Million Yen Women Season 1 Episode 8 Recap – Reason

After Nanaka’s death, the police question the five people she lived with: Shin, Minami, Hitomi, Midori, and Yuki. They can’t really give any information about Nanaka’s possible killer. While the police talk to Shin, a report shows that Nanaka’s murderer has turned himself in. The reports say it’s a crazy fan.

Yuzu talks to Moriguchi and calls Nanaka stupid. He says Nanaka has talent, but she lacks the skill to use it. Then Yuzu asks if the situation can be used to promote his novel. Moriguchi says he is thinking the same thing.

Shin reads the fax message that says, “The true atonement begins now.” Minami sees him and asks him to throw it away. She adds that Nanaka’s killer sent the message. Shin says he asked the police about it and said it was not the fan who sent the message. Shin also says the message differs from all the other fax messages he had received. 

Mr. Sakurai watches the reports about Nanaka’s untimely passing. Yuzu gives a statement saying he had always hoped he could work with Nanaka someday. A program also predicts that Shin’s novel could sell millions of copies. Shin’s critic, Mr. Moriguchi, says Shin could possibly win a new award even if he has no talent. Mr. Sakurai smirks at the comment and says, “But he is selling very well.”

Outside Shin’s house, fans gather to pay respect to Nanaka. Shin comes out, and a fan asks him to apologize for Nanakas’s death. Shin ignores them and keeps on walking. She sees Nanaka’s favorite milk at the grocery and remembers her. On his way home, he passes by a bookstore and sees a poster of Nanaka. Shin goes inside and sees magazine covers of her and an interview playing on a monitor.

Yuzu gives an interview. He says it is still difficult to talk about Nanaka, so he proceeds to talk about his novel. He adds that on the night of Nanaka’s death, he spent time with her. 

Reporters wait for Shin to come home. As soon as they see him, they run to him. They ask questions about Nanaka’s death, but Shin doesn’t say anything and excuses himself. Mr. Sakurai arrives and helps Shin gets inside the house. They pay respect to Nanaka by lighting a candle in her room.

Mr. Sakurai tells Shin they got an offer from a movie company to make Shin’s novel into a movie. Shin apologizes and turns the offer down. He says the actress who should play the lead role is already gone.

Minami talks to Sunako inside the car and asks who is behind Nanaka’s death. Sunako says he has confirmed Minami’s suspicion.

While Shin sleeps, he dreams of Nanaka. Nanaka asks him what it’s like to be popular. Shin admits it’s not how he wanted it to be.

Shin visits his father in prison. His father apologizes for the trouble he has caused. Shin asks his father why he committed the murder. His father says he did it for himself. Shin looks at his father and calls him a scumbag. Shin stands up and leaves without saying goodbye to his father. 

Shin visits Mrs. Mizuguchi, The old woman says she has read Shin’s novel. Shin thanks her and asks why she keeps sending those nasty faxes. Mrs. Mizuguchi stops smiling and admits she sends those messages because she finds things unfair. She says that Shin’s father gets to be killed after he killed people five years ago. She promises not to send any of those messages anymore, so Shin can stop coming over to see her.

The five of them eat dinner together. Minami tells the others that she had the murderer investigated. Minami reveals that the man who turned himself in as Nanaka’s killer is not even Nanaka’s fan. He doesn’t even know how old Nanaka is and has not even seen any of Nanaka’s movies. The murderer has a debt of over 30 million yen. After the murder, the money was paid off.   

Minami says the person who wanted Nanaka dead is the same person who sent them the invitation. Minami admits she has known for a long time who sent them the invitations. Everyone is surprised and asks Minami who it is, but Minami says it’s better for them not to know anything — they should just leave it to her. 

Minami says there is someone who benefits from Nanaka’s death. Shin quietly admits he is the one who had benefited the most from Nanaka’s death because after her death, his novel has sold over a million copies.

Our Thoughts

It’s sad to see the nicest of the five women, Nanaka, gone. She adds a happy vibe to the dark concept of the show. Mr. Sakurai’s comments also make him a bit suspicious. He promised he would make Shin a big seller and always ask for favors from Nanaka. Yuzu pretends to be close to Nanaka so he can promote his novel. It’s understandable that they’ve all been living together for only a few months, but seeing none of them shed a tear for Nanaka made them look suspicious.