TOKYO, SHINBASHI
Can I keep this?
This isn't just any old ticket. It has a deeper meaning.
Okay.
-- timing: onctom --
-- subs: ersby --
Why are you wasting my time like this?
Are you on my team or not?
Sorry, Gohara-san. Really sorry.
After you.
Thanks.
(sigh)
I guess my way is out of date...
Tannai-san's way is still the best.
What are you talking about? Half the time you guys don't listen to a word that I say.
What's so funny?
Ah, I'm tired.
Excuse me?
Name?
I'm Otonashi Tsukiko. So?
I start here today.
There must be some mistake. Get out.
Is it okay to sit here?
No, it isn't!
Look at those clothes. What kind of cop dresses like that?
This is plain clothes, right?
Someone explain to her...
Phew.
What's she laughing at?
- It's just a ticket? - Don't you know?
See the numbers here? I've heard that these four numbers can tell the future.
Take the two ones as being two people
Then the number in the middle is the % chance of love.
You've heard this too, right? This morning when I bought this ticket
I saw ninety-four percent!! Isn't that amazing?
So you see, this ticket is saying
That I am shortly going to meet my one true love.
What kind of nonsense is this?
It's a well-known urban legend: the fortune-telling ticket stub.
- Huh? - Ah, sorry.
- It's probably not your thing. - Are you really a police officer?
Yes. Look.
"Investigation Team, assigned to Tannai"?
Ah, is there somewhere I can plug this in?
Plug...
- Just here. - Thank you.
- You're helpful, aren't you Ando? - Well, of course.
Done it. Okay.
(phone)
Hello?
Yes... yes.
What? Got it!
A body of a man has been found in Otemachi.
Estimated time of death is around eleven o'clock last night.
There aren't many people around here at that time.
He was found by a man on his way to work.
So he jumped from here...
Tannai-san
We've confirmed his identity.
Fujisawa Masashi. 38. Worked as an electrician for Higano Electrics.
Huh? What's this?
Kastuura, could you help me sort this out?
Sure...
Your collar. It was bent.
Er, thanks.
But I was referring to
this case.
Excuse me. Sorry.
Hup!
There was no note but he left his shoes on the roof.
It's suicide.
I don't want to make a fuss but
I'd like a word with you afterwards.
- Hey, don't speak like that - - Enough.
Oi! What are you doing?
In the olden days
a barrier was built around Edo Castle and this is one of it's power spots.
So they say if you do stretching exercises here
you'll feel stronger and more refreshed.
Woah...
Wait a second! Her? She's your new member?
Otonashi Tsukiko.
Tsukiko...
- May I just...? - Huh?
When he died he was looking this way.
Um, I'm Katsuura from Forensics. Pleased to meet you.
But...
Found it!
Tannai-san. This case involves a genuine urban myth!
- Huh? What's that? - And so
Solving this case will unlock the truth behind the urban myth itself!
What's going on here?
I'm the manager, Yoshida.
It came as a great shock to hear about suicide.
We're still investigating...
but what is all this?
Higano Electrics probably think it's better to be respectful.
Otonashi...
That's the shrine to Taira no Masakado.
So what?
Years ago, the Ministry of Finance was building a temporary shrine to replace the real one and
on the work site, there was a mysterious death.
- Coincidence. - After that,
there was a series of accidents at the Ministry until the shrine was restored.
After the war, they tried to remove it again but the bulldozer tipped over.
This also resulted in casualties.
- These things happen. - What are you getting at?
Pardon me.
Ever since Tokyo was called Edo, going back generations,
People have known about it.
And so,
this shrine is the location of an urban myth.
Our chairman is very much aware of Taira no Masakado.
In the past, an employee threw rubbish from here and later had an accident.
When an employee threw out a cigarette butt he returned to his house to find it on fire.
And there are many stories like this.
The company decided that any windows overlooking the shrine should be closed and covered.
Well, you could call it superstition.
Come to think of it, that body was looking at the shrine.
Exactly. So the death of Fujisawa
and the curse of Masakado are linked.
- Curse? - No, there's no such thing.
Since he left his shoes neatly on the roof...
- Suicide?
Well, he did have a heavy workload.
Ah, I'm Director Hagino.
Hagino-san?
He was my grandfather.
He was the first in our family to establish this company.
You know, in family companies...
What?!
Pressure was he under?
Well, he didn't really get on with his manager...
He wasn't very flexible.
You keep making us work like this while profits are falling.
Why won't anyone say anything?
Chiho-san. Did you hear about Fujisawa?
- Huh? - Everyone's talking about it.
It... was the curse wasn't it?
Of course, everyone else thinks so too.
What? Who are you?
She's police.
What do you know about the curse?
Recently Fukisawa-san was seen going up to the roof
- The roof? - Just a few days ago.
He had a really scared expression on his face as he came down.
Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.
I heard a voice.
- What voice was it? I think it was Masakado's voice he heard.
Masakado's voice?
Calling from the other world?
He'd often look down at the shrine.
This could be it.
I've got it.
Got it got it got it...
Just as I thought, I was right all along.
What the hell is all this about?
Is Fujisawa's death not interesting enough for you?
- Is that how it looks? - That's all I can see.
Hmmm.
This is the apartment of the victim, Fujisawa.
He lived here alone?
If we can find something like a note we can confirm that it's suicide.
Ah, here she is.
So cute.
The man loved cleanliness.
He really did love cleanliness.
Hm.
Ah.
What are you doing?
This special between season four and five.
It should be like this.
Oh...
That's bad.
If it's a bent collar or a DVD collection
Once you mess with the crime scene, you can't do forensics.
Well, it's better if things are as we found them
but since it's not the crime scene, just put it back the way it was.
- Okay. I remeber the order. - Oi, Forensics. What are you doing?
Just investigating...
Okay. Phew.
"Goodbye"
So there was a note. He'd left it in the house.
It's definitely suicide.
- I don't think so. - What d'you mean?
Certainly, Fujisawa-san may have jumped,
but was there someone else who made him jump?
Murder?
No. This is neither murder nor suicide.
It's the curse. Masakado's revenge.
Bullshit!!
Screw Masakado. And screw the curse.
That's nothing to do with this case.
Hey, newbie. If it's suicide, we can finish the report with one sentence.
If I don't have that report tomorrow morning then I'll send you right back to traffic warden!
And I'll make damned sure you're never allowed to be a detective again!
Got that? Good!
It's been a while since I heard the famous "demon voice of Tannai's"
Is that right?
Huh? Are you alone?
Do you fancy some food or...?
To prove the curse
- I have to disprove both suicide and homocide. - Huh?
There are women in that company who know the truth.
Fujisawa-san had just been transferred there. he wouldn't have known about the curse.
But he looked down on the shrine he was overcome with despair.
You really love that stuff. Urban myths and legends.
The thing about urban legends a lot of them are told as jokes or stange old tales
but there must be some truth in there somewhere.
So I think that they influence things today.
What things?
Recently, police techniques have developed so when I think about all these unsolved cases...
- It's a pity, don't you think? - I guess...
That's why I became a detective.
So I could take this list of unsolved crimes
And shed some light on them.
I see. I like these kinds of stories too.
Really? Urban myths?
- We can talk about this over dinner, perhaps. - Hey, which do you know?
- The tunnels under the National Diet building? - Not really, no.
- Or the rumour about Speilberg? - Speilberg?
Ah, the director of Star Wars?
Perhaps not.
If you don't know, then there's no point in talking about it.
Sorry.
But, there's something about the case that keeps bothering me.
At the scene, we found a small bit of mud on the body.
Mud...
- What? What? - Hey, Katsuura...
If you find anything else like that, let me know, okay?
Before anyone else.
Absolutely.
- Okay, shall we go? - Let's go? Okay.
- You mean, go and eat? - Yep.
- Is this it?
Ah, perhaps we'll go somewhere after this. Gotcha.
Sorry for making you wait.
What are you doing at eleven at night that makes you so busy?
Are you here to talk about my alibi?
Wasn't it suicide?
We're just making 100% sure it's not murder.
In that case...
The whole sales team are my alibi.
Huh?
I was holding a party for them. In my house.
Apart from Fujisawa, everyone was there.
They were all at my place until after midnight.
Apart from people in the company, there's no one else who could've pushed him.
So that means the number of suspects is getting smaller.
Well, if you think we're making progress
Perhaps we can celebrate by getting a bite to eat somewhere.
Don't worry.
I told them I was with all the managers until the middle of the night
Thank you so much for coming.
If I said that you were the first to leave alone
that would make them suspicious.
What? A stomach ache?
"I'm in the hospital reception now, but it's not very busy."
Hey, cop. You can't take a day off because you're feeling a bit ill.
She's ill? It's only her second day.
Tsukiko Otonashi-san to desk three, please.
Okay.
They just called me. I'll be in touch just as soon as I'm done.
Otonashi, you -
She hung up.
This idiot hung up on me!
You're enthusiastic for one so young.
Hm, I've not seen you here before.
Do you come here often?
Masakado-san went through a lot to be our hero.
Hero? Isn't he supposed to be frightening?
No, no.
For generations now, this man has been a hero in this neighbourhood.
He fought for the rights of the people against an autocratic court
And tried to make a new country here in Kanto.
The people of Kanto were suffering and needed liberating.
Even some employees of these offices have said they're sorry.
That suicide...
The Great Masakado would gladly hear his wishes, but...
Huh? What do you mean?
After Masakado was defeated, the head was taken to Kyoto.
But by itself, it was able to fly back here.
The head? Flew? From Kyoto?
Yes.
It was the desire to return to his homeland, yes?
In memory of that story
these frogs were placed here.
Office workers whose feel like they have been forgotten
come here so that their wishes can be heard.
Again and again they stop here on their way to the office
And he was one of those people.
Fujisawa-san? He used to work here?
Perhaps it slipped the manager's mind.
Just because he didn't know about it, doesn't mean there isn't a curse.
So then, why bother with going to the roof so much?
- Ah. - Hm?
I knew it! It's from Haruki!
Look out for the Big Dipper and the barrier of iron.
- It says. - What sort of code is that?
Big Dipper...
In the metropolitan area, including the Kanda Myojin shrine and burial ground,
There are seven shrines to Masakado.
Join these with a line
and it looks like the Big Dipper.
The Meiji government wanted to break the curse
So they built the Yamamoto line as a barrier of iron between them.
At least, that's how the story goes.
But what did he mean by "take care"?
Has something weakened the power of the Yamamoto line?
Wh... who is that? Haruki?
After the barrier collapses something terrible might happen.
But how did you know you were going to get that text
- Even before it... - Oh, I just know.
Texts, phone calls. Usually.
Usually?
Thanks, Haruki.
- First, we have to solve the curse of Masakado. - But who is this Haruki, anyway?
This could be bad...
Ah!
Aah!
Yoshida?! Boss?
Quick! Someone call an ambulance!
What happened to Yoshida-san?
He had a sudden heart attack.
Could it be the curse?
What was that? Isn't the investigation over?
Isn't that Chiho's seat over there?
I have a couple of things to ask her. Where is she?
We're not supposed to talk to any outsiders unless it's necessary.
I won't tell anyone
Please.
The building where Fujisawa-san jumped from was the one where he used to work.
His boss demoted him because he would always argue.
But why did he go to the roof so often?
Unlike you, I don't have time for childish theories
Childish? Is that how I look?
You're a detective, but you dress like that.
I guess dressing like that means the guys treat you well.
That's right. So, since I'm still young,
I thought I'd like a little pampering.
If you just show a bit of leg, suddenly people are a lot more co-operative.
The police force is a man's world
If it works and you've got it, then why not use it?
You're a sly one, aren't you?
Well...
Is that an engamement ring?
Yes. I'm engaged.
To Hagino Ryoichi-san?
Sorry, but I saw you two together.
Ah, do you have a cat?
If a cat sneezes near a bride on the morning of the wedding
then she will have a happy marriage... so they say.
I saw that yesterday.
That frog on your strap.
Are you waiting for someone?
Perhaps you were praying that Fujisawa-san would come back?
Why? I haven't told anyone.
I worked it out myself.
Yesterday, you were that upset.
What the hell is all this about?
When I seemed amused by Fujisawa's death.
You see, when you heard about Fujisawa,
it upset you very much. Right?
Fujisawa-san was my boyfriend for a while.
But we had a difficult break up.
After that, I started seeing Hagino-san.
We held a party two days ago to announce our engagement.
I wish you two every happiness...
Cheers!
And that was the night Fujisawa died?
I should throw this away... I suppose.
Tsukiko-san?
"Perhaps this is a normal suicide after all"
I see. That's just as well.
We looked everywhere, but there's one thing that doesn't make sense.
"Eh? What thing?"
That piece of mud.
"Futsuura-san, why don't you come round?"
What? To your place?!
Coming.
She's already asked me to her place...
Sorry, just drying my hair. Come in.
Okay...
Thanks...
This is a nice place.
I bought this. Is that okay?
Um...
So. What is it?
Hm?
About the mud. What did you find?
Oh, that...
The pollen we found doesn't come from the mud.
Pollen? What pollen?
Chinese Bellflower.
Bellflower?
But there's no Chinese Bellflower in that area.
And it usually doesn't flower until around June.
I mean bloom naturally.
Strange, that.
Did he stop at the Botanical Gardens before he jumped?
- Got it. - Hm?
- Eh? Eh?
- I've got it, Katsuura! - Got it?
A visitor?
Ah. I thought we were alone.
I'm her sister, Miyako.
Oh, I see.
If you'd said Msakado and Bellfower before I could have made the connection much sooner.
This is definitely it. The incident certain involves Msakado.
I can write that report now.
Tsukiko-san, you said "got it"...
"Got it."
Sorry about that. Once she's like this, she can't be stopped.
- I wouldn't even bother waiting. - Ah.
Well, I bought this too.
Hm, thanks.
So, tell me about Haruki?
- Her ex-boyfriend? - Boyfriend?!
Ah. Her ex. Ex.
Sorry I was ill yesterday.
Here's the report.
Staying healthy is an important part of police work.
What kind of report is this?
Fujisawa-san's body had grain of pollen stuck to it.
This is the strongest evidence showing that the curse of Masakado was involved.
Now, if I can explain the connection...
Shut up! Masakado again!
You're fired! You're police career is over.
You'll never be allowed to carry a badge again. Hah!
- What's this?
Ha ha ha, doesn't look very busy this morning.
- Ah, the Assistant Commissioner. - (all) Good morning!
Good morning. Tsukiko, my love.
"My love"?
And good morning, Takeshi, dear.
"Dear?"
Should I say, "Assistant Commissioner."
How adorable.
Just knowing I can see your sweet smile in the morning
- makes coming to work all worthwhile. - A ha ha...
Assistant Commissioner. How do you know Otonashi?
Well, we meet now and then. Keep up the good work.
Yes!
If there's anything you need, just send me an email.
Ah, I almost forgot!
So that's how it is.
Suddenly I feel very tired.
Hey hey, good morning.
What's with this mood?
How are you getting on with that sucide case? Made much progress?
- It's almost finished. - I see, I see.
Then you won't mind taking another case.
I want you to record the movements of a suspect for the next 24 hours. Stick to him like glue.
Is this about the serial killer case?
It's probably best if you don't know.
Understand? Today, just stick to the basics.
And I don't what to hear any whining from you.
Who is this person I'm tailing?
The less you know, the happier I am.
Stay with him for twenty four hours and make a record of everything he does. Got it?
That's not safe...
Where are you looking?
You're supposed to be watching the entrance.
Yes, but... you'd better move.
Is this about the curse again? Don't waste my time again!
Aagh!
Ow... ow...
Katsuura! Katsuura!
What are you doing?
This is related to the investigation.
- Detective? - That's right. Excuse me.
Katsuura!
The curse of Msakado finally caught up with the boss!
Hay, Katsuura.
The curse of Msakado finally caught up with the boss!
- Huh, Tannai-san? - I was able to escape unharmed
But now I think I have proof of the curse.
- What's this girl on about? - Beats me.
Proof?
When Fujisawa killed himself
He was looking down at the shrine from the roof.
Uh huh.
I don't believe it myself. About the curse.
Of course you do. Policemen often think that way.
Here.
Take this.
Kanda Myojin. It's where Masakado is enshrined.
Take care.
If I record something weird, what should I do?
In ten minutes it'll be the same time as when Fujisawa killed himself.
This is for you. Hm?
Use this and try and see the shrine down there.
- Why me?! - I'm too scared.
- But I'm scared too. - But you'll have this.
No way! Absolutely not!
- I'm going home. - Pathetic. Call yourself a cop?
- Fine, then. - Sorry.
If it looks like I'm going to fall, just hang on with all your strength.
I really don't think this is a good idea.
- Whether or not there's a curse - - There is.
I have also been spirited away. What.
For three days, people searched for me but I couldn't be found.
It was while I was researching what happened to me during those three days
that I started to be interested in urban legends.
Weren't you kidnapped? Nope. Spirited away. I was five.
All I can remember is a large black shadow with wings.
Wings? Like a bird?
Whatever took me might have been a person or not
It might have been a bird or not.
It had wings from its back, and it could walk and fly.
- It was... - It was...?
A Tengu. (a mythical bird-like demon)
Woah!
- Agh! - Tsukiko-san!
Are you okay?
I'll pull you back up.
(distant laughter)
What's that?
Is... this the urban legend? Got it!
Everyone, today I've brought you here to Kando Myojin shrine:
The most important piece in this puzzle.
This is where Masakado was enshrined.
Otonashi! What are you up to now?
In order to show that Fujisawa's death was a result of the curse
I continued to investigate the case.
Just go home, Otonashi.
Unfortunately,
as I worked on it, the case took a turn for the worse.
What are you talking about?
Last night I stood on the roof of that building.
And I was able to hear this terrible laughter.
The floor below the roof is the president's offices.
What about it?
Sounds from the room leaked out.
The chairman had invited young women to these rooms for a party.
Drinking expensive wine, laughing loudly.
As company performance fell, and the firm was restructured,
The Chairman has been living this lifestyle.
Yoshida-san, you are experts in your field but
it's clear that the company is not doing well.
Fujisawa saw that and tried to change it.
Otonashi. Get to the point.
Fujisawa-san has been recording conversations
in the Chairman's offices from the roof.
When I went into his apartment earlier, I thought it was odd.
That someone so neat and tidy would leave his DVDs out of order.
That was a sign to search there
inside the only DVD that was upisde down.
And this is what I found. An I.C. Recorder.
If we press play...
"Ryoichi. It looks like I lost quite a bit at the casino last night.
"Ahh, we can cover that up."
You can continue. Put it on the company card.
Don't get complacent, Ryoichi.
That's enough.
I've been troubling my grandson. We'll find a way.
Fujisawa-san tried to uncover the fraud before it brought the company down.
With a little more time, he might have succeeded.
But somehow Higashino-san found out
about what Fujisawa-san was doing.
So you held a party in a nearby apartment block.
Higino-san called Fujisawa-san to meet him at a building.
Building? This is nonsense.
To the top of the Hagino building, to be exact.
No one lives nearby, so there's no one to hear any screaming.
Are you serious?
You'll bring down the company.
I'm the one that's protecting the company!
So you won't reconsider?
I think the Chairman would reconsider once everyone resigns.
I see...
What?
Stop that! Stop!
Wait! Wait a second!
Aaargh!
- But he didn't jump from that building. - Wrong.
Otonashi. What evidence do you have to support this?
A Chinese Bellflower. Bellflower?
Maskado had seven doubles.
Yet he was betrayed by his lover who knew the defining feature that could tell him apart
and she told his enemies how they could identify him.
The name of this woman was Kikyo, or Chinese Bellflower.
When I heard that they'd found pollen from a Chinese Bellflower
I was convinced the curse was involved.
You thought the two were related?
That's right.
What's Forensics doing here?
We did a thorough search of the Hagino building
Inside we found a Chinese Bellflower plant.
And, for some reason,
it was already in bloom.
I see now. The pollen on his clothes...
So we conducted a new search of the area.
Although it had been mostly washed away, we found traces of blood.
Blood? Enough for a DNA sample?
It was Fujisawa-san's.
Huh? So...
why was Fujisawa's body taken from there
and placed in Otemachi? - Wait!
I mean... I'm not the criminal!
- Wait!
I'm not the criminal. I have an alibi. Isn't that right, dad?
- Hmm. - Chiho.
I see you haven't thrown that frog away yet.
If you know anything, then now's the time to say it.
This man... is a liar.
What the...?
Hey, Chiho. What is this?
You killed him. Both of you.
Of course not.
At the party,
these two men quietly left around ten o'clock,
and they didn't return until dawn.
I see. And in that time they killed and moved Fujisawa.
They placed the shoes on the other ledge, and put the body in the back alley.
Then they went to Fujisawa's home and placed the supposed suicide note.
Isn't that right?
This has all been a big misunderstanding.
I had no idea about any plot Fujisawa-san had against the company.
Stop with all these lies!
You knew all about his plans...
Because I'm the one that told you.
As I thought, Fujisawa-san was betrayed
by you, Chiho-san.
Why? Because you wanted to protect your fiancee?
I did it because I loved him.
I never forgot Fujisawa.
- Chiho? - Sorry.
When I accepted your proposal... I was lonely.
That's all it was.
When Fujisawa-san came back to the head office, I was so happy.
I'm going to split up with Ryoichi-san.
So... do you want to try again?
No, get married. Have a happy life.
I'll do everything I can to save the company.
"Save the company"... in what way?
To uncover the fraud.
He was completely focused on the company.
If he failed... The corruption in the company was the sort of thing you didn't even talk about.
Was it really that important?
Maybe, I'd have been killed too.
I was such a fool.
I guess so.
But when people fall in love they do foolish things.
As for you two, please accompany me to the station.
Let's go.
Tannai. Excellent work.
You wrapped up this case in barely half a day.
That's Tannai-san for you!
Well, it's all down to many years' experience, right?
Tsukiko, love! What a great result!
From the start you knew it wasn't suicide as you explained in that email.
It was nothing, really.
I could hardly call this nothing.
Ha ha ha.
It's a shame, though. Masakado had nothing to do with the case.
Nothing? It was very important.
Do you think that Bellflower pollen was chance?
If you hadn't found that, I would never have been able to discover the truth.
Ah.
Sorry for suspecting the curse, though.
With this case, we have learned the truth about Masakado.
It was a pretty weird case, though.
Weird things happen all the time.
It's just that people usually don't notice.
- So, let's go a grab something to eat. - Huh?
- It's lunchtime. - Off you go then.