‘VIVANT’ Villain Actor Hit with Online Abuse — 5ch: ‘There Are Actually a Lot of People Who Can’t Tell the Role Apart From the Actor’

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The story

Actor Lin Lin, who plays the villain in TBS’s Sunday Drama Theater series ‘VIVANT,’ shared abusive messages he received on social media via his Instagram. In response to comments like “Don’t ever show your face on TV again” and “That made me sick to my stomach,” he reportedly took it in stride, calling it “the ultimate reward of being an actor.” On 5ch, users expressed shock and disbelief at people who can’t distinguish the character from the actor playing him, citing past examples like the bullying role in ‘Oshin,’ actress Nae Yuuki, and actress Haru, who faced similar abuse — framing it as a problem unique to the social-media era.

‘VIVANT’ Actor Hit With Online Abuse: “Don’t Ever Show Your Face on TV Again” — Staying in Villain Mode Even on Social Media: “It’s the Ultimate Reward of Being an Actor”

Actor Lin Lin updated his Instagram on the 6th.

He revealed the reaction to the villain role he plays in TBS’s Sunday Drama Theater series ‘VIVANT’ (airing Sundays at 9:00 PM) and shared messages sent in by viewers.

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

What people said

7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
Lin Lin isn't a panda's name, come on
Couldn't they have come up with something else? (Lin Lin is the name of a famous real-life panda in Japan)
8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
Saw the picture with longer hair and honestly couldn't tell it was him lol
9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
The acting and direction weren't anything that special, if we're being honest
10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
Sending abuse over just a TV drama… there are some seriously unhinged people with way too much free time
53AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:36
Re: #10
Social media really is a high-precision idiot detector
11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
The actress who played the bully in 'Oshin' apparently got stuck with that image for years too
71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
Re: #11
Showa era, sure, but it's wild that people like this still exist today
12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
The guy who played Hirukawa in Ultraman Mebius was fantastic
13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
Sounds like the prince from Game of Thrones
29AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:26
Re: #13
Glad to hear he's back to acting
14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:20
I want them to keep making this forever, like '24'
They could easily stretch it to season 8 or so
17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:21
The old backlash against Nae Yuuki was brutal too
18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:21
Even in the Reiwa era, there are still people like the ones who threw stones at pro wrestler Dump Matsumoto's mother (a famous case of fans confusing a villain gimmick with reality)
21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:22
Wait, hold on — are a lot of social media users just idiots?
32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:28
For some reason Michael Jordan gets treated like the good guy
33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:29
There really are a lot of people who can't separate the role from the actor
Like the ones who assume an actor playing a doctor must be smart and admirable
Then when someone plays a villain like this time, they assume he's scary, irritating, disgusting
Something's just not right with them
47AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:35
Re: #33
Honestly, I can still kind of understand that much
But there was a case with a different drama where the official site
posted a photo of the actor getting along with the "villain" off-screen,
and people actually complained about it — that one I genuinely couldn't wrap my head around
34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:30
Honestly, forget the actor talk — this time the script is just wall-to-wall interrogation and torture scenes, which makes it boring
45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:34
It's the "Fuyuhiko-san phenomenon" (a infamous mama's-boy villain character from a 1990s drama whose actor got real hate mail)
Same thing happens in every era
51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:36
Re: #45
Forget Fuyuhiko
Nae Yuuki is the number one example
62AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:39
Sending hate mail because you didn't like a character in a drama…
there really are some unbelievable idiots out there
69AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
Re: #62
It's kind of amazing they can still function in everyday life
Maybe it only works if they don't actually interact much with society
67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:42
Narumi Arimori
Nae Yuuki
Haru

These are victims of the same thing too
70AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
Re: #67
Haru — that was the affair drama, right? Brings back memories
78AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:45
"It was such a cruel role, but I love how your real kindness and warmth couldn't help but shine through!"
"Wasn't scary at all, and it just made me an even bigger fan!"
Comments like that might actually be what gets through to him
81AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:47
Re: #78
Kind of like the "turns out Egashira's actually a nice guy" thing (a comedian known for a wild, scary stage persona but said to be kind off-camera)
85AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:49
This drama's on Prime Video — is it actually worth watching?
98AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:57
Re: #85
Nope
It's the kind of show you watch live and then forget — there's no real substance to it

Background and Key Points of This Discussion

The phenomenon of actors receiving personal abuse from viewers over the villains they play has come up repeatedly throughout the history of Japanese television dramas — from Nae Yuuki in the 1990s drama ‘Zutto Anata ga Suki Datta’ to the actor who played the bullying role in ‘Oshin.’ In the past, viewer reactions reached actors only as rumors or the occasional letter; what’s different now is that social media lets people send messages directly to an actor’s own account. Within the thread, most commenters expressed disbelief or sympathy toward viewers who can’t separate the role from the actor, though some posts instead mocked the intelligence or character of the people sending the abuse, showing the discussion itself was split on how to frame the problem. There were also complaints about the script itself — a separate point of discussion from reactions to the actor personally.

*This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Geisoku Hodo+) thread “[Entertainment] ‘VIVANT’ Villain Actor Hit With Online Abuse: “Don’t Ever Show Your Face on TV Again,” “That Made Me Sick”… He Responds: “It’s the Ultimate Reward of Being an Actor”.”

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