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Prayer Beads, also called "omoinotama" or "nunju" in Japanese, are the small wooden beads strung on a loop used in Buddhist worship. The number of beads is typically 108, corresponding to the 108 earthly desires or sins that the beads have the power to extinguish. "Prayer Beads" is a series of 9 episodes of 30-minute dramas strung together, with the characters in each episode designing one thread of fate. The short independent episodes are skillfully linked together to become one story. The protagonists' dreams and fears and feelings about this life are all taken up and spun around to reach a dramatic conclusion in the final story.
Directed by —, Prayer Beads leans on a strong ensemble — — — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about mystery titles of 2004.
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Narrates the events and cases encountered by Kaoru Utsumi, a rookie detective, and Manabu Yukawa, a university associate professor, while the two pair up to solve many mysterious cases.
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