Ryu Name Kanji Reading Draws Notice From VIVANT Viewers
The reading fans are passing around connects the surname to a Great Man of the Same Name who built a life from nothing, a background that matches Ryu's own turn from believed-dead agent to a figure of high standing in Shinshi.
Reporting from 1 source: Magmix.
In the Sunday drama VIVANT, the kanji spelling of villain Ryu Minxuan, played by Masato Sakai, is drawing attention on social media. His name is written "Ryu Minxuan." The surname has kun-yomi including "korosu" and "tsuraneru," and meanings such as "katsu, uchikatsu," "korosu," "tsuraneru, meguru," and "sword, broadaxe." Reactions include "serious goosebumps" and "it fits Ryu perfectly."
Ryu Minxuan, the antagonist played by Masato Sakai, was a former agent operating under Public Security's Mamoru Nozaki. He was tortured after an undercover investigation and believed dead, then revealed alive in episode 16 as a person of high standing inside the organization Shinshi.
That arc is what gives the surname its charge for viewers. The surname "Ryu" is used across China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and South Korea, and among historical great figures who share it, Liu Bei and Liu Bang are famous. Magmix notes it is not certain the production named the character with this meaning in mind, and that if the match is a coincidence, it is a very neat one.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.