. An MRI scan reveals that the victims were in the same carriage where the stabbings occurred. Aoki (Nakajima) discovers that all of the victims had noticed discoloration of their nails before they died. Meanwhile, Yukiko (Kadowaki Mugi), who is in charge of the autopsy, accidentally touches the victim's blood and notices something strange about her own nails. Yukiko insists on continuing with the autopsy. In an attempt to save Yukiko, Aoki makes a "certain proposal" to her, but...
In episode 5, Yukiko's condition gradually worsens. Aoki shows his nails to Maki (Itagaki) and tells him that he too is infected. He then gets on a train, despite Maki's protests, and embarks on an undercover operation to try to contact the culprit by recreating the same movements as Kyoko Satonaka on the day of the stabbing. He then notices a man looking at Aoki's nails from behind. But the next moment, the man disappears... and so the story unfolds.
Mizuma Ron, who plays the "Man in the Hat" who holds the key to the case, said, "I was conscious of playing the role as pure as possible. He is clumsy and doesn't fit in with those around him, but I approached the role with the idea that all of the various actions he takes are due to him being so pure." Regarding episode 5, he commented, "It's interesting to see how the way a case is seen changes depending on whose perspective it is viewed from. Behind the brutal case there is a very sad story hidden, which is a very new sensation and I think it will change the way you look at many things, which is necessary in today's times."
