Hayabusa Shobodan

Official Website
www.tv-asahi.co.jp/hayabusa-syobodan

Twitter
twitter.com/hayabusa_ex2023

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 13 July – 14 September 2023

Episodes
9

Network
TV Asahi

Synopsis
Mystery writer Mishima Taro won the Akechi Shogoro Prize five years ago and quit his job to focus on writing. However, he is currently in a slump despite the encouragement of his editor Nakayamada Hiroshi. He has lost confidence after a reduction in first edition copies each time he releases a new book as well as the harsh online reviews of his work. One day, Taro visits Hayabusa district, a mountainous settlement, to determine the state of a house that he had inherited from his late father. Captivated by the lush nature of his father’s hometown, he decides to move to Hayabusa to live a peaceful life free from the stress of the city. Not long after beginning his new life, Taro is invited by the local volunteer firefighters to join their team. He has never been the active type and initially turns them down. But when fire breaks out at a local resident’s house and he witnesses their frantic efforts to battle the blaze, he decides to join the firefighting team to protect Hayabusa. There have actually been a series of suspicious fires in Hayabusa this year and this is the third. The team suspects there could be arsonist somewhere in this tranquil place. Then another resident goes missing. As Taro begins to search for the truth, what emerges is a huge conspiracy lurking in the village.

Characters
Nakamura Tomoya as Mishima Taro
A 30-year-old budding mystery writer. He won the Akechi Shogoro Prize, which is said to be the stepping stone to a literary career, and was hailed as the next Yokomizo Seishi. However, the first edition copies of his subsequent works kept getting reduced each time it was published. The new work that he is writing is a matter of survival. Tired of living in the city, he moves to Hayabusa district which has lush nature and a connection with his late father. He unwittingly gets entangled in a series of arson cases occurring in the area. He approaches the truth from the keen observations of a writer but eventually comes across a huge conspiracy brewing in Hayabusa.

Kawaguchi Haruna as Tachiki Aya
A video director who moved from Tokyo to Hayabusa district slightly before Mishima Taro. She has a refined beauty that stands out in this countryside town. She is currently a lecturer at a film-related vocational school and has also launched a town revitalisation drama project that promotes Hayabusa. She quickly gets close to Taro after asking him to write the script for her, but has a secret past that she cannot tell anyone.

Mitsushima Shinnosuke as Fujimoto Kansuke
A member of Hayabusa Fire Unit. He works at a builder. As he and Mishima Taro are close in age, he quickly gets friendly with Taro and invites him to join the unit. He has an upbeat personality and is really cheerful and optimistic. He does not seem able to read the mood and gets scolded by his seniors. He was born and raised in Hayabusa district and has hardly been outside the area. Because he loves Hayabusa, he makes great effort to catch the serial arsonist.

Furukawa Yuta as Manabe Akimitsu
A sales staff of Luminous Solar, a solar power company. He travels around Hayabusa district, trying to encourage the wide use of solar panels. He also asks Mishima Taro who has just moved in, if he would like to use the land he owns for solar power generation. He looks like a nice, gentle-mannered person but Taro has certain suspicions about him.

Hashimoto Jun as Miyahara Ikuo
The leader of Hayabusa Fire Unit’s local branch, he plays the role of the coordinator. He runs a poultry farm. He is very competitive and has not been on good terms with Yamahara Kensaku for a long time. When they have an argument, Morino Yosuke has to be the mediator. He is fearless and thinks nothing of cursing the mayor. Although he is strict with the members, he is the most dependable man when it comes to firefighting.

Kajihara Zen as Morino Yosuke
The deputy leader of Hayabusa Fire Unit’s local branch. He works in the town hall’s civil engineering division. He often mediates in the quarrels between Yamahara Kensaku and Miyahara Ikuo who are always fighting. He has the title of deputy leader but chores are foisted on him for some reason.

Yamamoto Koji as Nakayamada Hiroshi
Mishima Taro’s editor at the Tokyo publishing company Shoeisha. He knows a lot of trivia and is full of curiosity. After Taro moves to Hayabusa district, he comes to visit him frequently on the pretext of having meetings. He has a great deal of interest in the cases that have been happening at Hayabusa and uses his personal connections to provide Taro with information.

Namase Katsuhisa as Yamahara Kensaku
The head of Hayabusa Fire Unit. His main business is forestry. He is taciturn, fierce looking and intimidating. Despite having an air that does not let people get close, he takes good care of the younger ones as an old member of the unit. He is the first to notice the attacks in Hayabusa and works with Mishima Taro to find out the truth but … … He and Miyahara Ikuo were classmates since elementary school and they do not get along well.

Original Work
Hayabusa Shobodan by Ikeido Jun

Scriptwriter
Kosaka Takafumi (Mahiru no Akuma, Genkai Danchi, Mutsuu)

Directors
Tsunehiro Jota, Yamamoto Daisuke

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