Key Hunter

Key Hunter

1968 · 1 season · 262 eps · ★ 7.0 · Drama

Ended

Key Hunter 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 network from April 6, 1968 to April 7, 1973. There were a total of 262 episodes, and it was one of the most popular action dramas in Japan at the time. 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".

Directed by Kinji Fukasaku

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Cast

Tetsuro Tamba 黒木鉄也
Yoko Nogiwa 津川啓子
Hiroshi Kawaguchi 吹雪一郎
Hayato Tani 島竜彦
Eiko Ookawa 谷口ユミ
Sonny Chiba 風間洋介
Noboru Nakaya 村岡室長
Tadao Nakamaru 小田切慎二
Hiroshi Miyauchi 壇俊介
Takayuki Akutagawa (voice)
Hiroyuki Nishimoto
Hiroaki Tanabe (as 田辺進三)

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