Key Hunter

Key Hunter (キイハンター, Kī Hantā) is a prime-time Japanese television detective series. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:56 p.m. time slot on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973. There were a total of 262 episodes,[1] and it was one of the most popular action dramas in Japan at the time.[2]

The story involved "Key Hunter", a special clandestine unit of the International Police, which endeavored to solve various crimes.

Key Hunter was a unique TV show, which started out as a grand scale spy thriller never before seen in Japan. The episodes were individually themed on global crimes and political strife. The initial hardboiled theme later evolved to include intellectual elements involving action, and occasionally with comical elements as well.

Tetsuro Tamba starred in the 1967 film You Only Live Twice as Japanese Secret Service agent Tiger Tanaka, an ally of James Bond. This role greatly influenced his image in Key Hunter.

Characters

Key Hunter
  • Tetsuya Kuroki (黒木 鉄也, Kuroki Tetsuya) — played by Tetsuro Tamba
ex-intelligence agent
ex-intelligence agent
  • Ichirō Fubuki (吹雪 一郎, Fubuki Ichirō) — played by Hiroshi Kawaguchi (since episode #60)
ex-FBI agent
  • Tatsuhiko Shima (島 竜彦, Shima Tatsuhiko) — played by Hayato Tani
power freak
  • Yumi Taniguchi (谷口 ユミ, Taniguchi Yumi) — played by Eiko Ōkawa
memory expert & genius
  • Yōsuke Kazama (風間 洋介, Kazama Yōsuke) — played by Sonny Chiba[4]
ex-newspaper reporter

International Police
  • Muraoka (村岡 特別室長, Muraoka Tokubetsu Shitsuchō) — played by Noboru Nakaya (appeared very rarely)
Chief of the Special Task Forces
  • Shinji Odagiri (小田切 慎二, Odagiri Shinji) — played by Tadao Nakamaru (since episode #104)
  • Shunsuke Dan (壇 俊介, Dan Shunsuke) — played by Hiroshi Miyauchi (since episode #92)

Key Hunter Detective Agency
  • Yuji Taki (滝　祐二, Taki Yuji) — played by Masaya Oki (since episode #210)
young private detective who admires Key Hunter members

Theme music

The theme song "Hijō no License" was written by Shunsuke Kikuchi, played as an instrumental for the opening theme, and sung by Yōko Nogiwa for the ending theme.

References
  1. "キーハンターとは". kotobank. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  2. "キーハンター". 東映. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  3. "女優の野際陽子さん死去 ８１歳、「キイハンター」「ずっとあなたが好きだった」「ＴＲＩＣＫ」". sankibiz. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  4. "千葉真一 キーハンターを映画化構想！". デイリー. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
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