There are only two episodes left of the NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm, etc.), starring Ryusei Yokohama . At the end of the 46th episode, "The Soga Festival Incident," which aired on November 30th, another man with the same face as Hitotsubashi Harusaru, played by Ikuta Toma, appeared, causing a stir among viewers. Ikuta, who plays Harusaru, "predicted" the drama, saying, "It's really full of unknowns from start to finish, so I think it's going to be quite a surprising development, and I think it will be an ending that won't disappoint." He added, "I hope you'll look forward to it."
In episode 46, Tsutaju (Yokohama) starts selling his paintings under the name of the artist "Toshusai Sharaku." Rumors about Sharaku gradually spread throughout Edo city and Edo Castle, reaching the ears of Hitotsubashi Harusame (Ikuta Toma).
On the day of the festival, Sadanobu (Inoue Yuki) and his men plan to use the spy Osaki (Emi Kurara) to lure Jisei with the bait that Sharaku's true identity is "the living Gennai ( Ken Yasuda Akira)" and take revenge. However, Jisei, who realized that one of the baits, a piece of gisaku's handwriting, was "Sadanobu's," instead had his own men sneak into the festival.
After handing out poisoned buns to Sadanobu and his men, and then using one of them to kill Osaki, Jisei leaves the festival laughing.
Meanwhile, Tsutaju, who was about to eat the poisoned bun, hears the whole story from Heizo (Nakamura Hayato), but is furious, thinking, "How can we protect ourselves?" Then, a "certain man" appears before Tsutaju. The man's face is the same as Chisei's... and so the story unfolds.
As Jisei, Ikuta said, "I'm grateful that I was given so much freedom." He laughed and said, "Even if I didn't do anything in particular, the staff's work made the film creepy, and the acting of the other actors accentuated my evil side. So it's not my fault."
He also commented, "I often find out later that the close-up of my grin or the expression on my face, which is like a Noh mask, was taken, so it really feels like I've been made into the bad guy without even realizing it. There are times when I think, 'Oh, they captured such a bad expression on my face!' It's funny, though." He added, "I think it's quite rare to be hated this much, so it's been a valuable experience. I want to fulfill my mission until the very end."
