"The Great Chase" exceeded 1.5 million views of the missed broadcast—in episode 2, Omorinao × Masaki Aiba against a terrorist with explosives who took hostages
The triple leadership of Omorinao, Masaki Aiba, and Nao Matsushita in "TV Asahi"'s drama "The Great Chase: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's Special Serious Crimes Division S.S.B.C." (airs every Wednesday at 21:00 P.M. on japanese time and on 14.00 P.M. on european time). The first episode, which aired on 9 June, ranked first in TVer's overall ratings and exceeded 1.5 million views in the reruns section. On the eve of the second episode's release on 16 June, Ken Mitsuishi, who plays the head of the Special Crimes Division, Shigeru Kuzu, gave a comment.
This is the first original drama in 10 years to air in the 21.00 P.M. slot on "TV Asahi". The plot revolves around the state-of-the-art professional unit "S.S.B.C. (Investigation Support Analysis Centre)," an important element of modern investigations. Within this structure, a special department has been created to support investigations into serious crimes such as murder, robbery, and arson. The series follows the work of the team members and the people around them.
Main characters:
Nao Omori—Shuji Igaki, analyst for the S.S.B.C. serious crimes unit
Masaki Aiba—Rintaro Nanami, an elite official assigned to the team; nephew of the head of the cabinet
Nao Matsushita—Haruka Aoyagi, head of the investigation department, Igaki's ex-wife.
Commentary by Ken Mitsuishi (Kuzuhara Shigeru): "I found the first episode to be very well balanced—it has entertainment, humour, and human drama. What surprised me most was how funny Nao Matsusita can be! The more serious she acted, the funnier it looked—it was a real discovery for me," laughs the actor.
He added: "All the actors understood their roles perfectly and immediately began to fit into their characters—it was as if no one was feeling each other out, as is often the case at the beginning of filming. I myself have to try not to fall behind (laughs). We all discussed our feelings after the first episode and came to the conclusion that we really have an excellent team. The atmosphere created by the three main actors is amazing—I am so inspired that I look forward to filming every time. Teamwork has a great effect on the screen—the viewer will definitely feel it."
About episode 2: "In episode 2, the scale of events increases—the characters have to deal with a "bomb". We will use the unique methods of the S.S.B.C., and they will truly surprise you. The visuals will also be interesting, so be sure to watch it!" the actor urges.
🧨 Summary of episode 2 (16 June) Shuji Igaki (Nao Omori), watching 200 surveillance cameras across Tokyo in real time, spots a suspect in the Kinshicho area—Taizo Arakawa (Mutsuo Yoshioka), who is wanted for a 2019 terrorist attack near the Ministry of Education in Kasumigaseki (1 dead, 5 injured).
Igaki, who was once involved in the investigation of this incident, shares the information with Rintaro Nanami, Haruka Aoyagi, and Chief Investigator Masayuki Yaegashi (Kenichi Endo). They head to the Kinshicho area to collect surveillance camera footage.
While reviewing footage from taxi driver Ichinoze's (Orakio) dashcam, they notice Arakawa entering an apartment building. When he exits, Nanami approaches him despite Igaki's warning. Arakawa threatens them, claiming that there is a bomb in his backpack, and flees on a motorcycle, taking hostages and barricading himself in a construction trailer.
Aoyagi and Yaegashi are extremely upset by the failure of the operation and the escalation of the case into a hostage situation. Igaki and Nanami are removed from the case. However, a taxi driver informs them that after Arakawa's escape, a woman, Yukari Hoshino (Ayumi Ito), left the apartment.
After searching her apartment, Igaki and Nanami find books on "revolution" and "ideologies," as well as traces of possible bomb-making. Meanwhile, negotiations at the scene of the seizure reach an impasse, and Igaki's phone call with the information about Yukari is also cut off. The S.S.B.C. team then decides to continue the investigation on their own.
Using street cameras and geolocation data from a smartphone, they manage to locate Yukari, but…!?
