Tantei Monogatari

Shunsaku Kudō sets up office in a rundown building as a private detective after spending five years as a cop in San Francisco where he became familiar with firearms. Kudō was originally envisioned as a standard hard-boiled type but star Yūsaku Matsuda looked too much like a rebel so the character ended up riding a Vespa scooter, smoking Camel cigarettes and dressing in a black or white suit and sunglasses. Also living in the building are two young girls (American actress Nancy Cheney and Kahori Takeda) who fuss over the detective. ==Cast==

• Yūsaku Matsuda as Shunsaku Kudo • Mikio Narita as Detective Hattori • Mitsuko Baisho as Masako • Michihiro Yamanishi as Detective Matsumoto • Nancy Cheney as Nancy • Kahori Takeda as Kahori • Tetsuo Nose as Tattoo Guy (first generation) • Hiroshi Shimizu as Iizuka, the owner of the antique shop and the gunsmith • Osamu Shigematsu as Dandy • Yukiko Tachibana • Ryoko Watanabe • Hiromi Hirata • Tetsuro Maeda as Tattoo Guy (second generation) • Saburo Shoji as Saburo, the pimp • Hyoe Enoki as Yamazaki, the informant ==Reception==

Tantei Monogatari with its easy-going humorous style earned high ratings while on the air and later acquired a cult following. Nippon TV published a book about the show titled Yomigaere! Tantei Monogatari (Come Back! Detective Story) in 1994 and Toei Video later released the whole series. ==References==