title: Tantei Monogatari
text: # Tantei Monogatari
  
  Tantei Monogatari (探偵物語), or Detective Story, is an action Japanese TV series starring Yūsaku Matsuda that was originally broadcast on Nippon TV in 27 forty-five-minute episodes from September 18, 1979 to April 1, 1980. The show had various directors including Toru Murakawa, Kiyoshi Nishimura, Yukihiro Sawada and Yasuharu Hasebe.
  
  ## Plot
  
  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 Chief Detective Hattori
  * Mitsuko Baisho as Masako
  * Michihiro Yamanishi as Detective Matsumoto
  * Nancy Cheney as Nancy
  * Kahori Takeda as Kahori
  * Tetsuo Nose as Tattoo Guy
  * Hiroshi Shimizu as Iizuka
  * Osamu Shigematsu
  * Yukiko Tachibana
  * Ryoko Watanabe
  * Hiromi Hirata
  
  ## 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. Toei also released the entire series as a boxed set of Blu-ray discs in 2015.
  
  