The 17th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, titled "The Fall of Odani Castle," aired on May 3rd, and viewers were abuzz over the cause of death of a character who exited the scene just nine minutes into the episode.
◇The following contains spoilers.
"BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" is the 65th Taiga drama. With Toyotomi Hidenaga (Koichiro) as the protagonist, it depicts the miraculous feat of unifying Japan together with his older brother Hideyoshi (Tokichiro) through their strong bond, a success story of dreams and hopes.
The script is written by Hiroyuki Yatsu, known for his work on "Hanzawa Naoki" (TBS) and the Asadora drama series "Ochoyan." The music is composed by Hideaki Kimura, and the narration is provided by actress Sakura Ando.
In the 17th episode, Takeda Shingen (Masahiro Takashima) raises an army against Oda and invades Tōtōmi, but Ieyasu (Kohei Matsushita) who meets him at Mikatagahara suffers a crushing defeat.
Yoshiaki (played by Onoe Ukon) also raised an army in Kyoto, and Nobunaga (played by Shun Oguri) seemed to be in dire straits, but for some reason the Takeda army suddenly retreated. With his backing gone, Yoshiaki...the situation unfolded.
The episode began with a scene of Shingen pounding mochi (rice cakes). As children swarmed around the mochi, Shingen called out, "Don't be in such a hurry. Be careful not to choke on it." Eventually, urged on by Yoshiaki, Shingen raised an army and defeated Ieyasu. He also managed to avoid Nobunaga's poisoned rice ball scheme when a retainer who stole and ate it died right before his eyes. "Heaven is on my side. We have won this battle," Shingen declared, confirming his victory. However, he died suddenly the next day. The cause of death was choking on the mochi he had made.
On social media, viewers reacted to the abrupt departure of the big name from the Sengoku period with comments such as, "What?! Is that how it ends?!", "What? He's out already?", "Huh? Huh? Is that how Takeda Shingen died?", and "Shingen's time is already over lol." Other comments included, "What?! Was the mochi pounding at the beginning a foreshadowing of what would happen to Takeda Shingen?", "Takeda Shingen died choking on mochi...", "This is the first time I've seen Takeda Shingen leave after only 10 minutes...", "Takeda Shingen had the most pathetic death in the history of Taiga dramas, dying by choking on mochi...", "Well... what an incredible exit, Lord Shingen... you don't see exits like this very often," and "(Ah, I see, that was a foreshadowing)."
