It was revealed on June 11th that a sequel to the TBS Sunday Theatre drama "VIVANT" (Sundays at 9pm), starring Masato Sakai, which aired in July 2023, will be broadcast in the same time slot in 2026 (date to be determined). The 2023 broadcast sparked a "battle of speculation" mainly on social media, creating a huge buzz, but we look back at the plot that remained "unresolved" until the very end.
In the final scene of the final episode, Nozaki (Hiroshi Abe), a member of the Public Security Bureau, appears behind Nogi (Sakai) as he makes his way through the crowd, grinning meaningfully. Furthermore, in the scene where Nozaki congratulates Jamin (Nandin Erdene Hongorzul) on his release from hospital, Jamin only bows slightly, and Nozaki says with a wry smile, "Not yet?"
Jameen is said to have the ability to "intuitively discern between good and evil in people," and he never grew attached to Nozaki until the very end. The Public Security Police, "the enemy of the tent," have been interpreted as "evil" to Jameen, but is it possible that they have a different side to the Public Security Police?
Also in the final episode, Beki (Yakusho Koji) appears before Uehara (Hashizume Isao), his former superior officer and deputy chief cabinet secretary, to exact revenge on Uehara, who had called off the rescue of his family. Beki tries to exact revenge on Uehara, but is shot by Nogi and falls to the ground.
When Nokoru (Kazunari Ninomiya) said, "I would like to prepare a grave at Barca," Nogi replied, "The Emperor has no heavenly parents, but will support only virtue," and added, "I will offer flowers at a later date."
With Nogi's shooting skills, it should have been easy to miss the vital points. Since his body has not been found, it is quite possible that he is still alive.
In addition, Marubishi Shoji's Managing Director Nagano Toshihiko (Fumiyo Kohinata) never reappeared at the end of the story. Nagano has been the subject of much discussion, with some saying he was the mastermind behind the crimes and others saying he was the journalist who saved Nogi, but was he really just having an affair with the genius hacker Ota (Iinuma Ai)?
Regarding the separate squad, the drama's original product, "Seppaku Manju," is a set of eight manju with the "Seppaku" branded on them surrounding one tent mark, which has sparked speculation that there may be two more members of the separate squad besides Nogi, Kurosu (played by Tori Matsuzaka), and the four who were shot by Nogi. If so, who are the remaining two?
Furthermore, who exactly was "Drum"? Is Kaoru (played by Nikaido Fumi) simply "the person Nogi loves"? Many other mysteries remain.
The sequel will be a continuation of the story, starting immediately after the last scene of the previous film, and there will be no changes to the setting of the main character, Nogi Yusuke, played by Sakai. The cast members other than Sakai will be announced in the future. Filming will reportedly take place mainly overseas in "ultra-pro-Japanese countries," so we can look forward to not only the clarification of unresolved issues, but also a new story for Nogi.
