Koki Maeda's Chinese Lines in VIVANT Draw Fan Praise for Pronunciation
A last-minute casting with all-Chinese lines turned Maeda's brief mercenary appearance in VIVANT into a fan talking point, with his practice videos drawing pronunciation praise including from a Taiwanese viewer.
Reporting from 1 source: Magmix.
Koki Maeda's brief role as a mercenary in VIVANT Season 2 episode 16 became a talking point after he delivered all his lines in Chinese. Director Yohei Miyazaki thanked him on SNS for attending every rehearsal with the mercenary group despite a lead role elsewhere, noting the casting was decided at the last minute. Maeda posted practice videos on September 3, drawing praise for his pronunciation, including from a Taiwanese viewer who said the Chinese was understandable without subtitles.
Episode 16 of VIVANT's second season told the backstory of Nozaki Mamoru (Hiroshi Abe), stationed in Beijing five years earlier, who hired local mercenaries after his trusted subordinate Ryu Minshuen (Masato Sakai) was abducted to North Korea. Maeda played one of those mercenaries. Director Yohei Miyazaki posted on August 31 thanking Maeda for attending every rehearsal with the mercenary group, noting the casting was decided at the last minute and all lines were in Chinese. Maeda shared practice videos on September 3 showing him working through the dialogue at speed with staff advice. A Taiwanese viewer said the Chinese was clear enough to understand without subtitles. His film Home Sweet Home, in which he plays one of the protagonists, opened September 4.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.