The first episode of the drama series "Sayonara Noir" (Fuji TV, Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring actress Eiko Koike and also featuring Kana Kita, aired on July 7th. Koike, who plays the protagonist, a former detective in the organized crime unit (renamed the Organized Crime Control Unit from October 2025), has been praised for being "perfect for the role."
◇The following contains spoilers.
This series is a police human drama about former detective Natsumi Kuroki (Koike) and psychologist Eriko Shiraishi (Kita), who work in the newly established Crime Victim Support Office at the Nishi-Ikebukuro Police Station of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, as they support crime victims and their families. The script is written by Yumiko Inoue.
A fire broke out at a ramen shop, killing the owner, Yusuke Konishi (played by Dai Yanagishita). Kuroki, having been instructed by his supervisor, Takako Tamura (played by Keiko Toda), to provide emotional and physical support to Konishi's wife, Sakura (played by Kie Kitano), headed to the scene with Shiraishi.
Just before meeting Sakura, Kuroki advised Shiraishi, "Don't be arrogant and think you can help. It's not that easy to be of help." Shiraishi, who has expertise in psychology, asked hesitantly, "Then what is your goal as someone who deals with the hearts of victims?" Kuroki answered calmly, "Saving lives. Even if there are no visible injuries, victims of crime suffer great psychological damage. They are bleeding invisibly. Our job is to stop that bleeding."
Afterward, Kuroki came face to face with Sakura, who appeared confused and restless. Despite his cool demeanor, Kuroki subtly offered words of concern and quietly watched over her, and Sakura gradually began to open up to him.
Social media was buzzing with comments like, "Eiko Koike was perfect for the role in 'Sayonara Noir'," "Eiko Koike is reliably cool," "Eiko Koike is awesome! She's perfect as a tough former organized crime detective," "Eiko Koike is suited to these kinds of roles where she's a little sharp and you can see a glimpse of deep emotion in the shadows," "I'm happy to see the capable, cool, and stylish Eiko Koike," and "I've decided to watch it every week - with Eiko Koike in the lead role, it's bound to be interesting."
