The high-stakes Japanese crime drama Matori and Kyoken Men in the Back Alleys has officially landed on Netflix. The show follows a man forced into a dangerous double life within Tokyo’s criminal underworld, and the complete first season is now available for streaming. Here is everything you need to know about the release, the story, and the main cast.
Matori and Kyoken Men in the Back Alleys began streaming globally on February 1, 2026. Netflix is releasing the season with a weekly episode schedule. This means new episodes arrive on the platform one at a time, rather than all at once.
How to Watch Matori and Kyoken on Netflix
The series is available worldwide on Netflix as an original title. You can find it by searching for “Matori and Kyoken” or “Men in the Back Alleys” directly on the platform. The show is listed with an M18 rating, indicating mature content for adult audiences.
For viewers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and India, the show became accessible on the same date: Saturday, February 1, 2026. It is part of Netflix’s large batch of new content for the month, which includes other series and many popular movies.
Plot and Story Details of the Crime Drama
The series is an adaptation of the manga Matori to Kyoken: Rodjiura no Otokotachi by Tajima Takashi. The story starts with a violent, drug-related murder at a club in Tokyo’s upscale Roppongi district.
The central character is Umezawa Kyonosuke, a former popular child actor whose life has spiraled downward. He now works as a drug dealer and was the one who sold the narcotics involved in the club incident. While working with his associates, his apartment is raided by narcotics agents, known on the streets as “Matori“. He manages to escape but is quickly caught by a relentless and obsessive agent named Kurosaki Toru.
Kurosaki gives Umezawa a terrible choice: avoid arrest by becoming his informant or “spy.” Forced into this agreement, Umezawa thinks his troubles are over. However, he is then immediately arrested by the police, specifically Assistant Inspector Katsuragi Akito from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Drug and Firearms Control Division. Katsuragi makes an identical demand, ordering Umezawa to spy for the police.
This leaves Umezawa trapped as a double agent, forced to gather intelligence for both rival law enforcement groups simultaneously while navigating the dangerous underworld that employs him.
Main Cast and Characters in Matori and Kyoken
The show features a talented Japanese cast led by Daigo Nishihata. He plays the complex protagonist, Umezawa Kyonosuke, the former child star turned drug dealer.
Yoshihiko Hosoda plays Kurosaki Toru, the narcotics agent with a dangerous fixation on drugs who first forces Umezawa into espionage. Osamu Mukai takes on the role of Katsuragi Akito, the police assistant inspector who recruits Umezawa as a second, conflicting source.
Kokoro Morita plays Sugihara Aoi, a key support character. The cast also includes Joe Kujo as Kaga Hibiki and Yuichi Kimura as Shinjo Jo. The series is directed by Shinagawa Hiroshi.
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Netflix February 2026 New Release Lineup
Matori and Kyoken was part of a significant content update from Netflix at the start of February 2026. Dozens of new movies and series were added on February 1st alone.
Popular movie titles that arrived the same day include the action film Copshop with Gerard Butler, the acclaimed sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, and family favorites like Night at the Museum and How to Train Your Dragon. Other notable series that launched include Soda Master and new seasons of Heartland and The Way Home.
Major releases continue throughout the month. Later in February, Netflix will debut the documentary Being Gordon Ramsay, the third season of the action thriller The Night Agent, and the second part of Bridgerton’s highly popular fourth season.
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