(“Let’s talk... in detail.”)
Critics note that Episode 1 is almost too intense. The runtime is 60 minutes, but the pacing feels like a 90-minute thriller. The soundtrack, composed by Takayuki Hattori, blends jazz percussion with orchestral stabs that mimic a heartbeat speeding up. Hanzawa Naoki Episode 1
Mid-episode, Hanzawa visits his wife, Hana (the brilliant Mitsuhashi Rie). In a private moment, his stoic mask cracks. He cries. He admits he is afraid. This humanization is vital; without it, Hanzawa would be an unlikable robot. Hana’s response— "I married a banker, not a loan. If you lose your job, we sell the house" —cements her as the show’s secret weapon. (“Let’s talk
For new viewers, watching Episode 1 is a commitment. It is stressful. It is loud. It is almost relentlessly grim until the final 40 seconds, when Hanzawa smiles for the first time, looking at a photo of his father, whispering, "I’ll never let a bank kill a man again." The soundtrack, composed by Takayuki Hattori, blends jazz
The true genius of Episode 1 is its unflinching look at corporate scapegoating. When Tokyo Central Bank’s head office sends an auditor, the blame shifts instantly. Asano, the man who forced the loan, declares in a board meeting: "Hanzawa’s due diligence was insufficient."
Episode 1 immediately juxtaposes Hanzawa against the backdrop of a looming crisis. A loan of 500 million yen (approximately $5 million USD at the time) is in danger of becoming irrecoverable. The client is a steel mill, a symbol of Japan’s industrial past, now struggling in the new economic reality.