The seventh episode of the TV drama series "A Little Esper" (TV Asahi, Tuesdays at 9pm), starring Oizumi Yo and written by Akiko Nogi, aired on December 2nd, and the ending became a hot topic.
◇The following contains spoilers.
The story follows Bunta (Oizumi), a salaryman at rock bottom, who becomes a "little bit of a psychic" at his new job at the mysterious company Nonamare, where he embarks on a mission to "save the world" with his colleagues under the rule of NON AMARE (not loving people). The screenplay is an original by Nogi, known for "Unnatural" and "MIU404."
In this episode, Shiki (Aoi Miyazaki), who believed Bunta to be her real husband, regains her memories. Shiki's real husband, "Bun-chan," is actually Bunta and his team's boss, Cho (Masaki Okada). It is revealed that Cho's real name is Fumito, and that the person who was giving orders to Bunta and his team is actually in the future (2055).
Towards the end of the story, Cho appears before Shiki and urges her to choose to forget the time she spent with Bunta, but Shiki tearfully refuses, insisting that to her, "Bun-chan" is Bunta.
Cho was speechless, saying, "I'm shocked... this..." When Bunta found out the truth, he also expressed his anger, saying, "How dare you try to get rid of me like this," to which Cho coldly replied, "I'm going to disappear anyway."
When Sakurasuke (Dean Fujioka), Enjaku (Atsuko Takahata), and Hanzo (Uno Shohei) appear, Cho explains, "This is a good opportunity. Let's talk about Nonamare. You were all chosen by me. What was the condition? You had to be outside the Decision Tree. It makes no difference whether you're there or not. No one would care if you were gone. You are people who have no impact on this world. If I hadn't given you the E Capsule, you would all have died within this year. NON AMARE... You must not love others. It's because you are people we don't need."
On social media, viewers posted comments such as, "Cho is scary," "Bad Masaki Okada is great," "Wow, the worst Masaki Okada ever!?", "He says some terrible things...but he's good-looking," "Cho has been such a jerk so far...too terrible...I never imagined it would turn out like this!!! It's too funny," and "Nogi-san said it wasn't a socially conscious drama, but it really isn't a socially conscious drama after all...!?"
