VIVANT Producer Iida Explains AI Role in Season 2
The producer frames AI not as a production shortcut but as a story device meant to make the human cast read as warmer, which is an unusual stated rationale at a time when the industry's AI debate is mostly about labor.
Key Facts
- Producer Kazutaka Iida of the TBS drama "VIVANT" explained the reasoning behind the show's use of AI from Season 2, including the AI Hayato operated by the unit Bekihan.
- Episode 17 of "VIVANT" aired on September 6, and Episode 18, the first-half finale of Season 2, aired on September 13.
- Iida said Episode 17 drew more emotional comments on social media than the episodes up through Episode 16.
- The second half of "VIVANT" Season 2 begins with Episode 19 on October 4, with broadcast breaks on September 20 and 27.
- In Episode 17, protagonist Nogi Yusuke, played by Masato Sakai, set up a move applying AI technology.
Reporting from 4 sources: Cinema Today, Magmix, Nijimen, Anime Anime.
Producer Kazutaka Iida discussed the use of AI in the second season of "VIVANT," the TBS Sunday Theater drama, in remarks tied to Episode 17, which aired on September 6. Iida said the show's AI element, including the AI Hayato operated by the Self-Defense Forces unit Bekihan, has what he called a bigger aim than the era's inevitability or its function as an information organizer. That aim, he said, is making characters' emotions stand out more: the combination of the group's mechanical quality with AI heightens the inhuman atmosphere so that scenes of people feeling for others read as more human. In Episode 17, protagonist Nogi Yusuke, played by Masato Sakai, made a move applying AI technology. Iida also said Episode 17 drew more emotional comments on social media than the episodes up through Episode 16, and that he considers the episode the essence of the series.
Producer Kazutaka Iida tied the AI rationale to Episode 17 directly, saying the show's AI Hayato, operated by the Self-Defense Forces unit Bekihan, has a purpose beyond reflecting the current era or organizing information for viewers. In his words, the combination "doubles the inhuman quality" of Bekihan, so "scenes in which people feel for others, or scenes in which emotions explode without being suppressed, feel more human."
He compared the effect to near-future Hollywood films and science fiction, where a far-out setting lets you "simply follow the characters' emotions." Iida also said he told the cast before Episode 17, "All the pieces are in place, and the real show starts here."
Below the AI material, the cluster covers Episode 18, the first-half finale, which aired on the 13th. The rescue operation brings together Nogi Yusuke (Masato Sakai), his younger brother Nokoru (Kazunari Ninomiya), Thai businessman Chokki (Ohm Thanaphat), and the private military company PMSC Y2K founded by Tent. Episode 18 also reveals the identity of the "Bekihan Lady," the Caucasus-region agent played by singer-songwriter Rei Yamada.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 4 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.