Top 10 dramas which you would want to see a sequel for (Oricon)

This is a poll conducted by Oricon on 1,000 respondents as to which dramas they want to see a sequel for:

1) Hanzawa Naoki

2) Ama-chan

3) Kagi no kakatta heya

4) Strawberry Night

5) Kekkon Dekinai Otoko

6) Kaseifu no Mita

7) Haken no Hinkaku

8) Shitsuren Chocolatier

9) Lucky Seven

10) Odoru Daisousasen / Last Cinderella

Preview of "Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP"

Title: Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP
Official website: here
O.A. Date: 3 Jan 2014, 9pm
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Original novel by: Kishi Yusuke
Theme song: Face Down by Arashi
Cast: Ohno Satoshi, Toda Erika, Fujiki Naohito, Okada Yoshinori, Ukaji Takashi, Matsui Jurina, Sano Shiro, Kuroki Hitomi, Sato Koichi

SKE48's Matsui Jurina to appear in "Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP"; guest lineup also announced

SKE48 member Matsui Jurina will be appearing in the "Kagi no Kakatta Heya SP" due to be shown via FujiTV on 3 January 2014 at 9pm. The SP is a continuation of the hit drama series shown during the spring 2012 season and features Arashi's Ohno Satoshi as a security systems expert Enomoto Kei who works with lawyers played by Toda Erika and Sato Koichi to solve difficult mysteries.

Matsui who is only 16 years old, will be playing the new secretary of Serizawa (Sato) who is 21 years old. She commented that it was rare for her to wear such clothes typically worn by OLs and that it was difficult to say lines containing words which she doesn't say normally. However, it was a great experience to work with the crew and cast.

The guest lineup for the drama SP was also announced where Fujiki Naohito, Kuroki Hitomi, Sano Shiro and Okada Yoshinori will appear in the sequel.

Source: Sponichi

"Kagi no Kakatta Heya" to make its return as a drama SP next year

"Kagi no Kakatta Heya", the drama series starring Arashi's leader Ohno Satoshi which aired last spring, will be back as a drama SP next year, as announced on 15 September. The main cast of Ohno, Toda Erika and Sato Koichi will remain for the drama SP which is based on Kishi Yusuke's new novel under the Kagi series i.e. "Kagami no Kuni no Satsujin" (due to be published on 12 November) and another story "Futatsu no Mitshitsu" which has never been released before.

The "Kagi" drama series won many awards last year and had even received the Gold Award in US International Film and Video Festival 2013's entertainment category. After the drama ended last June, FujiTV was flooded with many requests for a continuation of the series thus leading to the decision to make a drama SP.

Filming will begin soon. Ohno who plays the lead character Enomoto Kei, expressed his excitement about acting in the SP and promised to memorise his long lines in order to solve the case.

Source: Sanspo

The 22nd TV Life Annual Drama Awards (2012)

The results of the annual TV Life Drama Awards were released in the 2 March to 15 March issue of TV Life where "Kagi no Kakatta Heya" won 5 awards including Best Drama, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Theme Song. Unfortunately, there were no details on who were the fellow nominees and how the results were derived so it wasn't obvious who had won over who and by what margin:

Best Drama: Kagi no Kakatta Heya
Best Leading Actor: Ohno Satoshi (Kagi no Kakatta Heya)
Best Leading Actress: Horikita Maki (Ume-chan Sensei)
Best Supporting Actor: Sato Koichi (Kagi no Kakatta Heya)
Best Supporting Actress: Toda Erika (Kagi no Kakatta Heya)
Best Theme Song: Face Down by Arashi (Kagi no Kakatta Heya)
Best Newcomer: Kimura Manatsu (Akumu-chan)

As you can see, it's pretty much a clean sweep for "Kagi no Kakatta Heya" even though it was a spring drama and it has been over six months since it ended. Usually, for annual drama awards, those which are shown nearer to when the voting is held gains an advantage because voters tend to remember them than those shown earlier in the year. Unless you've made a very deep impression on the viewers, chances are the drama will be pretty much forgotten. As such, this makes this achievement even more amazing since dramas with a comedic touch also tend to be regarded as "not-so-award-worthy". Of course, I can't discount the efforts made by Arashi fans who obviously may have a huge part to play in this victory.

There are interviews of the winners in this issue so depending on whose interview you'll like to see, I'll translate it and put it on the blog. Please leave your comments in this post so whoever gets the most mention will have his/her interview up here first. ^__^

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 9

This episode focuses on the central theme of behavioural habits where Enomoto goes about his usual routine of explaining how behavioural habits can be manipulated by those who know it and that it is precisely what was being used by the culprit in this case. To a certain extent, most people wouldn't know their own habits until someone points it out to them. If one tries to change his or her habit consciously, it usually comes off as rather unnatural and becomes a conscious action rather than a habit.

Serizawa and Aoto are having lunch when she remarks that no matter how busy Serizawa is, he would always find time to sit down and have a proper meal. Serizawa states that this is the key to his ability to stay healthy and handle his heavy workload because irregular meals and a deviation from his routine would break his momentum. Just then, Enomoto calls Aoto and asks to speak to Serizawa who tries to call Enomoto affectionately by a nickname. Although Enomoto is stunned for a brief moment, he resumes his usual self and talks to Serizawa politely about a corporate deal he is about to introduce to him. Serizawa is worried that this might be another closed room case but Enomoto explains that it is a corporate case and asks them to meet his acquaintance today.

However, to Serizawa and Aoto's horror, they find that the trading company which Enomoto talked about doesn't seem to be like the usual offices they've been to. Amid the tight security features of multiple locks on the doors and iron bars as window grilles, it gives the impression that this company is involved in some shady business. Moreover, the employees in this company are all men who dress in men and speak loudly as if to intimidate those who are speaking to them on the phone so these signs make the two of them wonder if they are in a gang's office. Enomoto explains to them that this company is involved in the trading business and he had come to know the president of the company because it had hired Enomoto's company to set up a security system for the office. Serizawa tries to probe further whether this is a gang-related company but Enomoto is clueless about Serizawa's apprehension and doesn't provide the answer the latter is asking for.

One of the directors in this company Nonogaki arrives at the office and greets Enomoto in such a friendly manner that makes Serizawa wonder about Enomoto's relationship with the people in this company. Enomoto explains that he's been to this company a couple of times and this time, he's here to replace a temporary lock he fitted a few days ago. The truth is, the vice president of this company was found dead in his office but the murderer had not been found yet. As a result, the police are still suspecting one of the employees Hatta because he was the only one in the office with the vice president (although they were in different rooms and Hatta had been sleeping) at that time. However, as the police did not find anything incriminating yet, Hatta was released from police custody. When Hatta sees Serizawa and Enomoto, he tries to explain that he is innocent and describes what happened that night. However, he appears as if he has something important to say regarding what happened that night but is interrupted when Nonogaki calls him to enter his office.

Just then, Hatta's daughter Misa comes to the office in order to pass her father's wallet to him. She approaches Aoto and even asks for her namecard in case Hatta gets into trouble in future. Misa suddenly looks at Enomoto intently and remarks cheerfully that he looks very cute and is her ideal type. Aoto teases Enomoto for being popular with girls while he tries to hide how he feels by Misa's sudden confession.

At the same time, Togashi, the president of the company, asks Serizawa if he can assist in the legal affairs regarding a business tie-up with a foreign company. However, Serizawa is worried about being implicated in this shady company's affairs and tries to reject the deal. Unexpectedly, after asking a few questions about Serizawa's habits, Togashi remarks with a smiling face that he already has an idea about Serizawa's routine so he will be able to make the latter do his bidding. This makes Serizawa freak out and he hurriedly leaves the office with Enomoto and Aoto.

A few days later, it seems like any other day where Hatta is left alone in the office as a guard for the night while the rest knock off. Nonogaki is about to leave with his colleagues Sakaguchi and Inuyama when he asks them to head downstairs first and goes to tell Hatta something. When Nonogaki comes down to the car park, he asks for a cigarette from Inuyama even though he's supposed to be quitting smoking. Sakaguchi hurries Nonogaki to stop smoking since the latter has asked for a ride home as his car is under repair. While chatting, they hear a gunshot coming from above and immediately rush back to the office. However, Hatta does not respond despite their shouts and the key is inside the office. They have no choice but to ask Enomoto to come and break the lock. As soon as they get in, they see Hatta slumped on the sofa with a gun...

Misa goes to look for Aoto at the law firm and asks Serizawa to help with the investigation of her father's death. Although police had said that Hatta could have committed suicide after being implicated as a suspect in the vice president's death, Misa believes otherwise. Serizawa is reluctant to get involved with that trading company and asks Aoto to take over the case with Enomoto.

During the course of their investigation, Enomoto and Aoto start to realise that Nonogaki's actions and out-of-his-usual-routine actions on the night when Hatta died suggest that he is involved in both murders. At the same time, Serizawa is approached by Sakaguchi who also suspects something about Hatta's death and asks Serizawa to investigate something.

As the Kagi trio try to find out how Nonogaki could have succeeded in killing the vice president and Hatta despite not being at the crime scenes which were supposedly closed rooms, Nonogaki seems to have realised that they are getting closer to the truth and shows up at Enomoto's office nonchalantly with a thinly-veiled threat for them to stop probing around. Undeterred by his demands, Serizawa shows up and challenges Nonogaki to try stopping them if he can which makes the latter walk off in a huff. Although Serizawa appeared to be fearless in front of Nonogaki, he had been worried whether Nonogaki would resort to violence to make them do his bidding and his legs give way as soon as Nonogaki leaves.

When it's time to have a final showdown with Nonogaki, he is still adamant about his guilt and even pulls a gun to point at the Kagi trio and Sakaguchi. At this moment, Togashi appears and chides Nonogaki for doing all these just to save his skin and even killing Hatta who he had brought into the company. This makes Nonogaki come to his senses and he crumbles like a defeated man...

To be honest, this is one of those episodes where the culprit is too easy to guess and the only excitement left for the viewer is to guess how the culprit did it and not who did it. As such, I do feel a bit of disappointment because even before the 2nd murder took place, the telltale signs there were so obvious and hard to ignore. Luckily, there were still some funny moments e.g. when Serizawa and Aoto were trying to confirm with Enomoto if they were in a gang's office and how they tried to get the message across to the very dense Enomoto so it made this episode a bit more bearable. The final two episodes are actually linked and should reveal Enomoto's background at one go. I would have wanted things to get slowly heated up from the revelation where Enomoto was said to be a criminal in the police database but that fizzled out very quickly and the last few episodes did not capitalise on that subplot to build up anticipation for the final episode. I think that's a great pity though so I hope that the revelations in the last 2 episodes are worth the wait and that I won't feel like I'm taken on a ride to nowhere...again.

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 8

Serizawa is appearing on a TV show where he boasts about how his corporate clients are able to avoid scandals by having strong governance, thanks to his help. Aoto and Rina who are watching Serizawa being so excited onscreen despite complaining earlier about how reluctant he was to make a TV appearance, remark jokingly that they finally understand why he is so successful i.e. being able to put on different faces depending on the situation. Suddenly, the host shifts to another discussion topic where he talks about closed room mysteries and introduces a celebrity Nakata Tomoka (Shida Mirai) whose aunt Nakata Fumie, a famous manga artist, was found dead in similar circumstances. Serizawa can tell that the topic will be deflected to him soon and squirms in his seat when the host brings up his history of solving such mysteries and Tomoka immediately pleads with Serizawa to solve her aunt's case. Being on TV, Serizawa has no choice but to accept the request and even declares that he will solve this case despite the fact that it has been Enomoto who had solved all the previous cases.

After the TV appearance, Serizawa regrets accepting Tomoka's request on the spur of the moment but Aoto isn't sympathetic at all since he brought it upon himself. He asks Aoto to get Enomoto to come to his office where they will hear the full story from Tomoka.

Tomoka relates how her aunt Fumie was found dead in her house which also served as a work studio. On the day she died, one of her assistances Tachibana Asami (Iwasa Mayuko) left the work studio at 5pm so Fumie was left alone. When Tomoka spoke to her on the phone at 6-plus, Fumie remarked that she was drinking with her assistant. Subsequently, when Anzai Rikako (MEGUMI) came to work at 10pm, she realised that she forgot to bring her spare key and was planning to call out to Fumie to open the door but found her dead in the living room. According to the police's speculations, they deduced that Fumie had tripped on a pile of materials left lying on the floor, knocked against a cabinet where a 5-kg clock fell onto her head. As such, they concluded that the entire incident was an accident. However, Tomoka finds it strange that this had happened thus she wants Serizawa to investigate what was the real cause of her aunt's death. Enomoto remarks that the presence of spare keys would have ruled this case as a closed room mystery but Tomoka explains that there is a reason why nobody could have entered the house.

When the Kagi trio and Tomoka head to the house where Fumie died, they see a fierce-looking dog at the entrance which barks at the sight of them. Tomoka explains that Fumie got the dog as a way of protecting her house from burglary which is a common problem in that area. Since the dog would bark at anyone other than Fumie and the neighbours did not hear the dog barking between 5pm and 10pm when Rikako called the police, that is why the police concluded that there was nothing suspicious about Fumie's death.

Enomoto goes about his usual business to inspect the house while Aoto and Serizawa find out more about Fumie and her assistants from Tomoka. Suddenly, Asami walks in unannounced and they are surprised to see her since they didn't hear the dog barking before she entered the living room. Asami declares that she is not responsible for Fumie's death and came to stress her innocence in case they start to suspect her. Just then, they hear the dog barking in the garden and find the other assistant Rikako there trying to defend herself against the dog with a K-9 canceller. Asami snatches the canceller from Rikako and tells her not to use it on the dog. Rikako admits sheepishly that she's scared of dogs so she has the canceller with her in case the dog tries to come near her.

When everyone gets back into the house, Rikako introduces herself as the first disciple of Fumie and that she has been with her for the past 10 years. She asks Serizawa to solve the case soon so that Fumie can be put to rest but Asami remarks sarcastically that Rikako might have wanted Fumie dead more than anything else. This makes the atmosphere full of tension as it appears that Rikako and Asami are sworn enemies and all is not well between them.

After the on-site inspection, Enomoto declares that there is no way for anyone to get out through the windows since they were all locked properly. As such, the logical explanation is that if there was a criminal, he/she could only get out of the house through the main door which was guarded by the dog. However, if that really happened, the dog should have barked and attracted the attention of the neighbours. Serizawa is elated to hear this because this means the end of the case if there was no suspicion of murder but Enomoto says that although the crime scene was a closed room, he didn't say that Fumie's death was the result of an accident. This dampens Serizawa's mood especially when Aoto also says that she feels the same way.

However, when Serizawa returns to his law firm, he is swamped by reporters who are eager to know the progress of the case. As soon as Serizawa says that the case might be an accident, the reporters start to leave because there is nothing juicy to report on. When Serizawa sees this, he immediately changes his stand and claims that the case is a murder and that he will definitely solve it.

Serizawa goes back to Enomoto's office in a bid to find out what the progress of the investigation is. However, when he hears that Enomoto and Aoto are making no headway and starting to believe that Serizawa's theory that Fumie's death was merely an accident, Serizawa gets worried and tries to get the two of them to continue with their investigations. He is relieved when Aoto says that she is going to find out more about Asami and Rikako from Tomoka because they think that things between the two assistants seem to be really strained and that could have something related to Fumie's death.

Tomoka reveals that Rikako has been Asami's assistant for the past 10 years but ever since Asami joined the work studio, her skills have made her overshadow Rikako's contributions and that Asami had been asked to take on more important work which Rikako had never done before. To make things worse, Asami kept telling Rikako that Fumie found her to be a burden and that Rikako was in danger of being fired.

Soon after, Fumie's house is found to be ransacked when Tomoka returns to clear her aunt's stuff. The strap originally attached to Rikako's K9 canceller was found at the work studio thus she becomes the prime suspect of being the culprit of this act in a bid to hide something. However, Enomoto finds out through a security video feed from Fumie's neighbour that the true culprit was Asami who wanted Rikako to be arrested for Fumie's murder as she believed that Rikako bore a grudge against her teacher. It was then revealed that Asami had lied to Rikako that Fumie was going to hire someone new to replace her and Asami truly believed that Rikako would kill Fumie after thinking that the latter had betrayed their relationship built over years.

The Kagi trio are walking through a park at night when Aoto suddenly remarks that she heard a high-frequency mosquito sound which only young people can hear. Serizawa starts to pretend that he can hear it in order to show that he's still "young". This sets Enomoto thinking and he suddenly realises the trick to the solving the mystery.

Aoto and Enomoto ask Rikako to Fumie's house and confront her with what they have found. When told about the motive of hatred towards Fumie, Rikako says that there is no proof of her killing her teacher just because of lies by Asami. However, Enomoto then explains that Rikako had planned her murder scheme meticulously by making use of the dog at the garden and the K9 canceller. He even shows her proof to back up his theory. The last nail in the coffin comes from Serizawa who tricked Rikako into digging her own grave and revealing that she was indeed lying about the circumstances that night when Fumie died. Having no way to deny the allegations, Rikako can only admit to killing Fumie.

After the case is solved, Serizawa goes on TV to bask in the glory of having solved another closed-room case. Aoto suddenly looks at Enomoto and says that she finally sees that (someone or something) can be relied on which makes the latter feel happy for a moment because he thinks that she is talking about him. When Aoto clarifies that she is talking about a dog, Enomoto starts to sulk and ignores Aoto's questions when she realises that she has made him angry but can't seem to know what exactly she had said wrongly...

This episode boasts of a trio of guest stars i.e. Shida Mirai, MEGUMI and Iwasa Mayuko which is a bit unusual because there is one guest star most of the time. Although I don't think we'll be seeing MEGUMI and Iwasa's roles anymore, Shida's character may jolly well make a comeback in future because frankly speaking, I don't see how they would get someone like her to act in such a small role just to introduce the Kagi trio to the case. I would have liked to see more of her but too bad, she was only making brief appearances in this story. And yes, she's really getting prettier these days which is a far cry from her sweet girl look years ago in Joou no Kyoushitsu.

As for the story itself, I think it was quite obvious who the culprit was because it could only be Asami or Rikako. And going by the usual "logic" of suspense mysteries, it is usually the unexpected one to be the culprit so that it can be a surprise on the viewer. Anyway, the moment the dog canceller made its appearance in this episode, Rikako already appeared to be the likely killer rather than Asami who just didn't seem to have a reason to kill Fumie. Since Asami was the favoured one, Rikako had a stronger motive since she felt that she was being slighted. Although it was hinted that Asami felt jealous over the bond Rikako and Fumie built up over the years, that was nothing compared to the feeling of being outdone by a newcomer which Rikako felt. She must have felt indignant over the preferential treatment but still she might not have thought of killing Fumie even if she was fired. The problem was that Asami had been fanning the flames of hatred in Rikako by telling lies and destroying the trust between Rikako and Fumie. That's why when Rikako realised that she was about to lose her job, she also lost her sanity at the same time. It also goes to show that a lie can have a drastic effect if it is allowed to grow out of proportion and how it can have unintended side effects.

Serizawa is prominently featured in this episode especially for his repeated boasting which causes him to be stuck in this mess. It was funny to see him trying to convince Aoto and Enomoto to see his point (whichever side it may be) as long as it suited his personal agenda. There wasn't anything significant going on between Aoto and Enomoto in this episode except for the sulking incident at the end where Aoto was so dense that she didn't know what went wrong and Enomoto simply did not want to answer Aoto because he was embarrassed at misunderstanding her words and yet annoyed that she didn't think of him in the same good way as she described a dog. ^__^ It will probably take ages for anything romantic to happen between them because one keeps his feelings to himself while the other has no idea what is going on!

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 7

The opening sequence starts with our Kagi trio in a traditional house at night and the surroundings looking rather eerie. Enomoto talks about how people tend to have two different types of views when it comes to things they can't explain i.e. one attributing it to supernatural forces and the other insisting that everything can be explained with science. This suggests that the case we have on hand looks like it's something which looks unexplainable by science but there is definitely more than meets the eye...

On their way to the law firm, Serizawa tells Aoto that he's going to take a short vacation to Monaco to watch the F1 race even though he can only spare four days (inclusive of the weekend). Aoto marvels at how he can squeeze in a holiday to such a far away place within such a short period. At the reception, they are surprised by the presence of Endo, a man from Nagano who had previously asked to meet Serizawa to solve a closed-room mystery case involving his buddy Nishino whose daughter Manami was found dead at home. As Nishino was the first person to discover the body and that the body had found no other suspects at the moment, Nishino is still in custody even though the murder took place a couple of days ago.

Serizawa is extremely reluctant to take on this case as he is going on holiday soon and that this case may not bring him any tangible benefits. However, Aoto tries to persuade him to listen to Endo at least, just to find out what the case is all about.

During the discussion, Endo describes how Manami was supposed to return home after school that afternoon but her father found that the door was still locked at the time she was supposed to be at home. He was aghast to find his daughter lying dead on the floor and was in a spaced-out state when Endo sent Nishino's younger daughter Asuka back to the Nishino residence. Although the police failed to find any other suspects, Endo strongly feels that the only person who was capable of killing Manami should have been Nishino's eldest son cum Manami's elder brother, Takeru who was missing since running away from the police when he was caught for assault.

After agreeing to take on the case and sending Endo off, Serizawa tells Aoto to work on this together with Enomoto. Aoto asks if Serizawa is really not joining them this time but the latter insists that he has to go on his vacation and would not give it up for this case. Moreover, he doesn't like to go to the countryside since he prefers city life. Despite Aoto trying hard to sell Nagano as a better vacation spot than Monaco, Serizawa is not convinced and even tries to scare Aoto that she might run into supernatural things there. This makes her feel rather uneasy but she tries to brush off these nagging thoughts and proceeds to contact Enomoto to go to Nagano with her.

However, Aoto fails to find Enomoto at his office and finds out that he's actually on leave to find an ancient lock somewhere. Aoto is disappointed to know this because this means that Enomoto won't be able to go to Nagano with her. When she asks out of curiousity where Enomoto is, she is pleasantly surprised to hear that he's already in Nagano and tells him to stay put there as she scrambles to meet up with him.

Endo brings Aoto and Enomoto to the Nishino residence which was built more than 100 years ago. Enomoto is curious about the sophisticated lock at the entrance which is quite unusual in the countryside where people tend not to lock their houses. Endo explains that Nishino installed the lock a few years back which coincided with the time when Takeru disappeared. Endo explains that the police concluded that Manami was killed in a closed room because only Nishino and Manami had the keys to the door and that the latter's keys were in the house. Moreover, it was impossible for anyone to lock the house without the keys. In addition, Endo said that a woman who was working in a nearby apple orchard had been facing Nishino's entrance that day and testified that she saw nobody else approaching that entrance other than Manami, Nishino, Endo and Asuka. Endo also mentions that a friend of Manami told the police that they were on the phone when the latter entered her house and the call was abruptly ended when she suddenly exclaimed "who is that?".

In the Nishino residence, the only escape route looks to be the open window on the first floor but Enomoto inspects the surroundings and concludes that it's impossible for the murderer to leave the house without leaving any footprints on the wet ground. That night, Aoto and Enomoto continue to inspect the Nishino residence to find more clues when Aoto happens to see a blue light at the toilet and this freaks her out. In addition, they hear from Endo that there were people who saw Takeru in the village the previous night before Manami died which seems to lend more credibility to the assumption that Takeru is the culprit.

While discussing the case with Serizawa over a videoconference, Enomoto and Aoto share their findings with him but somehow unwittingly forget about Serizawa's presence during the conversation. Serizawa feels left out and in order to conceal this, he pretends that he's enjoying life in Monaco but in actual fact, he's alone in his big and luxurious hotel room with just the TV as his companion.

The following day, Enomoto and Aoto continue their investigations which lead them to find out that someone had stolen a ladder from the apple orchard and broke into the Nishino residence's through a window on the second floor. Apparently, the lock at that window was faulty and Takeru looks like the only one who could have known abut it other than the Nishino family.

Serizawa returns from his vacation at the same time as Enomoto and Aoto who come back to Tokyo from Nagano. When they meet up at Enomoto's office, Serizawa finds out that Enomoto had no time to create a model and feels left out again when Aoto and Enomoto start imagining the layout based on what they've seen but he can't do it since he didn't go to Nagano.

Just then, they get a call from Endo saying that the police found where Takeru had been staying in Tokyo. Apparently, the alarm system at his apartment was activated and when Enomoto's company went to investigate with the police, they found Takeru missing and a gold bar from the Nishino residence there. Although this seems like Takeru is definitely involved in the theft of the gold bars and murder of Manami, Enomoto thinks that it is strange for Takeru to leave the alarm on like that and he deduces that someone who has no idea how security systems work should have broken into Takeru's apartment and planted the gold bar there. When Aoto mentions that nobody was seen at the entrance of the Nishino entrance on the day of the crime, this gives Enomoto an idea...

Everyone gathers at the Nishino residence where Enomoto explains what should have happened on the day of Manami's murder. On the previous night where Nishino and his daughters spent the night at Endo's place, Takeru broke into the Nishino residence through the window on the 2nd floor and stayed there for the night. When he was trying to search for valuables to steal, he bumped into Manami and got into an argument with her thus leading Takeru to kill her. Nishino came home and realised what happened where he was especially angry at Takeru for not repenting on what he had done. He tricked Takeru into believing that he was going to give up the gold bars to him but actually strangled him to death and buried him inside the toilet. That was why Aoto saw the blue flame there at night because that was a sign of gases released during the disintegration of the body. In order to push the blame to Takeru, Nishino opened the window to signal that Takeru escaped through there but failed to realise the absence of footprints to make his scheme more believable. In addition, he also planted the gold bar at Takeru's apartment in Tokyo so that police would believe that Takeru was responsible.

Back at Tokyo, Serizawa is annoyed that Aoto and Enomoto went ahead to solve the case without him but Aoto retorts that he was the one who said he hated going to the countryside so they didn't want to ask him along. He is slightly appeased when Aoto promises to give him the details of the resolution...

In this episode, I was actually suspecting Endo more than Nishino because he had been so actively involved in trying to prove Takeru's guilt but it turns out that Nishino who was out of sight for most of the episode turned out to be the culprit. That's a small surprise, considering that the culprits so far in this drama are very easy to identify. As for the tricks used, I think it wasn't exceptionally exciting though although I enjoyed Enomoto's explanations of the locks and security systems. Actually, this is rather dry information but somehow, Enomoto does it in such a way that even when he is putting on a straight face and talking about facts, it somehow feels rather interesting. One funny thing in this episode was to see how Serizawa tried hard to be included in the Kagi trio but kept getting left out. He appears to be a reluctant member of the Kagi trio but it is obvious that he enjoys teaming up with Aoto and Enomoto on these cases.

One grouse I have towards this drama is, they keep dropping little hints of Enomoto's background as and when they like but for the past two episodes, there isn't anything significant revealed. I would have liked to hear more about Enomoto but I guess this is likely reserved for the last few episodes and will be shown to the viewers at one go. I wouldn't mind more teasers at this stage though because there's still a number of episodes before I get to the finale but it looks like the scriptwriter is not going to make things go my way.

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 6

This time, our "detective trio" investigates a case which takes place in a theatre. At the beginning of the episode, Enomoto goes about his usual routine and explains how people are misled by their assumptions which leads them to miss out the important things. It will be worth noting that this short introduction clip contains a small trick which most people can't spot unless you hear Enomoto explaining it towards the end of the episode. This is something which has been used and widely discussed in many detective/suspense dramas but the concept never becomes stale because it's always a blind spot in human nature to miss what's in the surroundings when they are focused on something else.

Aoto asks Enomoto out to watch a stage play titled "Mishitsu ni torawareta otoko" (A man trapped in a closed room) at the invitation of Mizugi Rina, a secretary working in Serizawa's law firm who also happens to be the daughter of Serizawa's senior. Rina knows that her father objects to her acting so she has to keep this a secret. Enomoto obviously has no interest in stage plays but agrees to come along since he finds the title intriguing. Aoto is very impressed with the performance before the play and keeps exclaiming her excitement but Enomoto remains cool as a cucumber. When they finish watching the play, Aoto remarks that she didn't know the truth behind the mystery until the end while Enomoto remarks nonchalantly that he knew what happened at midpoint. They keep waiting for Rina to come out of the theatre but she's still nowhere to be found so they go to look for her with the assistance of a staff member. It is then that they find that one of the founding members of the theatre group Yakushiji was murdered by a wooden pole used to hit his head.

Serizawa hears from Aoto what happened and is worried about what might happen if Rina's father hears about what happened especially if her boyfriend is one of the murder suspects. He wants nothing to do with the case but Aoto manages to twist Serizawa around her finger by threatening to tell Rina's father that Serizawa failed to keep an eye on Rina and report her acting activities to him. Serizawa has no choice but to let Aoto get Enomoto continue with the investigation.

However, this case turns out to be more troublesome than expected and Enomoto has no idea what the murderer could have done to commit the crime. As Aoto goes around talking to the key personnel in the case i.e. Onitsuka (Sakamoto Masayuki), Hatakeyama (Horiuchi Keiko) and Ioka (Kiriyama Akito) who were also performers in the same segment as Yakushiji, she realises that Ioka (Rina's boyfriend) was likely to be the ghost writer of Onitsuka in exchange for a chance to act on stage.

At the same time, Onitsuka pays a visit to Enomoto on the pretext of asking about security systems which he would like to incorporate into his next script. Aoto tells Enomoto to ask Onitsuka indirectly if he might have been involved in the murder. Enomoto's lack of interest in knowing who's the culprit prompts him to ask Onitsuka bluntly (maybe he wants to get it over and done with?) and visibly startles the latter who starts to stutter. However, during their conversation, Enomoto does pick up an useful lead which indicates that Onitsuka would not have written the script for the play and Ioka should have been the ghost writer.

As Serizawa starts to get uptight about Rina's father asking him about his daughter again during the next meeting, he hurries Aoto to try to solve the case as soon as possible. While observing Onitsuka at the theatre, Enomoto realises something and checks it against a video recording of the play he watched with Aoto. Unexpectedly, Aoto also gets a lead from Hatakeyama that leads them to confirm that Onitsuka is the killer of Yakushiji.

Apparently, Yakushiji found out about Ioka being Onitsuka's ghost writer for an award-winning stage play and blackmailed him for money. This had been witnessed by Hatakeyama who happened to be present at the theatre. In order to stop Yakushiji from having his way, Onitsuka planned to murder Yakushiji and made use of the stage to create a scheme which would help him deflect suspicion. He had no intention of getting Ioka to be his scapegoat and was confident that Ioka wouldn't be implicated since there was no evidence that he could have killed Yakushiji.

I have to admit, this episode didn't excite me at all. Sakamoto Masayuki's appearance as a guest should have spiced things up a little especially when fellow artistes from Johnny's come together in the same drama/movie. The interaction between Enomoto and Onitsuka was sorely lacking and I thought it might have been better if we had been shown more of their conversation at Enomoto's office. That would have given an opportunity to provide some much-needed sparks in this episode. Even the showdown at the end of the episode felt like Onitsuka had no chance of defending himself against Enomoto and the latter literally had the whole stage to himself.

The use of humans' assumptions in suspense stories like this isn't a new concept and it depends very much on how the writer chooses to use it. Frankly speaking, it's always a given that we know who the culprit is in this drama. At least, that's what I'm seeing so far after 6 episodes. However, that scene of showing Onitsuka on stage practising the exact movements which would bring attention to himself was unwarranted. It was almost like he was telling the whole world that he was capable of doing that. To give the character the benefit of the doubt, he might not have been aware that Enomoto was sitting in the audience observing him but to me, I felt that there wasn't a need for the scriptwriter to show that to the viewers, at least not in that setting. If Enomoto had chanced upon Onitsuka practising those moves somewhere without others present, that would have gone down better with me.

At the end of this episode, we see Enomoto picking a lock AGAIN and it seems like this has nothing to do with his work. What's with that smirk after breaking the lock? ^__^ Somewhere in this episode as well, it is revealed that Koono feeds Enomoto information about the progress of police investigations. Are they getting too close for comfort? Does Koono have a motive for being friendly with Enomoto? After that revelation about Enomoto possibly being a criminal, nothing has taken place in this episode so I would look forward to more hints about Enomoto's background.

The next story takes place in the suburbs and has a hint of something supernatural going on. Given that this drama is not about spirits or the supernatural, the murder must have been the work of a human being so knowing this, viewers probably won't get spooked by whatever goes on.

Top 10 single episode ratings for dramas in first half of 2012

1) Carnation - Ep 97 - 25.0%

2) Ume-chan Sensei - Ep 66 - 22.8%

3) Aibou 2-hour SP - 20.5%

4) ATARU - Ep 1 - 19.9%

5) Kagi no kakatta Heya - Ep 1 - 18.3%

6) Taira no Kiyomori - Ep 2 - 17.8%

7) Strawberry Night - Ep 2 - 16.9% / Lucky Seven - Ep 2 - 16.9%

9) Nasuke no Onna SP Kokuzeikyoku Sousakan - 16.6%

10) Taxi Driver no Suiri Nisshi - 16.3%

Source: Oricon

Kagi no Kakatta Heya scores 17.5% for its finale; secures No.1 spot in Spring 2012

"Kagi no Kakatta Heya" finished its run on 25 June with a high rating of 17.5% in the Kanto region thus cementing its position as top drama in the Spring 2012 season. The drama started promisingly with its debut episode rating at 18.3% and hovered around the 15% mark for most of the season except 2 episodes. In the end, the drama scored an average of 15.86% which was also higher than last season's "Lucky Seven". As for the title of the highest-rated single episode, that honour went to ATARU's first episode which got 19.9%.
Source: Sponichi

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 5

This episode is very different from the past four because there isn't a lock which caused the closed-room situation.The old Enomoto Kei wouldn't have been concerned with such a situation at all but he has become more "receptive" now to solving such "non-lock" mysteries. What also distinguishes this case from the rest is that instead of Aoto or Serizawa who serves as the "bridge" between Enomoto and the case, Koono, the police detective who appeared during episode 3 makes a comeback in this story as the person who asked Enomoto to take a look at the crime scene. Last but not least, there's a major revelation about Enomoto at the end of the episode which raises more questions about his mysterious background.

Enomoto is asked by Koono to visit a newly-constructed house which is also where a construction company employee Takemoto was found dead. The house belongs to a senior high school teacher Sugisaki and is meant to be his new residence with his fiancee once they get married. However, due to slipshod work done on the house, it suffered serious damages to its structure after a recent earthquake. In order to prevent the fact about substandard work done being leaked to the public, Takemoto offered to do the repairs to Sugisaki's house for free. However, he was later discovered to be dead by Sugisaki in the living room which has its exit sealed because the door was stuck in the distorted door frame. As such, despite without a lock, the room became a sealed space with no apparent way of escape for a murderer.

As Enomoto goes about his usual routine to inspect the house, viewers are treated to some constant bantering between Serizawa and Koono. Serizawa is surprised by the fact that Enomoto would take up this case at the request of Koono and seems to feel jealous about their seemingly "close" relationship. Serizawa tries to play up the fact that he's close to Enomoto but the latter snubs him in front of Koono, much to his embarrassment. Just when you think that relations between Serizawa and Enomoto are warming up, this sudden display of indifference makes Serizawa bewildered and even more eager to prove to Koono that Enomoto is on closer terms with him.

After inspecting the house, Enomoto concludes that at present, there seems to be no way of shutting that door in the living room without knocking on it several times with something like a hammer. As such, it looks likely that Takemoto could have slipped and fallen to his death by knocking his head onto the cracked floor. However, Enomoto still proceeds to the senior high school where Sugisaki works in along with Aoto and Serizawa to see if Sugisaki could have been responsible for Takemoto's case. Alas, they confirm that he was in school to train the baseball team at that time and could not have gone to his house to kill Takemoto. Just as they are about to leave the school, Enomoto notices cigarette butts in the storeroom and starts to think of something.

Enomoto and Aoto return to the scene again and he deduces that it is possible to "seal" the living room without a key or the murderer being actually in the room. In order to confirm his hypothesis, they return to Sugisaki's school and discover that there was a period of time where nobody could prove that Sugisaki was in school on the day Takemoto died. Then they discover from the students who had skipped running practice that the pitching machine was missing on that same day.

Enomoto, Aoto and Serizawa then confront Sugisaki with their findings and he finally reveals why he killed Takemoto. Apparently, Sugisaki's fiancee Iikura Kana was having second thoughts about getting married to him and she felt that the "crooked" house was a sign from Heaven that she shouldn't marry Sugisaki since she didn't love him. However, he still firmly believed that as long as the house was fixed, Kana would still marry him. When things didn't turn out that way and Takemoto mocked Sugisaki for not being able to get Kana to marry him, he got so angry that he killed Takemoto who he also saw as the "culprit" who caused Kana's change of mind with the substandard work done on his house. In order to create the illusion that Takemoto died due to an accident, Sugisaki made use of the aircon vents on his wall to fire tennis balls towards the distorted door which caused it to get caught in the door frame. To retrieve the balls strewn around the living room, Sugisaki made use of a giant plastic sheet and vacuum cleaner.

Just when you think the episode would end as per normal, it turns out that Koono has a hidden agenda to get close to Enomoto. Apparently, he sent Enomoto's fingerprints for analysis and got a report that his prints match that of a criminal in a yet-to-be revealed case! This seems to suggest that Enomoto might have been a criminal in the past!? Looks like things are looking to be more exciting as revelations about Enomoto's background are long overdue. It's high time we find out where this locks fanatic came from and what made him so fascinated by this. I have a feeling that he won't be a criminal or rather a baddie after all but this match in fingerprints with a criminal could mean that he might be treated like one by Koono who looks set to be a semi-permanent fixture in the story if he's going to dig into Enomoto's past.

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 4

This episode is memorable in terms of two aspects. First of all, instead of having a very clear-cut scenario where the viewer doesn't have to do much guessing about who the criminal is, this episode offers two suspects for the first time and gives a dash of uncertainty as to how things would turn out. I wouldn't say that this is difficult to guess but at least, that's something different from what we had seen in the first three episodes. Secondly, this episode marks a subtle yet significant change in how the key trio interacts with one another. From complete strangers who lead entirely different lives, the mystery-solving "business" has brought them closer together, whether they notice it or not.

As always, the trio are in some dimly-lit room again with Enomoto giving some "prep talk" on what to expect for the next 40 minutes or so. If you remember, the first two episodes in this series focus a lot on scientific stuff while last episode's theme was shogi. This time, Enomoto is faced with a problem that involves both entomology (study of insects) and toxicology. A man named Kuwashima was found dead in his apartment which he used to rear spiders and the police declares that he died because of a bite by a poisonous spider. Coincidentally, Kuwashima's apartment is just one floor above Aoto's. When Serizawa is called to Aoto's place to help her kill a cockroach, they bump into Furumizo, a reporter and an acquaintance of Kuwashima, who wants to gain entry into his friend's place in order to save the spiders left to die by Kuwashima's wife Mika. After knowing their identities, Furumizo asks them to represent him in getting Mika (Shiraishi Miho) to accede to his request.

When Serizawa and Aoto meet Mika at her in-law's place, they are surprised to find that Kuwashima is actually the owner of a Japanese traditional dessert shop and that his relationship with Furumizo seemed to be different from what Mika described. Mika gives the reason that she didn't feed the spiders because her mother-in-law was angry with her husband for rearing those creepy crawlies and hated them for killing her only son. Nonetheless, they manage to get Mika to give Furumizo two of the spiders which belong to him in the first place. When they visit Kuwashima's apartment, they find that all windows, the sink and ventilation outlets have been sealed up because he wanted to prevent his spiders from escaping and hurting others in the process. Mika's behaviour while at the apartment also arouses the suspicion of Serizawa and Aoto.

The two of them relate what happened to Enomoto who for the very first time, is sitting in his office without doing anything else while listening to them. He gives his take on the situation and feels that being an expert on spiders, Kuwashima should not have exposed himself to a situation where he would be bitten by a poisonous spider. Serizawa also points out that the position of the pincer used in feeding the spider was different from what Furumizo had used. Much as the circumstances point to the case being more than an accident, there is no concrete proof to show otherwise so Enomoto goes to Aoto's apartment and Kuwashima's door to see the layout and the type of lock used in his apartment. After his inspection, Enomoto concludes that Kuwashima's apartment was a closed-room at the time of his death.

While discussing the case at the law firm, Aoto shares the information she found out from neighbours living near the Kuwashima household. It seems that the relationships between Mika and her mother-in-law and husband are rocky and the couple was on the verge of a divorce. In addition, Furumizo suddenly tells Serizawa that Mika agreed to let him have all the spiders left behind by Kuwashima which arouses the suspicion of Aoto and Serizawa. When Aoto finds out that someone threatened Mika about exposing her late husband's spider-rearing habit and tells Enomoto about it, he adds nonchalantly that although Kuwashima's apartment was in a closed-room condition, there was a likelihood that he might have been murdered. Aoto realises that Enomoto lost interest in the case as soon as he found out that there was nothing suspicious about Kuwashima's apartment so that's why he didn't mention the fact that Kuwashima should have been killed by someone.

Aoto asks for Enomoto's help in finding evidence in Kuwashima's apartment to identify the killer and he agrees readily. After assessing the apartment and seeing how the key suspects behave, he comes to the conclusion that Mika is the real killer of Kuwashima.Mika had married her husband for money and was angry that he wanted to divorce her upon finding out the truth. Before he could have a chance to go through the divorce, she killed him so that she could inherit his fortune which she saw as a compensation for leaving a "blemish" on her marital history. Having heard her confession, Aoto later admits to Enomoto that she was shocked and wondered if she might have such a dark side within herself. Enomoto replies that she's not like Mika so Aoto has no need to worry at all.

 As I pointed out earlier in this review, there are some adjustments as to how the story is presented. That's good news for the viewer especially for someone like me who really has a problem sticking to episodic stories. A little bit of variety in the storytelling works wonders in keeping the concept fresh and appealing. However, it's not just this which has renewed my interest in the series but rather the group dynamics between our key trio that really spices up the viewing experience.

Enomoto, Serizawa and Aoto got together by a stroke of fate in the first episode when Enomoto helped Serizawa get out of a locked safe. It was by pure coincidence that Enomoto was roped in to help out with solving these closed-room mysteries. Serizawa himself didn't set out to take up such cases as well. In fact, the first case was accepted by an overly-earnest Aoto while the second case was brought to him by Enomoto. The third one had more to do with Serizawa because the victim was his client and Serizawa himself had been marked by the police as a possible suspect. As for Aoto, she's been someone who's forever eager to help others and doesn't think twice before she leaps. Enomoto looks cold and distant on the surface especially when the issue has nothing to do with locks or security systems.

In this episode, we can observe how they are slowly changing after going through these cases together. Enomoto used to be busy doing other things while listening to Aoto or Serizawa talk about the cases but for the very first time, he actually sat down to listen to them properly instead of focusing on his locks. He also displayed a higher willingness to interact with them rather than give one-liners when pressed for an opinion. When Serizawa was going on about his not-entirely-logical deduction, Enomoto didn't shoot him down immediately as per before. In fact, Serizawa himself was sort of preparing for Enomoto's sharp remarks about his deduction not being accurate but that didn't come as expected. Likewise when Enomoto used to hurt Aoto a little bit with his frankness, he has learnt to be a bit more tactful when interacting with these lawyers and even "consoles" or "encourages" her with little remarks which seem nonchalant at times.

Aoto used to get ahead of herself and was rather emotional at times without thinking about her responsibilities as a lawyer or what she should do as a logical adult but it's obvious that she's more careful about how she should behave. Since Serizawa was engaged by Furumizo to help in the case, she knew that she had to do things in a different way because of his responsibilities to the client. That's good to see because Aoto is showing signs of growing up. On the other hand, Serizawa who used to dread anything troublesome and unprofitable, is willing to allow Aoto to do some detective work on her own in order to find the truth. Given the old Serizawa, he would have stopped her from doing anything that doesn't bring in money for the law firm.

As the drama progresses, I'll be pretty much looking forward to how the trio gets along and it will be worth checking if a romantic relationship will indeed blossom between Enomoto and Aoto. They will be one cute couple to look out for if that really happens. ^__^

Kagi no Kakatta Heya's fan event

FujiTV held a "Kagi no Kakatta Heya" fan event on 4 June which was attended by key cast members Ohno Satoshi, Toda Erika and Sato Koichi. The trio also held a talk show during the event where Ohno mentioned that in order to remember his lines, he read the lines of his co-stars aloud and recorded it while practising. When asked to demonstrate in front of the audience how this was done, Sato teased Ohno for imitating late actor Matsuda Yusaku on purpose when he read Toda's and his lines.

It was also announced during the event that in the final story to be shown over two episodes on 18th and 25th June will feature Tamaki Hiroshi as the guest.
Source: Sanspo

Review of Kagi no Kakatta Heya Ep 3

As with the earlier episodes, it's very apparent that this drama has absolutely no intention of concealing who is the culprit behind the case. What matters most would be how the closed room situation was created and the reason behind the murder. However, I felt that something was seriously lacking even before I got to the end of the story. It just didn't provide the same intense feel experienced while trying to solve the closed room mystery nor the sleek packaging of the earlier two episodes. I can overlook the fact that the culprit didn't need to be guessed because I enjoyed the part about finding out how the closed room situation was created but I don't like it when the story is too simple and offers too little to challenge the viewer's mind.

It looks like each episode will have an unique theme/topic which Enomoto has to learn about before he can solve the closed room mystery. In the first episode, he had to learn about biology while in the 2nd, he needed to know about chemistry. In the 3rd episode, the theme was shogi. A professional shogi player named Takewaki was found dead in a hotel room and of course it has to be a closed room situation in order for Enomoto to come into the picture. Serizawa gave Takewaki legal advice before he passed away so he's being singled out as one of the suspects for his client's murder. As such, Serizawa wants Enomoto to help him by solving the closed room mystery.

Next, we have the arrival of Takewaki's girlfriend Kurusu Nahoko (Aibu Saki) who comes to the crime scene to identify the belongings left behind by Takewaki. Now, if you closely observe what she did in this scene, it is apparent that she has something to do with the case. No, it's not because she doesn't appear sad enough or anything but I think the scriptwriter did it on purpose and it was really too much and too obvious. It would have been better if the camera didn't show so much detail on what she did and could jolly well just go with a fleeting shot rather than a close-up. Her persistent questioning of Serizawa and wanting to find out from him what Takewaki had sought legal advice for just adds more credibility to the notion that we have the culprit staring right into our faces. The issue next is to find out what exactly caused her to do that.

By the time we get to the point where Enomoto has more or less done his research, it's quite clear why the murder took place. For people who still haven't watched this, I'll refrain from spilling too much details but would just like to say that I find it difficult to sympathise with why Kurusu did despite the fact that she was at the edge of crossroads and had to do what she did. Yes, she was made to do things she didn't like but in the first place, she had done wrong and still conveniently blamed it on the circumstances for causing her to go a step further. Now, that's something bordering on self-denial.

Another key reason why I wasn't that satisfied with this episode was that it offered too little insight into Enomoto's background. The first two episodes gave tiny titbits on his character traits or experience but this episode merely showed him flaring up a little at Aoto who wanted to ask about his romance history. Maybe he feels that her line of questioning is slightly intrusive or he feels uncomfortable about this topic? I wonder why though but frankly speaking, I wanted to see more revelations or suggestions on Enomoto because that itself is a mystery which I'm sure most viewers would want to know. The good thing is, he seems to be warming up to Aoto especially in the last scene when he sees her being slightly upset at how things have turned out in this case and wanted to say something "interesting". And his idea of interesting would be asking Aoto in turn about her romance history! It's obvious that he wasn't really interested in knowing but just wanted to liven the atmosphere and he remembered Aoto's words that finding about someone's romance history is of interest to her. He definitely isn't as cold and indifferent as he thinks but I can see that things between them might not be so smooth-sailing though because it looks more likely that Aoto might fall for him later and he may be dense enough not to realise it until Aoto shoves her confession right into his face. It will be very "interesting" if that really happens. ^__^