: One man fighting against a corrupt, massive institution. Essential Characters Hanzawa Naoki : The principled, sharp-witted protagonist. Asano : The manipulative branch manager who betrays Hanzawa.
(“This is not a demand. It’s a warning. You will pay me back. And not just once. You will pay me back twice—double.”)
Set in 2004 (post-Japan’s financial crisis), Hanzawa Naoki is a loan officer at the Osaka Nakanoshima branch of Industrial Central Bank. He believes a bank exists to serve the real economy and its clients. His new branch manager, Asano, orders him to approve a 500 million yen unsecured loan to a local steel company, Nishi Osaka Steel, despite Hanzawa’s misgivings.
