Ikebukuro West Gate Park Live-Action Blu-ray Complete Box

The legendary drama that first paired star Tomoya Nagase with writer Kankuro Kudo returns in a Blu-ray box! Ikebukuro West Gate Park Blu-ray Complete Box brings together the continuing drama and its special.

This 2000 production marked Kankuro Kudo's debut writing a continuing television drama. It adapts Ira Ishida's popular novel series of the same name, also known as I.W.G.P. Set in Ikebukuro, this coming-of-age mystery follows Makoto Majima, played by Tomoya Nagase, a fruit-shop attendant and troubleshooter who solves successive difficult cases together with Takashi Ando, played by Yosuke Kubozuka, of the G-Boys street gang.

Alongside Nagase and Kubozuka, the production featured then-young actors Ai Kato, Tomohisa Yamashita, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kenji Sakaguchi, Koyuki, Ryuta Sato and Sadao Abe, becoming a major hit that greatly increased their popularity. The 2003 special Ikebukuro West Gate Park: Soup no Kai is included in its complete version, with previously unaired scenes added.

Temptation, desire and danger swirl around Ikebukuro's west-exit park. The Strangler incidents continue: women met through a telephone message service are taken to hotels, drugged unconscious and murdered, and the police are investigating. Twenty-year-old Makoto lives in this neighbourhood, earning small change through betting on bowling with his childhood friend Masa, played by Ryuta Sato.

Takashi, leader of the G-Boys who control Ikebukuro and Makoto's close friend since high school, appears and asks him to witness his duel with Doberman Yamai, played by Kenji Sakaguchi. Ignoring his mother Ritsuko, played by Aiko Morishita, who tells him to mind the shop, Makoto heads to the duel. Even the imposing Yamai, known for having fought a Doberman, is no match for Takashi. The match ends quickly in Takashi's favour, and Yamai becomes the G-Boys' errand runner.

One day, Makoto and Masa discover Shun, played by Tomohisa Yamashita, shoplifting an art book. They try to extort money from him over the theft, but notice his unusual sensibility and gradually begin spending time together. The three meet Hikaru, played by Ai Kato, and Rika, played by Wakana Sakai, and the five become companions.

The seven-disc box contains all eleven episodes of the continuing drama and the Soup special. Series extras include unaired scenes. The special includes treasured making-of footage with interviews featuring Tomoya Nagase, Ai Kato, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kenji Sakaguchi, Yosuke Kubozuka and other principal cast members, a TV-commercial collection and the textless title sequence. The complete Soup special adds forty minutes of unaired footage cut from the original broadcast.

The continuing-drama cast features Tomoya Nagase, Ai Kato, Yosuke Kubozuka, Tomohisa Yamashita, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kenji Sakaguchi, Shin Yazawa, Ryuta Sato, Koyuki, Kitaro, Aiko Morishita and Ken Watanabe. The Soup special features Tomoya Nagase, Ai Kato, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Kenji Sakaguchi, Ryuta Sato, Sadao Abe, Kitaro, Aiko Morishita and Yosuke Kubozuka.