Detective Story (1983 film)

Naomi is a rich university student about to leave on a trip to America. Her father hires detective Shuichi Tsujiyama to watch over her, a situation that pleases neither Naomi or Shuichi. Things get complicated when Shuichi's ex-wife is suspected in the murder of a love hotel manager. Naomi and Shuichi join up to investigate the murder which may involve yakuza gangsters.

• Hiroko Yakushimaru as Naomi Arai
• Yūsaku Matsuda as Shuichi Tsujiyama
• Risa Akikawa (秋川リサ) as Yukiko Naoki
• Kyōko Kishida as Kimie Hasenuma
• Yuki Kitazume (北詰友樹) as Yutaka Nagai
• Miwa Sakagami (坂上味和) as Masako Shindo
• Strong Kongō (ストロング金剛) as Wada
• Noboru Mitani (三谷昇) as the Love hotel manager
• Susumu Fujita as Gozo Kunizaki
• Akiko Nakamura as Michiyo Kunizaki^[2]

Detective Story, director Negishi's third mainstream film, was based on a novel by mystery writer Jirō Akagawa.^[3] Lead actor Yūsaku Matsuda also played the role of a detective (Shunsaku Kudo) in the 1979-1980 TV series Tantei Monogatari (Detective Story) but the film is unrelated to the TV series.^[4] The film was released in Japan on VHS tape in December 1989,^[5] and as a DVD in December 2000.^[6]

It became the number two Japanese film on the domestic market in 1983, earning ¥2.8 billion in distributor rental income, behind Antarctica,^[1] and also the second highest-grossing Japanese film of all time.^[7]

8th Hochi Film Award^[8]

• Won: Best Actor – Yūsaku Matsuda