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Television Drama

Hancho: Jinnansho Azumihan

Hancho: Jinnansho Azumihan (Japanese: ハンチョウ ～神南署安積班～) is a Japanese television drama series that aired on the TBS network from April 13 to July 20, 2009. The series is based on the novel by Bin Konno and focuses on the operations of a small, newly established police precinct in the Jinnan area of Harajuku, Shibuya, Tokyo.

Promotional poster for Hancho: Jinnansho Azumihan
Promotional poster for the 2009 series.

Premise

The narrative centers on a specialized team of six detectives working under the leadership of Chief Azumi. Despite the limited size of the Jinnan Police Precinct, the team is depicted working diligently to maintain public safety and solve criminal cases within their jurisdiction.

Cast

The series features an ensemble cast led by Kuranosuke Sasaki as the protagonist, Tsuyoshi Azumi.

Kuranosuke Sasaki
Kuranosuke Sasaki as Tsuyoshi Azumi.
Shunsuke Nakamura
Shunsuke Nakamura as Akihiko Murasame.
Muga Tsukaji
Muga Tsukaji as Saburo Suda.
Tomoka Kurotani
Tomoka Kurotani as Maho Mizuno.
Toshiki Kashu
Toshiki Kashu as Kazuya Kuroki.
Shogo Yamaguchi
Shogo Yamaguchi as Taichiro Sakurai.
Shigeki Hosokawa
Shigeki Hosokawa as Naoki Hayami.
Ryosei Tayama
Ryosei Tayama as Rokuro Kaneko.
Nikichi Kondo
Nikichi Kondo as Ikki Sagara.
Taku Suzuki
Taku Suzuki as Yosuke Shibayama.
Asuka Shibuya
Asuka Shibuya as Ryoko Azumi.
Megumi Yasu
Megumi Yasu as Yukiko Yamaguchi.
Narumi Konno
Narumi Konno as Haruka Soma.
Kaoru Okunuki
Kaoru Okunuki as Kyoko Kojima.

Production

The series was directed by Masahiro Sakai, Shinobu Murata, Kanji Takenoshita, Akira Wada, and Kentaro Takemura. The writing team included Bull Ishihara, Toshio Okumura, and Yukiko Nabae, adapting the source material by Bin Konno.

Broadcast and Reception

The drama aired on Mondays at 20:00. Over its 15-episode run, it achieved an average viewership rating of 10.6% in the Kanto region, according to data provided by Video Research, Ltd.

Franchise

The 2009 series served as the inaugural entry in a long-running franchise that continued with several subsequent seasons through 2013, featuring various shifts in the precinct and team composition.

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