The first episode of the TBS Friday drama "Takusari Brothers," starring actor Masaki Okada and also featuring Shota Sometani, aired on April 17th (Fridays at 10 PM). Discussions about the casting of Haruka Igawa as Ashikaga Haruko, a pawn shop owner and informant, were actively circulating on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
The drama follows detective Makoto Tagasari (played by Okada) and medical examiner Minoru (played by Someya) as they investigate heinous crimes that occur daily and pursue the true culprit in the murder of two parents, a case that reached its statute of limitations just two days before the abolition of the statute of limitations. This is the latest work from producer Junko Arai, who has worked on hit crime suspense films such as "Last Mile" and dramas such as "Unnatural," "MIU404," and "Saiai."
Haruko is the owner of a pawn shop and a former newspaper reporter. Leveraging her connections from her time as a reporter, she also works as an "informant" at the request of Makoto. She met Makoto and Minoru after the murder of their parents and treats the brothers like family.
One night, Makoto came to the shop and asked Haruko to find out the identity of a man who had died in a hit-and-run accident. "What? Have you suddenly developed a sense of justice as a detective?" Haruko said jokingly, agreeing to help, and then made a phone call to someone at the harbor.
"What do you want?" the gruff man asked. Haruko replied, "I'm looking for someone; could you look into it for me?" Later, Haruko revealed the true identity of the man who had died in a hit-and-run accident.
On social media, there was a lot of excitement with comments like, "She plays a pawn shop owner who also has an informant side, she's so beautiful and cool," "Haruka Igawa as a suspicious pawn shop owner, that's bound to be good," "Haruka Igawa, who used to be a newspaper reporter and now runs a pawn shop, is super suspicious, that's the best," "Haruka Igawa is great," and "I'm really curious about what role Haruka Igawa will play."
On the other hand, there were also voices of suspicion that Haruko was the perpetrator of the parents' murder, and opinions that she was the girl (Kia Nakanishi) who was attacked in front of the Tagasari family home. Comments on social media included "I think Haruka Igawa is overwhelmingly suspicious," "Haruka Igawa seems to be hiding something," and "I wonder if Haruka Igawa is the girl who was attacked when the culprit was escaping."
