Story Summary
Bayside Shakedown takes place in the fictional Wangan Precinct of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Unlike most police dramas which tend to focus on action and car chases, Bayside Shakedown is largely concerned with the bureaucratic issues of the police department that are also very present in many other sectors of Japanese society. The series depicted police work as office politics under a slightly different environment, complete with bureaucratic red tape, lethargic civil servants, bosses more interested in playing golf and saving face than solving crimes, interference from politicians, and conflict between Police Headquarters and the local officers.
The officers depicted in Bayside Shakedown are not permitted to carry firearms except during major emergencies. Fuji TV used the fictional "All officers are to be armed" (拳銃携帯命令 Kenjū Keitai Meirei) order, which the portrayed bureaucracy is often reluctant to hand down. (This is in fact different to reality, where it is compulsory for a uniformed officer to be armed, and plainclothes officers are required to be armed if they expect to be exposed to any danger.)
The main character of the series is a young detective named Shunsaku Aoshima (played by Yuji Oda). Originally a corporate salesman, Aoshima decided to join the police department out of heroic idealism, expecting a life of adventure and excitement. Once inside, he is completely underwhelmed by the reality of police work, finding it dishearteningly similar to corporate employment. Throughout the series, he strives against the obstacles of bureaucratic indifference to help people and pursue his ideals of what a police officer should be, often with humorous results.
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