VIVANT Actor Gaku Hamada Is Shocked by Fan Theories About His Character
The fan theory that Hamada's casting alone rules out a major betrayal shows how an actor's established image shapes audience expectations of a character, a tension the actor himself acknowledged on stage.
Key Facts
- Gaku Hamada attended the one-day "VIVANT PREMIUM SUMMER PARTY" event at Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium on August 23.
- Hamada said fan theories that his character would not commit a big betrayal because he is the actor taught him his own product value.
- Episode 15 of "VIVANT" Season 2 aired on August 23 and showed Tojo being interrogated by Nogi's alternate personality F, who slapped him with a fly swatter.
- Producer Kazutaka Iida called Episode 15 the funniest episode of Season 2 so far.
Reporting from 1 source: Cinema Today.
Gaku Hamada, the actor playing white-hat hacker Tojo Tojo in the TBS Sunday drama "VIVANT" Season 2, attended a one-day event on August 23 and said he was shocked by fan theories about his character. Speaking at the "Sunday Theater VIVANT PREMIUM SUMMER PARTY" at Yoyogi National Stadium First Gymnasium, Hamada said viewers had speculated that because he is the actor, his character would not commit a large betrayal. He said he learned his own product value through that speculation. He added that as an actor he wants to betray the audience, and that the comment suggesting he would not do anything big was a shock. The event also featured cast members including Masato Sakai, Kazuya Ninomiya, Hiroshi Abe, and Ryusei Ryu. Episode 15 aired the same day, showing Tojo being interrogated by Nogi's alternate personality F, who slapped Tojo's cheeks with a fly swatter and warned him he would not be killed if he answered honestly. Tojo wet himself during the scene. Producer Kazutaka Iida called it the funniest episode of Season 2 so far.
The event's deep-dive talk covered four topics of high viewer interest, with producer Kazutaka Iida and director Yohei Miyazaki watching over the cast's near-spoiler conversation. Tojo is a white-hat hacker assigned to the Metropolitan Police Department's Cyber Crime Countermeasures Division. He was tracking Nozaki, who had fled abroad, but viewers increasingly speculated that Tojo was Nozaki's accomplice after Nozaki betrayed Japan and connected with the Chinese organization Shinshi. Episode 14 ended with F, Nogi's alternate personality, appearing behind Tojo.
Episode 15 opened within its first 30 seconds with F greeting Tojo with "Yo, Tojo" and slapping his cheeks with a fly swatter to wake him. Tojo was hoisted into a hanging position and wet himself when F warned that he would not be killed if he answered honestly. After Tojo told Nogi the truth, he was released but placed under Betsuban surveillance. When a large sum of money was transferred from Nozaki, F appeared again and Tojo wet himself once more. On social media, viewers expressed sympathy for Tojo with comments such as "F shows no mercy" and "Tojo is obedient and cute."
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Cinema Today 【ネタバレ】「VIVANT」開始30秒で衝撃シーン “東条”濱田岳に悪夢「容赦ない」