Detective Story

Takashima Raita, a brilliant hacker, moves into a low-rent apartment next door to Kazama Raita, a private detective who shares his given name. The proximity creates an uneasy dynamic between the two men and hints at a clash between tech and sleuthing. Their paths are suddenly set on a collision course.

Inoue Manami comes to Kazama late at night seeking help, but he is drunk and unwilling to assist. They agree to meet again in the morning to discuss the case. The encounter establishes a fragile connection between the detective and the client.

Manami is murdered while walking home, leaving the city shaken and prompting a high-stakes investigation. The crime scene suggests a calculated killer and raises the stakes for Kazama who becomes entangled in the case. The immediate aftermath unsettles Kazama and sets the investigation in motion.

In the morning, detectives trace Manami's last known location to Kazama's apartment and begin interrogations as a potential lead. The formal scrutiny turns Kazama into a person of interest even before any hard evidence emerges. He resolves to spearhead his own inquiry.

A second girl, Asanuma Ritsuko, is murdered and the police stake out Kazama's apartment. He avoids their watch and pursues her affair with a bartender to uncover possible motives and connections. The investigation tightens around him as the pattern of killings grows more disturbing.

Authorities link a third victim to the series by a brutal hallmark: organs are removed. Kazama remains a suspect, his involvement overshadowing his own pursuit of truth. The body count pushes the case toward a serial killer angle.

Kazama visits Gamou, a convicted child killer whose body bears burn marks from the father of a victim. He hopes Gamou can provide clues about the new killer. The encounter adds a grim edge to the investigation and foreshadows a grim arc.

Kazama tracks down Takashima and convinces him to lend his hacking skills to the case. The collaboration introduces a digital edge to the investigation and expands the leads beyond conventional police work. Together, they begin piecing together the killer's profile.

Police raid the building, forcing Kazama and Takashima to flee into the sewers to escape capture. The chase tightens the stakes and deepens the urban tension of the story. The fugitives cling to the hope of continuing their pursuit from the shadows.

A janitor finds Kazama Raita's lighter, and the two Raitas seek shelter with the bartender. The discovery marks a critical turn in the case, tying the detective to the investigation in a more personal way. The shelter also becomes a temporary base of operations for their ongoing inquiries.

The group grows fixated on elderly artist Aoyama Yuki, known as the Master of Tragedy and the Artist of Madness, whose new works use blood and ground flesh. The art world and the murders blur into a shared macabre mystery. They begin to suspect the artist's circle may hold vital clues.

Kazama asks a female friend to help locate Yuki at a local bath; the search exposes Yuki as a figure at the center of the victims' fanbase. This step broadens the investigation to the artist's world and past events. The bath visit becomes a crucial reconnaissance moment.

Kazama's ally finds Yuki's house and meets his daughter Maho, who learns that the three victims were fans of the artist. She reveals Yuki's complex domestic life, including a past affair and a web of relationships. The clues point toward a motive rooted in the artist's personal history.

Kazama pieces together the tangled family ties and heads to the artist's studio in Izu for a final confrontation with the artist's family. The investigation shifts toward a climactic showdown that ties together motive, art, and murder. The journey builds toward the film's closing act.