Actor Takumi Kitamura made a surprise appearance on the TBS Sunday drama "Reboot" (Sundays at 9 PM) which aired on March 29th. Kitamura played the rebooted version of Kou Fuyuhashi, a character played by Ren Nagase. The two actors have co-starred in films such as "Courtroom Game" and are close friends. Kitamura commented, "I tried to portray Ren as best as I could."
◇The following contains spoilers.
In the final episode, Hayase (Ryohei Suzuki) and Natsumi (Erika Toda) find themselves in a desperate situation, but with the help of Fuyuhashi, they manage to escape their predicament. Furthermore, with the help of Makita (Hideaki Ito), who was thought to have betrayed them, they are able to capture Goroku (Yukiya Kitamura) and Yaichi (Danjuro Ichikawa).
However, in addition to his son Takumi (Hiroshi Yazaki) and mother Yoshiko (Mieko Harada), Natsumi is also taken hostage at home. Furthermore, Teramoto (Daisuke Nakagawa), who is a spy within the police force, tries to set the house on fire, but Hayase arrives just in the nick of time, bringing the story to a happy ending.
Afterward, Natsumi turned herself in to the police and was sentenced to prison. Refusing visits from her family, she served her five-year sentence and was released from prison, only to be met by a mysterious man named Machimura (played by Kitamura). Natsumi agreed to his offer to help with "Shelter" and got into his car, but they ended up at Hayase Confectionery, where her family was waiting. Recognizing him, Natsumi exclaimed, "Fuyuhashi?" Fuyuhashi, who had been rebooted at Kiriya's suggestion to protect Shelter, gently said to her, "Don't run away. Machi and I didn't have anything we could call family. But you do..."
"I was surprised because I never thought I'd be offered a role in the reboot," Kitamura said. "I tried to portray Ren as best I could, thinking things like, 'Would Ren do it this way?', 'Would he do it this way?', 'Would he stand like this?', and so on. I was honored to be a part of the ending of this story."
Producer Keigo Higashinaka commented, "As the series is rebooted and the grand finale will be presented by Kitamura, I was convinced that only Kitamura could embody the character of 'Fuyuhashi' in such a short time. That's why I offered him the role." He added, "How to express 'Fuyuhashi's essence' in such a short time? Kitamura brilliantly portrayed the weight of the years he has lived and even the scars etched on his body. Kitamura's expressive power shines through in every corner of the video. Please watch it again and again on streaming services and savor its depth!"
