The first episode of the Getsuku drama "Absolute Zero: Emergency Investigation of Information Crimes" (Fuji TV, Mondays at 9pm), starring Yasuko Sawaguchi, aired on October 6th. It featured Yamauchi Toru, played by Yokoyama Yuu, who appeared in seasons 2-4, and drew comments on social media such as "I'm so glad Yamauchi is in season 5" and "I'm happy to see Yokoyama again."
◇The following contains spoilers
This is the fifth installment in the series. Season 1 (2010) and Season 2 (2011) starring Aya Ueto, Season 3 (2018) starring Kazuki Sawamura, and Season 4 (2020) have all been broadcast.
The setting for this story is the "Special Information Crime Unit" (commonly known as DICT), an investigative agency that pursues perpetrators of "information crimes" that abuse advanced information technology and threaten the lives and property of citizens, and tackles a variety of information crimes, including "special frauds" typified by anonymous, mobile crimes (commonly known as "tokuryu") and "cyberterrorism."
Yamauchi was a former member of the MiHAN (Preventive Crime Investigation Team) and became a member of DICT after being transferred to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigative Division.
A series of robberies involving the misuse of "information" have occurred. DICT believes that Tokuryu is responsible. Yamauchi points out that this is "information crime that threatens the lives and property of the people." Director Hayami (Yohei Matsukaku) reveals that he received orders from the Prime Minister's Office, saying, "That's why we're doing it."
Ninomiya (played by Sawaguchi) arrives and tells Hayami that he wants to see the crime scene for himself, and calls out to Yamauchi, "Let's go, Yama-chan." Yamauchi is confused, saying, "Can you stop calling me that?", but heads off to the scene with Ninomiya.
On social media, people were talking about how "It's so great that Yoko (Yokoyama Yuu) is back as Detective Yamauchi Toru again," "Yokoyama Yuu is back in Absolute Zero as Yamauchi Toru, it's just too heartwarming," and "His role as the guy who follows Sawaguchi-san around while complaining about Yama-chan is irresistible."
Also, towards the end of the series, Yamauchi receives a call on his smartphone from Sakuragi Izumi, played by Ueto in season 1, which sparked discussion with comments such as "Yamauchi gets a call from Sakuragi Izumi. It's heartwarming," "It looks like Yamauchi and Sakuragi are connecting again, which is great," and "Yamauchi and Sakuragi are connected...it's obvious, but it's the same world as in previous works."
