A live fan meeting for the popular detective drama "AIBOU Season 24" (starting October 15th, Wednesdays at 9 PM) was held on October 12th at TV Asahi headquarters in Minato Ward, Tokyo. The first "AIBOU" fan meeting, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the series, featured Mizutani Yutaka, who played Sugishita Ukyo, Terawaki Yasufumi, who played Kameyama Kaoru, and series creator and screenwriter Koshimizu Yasuhiro. A talk show was held in front of 256 fans, who were selected by lottery from a total of approximately 8,000 applicants, during which they touched on the "naming rules" of the previous AIBOU series.
It is well known among fans that the names of Ukyo's past partners, Kaoru Kameyama, Takeru Kobe (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), Toru Kai (Hiroki Narimiya), and Wataru Kanjo (Takashi Sorimachi), all begin with "ka" and end with "ru." However, Koshimizu confessed that he "didn't notice this rule until the third partner (Toru Kai)," which caused fans to exclaim in surprise, "What?!"
He said that it was scriptwriter Todayama Masashi who first discovered the rule, and explained, "Todayama is a very stylish person, and instead of saying it directly to me, he had Section Chief Kakuta (Yamanishi Atsushi) say it in the drama. When I saw it, I thought, 'Huh?' (laughs). I was conscious of the fact that (the fourth generation) Kanjo Wataru's name should start with 'ka' and end with 'ru'."
Fans were fascinated by this precious episode, and Mizutani said he was surprised when he found out it was a coincidence, saying, "I thought Kosshi (Koshimizu) knew everything and was doing it on purpose (laughs)."
