The Original Seven. note
G-Men '75 (Kanji: Gメン'75, Hepburn: G-Men Nana-juu-go) was a Prime Time Japanese Cop Show starring Tetsuro Tanba as Chief Superintendent Tetsuya Kuroki (better known to Western audiences as Tiger Tanaka of You Only Live Twice) as the head of a special investigatory body of the Japanese police known as the G-Men. It was created by producer Teru Kondo of Toei Company as a rival show to Nippon Televsion's Taiyo Ni Hoero and aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System (the same station that aired the Ultra Series) for 355 episodes from 1975 to 1982.
The show was concieved as a Spiritual Successor to Kondo's earlier shows Key Hunter, Eyeful, and Birdie, also starring Tanba. However in sharp contrast to the upbeat 1960s James Bond-esque vibe of the earlier three series, G-Men '75 was set up from the start as a cynical, Hardboiled Detective cop drama with little to no comedy or lightheartedness. These days, it is well-remembered for its iconic opening, replete with a Team Power Walk from the main cast and its samurai/western style theme music by Shinshuke Kikuchi (of Dragon Ball and Kamen Rider fame, he also did the music for the show's three predecessors).
A sequel, G-Men '82 was aired in 1982 and lasted for 16 episodes. Three Reunion Shows were aired in 1993, 2000, and 2001, respectively.
G-Men '75 provides examples of:
- The Ace: The whole cast, as a rule. All of them are either multilingual, have knowledge in martial arts or firearms, and are certified badass Hardboiled Detectives who have been granted the role of Japan's top cops by the government itself.
- Advertised Extra: Yosuke Natsuki and Yusuke Kawazu who played superintendent's Odagiri and Nagumo are credit in the opening and ending scenes depsite both playing more as semi-regulars.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Playted straight most of the time, but never influences the outcome positively. A lot of the criminals on the show are given rather deep and tragic backstories, but a lot of them face violent ends regardless.
- All a Dream: Episode 354. Or was it?
- All for Nothing: The ending of Episode 179. Superintendent Noriyuki Odagiri spends the whole episode trying to defuse a hostage crisis where a former policeman holds up the Tokyo MPD police station after the local police chief refused to prosecute two punks who killed his mentor in the force. Odagiri arrests the two punks and brings them to the ex-officer to make him stand down and to assure him that the killers will face justice. But before the ex-cop can surrrender, he gets gunned down by police snipers.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: The cast as a whole has a whole wardrobe of them, but Kuroki takes the cake with his trench coat and hat.
- Bulletproof Vest: In Episodes 1 and 331 Kuroki puts one on a suspect while he was incapacitated and then shoots him to make him talk. The perp never found out he was wearing a vest until he got shot. This was later replicated across the show.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Detective Murai who debuts in Episode 205 disappears from the series after Episode 226 without explanation.Also happenes to Superintendent Nagumo who debuted in Episodes 227 and disappeared after Episode 305.
- Catchphrase: Kuroki has "You aren't even human!"
- Da Chief: Kuroki, being a Chief Superintendent.
- Cop Killer: The villains of Episodes 33, 105, 205, 253, and 331. These episodes feature said Cop Killers as fake motorcycle cops.
- Corrupt Cop: Several appear in the series, notably in Episodes 1, 33, 105, and 205.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The climax of Episode 72, "Ropeway of Terror", features an assault on a mountain lodge, eerily similar to the 1972 Asama-Sansō incident
- Enfant Terrible: The criminal of the week in Episode 333, "The Devil Was a Child" is appropriately and chillingly enough - a gun-wielding boy who took a younger girl hostage.
- Far East Asian Terrorists: The villains of Episodes 253 and 254 are Japanese terrorists who seek to kill their former comrades before they get set to hang for their crimes.
- Finale Credits: The end credits roll of the Grand Finale features a Video Credits montage of the show's past and current cast members.
- Framed Face Opening: The opening sequence, as well as the ending. As the series progressed and the lineup was changed, the show changed the sequence to reflect the new cast members.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend Sekiya and Tsukasa are never mentioned again after their deaths.
- Get into Jail Free: The plots of Episodes 2 and 280. Detective Sekiya is sent to go undercover to halt a jailbreak at the infamous Abashiri Prison in the latter; Tsugawa does the same in a women's prison.
- Grand Finale: Episode 355, a 90-minute TV special appropriately entitled, Farewell, G-Men '75 - Until We Meet Again.
- Gratuitous English: Kuroki, Odagiri, and Detectives Ryoko Hayami and Mariko Teroka can all speak fluent English. Justifed as Tetsuro Tanba worked as an English-speaking interpreter during the occupation of Japan by the Allied Forces before becoming an actor while Hayami and Teraoka's actresses are Japanese-American.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Detective Yasuaki Kusano can speak in Cantonese. Justified as he's actually a Chinese immigrant by the name of Wang Yunlong.
- Gratuitous French: Odagiri can also speak French.
- Guns Do Not Work That Way: In Episode 1, the bullets apparently lodge themselves into a Bulletproof Vest without flattening on impact.
- Hardboiled Detective: The main cast is built around them, and the show was hyped up around this during its run.
- Hostage Situation: Episodes 179 and 222-223, both of which have Odagiri in a key role; he's the main focus of the former and he gets to outsnipe the perps in the latter.
- Interpol Special Agent: Some of the G-Men become these after they get Put on a Bus.
- It's Personal:
- Tachibana's wife and child are killed by getaway drivers in a robbery in Episode 105. He spends the rest of the episode trying to avenge their deaths.
- The Grand Finale has Kuroki try to solve his personal That One Case: the grisly murder of a French prostitute wherein he arrested the wrong man.
- Killed Off for Real: Happens twice in the series, with Inspector Ichiro Sekiya and Detective Shinichi Tsukasa. Ironically, they're the first of the G-Men we actually meet way back in Episode 1.
- Killer Cop: Sekiya's superior in Episode 1, Tachibana's to-be brother-in-law in Episode 105, and the villains of Episode 205.
- Kubrick Stare: Superintendent Noriyuki Odagiri has one in Episode 179 against the episode's criminal-of-the-week.
- Married to the Job: The G-Men. They're cops first and people second.
- Legacy Character: Kenji Mochizuki, a recurring serial killer, has two brothers, both identical to him and sharing his lust for killing. Though Kenji was killed off in episode 285, his brothers and best friend took up his serial killing mantle.
- Mutual Kill: The fates of Sekiya and Tsukasa.
- Number Two: Superintendent Odagiri served as to Kuroki this until he was Put on a Bus (apparently the actor had an argument with the producers and was cut from the show). Inspector Goro Tachibana later takes on this role for the rest of the series.
- Old Soldier: Kuroki, aside from being a veteran cop, was a Zero fighter pilot during the war.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. Hibiki & Tsugawa both have the giving name of Keiko spelled in different kanji.
- Put on a Bus: The fate of most characters in the series, though a two of the lady detectives, Ryoko Hayami and Keiko Tsugawa left the series but would return in later episodes as guest performers. Tsugawa would actually return in one of the Reunion Shows.
- Quick Draw:
- The climax of the Series Finale sees Kuroki outdraw the culprit responsible for the murders in his That One Case.
- Inspector Sekiya pulls this off in Episode 33 against an escaped serial killer trying to kill the woman who sold him out years before. Unfortunately, it ends up being a Mutual Kill.
- Ditto for Detective Shuichi Tsukasa in Episode 104, this time against some gun runners.
- Tachibana also pulls this off against a suspect in Episode 105.
- Happens in the climaxes of Episodes 253 and 280.
- Reunion Show: The show had three in 1993, 2000, and 2001.
- Sequel Series:G-Men '82, which ran for 16 episodes in 1982.
- Serial Killer:
- The villain of Episode 33, who's also a Cop Killer.
- The show's most infamous example was Kenji Mochizuki, played by Keizo Kanie. He is repsonsible for six grisly killings by means of an axe. He is notably responsible for the murder of Tachibana's fiancee, by then a recurring character in the show, and to top it all off, his own brothers and friends also share his bloodlust.
- Episode 354 has a very unusual example: a common house cat.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog Story: Episode 179. See the All for Nothing entry above for details.
- Shout-Out:
- Tetsuya Kuroki was also the name of Tanba's character in Key Hunter, but the names are spelt differently in kanji.
- Kuroki's own getup was inspired by how Robert Stack dressed up as Eliott Ness in The Untouchables.
- The show got one, out of all things in this short video promoting democracy in Hong Kong at the 1:15 mark.
- Stephen Chow used the theme in the trailer for Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons.
- The Smurfette Principle: Played straight for most of the series, until Episode 307, where we get three female detectives in the form of Mariko Teraoka, Yoko Kagawa, and Keiko Tsumura. Mariko would later leave the show in Episode 330, but Kagawa and Tsumura would stay on for the sequel series.
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Spiritual Successor:- To Teru Kondo's own Key Hunter, Eyeful, and Birdie.
- The show would get its own in the form of Super Police, with Tanba returning in the lead role.
- Spoiler Title: When a character dies or gets Put on a Bus, expect the episode titles to trumpet this out.
- That One Case:
- ** Detective Kyoko Hibiki earns hers in Episode 103. A flight stewardess she befriends while undercover is murdered by an international smuggling syndicate. The perps get away with the crime, so she transfers to INTERPOL to find the perps and bring them to justice.
- Kuroki's own rears its head in the Grand Finale. It's a murder of a prostitute where he arrested the wrong man.
- Those Two Guys: For a time, Tachibana was teamed up with Detective Takeshi Nakaya, played by Go Ibuki. As the series went on, he became Kuroki's Number Two and later joined Kuroki for the sequel series.
- Trailers Always Spoil: The episode previews tended to give away the endings.
- The Triads and the Tongs: Every time the G-Men visit Hong Kong, they have to square off against the local triad presence, known as the "Hong Kong Connection".
- Twist Ending:
- In Episode 1, Detective Sekiya's flight stewardess girlfriend is actually a member of an international drug-smuggling syndicate, as is Sekiya's own superior in the police force.
- In Episode 105, Tachibana has sister whose fiancee was the inside man in a robbery that left two cops, plus Tachibana's wife and child dead.
- Episode 288 has Detective Tsugawa's fiancee be rooted out as a Corrupt Cop.
- The culprit behind the murder of several French prostitutes in the Grand Finale is revealed to be the son of the man Kuroki originally and wrongfully arrested for the crime. The old man took the fall to give his son a second chance after he found out and killed his mother for being a prostitute.
- Vacation Episode: The series had, at several points, gone to Hong Kong, Singapore, Okinawa, the South Pacific, and Europe.
