The 23rd episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on June 14th and depicted the final moments of Takenaka Hanbei, played by Masaki Suda. The episode became a hot topic among viewers, with many commenting that "even his dying face was beautiful."
In episode 23, Araki Murashige (Tortoise Matsumoto) stages a rebellion. Kanbei (Yuki Kura), acting on his own initiative, goes to persuade Murashige but ends up being captured.
Amidst rumors that Kanbei had betrayed them, Nobunaga (Shun Oguri) orders that Kanbei's son, Matsujumaru, who is being looked after by Nene (Minami Hamabe) in Nagahama, be eliminated. Hanbei (Masaki Suda) proposes a plan to save the young life to the hesitant Hideyoshi (Sosuke Ikematsu) and Koichiro (Nakano), but in reality, he is heading to Nagahama Castle intending to kill Matsujumaru.
Realizing his death was imminent, Hanbei intended to bear the blame alone, but the situation changed drastically when Koichiro's wife, Kei (Riho Yoshioka), went into labor right before his eyes. When he hesitantly held the newborn child in his arms, Hanbei had a change of heart. He admitted defeat to Koichiro and, as originally planned, chose to use a substitute to save Matsujumaru.
Afterward, Hanbei joined the attack on Miki Castle, but his body was weakened and he could not even stand. However, he declared, "I will change the tide," and true to his word, Ukita Naoie defected to the Oda side, and the Mori army was routed. The decisive factor in Ukita's victory was the funds from the Ikuno Silver Mine, which Hanbei had secured. Behind the rejoicing Hideyoshi and Koichiro, Hanbei quietly ended his life, thinking, "I don't want to die yet..." and the story unfolded from there.
On social media, there were numerous reactions such as, "Hanbei goes, saying he doesn't want to die, he doesn't want to die. Farewell, Hanbei," "Masaki Suda's death scene was magnificent," "Hanbei is gone. Amazing, he's acting like a real corpse," "Even his face in death is beautiful," "What a beautiful face in death," "Hanbei was too beautiful," "Hanbei's final moments were so beautiful it hurts," "Masaki Suda's face in death was alluring. Masaki Suda is amazing," "I think I'm going to miss Hanbei," "I'm going to die mentally from missing Hanbei!", and "I'm really missing Hanbei."
