G-Men '75 (Gメン'75, G Men nanajūgo) was a long-running prime-time popular television detective series in Japan.[2] It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:54 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network from May 24, 1975 to April 3, 1982. A sequel, G-Men '82, followed, as did the specials. It had also been broadcast in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Since Hong Kong was one of the filming locations, it was very popular there.[3] With several updates and cast changes, it ran for 7 years. Selected episodes are available on DVD.
| G-Men '75 | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Police procedural Crime drama |
| Starring | Tetsurō Tamba Yosuke Natsuki Gō Wakabayashi Yū Fujiki Maria Mori Mari Natsuki Hiroshi Miyauchi Gō Ibuki Takeshi Kaga Bunjaku Han Kyōko Enami Daijiro Harada Yûsuke Kawazu |
| Narrated by | Takayuki Akutagawa |
| Theme music composer | Shunsuke Kikuchi (ep.1-306) Pierre Porte (ep.308-355, G-Men '82) |
| Composers | Shunsuke Kikuchi (ep.1-306) Hiroaki Yoshino (ep.308-355, G-Men '82) |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Original language | Japanese |
| No. of episodes | 355[1] |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Teru Kondo |
| Running time | 54 minutes |
| Production companies | Toei TBS Teru Kondo Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | TBS |
| Release | May 24, 1975 – April 3, 1982 |
| Related | |
| G-Men '82 | |
Plot
editThe story revolved around a special detective agency, the eponymous G-Men. The principal character, who spanned the entire series (and continued into the sequel and specials), was Superintendent Tetsuya Kuroki, who was portrayed by Tetsurō Tamba. Kuroki directed the members of the group.
The original cast also included Yasuaki Kurata as Detective Yasuaki Kusano, trained in karate. Gō Wakabayashi joined in Episode 105, and remained to the end of the series (and the sequel). His character, Lieutenant Goro Tachibana, replaced a detective who was written out of the script.
Music
editShunsuke Kikuchi wrote the opening theme songs. Various artists, including some cast members, wrote and performed the closing songs. For most years, the lyrics were by Junya Sato, set to Kikuchi's music. Veteran announcer Takayuki Akutagawa narrated the series.
Ending songs
edit- "Omokage" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 1-58)
- "Tsuiso" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 59-144)
- "Michi" by Kaori Shima (Episode 145-174)
- "Omokage" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 175-204)
- "Requiem" by Isao Sasaki (Episode 205-229)
- "Requiem" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 230-233, 235)
- "Wing" by Mari Natsuki (Episode 234, 236-248)
- "Harukanaru Tabiji" by Popla (Episode 254-306)
- "Again" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 307-354)
Opening sequence
editThe opening sequence featured the main cast walking along a runway with a "75" placed at the bottom, with an arrow beside it, as their characters were viewed in separate close-ups (with the name of their actors accompanying).[4] The placement of the arrow and the "75" logo were changed as the series progressed. It was intended to film the opening at Haneda Airport, but permission was not granted, so it was filmed instead at Yashio, a district of Tokyo's Shinagawa ward, and later openings at the JMSDF Tateyama Air Base.
G-Men '75 cast
edit- Tetsurō Tamba as Tetsuya Kuroki (ep.1-355)
- Yosuke Natsuki as Noriyuki Odagiri (ep.1-223)
- Yasuaki Kurata as Yasuaki Kusano (ep.1-202)
- Yū Fujiki as Hachibe Yamada (ep.1-204)
- Daijirō Harada as Ichiro Sekiya (ep.1-33)
- Fujita Okamoto as Shinichi Tsusaka (ep.1-104)
- Mihoko Fujita as Keiko Hibiki (ep.1-103)
- Gō Wakabayashi as Gorō Tachibana (ep.101-355)
- Maria Mori as Ryoko Hayami (ep.105-203)
- Gō Ibuki as Takeshi Nakaya (ep.105-306)
- Mari Natsuki as Keiko Tsugawa (ep.205-251)
- Hiroshi Chiba as Akio Taguchi (ep.205-330)
- Toshihiko Yuuki as Tatsuya Murai (ep.205-226)
- Yūsuke Kawazu as Yoshiaki Nagumo (ep.227-305)
- Hiroshi Miyauchi as Kazuhiko Shimaya (ep.227-306)
- Harumi Nakajima as Kyoko Fubuki (ep.253-306)
- Takeshi Kaga as Shigeru Kusaka (ep.307-355)
- Kyoko Enami as Saeko Tsumura (ep.307-355)
- Bunjaku Han as Yoko Kagawa (ep.307-355)
- Sarah Lowell as Mariko Teraoka (ep.307-330)
- Masahiko Tanimura as Hajime Furuta (ep.331-355)
- Kiyohiko Fujikawa as Daichi Kazama (ep.331-355)
G-Men '82 cast
edit- Tetsurō Tamba as Tetsuya Kuroki
- Gō Wakabayashi as Gorō Tachibana
- Kyoko Enami as Saeko Tsumura
- Bunjaku Han as Yoko Kagawa
- Saburō Shinoda as Hayasaka
- Kentaro Shimizu as Sawada
- Koichi Miura as Shima
TV specials
edit- G-Men '75 Haru Dai Ikyou Satsujin no Onna (1993) Tetsuro Tamba, Masatoshi Nakamura, Mari Natsuki, Show Aikawa
- G-Men '75 Special Kaettekita Wakashishitachi (2000) Tetsuro Tamba, Nenji Kobayashi, Junichi Haruta
- G-Men '75 Special Tokyo-Hokkaido Trick Satsujinjiken (2000) Tetsuro Tamba, Nenji Kobayashi, Junichi Haruta, Raita Ryū
References
edit- ^ "Gメン75とは". kotobank. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
- ^ "昭和の激アツ刑事ドラマ主役を総直撃 倉田保昭 和製ドラゴンが本領発揮した香港ロケ" (in Japanese). www.asagei. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "和製ドラゴン倉田保昭さんインタビュー" (in Japanese). www.hkpost.com.hk. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "名作ドラマ"至高の最終回"の謎を総直撃！1982年4月3日・Gメン'75 若林豪" (in Japanese). asagei. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
External links
edit- DVD Selection from Toei
- G-Men '75 at IMDb
- Japanese National Bibliography 音楽録音・映像資料の部 (Audio recordings and film materials)