Takashi Sorimachi Aims for New Heights in Detective Buddy Theme After Two and a Half Years Since Aibou Graduation

As the first revival of Fuji TV’s “Tuesday 9 PM” drama slot

Actor Takashi Sorimachi (50) and Yosuke Sugino (28) will co-star in the Fuji TV drama “Okura: Investigation of the Maze-like Case,” which will start on October 8.

The story features Sorimachi as the warm-hearted “Showa detective” Chiju Tobitaka and Sugino as the cool “Reiwa detective” Riko Fuwa, who challenge unresolved cases in a department known as “Okura,” where misfits gather. The cast also includes former Nogizaka46 member Mai Shiraishi (32), Takeshi Ukaji (62), Sayaka Aoki (51), Jun Hashimoto (60), and Ryota Miura (27).

“The Fuji Friday 9 PM drama slot has been moved, and this marks the first revival of the Tuesday 9 PM drama slot in 9 years. Sorimachi-san’s starring role in a Fuji TV serial drama is his first in about 20 years, since ‘Wonderful Life’ in the April 2004 season.

On the other hand, Sugino-san is currently starring in the Kansai TV and Fuji TV drama ‘Mountain Doctor,’ and with two consecutive leading roles, he’s riding a wave of momentum. The combination of Sorimachi-san and Sugino-san as a buddy pair is highly anticipated,” says a reporter from a sports newspaper covering broadcasting.

In conjunction with the drama’s airing, it has also been announced that from October 1 to 9, during weekday afternoons for about two hours, Fuji TV will rerun ‘Beach Boys’ (1997), the Monday 9 PM drama in which Sorimachi co-starred with Yutaka Takenouchi (53). Sorimachi, whose representative work will be rebroadcast daily, will start his new drama, while at the same time, he is set to face off against the latest installment of the popular drama series starring his own ‘benefactor.’

“Although the exact start date hasn’t been announced, TV Asahi will begin airing ‘Aibou season 23’ every Wednesday at 9 PM starting in October, spanning two seasons. As everyone knows, Yutaka Mizutani-san (72) stars in the series, and the role of the ‘Aibou’ (partner), which Sorimachi-san once played as the fourth generation, will now be taken on by Yasufumi Terawaki-san (62), who is returning as the first generation ‘Aibou.’ With ‘Okura’ and ‘Aibou’ being the only buddy-detective dramas airing in the GP slot (7-11 PM) in the October season, it’s going to be a head-to-head showdown,” says the same reporter.

“Even without saying anything, I understand.”

From October 2015, Sorimachi was cast as the fourth-generation partner, Wataru Kaburagi, in Aibou and appeared in 138 episodes, from season 14 until the 20th episode of season 20, which aired on March 23, 2022. His tenure is the second longest after Terawaki. Before joining the show, Sorimachi had been experiencing a slump in his acting career, but Aibou marked a successful comeback. Mizutani is someone Sorimachi could truly call his “benefactor.”

When Sorimachi announced his departure in November 2021, he mentioned that when he informed Mizutani of his decision, Mizutani simply replied, “I understand.” Sorimachi added:

“Even without saying anything, Mizutani understood everything. He was silently encouraging me, saying, ‘As you approach your 50s, you’re ready for a new start. I fully understand that.’ Although we never actually discussed it (laughs), we’ve spent so much time together that I just know.”

Just as the words “new start” imply, after graduating from Aibou, Sorimachi has been actively working as an actor. In the January season this year, he played an unremarkable pathologist in the drama Great Gift (TV Asahi), and in April, a revival of the 1998 drama GTO (Fuji TV), in which he starred, aired. This time, he’s taking on his first detective buddy role since leaving Aibou.

“Since co-starring in Aibou, Mizutani-san and Sorimachi-san have become close friends, with their families interacting as well. Even after Sorimachi graduated from the show, they have stayed in touch. Additionally, Sugino-san is with the same agency as Mizutani-san’s daughter, Shuri-san (33), which has led Mizutani-san to take an interest in Okura. Achieving ratings close to Aibou could be Sorimachi-san’s way of repaying Mizutani-san,” said a TV Asahi insider.

Shuri herself will be starring as a lawyer in the drama Monster, airing on Kansai TV and Fuji TV from October 14. With the connections between the cast members, it looks like there will be a lot of focus on the trends in household viewership ratings and the number of missed episode replays for all three dramas.

 

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