Signal (Japanese TV series)

2018 Japanese television drama series

Signal

Promotional poster

シグナル (Shigunaru)
Genre|

* Procedural
* Drama
* Thriller

Created by| Fuji TV

Based on| Signal
by Kim Eun-hee[a]
Written by| Masaya Ozaki
Directed by|

* Akira Uchikata
* Kosuke Suzuki

Starring|

* Kentaro Sakaguchi
* Michiko Kichise
* Kazuki Kitamura

Opening theme| "Don't Leave Me" by BTS
Composers|

* Yuki Hayashi
* Asami Tachibana

Country of origin| Japan
Original language| Japanese
No. of episodes| 10
Production
Producers|

* Takashi Hagiwara
* Takahiro Kasabe
* Mai Ishida

Camera setup| Single camera
Production companies|

* Kansai Telecasting Corporation
* Horipro

Original release
Network| Fuji TV
Release| April 10 (2018-04-10) –
June 12, 2018 (2018-06-12)
Related

* Signal the Movie (2021)
* Signal (2016)

Signal (Japanese: シグナル, Hepburn: Shigunaru), also known as Signal: Long-Term Unsolved Case Investigation Team (Japanese: シグナル 長期未解決事件捜査班, Hepburn: Shigunaru: Chōki Mikaiketsu Jiken Sōsahan), is a Japanese police procedural television series starring Kentaro Sakaguchi, Michiko Kichise and Kazuki Kitamura. It is a remake of the South Korean drama of the same name written by Kim Eun-hee and aired every Tuesday at 21:00 JST from April 10 to June 12, 2018, on Fuji TV.[1][2]

A sequel film, Signal the Movie, was released in theaters in Japan on April 2, 2021.[3]

## Cast

[edit]

### Main

[edit]

* Kentaro Sakaguchi as Kento Saegusa
* Michiko Kichise[4] as Misaki Sakurai
* Kazuki Kitamura[4] as Takeshi Ooyama

### Supporting

[edit]

*Atsuro Watabe[4] as Tsutomu Yamada

* Yuichi Kimura as Tsutomu Yamada
* Tetsuhiro Ikeda as Shinya Kojima
* Masahiro Komoto as Kazuo Iwata
* Kaede Aono as Rika Anzai
* Fuju Kamio[5] as Ryota Kato
* Yuito Obara[6] as Yōichi Ogawa

## Original soundtrack

[edit]

Boy group BTS from South Korea sang the opening theme song of the series entitled "Don't Leave Me".[7]

Title  | Year  | Artist  | Peak chart positions  | Sales

|
|
|
|

KOR
[8] | FRA Digital
[9] | JPN  | US World
[10]
Oricon
[11] | Hot 100
[12]
"Don't Leave Me"[13] | 2018  | BTS | —  | 91  | 18  | 13  | 1  |

* JPN: 4,611[14]
* US: 9,000

"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

## Ratings

[edit]

Ep. | Broadcast date  | Average audience share

|
|

Kanto region | Kansai region | Ref.
1  | April 10, 2018  | 9.7%  | 12.9%  | [15]
2  | April 17, 2018  | 8.4%  | 14.3%  | [16]
3  | April 24, 2018  | 8.3%  | 11.9%  | [17]
4  | May 1, 2018  | 7.9%  | 13.0%  | [18]
5  | May 8, 2018  | 6.7%  | 11.6%  | [19]
6  | May 15, 2018  | 5.7%  | 9.7%  | [20]
7  | May 22, 2018  | 6.9%  | 10.1%  | [21]
8  | May 29, 2018  | 6.9%  | 10.3%  | [22]
9  | June 5, 2018  | 7.3%  | 11.4%  | [23]
10  | June 12, 2018  | 9.2%  | 13.5%  | [24]
Average  | 7.7%  | 11.9%  |

## International broadcast

[edit]

Country  | Network  | Premiere

|
|

Indonesia
Mongolia
Myanmar
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Vietnam | WakuWaku Japan
(with subtitles) | April 21, 2018[25]

## Film

[edit]

Main article: Signal the Movie

A sequel film, simply titled Signal the Movie, was released in Japan on April 2, 2021. The film was directed by Hajime Hashimoto [ja], co-written by Kōsuke Nishi and Hiroshi Hayashi, and distributed by Toho, with cast members from the television series reprising their respective roles.[3]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Both versions of Signal and the 2016 US TV series Frequency originate from the 2000 film of the same name by Toby Emmerich

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "[단독] '시그널' 日 리메이크 확정, 사카구치 켄타로 출연". YTN. February 2018.
2. ^ "坂口健太郎、ドラマ初主演で警察官に！過去と現在が交差...未解決事件に挑む". Cinema Today. 19 February 2018.
3. ^ a b "劇場版シグナル 長期未解決事件捜査班". Toho (in Japanese). Retrieved April 2, 2021.
4. ^ a b c "坂口健太郎主演連ドラで8年ぶり刑事役 北村一輝、渡部篤郎も". Mainichi.
5. ^ 神尾楓珠インタビュー「兄弟の絆も見どころです」『シグナル 長期未解決事件捜査班』 [Fuju Kamio Interview "Brotherly bonds are also a highlight" "Signal Long-Term Unsolved Case Investigation Team"]. TV LIFE web (in Japanese). 2018-05-01. Archived from the original on 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
6. ^ 2018年春ドラマ4月 2018.06.06 2018.07.18 (2018-06-06). "シグナル長期未解決事件捜査班 第九話(18/6/5放送)のあらすじ、ネタバレ、無料動画で見逃し配信、考察、視聴率情報はこちら！！". Vodtrend (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-04-30.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
7. ^ "TSが初のドラマ主題歌！フジ坂口健太郎が刑事役". Nikkan Sports.
8. ^ *"Even If I Die, It's You". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved 2016-12-29.
9. ^
* "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés" (in French). April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
10. ^ *"Even If I Die, It's You". Billboard. Retrieved 2017-06-20.
* "World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
11. ^ "オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2018年04月02日～2018年04月08日 11～20位". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
12. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved April 21, 2018.
13. ^ Kim, Bo-ra (2018-03-08). "[공식입장] 방탄소년단, 日드라마 '시그널' 주제가 부른다" (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-04.
14. ^ "オリコン週間 デジタルシングル（単曲）ランキング 2018年04月02日～2018年04月08日 11～20位". ORICON NEWS (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
15. ^ 坂口健太郎主演「シグナル 長期未解決事件捜査班」初回視聴率は関東9・7% 関西は12・9%で2ケタ発進
16. ^ 坂口健太郎主演「シグナル」第2話視聴率は関東8・4%、関西は14・3%の高数字
17. ^ "坂口健太郎主演「シグナル」第3回は8・3% 関西では3話連続2ケタキープ". Hochi. 25 April 2018.
18. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」第4回は7・9% 関西は13・0%で好調維持". Hochi. 2 May 2018.
19. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」第5回は6・7% 関西では5話連続2ケタキープ". Hochi. 9 May 2018.
20. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」第6話は5・7% 関西は6話連続2ケタ維持". Hochi. 16 May 2018.
21. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」第7話は6・9% 関西は7話連続2ケタキープ". Hochi. 23 May 2018.
22. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」第8話は6・9% 関西は10・3%で2ケタキープ". Hochi. 30 May 2018.
23. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」第9話は7・3% 前回から0・4ポイントアップ". Hochi. 6 June 2018.
24. ^ "坂口健太郎初主演「シグナル」最終回は9・2% 関西は13・5%で有終の美". Hochi. 13 June 2018.
25. ^ "Signal". Waku Waku Japan.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Signal at IMDb

*[No.]: Number
*[Ep.]: Episode