Himitsu – Top Secret

Himitsu – Top Secret
Cover of the DVD of Top Secret ~The Revelation~
秘密 -トップ·シークレット-
(Himitsu – Toppu Shiikuretto)
GenrePhilosophical, science fiction, suspense[1]
Manga
Written byReiko Shimizu
Published byHakusensha
MagazineMelody
DemographicJosei
Original runDecember 19, 2001 – October 2012
Volumes12
Anime television series
Top Secret ~The Revelation~
Directed byHiroshi Aoyama
Produced byToshio Nakatani
Manabu Tamura
Yōsuke Kasahara (1-18)
Written bySatoshi Suzuki
Music byYoshihisa Hirano
StudioMadhouse
Original networkNippon TV
Original run April 8, 2008 – September 30, 2008
Episodes26
Live-action film
Directed byKeishi Ohtomo
Produced byHirotaka Aragaki
Shinji Ogawa
Satoshi Fukushima
Written byIzumi Takahashi
Keishi Ohtomo
Lee Sork-jun
Kim Sun-mee
Music byNaoki Satō
StudioShochiku
ReleasedAugust 6, 2016 (2016-08-06)
Runtime148 minutes

Himitsu – Top Secret (Japanese: 秘密 -トップ·シークレット-, Hepburn: Himitsu - Toppu Shiikuretto -, lit. Secret - Top Secret) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Reiko Shimizu. It has been serialized in Melody.

It has been adapted into an anime series, Top Secret ~The Revelation~ (秘密(トップ·シークレット) 〜The Revelation〜), by Madhouse and broadcast in Japan on NTV between April 8, 2008 and September 30, 2008.

Plot

The story takes place five decades from now when brain scanners have been perfected to the point that the government can retrieve up to five years' worth of memories from people's minds — even if they are dead. The investigators of the National Research Institute of Police Science's 9th Forensics Laboratory must weigh the ethical choices in the ultimate invasion of privacy as they delve into people's minds to solve crimes.

Characters

The Director of Section Nine. He is a young beautiful androgynous man who leads his force with strict but fair rules. He used to be more open but became closed off after having to shoot his best friend. It is later revealed in episodes 12-13 that he saved a man from starvation but this man became obsessed with Maki and became a serial murder who murdered 28 boys while alive before committing suicide and hypnotizing ten other boys to commit suicide (though one survives) as these boys all looked like Maki and he wanted to torture and make them suffer the way he wanted to make Maki suffer because he loved and hated him. Despite being colder and more closed off after this incident, he still ultimately retains a kind heart and good sense of justice and is respected and retains the loyalty of his subordinates as a result. He is initially conscious of Aoki due to his similarities to Katsuhiro, his late best friend but also favors him among the newcomers and grows closer to him throughout the series.

The main protagonist. He is a young bespectacled man recently assigned to Section nine. He is kind, earnest and hard working. His ability to read people's lips helps greatly when investigating deaths. He also heavily empathizes with the victims and having to reveal their secrets. He showed romantic interest in Yukiko and later Amachi but Yukiko rejects him despite mutual attraction and Amachi is murdered before anything can come of it.

One of the members of section nine. She is kind and playful and close friends with Maki. She reveals an ability of psychometry, or an ability to hear and feel emotions from objects of strong personal value. She showed romantic interest in Aoki but nothing came of it as she is murdered in episode 23.

  • Yasufumi Okabe (岡部靖文, Okabe Yasufumi) Voiced by: Kousuke Meguro, Played by: Yusuke Hirayama

One of the older members of Section Nine. He is older and has more experience with some of the darker cases Section nine has to go through. He is married to a designer.

  • Takahashi Soga (曽我孝, Soga Takahashi) Voiced by: Kenji Hamada

A man with a strong sense of justice and is a recent graduate from the police academy. Because he is a newcomer, he tends to be impulsive and needs to gain more experience.

  • Satoshi Onogida (小野木田聖, Onogida Satoshi) Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono

A scientist in charge of setting up, programming and monitoring the MRI that connects to the victim's brains and shows the images they saw through their memories during their life. He is the student of Professor Schubert who created the MRI system and best friend of American John Considince a world specialist in bionics who helped him repair the MRI machine after Suzuki shot it. John was killed a week before Onogida himself is murdered after Aoki helps him realize someone was stealing MRI data and selling it elsewhere and Onogida himself uncovers a bigger secret before his untimely death.

  • Michiru Sendou (仙道みちる, Sendou Michiru) Voiced by: Eri Sendai

A technician that works with and monitors the machinery alongside Onogida. She admired Onogida and is particularly heartbroken when he dies.

  • Katsuhiro Suzuki (鈴木克洋, Suzuki Katsuhiro) Played by: Tori Matsuzaka

Maki's best friend whom he was forced to shoot a year and a half prior to the start of the series. He is similar to Aoki in their earnest personalities and the air around them. It is revealed that in order to spare Maki the grief and guilt of having been indirectly responsible for inspiring a man to become a serial murderer, Katsuhiro decided to look at the criminal's mind. However, the mind was so warped with lust towards killing those boys that it drove Katsuhiro insane and, not wanting Maki to see this and be tainted and "infected", destroyed the MRI machine and begged for Maki to shoot him. It is revealed part of the data of Kainuma's memory is missing and it was these files that drove Suzuki insane because by seeing Kainuma's memories Kainuma was able to place a hypnosis spell on Suzuki and anyone who saw the footage, which Suzuki realized and decided must be destroyed so there would be no other victims.

  • Yukiko Miyoshi (三好由紀子, Miyoshi Yukiko) Played by: Chiaki Kuriyama

Suzuki's lover prior to his death and friend to Maki. She is a 35-year-old formidable woman and doctor/ medical examiner of Section One who has a strange habit of falling asleep on autopsy tables and refers to the deceased as her "lovers". She has bad luck with men. She takes a leave of absence after her carelessness leads her to be infected with a virus and she decides she is getting old and needs a break. She is strong, independent, stubborn to a fault and a formidable opponent with martial arts experience. She is nonetheless kind and devoted to helping others. Aoki falls in love with her but she rejects his advances despite being attracted to him as well due to wanting to treasure her memories of Suzuki.

  • Masachika Nagamine (長嶺昌親, Nagamine Masachika)

A stuck up self-centered man who wishes to use MRI to his own benefit and vice Director of Section Nine and leader of the Committee and does not care about the well-being of others, even once sending criminals to suicide as part of an experiment. He constantly clashes with Maki and is ultimately killed in episode 26.

Anime

The anime uses two pieces of theme music. "Kokoro Film" (ココロフィルム, Kokoro Firumu) by ALvino is the opening theme, while "Kemuri" (煙, lit. smoke) by Maki Chang is the ending theme.

Episode list

# Title Original air date
01"The Brain and Man's Journey"
Transliteration: "Nou to tabi suru otoko" (Japanese: 脳と旅する男)		April 8, 2008 (2008-04-08)
A woman is murdered right outside her home, but the suspect is a man who was thought to have been dead for years.
02"Top Secret (Part One)"
Transliteration: "Toppu shīkuretto (zenpen)" (Japanese: トップシークレット(前編))		April 15, 2008 (2008-04-15)
The President is murdered, but his only priority upon dying is to dispose of a photo and memo taken from his wallet.
03"Top Secret (Part Two)"
Transliteration: "Toppu shīkuretto (kouhen)" (Japanese: トップシークレット(後編))		April 22, 2008 (2008-04-22)
04"Joyful Song"
Transliteration: "Koufuku na Uta" (Japanese: 幸福な歌)		April 29, 2008 (2008-04-29)
A group of elderly men are killed when the van they were riding in rolls off a cliff and into the sea. Upon viewing their memories, a sad truth is revealed.
05"Kinuko (First Part)"
Transliteration: "Kinuko (zenpen)" (Japanese: キヌコ(前編))		May 6, 2008 (2008-05-06)
A man who brutally killed his family is finally executed, but upon viewing his memories of the incident, it is revealed that an entirely different scenario took place.
06"Kinuko (Last Part)"
Transliteration: "Kinuko (kouhen)" (Japanese: キヌコ(後編))		May 13, 2008 (2008-05-13)
07"Hidden Face"
Transliteration: "Mienai Kao" (Japanese: 見えない顔)		May 20, 2008 (2008-05-20)
A wealthy businessman dies in a fire, but upon viewing his memories, it is discovered that he left his inheritance to a young girl who claims to have never met him.
08"Remodeling"
Transliteration: "Kaizou" (Japanese: 改造)		May 27, 2008 (2008-05-27)
A young woman is killed during an extreme body modification ceremony and the team must discover the culprit before another person is killed.
09"*(Asterisk)"
Transliteration: "*(Asutarisuku)" (Japanese: *(アスタリスク))		June 3, 2008 (2008-06-03)
An elderly man sacrifices his own life in order to save a woman from a serial killer who leaves an asterisk mark on his victims.
10"Wind Inside the Box"
Transliteration: "Hako no naka no kaze" (Japanese: 箱の中の鼠)		June 10, 2008 (2008-06-10)
Inmates awaiting execution are murdered during blackouts in a facility, but the team only has a limited time to find the culprit.
11"Don't Reach For That Neck"
Transliteration: "Sono kubi ni te wo dasu na" (Japanese: その首に手を出すな)		June 17, 2008 (2008-06-17)
A man is murdered in a small village and Aoki is sent to retrieve the body, but it seems as though someone doesn't want the murderer to be revealed.
12"Client (First Part)"
Transliteration: "Raihou sha (zenpen)" (Japanese: 来訪者(前編))		June 24, 2008 (2008-06-24)
A group of teenage boys commit suicide and it soon comes to light that they are related to an earlier case that forced Maki to kill his best friend.
13"Client (Last Part)"
Transliteration: "Raihou sha (kouhen)" (Japanese: 来訪者(後編))		July 1, 2008 (2008-07-01)
14"The Woman's Red High Heels"
Transliteration: "Akai haihiiru no onna" (Japanese: 赤いハイヒールの女)		July 8, 2008 (2008-07-08)
A designer shoemaker is murdered and the only clue is his memory of red high-heel shoes.
15"Lament"
Transliteration: "Aika" (Japanese: 哀歌)		June 15, 2008 (2008-06-15)
A young man takes a woman and her baby hostage and his only demand is to have Section Nine view the memories of a prominent man who recently died.
16"Final Take"
Transliteration: "Fainaru·Teiku" (Japanese: ファイナル·テイク)		July 22, 2008 (2008-07-22)
A famous film director is murdered by a person wearing a Hannya mask and the only clue they have is a woman named Sumire who doesn't exist.
17"Witness"
Transliteration: "Mokugeki" (Japanese: 目撃)		June 29, 2008 (2008-06-29)
The murder of two police officers leads to the truth behind a secret that was meant to be forgotten.
18"No One Is Watching (Part 1)"
Transliteration: "Daremo miteinai (zenpen)" (Japanese: 誰も見ていない(前編))		August 5, 2008 (2008-08-05)
19"No One Is Watching (Part 2)"
Transliteration: "Daremo miteinai (chuuhen)" (Japanese: 誰も見ていない(中編))		August 12, 2008 (2008-08-12)
20"No One Is Watching (Final Part)"
Transliteration: "Daremo miteinai (kouhen)" (Japanese: 誰も見ていない(後編))		August 19, 2008 (2008-08-19)
21"Infringement"
Transliteration: "Shinshoku" (Japanese: 侵食)		August 26, 2008 (2008-08-26)
22"Countdown"
Transliteration: "Kauntodaun" (Japanese: カウントダウン)		September 2, 2008 (2008-09-02)
23"Search My Body (Part One)"
Transliteration: "Search My Body (zenpen)" (Japanese: Search My Body(前編))		September 9, 2008 (2008-09-09)
The team receives a brain, but it is discovered to belong to Amachi, who had recently gone missing.
24"Search My Body (Part Two)"
Transliteration: "Search My Body (kouhen)" (Japanese: Search My Body(後編))		September 16, 2008 (2008-09-16)
The team searches Amachi's dreams for clues to the whereabouts of her body and the identity of the person responsible.
25"Sacrifice"
Transliteration: "Sakurifaisu" (Japanese: 犠牲(サクリファイス))		September 23, 2008 (2008-09-23)
26"Paradisus"
Transliteration: "Rakuen (Paradisosu)" (Japanese: 楽園(パラディソス))		September 30, 2008 (2008-09-30)

Reception

The Himitsu – Top Secret has been recommended by a jury at the 2007 Japan Media Arts Festival[2] and again in 2008,[3] and was awarded the Excellence Award in 2011.[4]

The fourth volume of Himitsu – Top Secret was ranked 4th on the Tohan charts between January 29 and February 4, 2008.[5] The fifth volume of Himitsu – Top Secret was ranked 5th on the Tohan Charts between July 29 and August 4, 2008.[6] The sixth volume of Himitsu – Top Secret was ranked 29th and 23rd between February 24 and March 9, 2008.[7][8] The seventh volume of Himitsu – Top Secret was ranked 11th on the Tohan charts between October 26 and November 1, 2009,[9] and 28th the following week.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Top Secret Manga Gets Spinoff Series". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Loo, Egan (December 25, 2007). "2007 Japan Media Arts Festival Jury Recommends Works". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  3. ^ Loo, Egan (December 10, 2008). "Tsumiki no Ie, Piano Forest, Kaiba Win Media Arts Awards". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  4. ^ "Excellence Award - HIMITSU THE TOP SECRET | Award | Manga Division | 2011 [15th] Japan Media Arts Festival Archive". Japan Media Arts Festival. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, January 29–February 4". Anime News Network. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  6. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, July 29–August 4". Anime News Network. 2008-08-06. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  7. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, February 24-March 2". Anime News Network. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
  8. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, March 3–9". Anime News Network. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
  9. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, October 26-November 1". Anime News Network. 2009-11-04. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  10. ^ "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 2–8". Anime News Network. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2009-11-13.