Furuhata Ninzaburo
1994 · 4 seasons · 36 episodes · Ended · Fuji TV
Drama, Crime
TMDB 8.8 · 25 votes
Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Kōki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. The series is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Furuhata Ninzaburo and Masahiko Nishimura as his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP, television hosts like Sanma Akashiya and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television, having spawned several seasons and TV specials.
Episodes
- S01E01Message from the Dead1994-04-1347m
On a dark and stormy night, Chinami kills her business partner in her remote manor house in the hills. Then the doorbell rings. As luck would have it, it's none other than Inspector Furuhata seeking refuge from the rain.
- S01E02The Moving Corpse1994-04-2047m
After killing a woman in a hit and run, a famous Kabuki actor decides to kill the only witness, a theatre security guard, and stage it to look like an accidental fall. Only Furuhata Ninazburo is not convinced.
- S01E03The Laughing Corpse1994-04-2760m
Furuhata is called to a scene where a woman has just killed a burglar but a chicken in the oven and a cigarette in the bin make the wily inspector suspicious.
- S01E04The Killing Fax1994-05-0460m
An action-packed night is in store for the police department after a famous writer's wife is kidnapped and he is tasked with delivering the money by the fax-using kidnapper. However, a grammatical question niggles at Furuhata.
- S01E05The Dirty King1994-05-1160m
Shogi 8-dan Yonezawa is no match for Furuhata Ninzaburo after murdering the overseer at the Ryujin Tournament.
- S01E06The Piano Lesson1994-05-1860m
Furuhata Ninzaburô gets involved in the drama surrounding an elite musical academy when he begins suspecting a fierce piano teacher of murdering the school's headmaster.
- S01E07Rehearsal for Murder1994-05-2560m
During a rehearsal, a beloved samurai movie star kills the despised studio executive. Was it an accident or murder? Furuhata Ninzaburo investigates.
- S01E08Murder Express1994-06-0160m
A trip should be enjoyable but Dr Nakagawa's trip was ruined when he realized he was being tailed by his wife's private eye. He decides to kill the nosy gumshoe on the train home but unfortunately for him, Furuhata Ninzaburo is on board.
- S01E09Broadcast Murder1994-06-0860m
During a live broadcast, a TV psychic desperately in need of validation pretends to find a corpse of a man he himself had killed earlier. The only person in the audience not convinced is Inspector Furuhata.
- S01E10The Contradictory Corpse1994-06-1560m
A politician's secretary murders his boss and the boss' mistress staging the scene to look like a murder-suicide. However, one of his victims survives and is taken to the hospital for recovery.
- S01E11Sayonara DJ1994-06-2260m
Furuhata and Shintaro are assigned to bodyguard a radio DJ who's been receiving threatening messages. However, the DJ turns out to be the killer with a devious plan and a watertight alibi.
- S01E12The Final Greeting1994-06-2960m
What happens when the killer you are hunting is your superior? Furuhata is about to find out after he begins suspecting the legendary Superintendent Kogure of murdering the man who killed his daughter.
