<figure id="attachment_250893" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 537px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-250893"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="641bd24d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2022/06/2019031401903.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-250893" class="wp-caption-text">Yutaka Mizutani attended the &#8220;Moscow Film Festival&#8221; with his wife Ran Ito. Recently, he has also been working as a film director.</figcaption></figure>
Yasufumi Terawaki, the &#8220;first partner&#8221; of the popular TV drama series &#8220;Partners season 21&#8221; (TV Asahi), starring actor Yutaka Mizutani, returns.
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Takashi Sorimachi, who played Wataru Kajo, the fourth partner of Ukyo Sugishita, played by Mizutani, graduated from the previous series, which ended in March. Kaoru Kameyama, played by Terawaki, will team up with Sugishita for the first time in about 14 years.
Detective Kameyama left the Special Assignment Unit in &#8220;season 7&#8221; in December &#8217;08 and moved to South Asia. He has not seen Sugishita since then.
This &#8220;Terawaki&#8217;s return&#8221; has caused a stir in some quarters. Some are asking if the casting, which could be called a return to basics, is a flag for the end of the &#8220;Partners&#8221; series. The reason for this is that the casting of Terawaki may be a flag for the end of &#8220;Partners&#8221;.
 The names of Kei Tanaka, Sota Fukushi, Goro Inagaki, Keita Machida, and others were discussed as possible replacements for Mr. Sorimachi, but that was in response to expectations for a new sidekick. While some are happy to see Mr. Terawaki&#8217;s return, others point out that &#8220;it lacks novelty.
 There are rumors that Mr. Terawaki&#8217;s return will lead to a &#8220;reunion&#8221; with Mitsuhiro Oikawa, Hiroki Narimiya, Yukie Nakama, and the rest of the cast, and that the series will be terminated. (A reporter from a sports newspaper).
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Mizutani, who plays the lead role, will turn 70 next month. In the past, Mizutani has said
 In the past, he had said that he wanted to make his 70th birthday a milestone.
This also adds a sense of reality to the flag that &#8220;Partners&#8221; is coming to an end. In addition, the following story leaked out from the production site.
 Mizutani, as expected, is having a hard time remembering the script these days. Mizutani&#8217;s character, Ukyo Sugishita, has a lot of lines and difficult terms. Partners is famous for its one-cut long scenes on the set, but recently there are more scenes where Mr. Mizutani does not get his lines than before.
 This is natural considering his age, but because of the long takes, one mistake can result in having to start over from the beginning. Perhaps he is considering the surroundings.
For Mizutani, &#8220;Partners&#8221; is one of his life&#8217;s work. Unlike other serial dramas, the series is broadcast over a two-cour period, and the filming takes place over a six-month period.
 He said, &#8220;If you are in Mizutani&#8217;s class, you are not just a performer, but you can propose ideas to the production side, saying, &#8216;Maybe it would be better this way. &#8220;If you are in Mizutani&#8217;s class, you are not just a performer. He finds fulfillment not only as an actor but also as a creator.
Mizutani has been focusing on film production for the past several years. As a director, he has been working on a number of films, starting with &#8220;TAP THE LAST SHOW&#8221; in 2005, followed by &#8220;Hit-and-Run The Best Worst Day of My Life&#8221; (&#8217;19), and his latest film &#8220;Taiyo to Bolero&#8221; was released in June of this year.
All distributors are Toei, which has close ties with the Partners series. A source in the entertainment industry revealed, &#8220;All Mizutani films are produced by Toei.
 The production committee is also centered on TV Asahi. The production committee is also centered on TV Asahi, which provides full support. It is said in the industry that this is TV Asahi&#8217;s way of thanking Mr. Mizutani for making Partners a nationally popular series.
 On the other hand, it is because of &#8220;Partners&#8221; that Mr. Mizutani is able to pursue his passion for directing. As long as Mr. Mizutani continues to make movies, I believe that Partners will never end.
Unfortunately, Mizutani&#8217;s films have not been big hits, but they have been well received in the industry. Mizutani, unlike when he was an actor, is said to be enjoying his work at the studio with a lot of enthusiasm.
 It is true that Mizutani is thinking about pulling the plug on &#8220;Partners,&#8221; but TV Asahi will not be able to make any kind of decision. However, TV Asahi wants to keep &#8220;Partners&#8221; no matter what form it takes.
 There is no doubt that Mr. Mizutani feels indebted to TV Asahi, which has fully backed up the movie production. If Chairman Hayakawa bows down to him and says, &#8220;I want to preserve the film somehow,&#8221; even Mr. Mizutani will not be able to ignore him.
Mizutani is only 70 years old. Mizutani&#8217;s vitality shows no sign of waning. He will continue to &#8220;juggle&#8221; between acting and film directing.

 Getty/Kyodo News Images

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