VIVANT’s Latest Episode Slammed for Sluggish Pacing — 5ch: “Even Fast-Forwarding to the 15-Minute Mark, You Can Still Follow It”

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The story

Episode 11 of Season 2 (the 21st episode overall) of TBS’s Sunday Drama series “VIVANT” aired on October 18. The episode showed Nogi’s team, having rescued their comrades from Shaki Castle, getting stopped at a checkpoint while trying to escape to Garaman Airport, where they’re spotted by their pursuer Shu Haoran. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports News+ board, reactions were split: some viewers said the plot had gotten so tangled that “I can’t tell how the story connects anymore,” admitting they fast-forward through recordings and watch it in about 15 minutes, while others praised the heroics of Genghis, who showed up to help, calling him “so cool.”

“VIVANT” Fans Rage on X Over Surprise Character: “What is even going on?” “Seriously a pain” “Total blunder” “Who even is this?!”

Episode 21 (Season 2, Episode 11) of TBS’s Sunday Drama series “VIVANT” (9:00 PM) aired on the 18th. An unexpected character ended up holding back Nogi Yusuke (played by Masato Sakai).

Having rescued their comrades from Shaki Castle, Nogi’s team runs into a checkpoint on the road to Garaman Airport. One car ahead of the bus carrying Nogi and the others, a red car carrying a local elderly woman was crawling along. As a result, Nogi’s group got held up and was spotted by Shu Haoran (Lin Lin).

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here

What people said

2AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:52
Honestly watching Rei Ranran (apparently pulling in ¥580 million a year) on YouTube is more fun than watching Peace-kun from Omiya Park (the notoriously aggressive swan mascot).
3AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:53
People are still watching this?
Even though the content's terrible.
51AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:11
Re: #3
There are only a few volumes of the source material left, so I'm watching it with a "might as well see it through" mindset.
8AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:54
What happens if they just leave Genghis behind there and he gets captured and tortured?
10AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:54
How many episodes are they going to burn on rescuing the kidnapped Bekkan (the secret unit) agent?
At this rate that's basically going to be all of Season 2.
11AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:55
I honestly can't tell how the story connects anymore.
12AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:57
I've started recording it and fast-forwarding/skipping through,
watching it in about 15 minutes.
And I can still basically follow it.
21AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:01
Re: #12
Yeah, the pacing's bad 😓
46AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:09
Re: #12
15 minutes is impressive.
It takes me about 30.
13AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:57
Was I actually supposed to be moved by that music at the end? Was there really that much setup involving Bekkan? I've forgotten already lol
17AnonymousOct 18, 2026 23:59
This week Genghis showed up to help out and it was such a hype moment.
Total classic hero-story beats.
18AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:00
"Play the Bekkan theme song!"
Wait, really? For a secret organization whose whole thing is staying hidden?? A theme song?
This show's gotten into some real goofy territory.
19AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:01
No matter how you look at it, they're shooting that jet down in the end, right?
They can cook up some excuse for it after the fact anyway.
60AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:15
Re: #19
How, though?
29AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:05
What's with it being mostly Thai and Mongolian (Balka tribe) characters doing all the work to rescue the Self-Defense Force members?
Is this actually supposed to be a patriotic drama?
38AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:07
Re: #29
Clearly you haven't been watching.
39AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:08
Wait, weren't Nozaki and Drum never actually part of the rescue plan to begin with?
45AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:09
Re: #39
Nope.
The whole point is rescuing the Bekkan agents.
44AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:09
They showed way too many camera angles for that checkpoint breakout scene.
I get they probably got some cool shots and got excited, but still.
56AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:13
Re: #44
All I could think the whole time was "why aren't they shooting the tires," so I don't remember the visuals at all.
52AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:11
Why did Genghis come alone?
He could've just brought a bunch of his men.
54AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:12
Re: #52
"I alone am enough to be sacrificed…"
Genghis is seriously cool.
55AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:12
I've never seen a single episode of "Double the payback!" (the catchphrase from Hanzawa Naoki, another Sakai drama) but it looks fun.
This show, though, I haven't even glimpsed, so I can't really say…
58AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:13
Re: #55
This week had some shouting that echoed "Double the payback!" — that was a nice touch too.
66AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:17
Wow, there are actually a lot of people watching a drama like this seriously…
73AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:18
Re: #66
The moment the premise is "top trading company salesman moonlighting as a secret agent," it's already a comedy.
It's perfect if you just watch it for laughs.
76AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:19
What are they going to do about leaving Genghis behind?
I wonder if they'll just never bring it up again.
82AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:22
Re: #76
No way they'd kill off the internet's favorite character.
96AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:29
Today's hot topic has gotta be the Bekkan ceremonial theme song.
97AnonymousOct 19, 2026 00:29
Re: #96
Well, Nokoru's gonna "nokoru" (remain), isn't he? (pun: his name literally means "to remain")

Background and Key Points

“VIVANT” is a spy drama starring Masato Sakai whose Season 1 became a ratings hit when it aired in 2023; this Season 2 is its sequel. The thread’s main point of disagreement was pacing — comments saying the story still made sense even fast-forwarded sat alongside comments saying they couldn’t keep up with the plot. Incidentally, the “unexpected character” referenced in the original article’s headline is the unnamed local woman who held up Nogi’s bus at the checkpoint, but 5ch’s replies barely touched on her — discussion instead centered on major characters, like Genghis acting alone and how the operation to rescue the kidnapped Bekkan agent would play out. There was also some cool-headed skepticism about a movie adaptation apparently already being a done deal, hinting at mixed feelings about the franchise stretching on long-term.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Masato Sakai-starring Sunday Drama “VIVANT” — Fans Rage on X Over Surprise Character: “What is even going on?” “Seriously a pain” “Total blunder” “Who even is this?!”.”

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