Hiroshi Abe Appears in McDonald's Promo While VIVANT Nozaki Starves On Screen
The promotional photo lands as a direct off-screen contrast to Nozaki's most brutal stretch in the drama, which is why fan reaction split between relief and treating the image as a riddle for the Betsuban to solve.
Reporting from 1 source: Magmix.
McDonald's official X account posted a promotional image of Hiroshi Abe smiling and holding the new Zaku Zaku Juicy Momo Chicken on October 21. Abe plays Nozaki Mamoru in the Sunday Theater drama VIVANT, where the character has been deprived of food and drink for nine days. Fans responded with relief at the contrast, and some asked that the drama's Betsuban decode it as a cipher.
McDonald's posted a promotional image of Hiroshi Abe smiling and holding the new Zaku Zaku Juicy Momo Chicken, with the line, "You'll eat it, right?" The image runs against the main story, where Nozaki Mamoru has been deprived of food and drink for nine days. In Episode 19, Nozaki is cornered in the interrogation room by Liu Mingxuan, played by Masato Sakai, and shown growing haggard. Episode 20 includes a scene where he reveals important information to the Shinshi side, and viewers still debate whether he has really been brainwashed. Fans answered the photo with relief, and some, reading it against the drama's tension, asked the Betsuban to decode it.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.