Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語), or Detective Story, is an action Japanese TV series starring Yūsaku Matsuda that was originally broadcast on Nippon TV in 27 forty-five-minute episodes from September 18, 1979 to April 1, 1980. The show had various directors including Toru Murakawa, Kiyoshi Nishimura, Yukihiro Sawada and Yasuharu Hasebe.[1][2]
| Tantei Monogatari | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Keiichi Ozawa Yasuharu Hasebe Toru Murakawa |
| Starring | Yūsaku Matsuda |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 27 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nippon TV |
| Original release | September 18, 1979 (1979-09-18) – April 1, 1980 (1980-04-01) |
Shunsaku Kudō sets up office in a rundown building as a private detective after spending five years as a cop in San Francisco where he became familiar with firearms. Kudō was originally envisioned as a standard hard-boiled type but star Yūsaku Matsuda looked too much like a rebel so the character ended up riding a Vespa scooter, smoking Camel cigarettes and dressing in a black or white suit and sunglasses. Also living in the building are two young girls (American actress Nancy Cheney and Kahori Takeda) who fuss over the detective.[1][3]
Tantei Monogatari with its easy-going humorous style earned high ratings while on the air and later acquired a cult following. Nippon TV published a book about the show titled Yomigaere! Tantei Monogatari (Come Back! Detective Story) in 1994 and Toei Video later released the whole series.[3] Toei also released the entire series as a boxed set of Blu-ray discs in 2015.[4]
Tantei Monogatari at IMDb