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Everything is changing. The veteran Heihachiro Waku has retired, as has Yukino after she married Mashita. The police station is moving to a new location, but criminals use the chaos to sneak in, and steal the guns of Aoshima and Sumire from the storage locker. The bumbling 'Three Amigos' police chiefs waste time debating how to avoid getting blamed.

The bad guys demand the release of all the criminals Aoshima has apprehended in the tv show and earlier movies. There is a climactic scene where Aoshima has to ask Manami Hyuga (played by Kyoko Koizumi) from the first movie for advice on how to track down the blackmailers.

Sumire and Aoshima once again are pushed to reveal their feelings for each other as Aoshima faces a new crisis.

Probably people who have seen the earlier tv show and first movie will get the most out of this, but as with these others, this is a tense thriller with moments of human emotion and comedy relief.

The writer of most of the Bayside/Odoru movies and shows, Kimizuka loves to poke fun at the bumbling police chiefs as they scrape, and bow trying to please their superiors as they jockey for position in their desire to get ahead. In this movie, he goes even further pitting our heroes against a group of embittered men who were fired, and refuse to choose a leader, each acting independently as they carry out their crimes. This leads to Mashita questioning whether this approach gives the gang an advantage over the police's own military style hierarchy where everyone is supposed to follow orders.

Muroi, Aoshima's ally at HQ, makes an early mistake, and is replaced by a woman Okita as the new head of the investigation. In the heat of the moment, Okita implies that the Bayside petty crimes work are not important leaving Aoshima and Sumire outraged. Yukino gets kidnapped, leading our hero/heroine to ignore orders, and swing into action in an effort to save Yukino and the innocent bystanders.

Kimizuka has opened up a can of worms with all these different threads, and so his conclusion might not sit well with many viewers, but this movie probably has the most social commentary of any in the franchise.

Director Motohiro, Screenwriter Kimizuka and actor Yanagiba reunite to give a surprisingly fresh take on the character of Shinji Muroi, formerly one of the top brass in Tokyo Police Crime Investigation hierarchy. Muroi has retired a bit early, and returned to his home town in rural Akita where he has adopted to young boys orphaned by criminals. A dead body found near his farm brings police from his old stomping grounds to investigate. His eldest son chases after a mysterious girl lurking nearby, and Muroi takes her in as well.

Earlier installments in this franchise focused on character, investigation and the problems with the hierarchical structure of the police, but here Kimizuka takes a thoughtful look at what can or should be done in the wake of vile crimes with those left behind.