Character Relationship Map: Drowning Fish

Characters

• Katsuhiko Shirosu (played by Kippei Shiina) — protagonist

  Katsuhiko Shirosu is one half of the misfit duo called in to investigate the blackmail of corporate executives. He joins the search for clues about "Oboreru Sakana" and infiltrates a gay nightclub wit...

• Munetaka Akiyoshi (played by Yosuke Kubozuka) — supporting

  Munetaka Akiyoshi is one half of the ethically questionable duo tasked with locating "Oboreru Sakana" after executives are blackmailed into public nudity. He works alongside Katsuhiko Shirosu, and tog...

• Miyota (played by Ken Watanabe) — supporting

  Miyota is a superintendent who helps orchestrate the conspiracy behind the investigation. He communicates with an official posing as an economic consultant and arranges for Shuji Ishimaki to investiga...

• Shuji Ishimaki (played by Masatô Ibu) — minor

  Shuji Ishimaki is a Public Security Bureau foreign-affairs agent whose alleged links to Russian organized crime and weapons smuggling make him central to the case. Miyota arranges for him to investiga...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Miyota → Shuji Ishimaki (Power Manipulator And Pawn) — Miyota's plan uses Ishimaki's investigation and vulnerability to advance a broader scheme, while Ishimaki's dealings and debts leave him exposed.

  Miyota had arranged for Ishimaki to investigate the blackmail, and the scheme pushed Ishimaki into blackmailing Daito and made him a pawn in a larger...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Katsuhiko Shirosu → Miyota (Conflict Investigator And Conspirator) — Shirosu recognizes that Miyota's scheme manipulated the investigation and confronts the moral logic behind treating people as expendable pieces.

  The final revelations point to Miyota as the person who arranged for Ishimaki to investigate the blackmail. Shirosu challenges the idea that human liv...

• Katsuhiko Shirosu → Munetaka Akiyoshi (Alliance Reluctant Partners) — They begin as an uneasy investigative pairing, face dangerous leads together, and remain together as they confront the consequences of the manipulated case.

  Their superiors pair them up to investigate the incidents. The plot describes them working together despite arguments and difficulty cooperating.

Story Analysis

A mismatched police pair investigates blackmail and discovers that the case has been shaped by manipulation, corruption, and lethal betrayal.

Plot Progression

1. An Uneasy Police Pair — Shirosu and Akiyoshi are paired by their superiors and drawn into incidents beyond routine police work. Their arguments and tense stakeouts expose the difficulty of working together.
2. Blackmail and Growing Threats — The investigation uncovers threats and blackmail involving a major food company, while officials worry about copycat crimes and public confidence. The officers also face the prospect of armed criminal...
3. The Ransom Operation — Suspicion falls on Ishimaki amid rumors of criminal connections, weapons smuggling, and a past drowning. The officers are ordered to attend a dangerous ransom handover after a forty-million-yen demand...
4. The Conspiracy Revealed — Ishimaki is found dead, and Shirosu realizes the case has been manipulated. The revelations connect Miyota's arrangements to Ishimaki's vulnerability and leave the officers confronting the consequence...