PARTNERS: THE MOVIE IV – New AIBOU Movie from Toei

Detectives Ukyo Sugishita (Yutaka Mizutani) and Wataru Kaburagi (Takashi Sorimachi) are on the case in PARTNERS: THE MOVIE IV, the latest entry in the enormously popular AIBOU television and film franchise. Photo courtesy of Toei Co., Ltd. © 2017

Source: Toei Co., Ltd. Official Site: aibou-movie.jp (Japan)

Toei has provided information and high-res photos from PARTNERS: THE MOVIE IV (??-???IV-??????? ??????????? ?????, Aibo –Gekijoo-ban IV– Shuto Kuraishisu Hitojichi wa 50 Man-ri! Tokumei-gakari Saigo no Ketsudan), opening February 11th in Japan. Counting spin-offs, the film is the sixth theatrical release in the ongoing franchise based on Yasuhiro Koshimizu`s AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO (??, Aibo) -- aka PARTNERS -- the hit crime drama television series which has aired on TV Asahi since 2002. PARTNERS: THE MOVIE IV stars series lead Yutaka Mizutani as Detective Ukyo Sugishita, and Takashi Sorimachi as Wataru Kaburagi, Sugishita`s partner beginning with the show`s 14th season. The two are assisted by Takeru Kanbe (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), Sugishita`s former partner and close friend. This time, these “AIBOU” all-stars go up against their most difficult adversary of all time: a mysterious international crime group. The filmmakers promise a "painful" climax to the investigation...

STORY

Seven years earlier, a fatal mass poisoning occurred at the Japanese Embassy in Britain, and the only survivor, a young girl, was kidnapped by an international crime group. However, due to a “high-level political decision” made by the Japanese government, the kidnapping was hidden from the public eye. ? Mark Ryu (Takeshi Kaga), a former director of the U.N. Criminal Intelligence Unit, arrives in Japan. For many years, he has been hunting Raven, the leader of international criminal syndicate Birds, and now he has received information that Raven is hiding out in Japan. ?Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department special investigators, Ukyo Sugishita and Wataru Kaburagi, are ordered by their superior Miyako Yashiro (Yukie Nakama) to assist Ryu. Soon, one of his informants is killed by a man in black (Kazuki Kitamura) with a tattoo of black wings on his neck. ? The criminal syndicate hacks the Foreign Ministry’s homepage to post a video that shows Erika Sagisawa (Mayu Yamaguchi), the girl who was kidnapped in Britain seven years ago, to be alive and well. It also includes a ransom demand for 900 million yen. The details of the kidnapping become known at last, and the media and the public go into frenzy. But if the crime syndicate’s demand is ignored again, Erika will be abandoned by her country a second time. ? As the motives of various parties intersect, Sugishita comes closer to discovering the syndicate’s true objective. When Ryu falls victim to another mass poisoning, it becomes clear that the syndicate is in possession of a lethal chemical agent with the potential to kill 500,000 people. They plan to commit an indiscriminate act of terrorism at a parade in Tokyo’s Ginza district where hundreds of thousands of people will line the streets. As all of Japan becomes swept up in the excitement of the parade, Sugishita hunts down the true culprit! However, what awaits him is a revelation and a future that no one could have predicted...

CREDITS

Japanese Theatrical Release: Saturday, February 11, 2017 Running Time: 120 Minutes Cast Ukyo Sugishita: Yutaka Mizutani Wataru Kaburagi: Takashi Sorimachi Miyako Yashiro: Yukie Nakama Takeru Kanbe: Mitsuhiro Oikawa Mineaki Kai: Koji Ishizaka Man in Black: Kazuki Kitamura Erika Sagisawa: Mayu Yamaguchi Mark Ryu: Takeshi Kaga Sachiko Tsukimoto: Anne Suzuki Kenichi Itami: Kazuhisa Kawahara Keiji Serizawa: Takashi Yamanaka Rokuro Kakuta: Atsushi Yamanishi Mamoru Yonezawa: Seiji Rokkaku Haruki Okochi: Satoshi Jinbo Teruo Nakazono: Ryo Ono Kanji Uchimura: Ryuji Katagiri Staff Director: Hajime Hashimoto Writer: Ai Ota Producer: Asturo Nishihira Music: Yoshihiro Ike Production: Toei Tokyo Studio, Toei TV Production "Partners -The Movie IV-" Partners: TV Asahi, Toei, Trisam, Shogakukan, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Nagoya Broadcasting Network, Kinoshita Group, Hokkaido Television Broadcasting, Hiroshima Home Television, Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting, Top Coat Distributor: Toei © 2017 "Partners -The Movie IV-" Partners

About Toei Company, Ltd. Established in 1951, Toei Company is not only producing and distributing films, but is also one of the major exhibitors in Japan. The company owns two film studios located in Tokyo and Kyoto. The films produced cover wide range of genres, exceeding 20,000 titles.

For more information on the AIBOU: TOKYO DETECTIVE DUO franchise, please see the previous coverage here on SciFi Japan: