Overview
My roommate recommended it to me, saying “You should watch this,” so I did. Here's the official website:
I'll write a summary and my thoughts.
Summary
- Taro Mima (actor: Tomoya Nakamura), after winning the Akechi Kogoro Prize, became a full-time novelist. But he couldn’t concentrate in the city, so he moved to the Hayabusa district of Yaoyorozucho in Gifu Prefecture.
- He’s super productive there—writing goes really well. His editor, Nakayamada-san, also praises his work.
- He becomes friends with Kansuke-kun, and through him, joins the Hayabusa Fire Brigade. The other members like Ikuo-san, Kensaku-san, Morino-san, and Shogo-san are all great guys, so it’s fun!
- But the peaceful Hayabusa district is plagued by a string of arson incidents and suspicious deaths.
- For the sake of his beloved Hayabusa, Taro starts investigating. He finds that the arson targets are always people who own large plots of land, and when they move away, they sell the land to a solar panel company. Wait a sec—is that company setting the fires just to get the land?!
- Digging deeper, he learns that behind the company is a new religious group called the “Knights of Abigail.” So their motive is to acquire vast rural land, take over the town, and create a holy land?!
- Investigating further, he finds out that the birthplace of Nobuko Yamahara, who is considered the Virgin Mary of the group, is actually in Hayabusa. That must be why they’re targeting this place!
- By the time Taro learns all this, the religious group has already moved a large number of followers into Hayabusa, and the town takeover is just about complete. But, by chance, Taro is romantically involved with Aya Tatsuki, the next Virgin Mary, and he successfully convinces her to leave the group.
- Tatsuki reveals to the other followers that the group had been committing arson to acquire land. The followers abandon the religion and leave Hayabusa—happy ending!
Thoughts
- My roommate recommended this drama, saying that the line by editor Nakayamada-san, “Oh wow, temple duty, that sounds nice!” totally reminded them of Midori-san. But when I watched it myself, I didn’t really feel like I resembled the character. That’s usually how it goes, isn’t it?
- The drama is based on the novel Hayabusa Fire Brigade by Jun Ikeido, and it was quite engaging. There’s narration at times, which feels like the prose in the novel. That touch made it feel like I was reading while watching.
- I thought it was going to be a slice-of-life comedy at first, but it turned out to be a mystery—and that really got me excited.
- The mystery elements were compelling, and all the main characters were genuinely nice people. I really enjoyed that.
- When I think of new religious groups, I imagine ones that sell themselves on supernatural sensory experiences. People who get drawn into such religions often lack the discipline to build success through steady effort, yet still want to be recognized by others. To compete with people who have worked hard and built up experience, they rely on “supernatural abilities only they can perceive.” That’s why they fall for religions that offer such settings.
- But the “Knights of Abigail” in this story didn’t have that vibe. They were depicted more as a group offering legal protection and safe spaces for people hurt by social relationships.
- That’s why it makes you wonder—if the “Knights of Abigail” had just purchased the land legally without any arson, what would’ve happened to Hayabusa? When the townspeople condemn the group, they always say, “They’re the ones who burned our homes and drove us out!” That’s the only angle from which they can really go after the group.
- I didn’t quite get why the group chose Tatsuki as the next Virgin Mary. Why pick someone who could be convinced to leave by a guy she’s only known for a few months?
- So yeah, I really enjoyed the story up until the mystery was solved, but at the same time, the part where the “Knights of Abigail” are driven out of Hayabusa felt a bit too conveniently staged, like it was crafted just to make them easier to remove. That made it feel kind of artificial.
