The first episode of the TV Asahi drama series "Reborn ~The Last Hero~" (Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring actor Issei Takahashi, aired on April 14th. In the episode, Mitsunori Neo (Takahashi), the president of an IT company who was supposed to have fallen to his death after being pushed off a cliff, time-slips to the year 2012 and is "reincarnated" as Hideto Nomoto, the heir to a dry cleaning shop in a run-down shopping district. Hideto's lines after his reincarnation (with Mitsunori's mind) have caused a stir on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In the first episode, Mitsumasa, the president of "NEOXIS," uses the success of his welfare network business, which he started under the philosophy of "FOR THE PEOPLE," as a springboard to own his own building in a prime location in Tokyo just seven years after starting his business, and eventually acquire a bank. Meanwhile, Mitsumasa, who was looking for a large plot of land, sets his sights on the dilapidated "Akari Shopping Street" in the downtown area. The people of the shopping street, including the chairman Eiji (Fumiyo Kohinata), resist, but they are cornered by Mitsumasa's forceful negotiations and pressure, and eventually a tragedy occurs when Kinpei (Shingo Yanagisawa), the father of Sarasa (Anne Nakamura), the daughter of the printing factory owner in the shopping street, commits suicide.
Mitsumasa faces public condemnation for this incident and becomes increasingly isolated. Then one day, Mitsumasa is pushed down the stairs by someone and falls to his death...or so it seems, but he somehow wakes up in a hospital. He finds himself in the year 2012, having been "reincarnated" as Eiji's son, Eito, who looks exactly like him and lives in the Akari shopping district...and so the story unfolds.
Reincarnated as Eiji, Kosei encounters Eiji on the stairs where he fell, and is forcibly taken home by Eiji. As they walk hand in hand, Kosei, now reincarnated as Eiji, wonders, "I still don't understand. Is this really the year 2012?" He then mutters to himself, "But this is somehow different from time travel... because I'm now recognized as this person's son, Eiji," and then thinks, "Ah... is this like the reincarnation you often see in anime...?"
On social media, Mitsumasa's lines after being reincarnated as Eito became a hot topic. Comments such as "Reincarnation is a common trope in anime lol," "As expected of a modern kid, he understands things quickly," "Don't say it's a common trope in anime (laughs)," "He grasps the situation super quickly," and "He's aware of anime reincarnation, after all. He probably checks out trends," were posted, creating a lively discussion.
