Mie Azuma

Anime adaptation of the "Otoko wa Tsurai yo (It's tough being a man)" film series by Youji Yamada. Kuruma Torajirou (or Tora-san), a traveling salesman whose sole possessions include only the contents of a small suitcase, the clothes on his back and some pocket money, wanders from town to town peddling his wares.

Nishimura Gosaku, an aspiring photographer who loves mountain scenery, meets a boy named Sada Ichiro one evening who asks to borrow train fare. For some reason, Ichiro follows Nishimura everywhere. When told to go home, Ichiro refuses, claiming he doesn't want to return because of his estranged parents. Reluctantly, Nishimura lets Ichiro stay the night. The next day, Nishimura takes photos of Ichiro by the Sumida River, and they part ways on good terms. Meanwhile, Ichiro's worried father, Shigeo and mother, Fujiko, desperately ask Ichiro's classmates and tutoring teachers for his whereabouts, but no one knows where he is. Suddenly, Shigeo receives a phone call demanding a ransom of 10 million yen.

Harue Hashimoto is a popular mystery writer. She always talks about murder tricks to make it look like an accident with her friends Mayumi Tsukasa, a singer, and Miki Kitamura, an editor. Miki has a habit of saying that she wants to kill her boyfriend Kyosuke Takamaki.