Mad Humans

Mad Humans
Operation: Mystery, episode 24
Information
Airdate	February 23, 1969
Directed by	Kazuho Mitsuta
Written by	Hiroyasu Yamaura
Special Effects Directed by	Toru Matoba
Continuity
Previous	The Cursed Jar
Next	I Will Buy Kyoto

Mad Humans is the twenty-fourth episode of Operation: Mystery.

The episode was released on VHS in 1984 and LaserDisc in 1991. After a rebroadcast on January 28, 1985, it has not aired again. In 1995, Beam Entertainment (a Bandai Visual subsidiary) planned to release the full series, including this episode, in an LD-BOX. However, on release day, the distributor ordered an immediate halt to sales and recalled all copies, so the product never officially reached the market. Since then, episode 24 has been considered "missing," with no public information available. To this day, no official media includes this episode.

The exact reason for episode 24's removal remains unclear. Some unverified sources suggest it might involve "depictions of mentally disturbed individuals" or "frequent use of discriminatory language."

Synopsis

One evening, Yukiko, wearing a crazed smile, committed murder. Although she was arrested due to severe mental illness, Article 39, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code stipulates that "the acts of the mentally ill shall not be punished." Just two months later, Yukiko was discharged from the psychiatric hospital as her mental condition improved.

Similar crimes were committed by other psychiatric patients, who were also soon released. The police and SRI found this series of events suspicious and began to investigate.

Cast

• Shiro Maki : Shin Kishida
• Kyosuke Misawa : Homare Suguro
• Tadashi Matoya : Yasumi Hara
• Hiroshi Nomura : Seiji Matsuyama
• Saori Ogawa : Reiko Kobashi
• Taizo Machida : Akiji Kobayashi

Guest Actors

• Saeko Mikawa : Yuriko Hime
• Katsuji Sasaoka
• Yukiko : Ryoko Wada
• Japanese Sword Madman : Senkichi Omura
• Sayoko Mizuno
• Loan Shark : Eisuke Yoda
• Rifle Gun Madman : Masanori Irie
• Kosuke Sugita
• Yoshiko Hayashi
• Inn Man : Keisuke Yamada
• Yuko Shin
• Theater Group Henshin

Gallery

LaserDisc

Announcement Released by Beam Entertainment in 1995

Trivia

• This episode involves Article 39 of the Penal Code of Japan, which states that "Crimes committed by individuals with mental or physical abnormalities shall not be subject to punishment" and that such crimes may receive reduced punishment.
• The original story focused on Misawa, but actor Homare Suguro was only available for half a day. So, when the script was finalized on January 16, 1969, Maki became the main character instead.
• In the script, SRI staged a fake accident where Maki's "pretend lover" was killed by a car to draw out the elusive Saeko for investigation. Originally, Misawa played the fugitive causing the accident, and Nomura saved Misawa from Maki's brainwave-modulated chase. Due to Suguro's limited availability, these roles were swapped with Nomura and a police officer in the final production. This plot remained from the planning stage.
• The song Saeko Mikaway hums behind the barred window in the psychiatric hospital is "Nanatsu no Ko," with lyrics by Ujo Noguchi.
• Some scenes were shot at Shin Kishida's home (who played Maki), located inside Zuishō-ji in Tokyo's Minato Ward. Kishida was also actively involved in the episode's production.

Mention of episode 24 on Tokyo MX's official website

• On May 29, 2006, during the re-airing of Operation: Mystery on Tokyo MX, episode 24's title, summary, and images appeared on the official website and schedule. However, the next day, this information was removed, and a different program aired on June 27 instead.