Manhunt 2018

At the 65th anniversary celebration of Tenjin Pharmaceutical, high-powered attorney Du Qiu, played by Hanyu Zhang, prepares to bid farewell, having already made up his mind about leaving the company. Company head Yoshihiro Sakai (portrayed by Jun Kunimura) attempts to persuade him to remain, yet he remains resolute. Amid the festivities, a captivating young woman named Mayumi, played by Stephy Qi, catches Du Qiu’s eye. She cleverly leads him away from the party for a clandestine meeting, only to vanish shortly thereafter. Later that evening, as Du Qiu returns home, he is unexpectedly attacked and knocked unconscious.

The following morning, he awakens in a horrifying situation: his colleague Kiko, played by Tao Okamoto, lies lifeless on his bed, and he finds himself clutching the murder weapon. Just as Detective Asano, portrayed by Naoto Takenaka, arrives with a team to arrest him, Du Qiu realizes he’s been framed. Understanding the gravity of his situation, he escapes before he can be apprehended, triggering a massive manhunt. His new assistant, Rika, portrayed by Nanami Sakuraba, alerts the hard-boiled detective Yamura, played by Masaharu Fukuyama, who rushes to the scene for backup.

Just as Du Qiu sneaks into the sewers to evade capture, Yamura, having anticipated his escape route, confronts him. In a desperate turn of events, Du Qiu takes Yamura hostage to ensure his own getaway. Along the way, as he insists on his innocence, he reluctantly releases Yamura, discarding his weapon in a moment of trust, leading Yamura to suspect that there’s more to this case than initially perceived.

Now branded as Osaka’s most wanted fugitive, Du Qiu employs every trick in the book to elude the police and hide from danger. During his flight, he uncovers a disturbing scheme where a group lures the homeless into unmarked vans, never to be seen again. Suddenly, the tables turn when he becomes the target of assassins led by Dawn, portrayed by Angeles Woo, and her counterpart, Rain, while realizing the conspiracy runs deeper into his life than he ever imagined.

With nowhere left to turn, Du Qiu seeks refuge with Mayumi, who helps him escape to her family’s farm in the countryside. There, Du Qiu pleads for her to provide an alibi to prove his innocence, only to be met with a shocking revelation. Mayumi, driven by vengeance for her fiancé, who she believes was wrongfully convicted thanks to Du Qiu’s legal actions, confronts him in the woods, ready to exact her revenge. Just as she’s about to pull the trigger, Dawn appears, complicating the situation with deadly consequences. As a culmination of chaos ensues, Yamura arrives, aiding Du Qiu and Mayumi in their battle against the assailants. This near-death encounter shifts their perspectives dramatically.

Later, a suspicious Mayumi investigates the farm for clues and uncovers a file hidden by her fiancé, which unveils the astounding truth about his role in a conspiracy involving Tenjin Pharmaceuticals. This leads Du Qiu to a critical realization: the mastermind orchestrating the dark deeds is none other than the Sakai family. To avert further disaster, Du Qiu courageously ventures alone to the pharmaceutical plant.

What he discovers is horrifying; Tenjin Pharmaceuticals is involved in a sinister operation, using homeless individuals as subjects for brutal medical experiments aimed at developing a drug that transforms humans into weapons for sale to terrorist organizations. Taken captive, Du Qiu finds himself coerced into participating in the very experiments he sought to expose. In a climactic showdown, he must confront Yamura, who has come to rescue him. Despite the abuse and coercion, Du Qiu fights against the manipulation, bolstered by his will to resist. The two, alongside Rain—who has now turned against Tenjin—forge an alliance to battle their captors to the bitter end, determined to bring justice to light.