The first episode of the TV drama series "The Great Chase: Metropolitan Police Department SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm) was broadcast on July Getsuku, and drew attention to the comical nature of Yaegashi Masao, played by Kenichi Endo, the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division.
The drama is the first new drama to be broadcast in about 10 years in TV Asahi's Wednesday 9pm time slot, which has previously aired "Aibou," "Tokuso9," "Keiji 7-nin," and more, and stars Nao Omori, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita. It is an original detective drama set in the newly established "SSBC Violent Crimes Unit" at the Metropolitan Police Department Investigation Support and Analysis Center (SSBC), which is responsible for collecting and analyzing security camera footage and analyzing smartphones and computers.
In the first episode, Kiryu (Kubozuka Shunsuke), the president of a venture IT company, is stabbed to death by someone, and Nanami Rintaro (Aiba), a "career" officer assigned to the SSBC Violent Crimes Division, and Igaki Shuji (Omori), who has become his "trainer," pursue the culprit.
Yaegashi, played by Endo, appears as a character who resents the SSBC Violent Crimes Division sticking its nose into the investigation. He is strict with his subordinates and is "absolutely obedient" to the career officers. He is unable to speak strongly to Nanami, a career officer whose uncle is the Chief Cabinet Secretary, even though he is an SSBC member, and is portrayed as trying to please him instead.
Viewers responded to Yaegashi on social media with comments such as, "Yaegashi, the Chief of the First Investigative Division, changes his attitude with incredible consideration...! Too funny," "Yaegashi is a typical bastard who is bullish on those below him and can't stand up to those above him, but when Enken plays him, he's lovable and funny, it's wonderful!", "Enken is really good at comedy," and "Enken's Chief of the First Division is cool, but also cute, and it makes me smile."
Also, some viewers felt that Yaegashi's character overlapped with Hiruma Shigekatsu, played by the late Nishida Toshiyuki in "Doctor-X" (TV Asahi), with comments such as "Maybe because he's the first division chief, he seems to be in Nishida's position, and I like that," "Enken reminded me of Nishida Toshiyuki from Doctor-X, and it made me tear up," and "I'm glad that Kenichi Endo has become Nishida Toshiyuki's traditional skill of being a comedy maker everywhere."
