Source: Toei Co., Ltd., TV Asahi Official Site: aibou-xday.jp (Japan)

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains plot details and images from a new movie.

The most popular crime drama in Japan is back on the silver screen in the new movie, AIBOU SERIES: X DAY (?????? XDAY, Aibo Shirizu X DAY), opening March 23, 2013. The television series AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO (??, Aibo) -- also known as PARTNERS -- premiered on TV Asahi on October 9, 2002. Created by Yasuhiro Koshimizu, the show centered on the eccentric detective Ukyo Sugishita (played by award-winning actor/singer Yutaka Mizutani) and his hot-blooded partner Kaoru Kameyama (Yasubumi Terawaki) of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police`s (MPD) Special Task Unit, a group made up of the police system`s cast-offs and dropouts. AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO became the most successful Japanese crime drama series of the decade, beating its prime-time competitors every Wednesday night in the ratings. Audiences couldn`t get enough of the unlikely pair`s adventures, even after Ukyo`s partner Kaoru quits the police (and the program) at the end of Season 7 and was replaced by the smart Takeru Kanbe (Mitsuhiro Oikawa). Oikawa stayed with the series until the end of season 10 in March 2012. Now in its eleventh season, the AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO franchise continues to grow in popularity. The series has been adapted into best-selling novels and a musical, while AIBOU DVDs routinely top the sales and rental charts. In 2008, PARTNERS: THE MOVIE (??-???-??????42.195km ????????????, Aibo gekijo-ban: Zettai zetsumei! 42.195km Tokyo Biggu Shiti Marason) was released to theaters. The film sold 3.7 million tickets and grossed ¥4.4 billion yen, making it the top box office draw for the first half of that year. Early 2009 saw the release of CSI FILES (?????????????????, Kanshiki: Yonezawa Mamoru no Jikenbo), a spin-off movie focusing on the AIBOU character Mamoru Yonezawa (Seiji Rokkaku). And detectives Ukyo Sugishita and Takeru Kanbe returned to cinemas, investigating a hostage situation at the Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters, in PARTNERS: THE MOVIE II (?? ??? II, Aibo gekijo-ban II). The hit sequel earned ¥3.17 billion in the winter of 2010.

AIBOU SERIES: X DAY is the second spin-off movie for the franchise. AIBOU series regular Kazuhisa Kawahara takes center stage as MPD criminal investigator Kenichi Itami, who is partnered with a new character, Cyber Crime agent Akira Iwatsuki (Kei Tanaka), to solve a murder and prevent a national financial meltdown. The supporting cast features many actors from the television series, including Yutaka Mizutani and Mitsuhiro Oikawa. Highly sensitive "mystery" data suddenly appears on the internet but is quickly deleted. Immediately afterwards, the corpse of a banking executive is found alongside ten burned ¥10,000 bills at the Yugo Zhongshan Meiwa Bank in Tokyo. Kenichi Itami is assigned to the case by MPD, but is forced to work with Akira Iwatsuki when the investigation falls under the supervision of the Cyber Crime Division. The two detectives do not get along and must put aside their personal differences to solve the case. But as they begin to make some headway in their investigation, they find their efforts hindered by powerful, secret forces plotting an "X Day" that will devastate Japan.

The AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO Series

AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO aka PARTNERS Original Japanese Title: ?? (Aibo) Airdates: October 9, 2002-present PARTNERS: THE MOVIE Original Japanese Title: ??-???-??????42.195km ???????????? (Aibo gekijo-ban: Zettai zetsumei! 42.195km Tokyo Biggu Shiti Marason) Literal Translation: Aibou -Theatrical Version- Desperate Situation! 42.195km Tokyo Big City Marathon Release Date: May 1, 2008 CSI FILES Original Japanese Title: ????????????????? (Kanshiki: Yonezawa Mamoru no Jikenbo) Literal Translation: Identification: The Case Book of Mamoru Yonezawa Release Date: March 28, 2009 PARTNERS: THE MOVIE II Original Japanese Title: ?? ??? II (Aibo gekijo-ban II) Literal Translation: Aibou Theatrical Version II Release Date: December 23, 2010 AIBOU SERIES: X DAY aka PARTNERS: X DAY Original Japanese Title: ?????? XDAY (Aibo Shirizu X DAY) Release Date: March 23, 2013

CREDITS

Akira Iwatsuki: Kei Tanaka Kenichi Itami: Kazuhisa Kawahara Mina Aso: Ryoko Kuninaka Tetsuya Bessho Motoki Fukami? Shigeyuki Totsugi Aki Odagiri: Megumi Seki Kenichi Yajima Sadayoshi Kuchiki: Tomorowo Taguchi Fumio Kaneko: Ken Utsui Hinako Katayama: Yoshino Kimura Sachiko Tsukimoto: Anju Suzuki Shinsuke Miura: Ryosuke Otani Keiji Serizawa: Takashi Yamanaka Rokuro Kakuta: Atsushi Yamanishi Mamoru Yonezawa: Seiji Rokkaku Kohei Jinkawa: Ryuji Harada Teruo Nakazono: Ryo Ono Kanji Uchimura: Ryuji Katagiri Ukyo Sugishita: Yutaka Mizutani Takeru: Mitsuhiro Oikawa Director: Hajime Hashimoto Writer: Takeharu Sakurai Music: Yoshihiro Ike