The Netflix Japanese Series Vivant is an action drama that has been directed efficiently by Katsuo Fukuzawa. The brilliant cast of the series includes skilled actors like Hiroshi Abe, Masato Sakai, Tori Matsuzaka, and Fumi Nikaido. The series is full of adventures and is sure to secure the top spot on the list of action-drama thrillers this year. The plot revolves around the seemingly simple life of a sales manager, Yusuke Nogi. The adventures start lining up when he reaches the Balkans for a very serious issue, the blame of which is being shifted on him. Will he be able to resolve the problem? Is there just more than one shade to Yusuke’s personality? What are the Beppans? What’s Tent’s motive? There are many questions that may arise, but they will all be answered here!
Spoiler Alert
What Problem Arises At Yusuke’s Office?
A scam of 100 million dollars happened at Marubishi, a solar energy plant project, causing Yusuke Nogi, the sales manager, to be blamed. His colleagues have been blaming him because he was the one who transferred the money. The amount that they were to send to GFL, an infrastructure company, was just 10 million dollars, but somehow the mistake had caused the company a huge loss. Nogi told everyone that he had thoroughly checked the amount before sending it; yet nobody believed him. He decided to go to GFL, located in Balka, so that he could retrieve the amount.
What Happens To Yusuke When He Reaches Balka?
After reaching Balka, he went to meet Ali, the CEO of GFL, but he told him that he could not help him in the matter as the payment had been distributed among at least 10 companies. He later took a cab to reach Sedol, as he had the information that Al Zair had taken the entire amount and laundered it by buying diamonds with it, which he would smuggle later. He took a car to Sedol, but the driver tricked him and drove off with his luggage, leaving Nogi in the desert. A kind local, Adiel, and his daughter, Jamin rescued him. Later, when he reached Al Zair’s location, he threatened Nogi and asked him whether he was a Vivant. Later, when the police arrived, in fear of getting caught, Al Zair blew up the entire place, committing suicide and killing many officials.
Right before the blast, Nozaki reached the spot and leaped in to save Nogi. Later, he also took him to the hospital and told him that he was a police official working for the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Japan. The police were already looking for Nogi and Nozaki, as they thought that they were the ones behind the blast. Later, when Kaoro Yuzuki, a member of the World Health Organization, tried helping them out medically, the police also thought that she was involved in the case and hunted the three of them down. A loyal agent, Drum, working for Nozaki, was able to rescue them and hide them in a safe location for a while. The head of the Balka police, Chinggis, sought them out, and they somehow fled the place with Drum’s assistance. They wanted to reach the Japanese embassy so that the Balka police could not touch them. A very dramatic scene takes place when Nogi is being pulled by the officials of the Japanese embassy from one side and by the Balka police from the other end at the border of the embassy.
How Does Nozaki Help Nogi?
Nogi and others’ escape plan from the embassy had been given to the Balkan police by a mole within the embassy. Later, it was revealed that the ambassador, Nishioka, had betrayed them to maintain good relations with the Balka Government. As they were traveling through the Ado desert, Nogi, Nozaki, Drum, and Kaoro faced a lot of natural hazards. They were caught up in intense sandstorms and extreme weather in the desert. They also lost Kaoru in the desert once when she dozed off on the camel’s back. Nogi, however, managed to bring her back and didn’t just abandon her in the desert. Finally, when they managed to reach the Mongolian border, the Balka army tried interfering, but the Mongolian army managed to save them by changing the GPS coordinates on the map so that the Balka army would think that they were standing on Mongolian land, so that they would spare them.
After flying from Mongolia to Japan, Nozaki tried to help Nogi out. Nozaki approached Tojo from the cybercrime division for his assistance. With the help of one of his trusted colleagues, Yamamoto, he steals the confidential footage and data of his office. On analyzing the data, they found out that Tomohiko Hara’s computer was used for hacking and automatically added an extra zero after the amount of 10 million dollars while transferring the money. They find out from video footage that Riho Ohta, the accountant, was the one who had done it. On investigating her, they find out that she was being blackmailed by someone. Initially, they thought that it was the Managing Director, Nagano, but they eventually concluded that he was only secretly having an affair with her and that the actual blackmailer was Yamamoto.
Was Nogi A Part Of Beppan?
Jamin had a successful surgery after she was rescued and brought to Japan. When Nogi goes through her album, he sees Yamamoto in a field uniform alongside her father, Adiel. He realized right then that Yamamoto was a part of the terrorist group, Tent. Later, when Nogi reaches the office, he tells his other colleagues about Ohta and her deeds, providing them with proof. He, however, did not tell others about Yamamoto’s association with a terror group. Later, Yamamoto was captured by Nogi and his accomplice, Kurosu, and they revealed to him that they were a part of Beppan, or Vivant in Balka language. The Beppan was an undercover organization that needed no legal authorizations to deal with terror groups, unlike the police. Despite their brutal ways, the Japanese government turned a blind eye to them, as they were helping the government in some way.
After making a grand revelation, Nogi drugged Yamamoto to get all the information from him about Tent. Yamamoto also told Nogi that he had used Ohta’s hacking skills to transfer money to Tent from their company funds and frame him for it. He told Nogi that the sole motive of Tent was to destroy Japan, after which Nogi killed him for having betrayed his own country. Meanwhile, Nozaki becomes suspicious of Nogi’s activities and gets a background check done on him. They get to know that his other name was Hyato Tango and that his father was Suguru Nogi (Beki). Nozaki is later seen joining hands with the Balka police to search for and end the terrorist activities of Tent. As Nozaki and Nogi simultaneously investigate the Tent, Nogi is always seen to be at least two steps ahead of Nozaki.
How Does Nogi Find Out That Beki Is His Father?
Nogi tortured Ali, a member of Tent, to get the coordinates of Tent’s location. Later, when he showed Ali a picture of Beki and asked him if he was the leader of Tent, Ali told him that he was the father of the organization. This statement shattered Nogi, as he told Ali that he was Beki’s son. He was caught in a dilemma, as he thought he would have to fight against his father now. As a kid, Nogi had fallen victim to human trafficking and lost his memory while in Balka. Later, a government official rescued him and took him back to Japan. Later, he graduated from Columbia University. After many years, when some fragmented memories came back to him, he went back to his ancestral house. His uncle showed him a family sword and told him that every member of the family had a sword. Astonishingly, the symbol carved on the case of the sword was similar to the symbol of Tent.
Why Did Beki Hold A Grudge Against The Japanese Government?
Nogi tries connecting the dots with the information that he has, and hence he becomes sure that Beki is no one other than his own father. Balka is Tent’s base, and that is where he was separated from his father as a kid. From the information he had gathered about Beki, he came to know that he was working as an undercover officer in Balka. He had become a local hero when he turned a barren land green. There was a civil war between four ethnic groups in Balka in 1983, for which Suguru (Beki) was doing the internal investigation. When an Islamic terrorist group learned about his identity as a Japanese investigator, his entire family was attacked. Nogi had been separated from his parents, and his mother had lost her life to the atrocities in jail. However, Suguru managed to survive the torture and eventually formed Tent. Suguru was shocked at how his own country’s officials could abandon him when he and his family needed their help the most.
He had seen the helicopter retreat while he was calling out for help. He believed that his son had been kidnapped and his wife had been killed just because of the negligence of the Japanese government. When Akemi was dying, she made Suguru promise that he would avenge the disappearance of their son and her death. Suguru later tried searching for his son for many years but failed. Later, when he learned that his son was dead, he lost all hope of living. Then he came across Nokor, an abandoned child whom he raised as his own, adding meaning to his life. Suguru had created Tent to fulfill his personal vendetta, but later, when he came across Nokor, he dedicated his life and his organization to the welfare of the orphaned children. It is possible that his love for the innocent kids has surpassed his hatred for his country.
Does Nogi Betray The Other Members Of Beppan?
A group of six members was formed by Beppan with the goal of finding the whereabouts of Tent, operating in Balka. Tent’s communication records had been revealed by Ohta, making it easier for Beppan to track them. Nogi went to Balka, and even though the Balka police and Nozaki tried their best to trace him by setting spy cameras and a tracker in his luggage, he managed to fool them and disappear in a matter of some time. When Nogi and his other team members are able to infiltrate the base camp of Tent, they are taken captive by Nokor’s men. Suddenly, Nogi turns around and shoots his own team members to gain Nokor’s trust. When Nogi was taken to Beki, he claimed to be his son. Beki asked him to shoot Kurosu, but he deliberately missed the shot. Nogi gave it his all just to prove that he was Beki’s son. They did a polygraph test on him, and when that was not enough, they also did a DNA test on him. When the DNA test matches, Beki believes his son and takes him in as one of their own.
Nogi revealed to his father that he joined the Special Intelligence Force when he was young. He also told him that he was lost as a kid and had resorted to begging on the road. Later, he was rescued by a Japanese war correspondent and taken to Japan. Since he could not remember his real name, they named him Hayato Tango. Before including Nogi in the group, they tested his IQ and knowledge of finances. He slowly got to know that the money that Tent had been obtaining was not the result of some black business. They were involved in the mining of fluoride, and the money they attained was used to fund military practices in Balka and was mostly donated to orphanages.
What Rift Did The Fluoride Land Cause Between Tent And The Balka?
Nokor’s company, Muruudul, was a source to launder the money that Tent was attaining. The company had started investing in land three years ago. Upon further investigation, Nogi finds out that Tent has been dealing with lands rich in fluoride. When Nogi saw that they were running low on funds to buy another piece of land rich in fluoride, he suggested margin trading, which would increase their profits, helping them buy the land. However, the members of Tent start doubting Nogi when the information about them owning fluorite lands gets leaked to the government officials of Balka. When they torture Nogi to make him confess that he is still a part of Beppan, he confesses to it and tells them that even though he is still a Beppan, he will support Tent as they are doing a noble task by helping orphan kids with the money. He also promises them that he will help them catch hold of the mole.
The Balka Government placed a demand for 15% of the business share to be given to Olive Chemicals and 10% to the government, to which Nokor agreed. But Nokor also placed his own conditions, stating that he should be made the Commissioner of Resource Development. However, Gobi, Nokor’s business partner, betrays him and gives his share of 30% to the government, giving them leverage on the mining lands. The government officials also decide on ruling out Nokor as a commissioner instantly. Nokor and Nogi had, however, pre-assessed this situation and had brought the Japanese ambassador, Nishioka, to their side, as they had one of her videos where she was offering the Balka Minister, Waniz, a bribe. Nozaki offered to help Nogi and Beki with the cause, and in return, Beki had promised him that he would dismantle Tent. Nozaki had captured Waniz, taking a hefty bribe from Nishioka to keep Balkan and Japanese relations good. Waniz and Gobi had blackmailed Nishioka into paying them money, as Japan was in need of natural minerals from Balka. After Nishioka proposes to provide the 15% share of Japan to Nokor’s company, they attain 60% of the land, helping them regain their hold on the land.
Was Nogi Loyal To Japan?
Beki knew that even though Nogi was seemingly on their side, he was still a Beppan at heart and had actually come to spy on them. He had come to know his secrets as he investigated whether the four Beppan members that he had shot at were dead or not. He had found out that they were all alive, with some minor injuries. He realized that Nogi had shot at them in a manner that would make sure that he missed their vital organs. Nogi kept dropping hints about him being loyal to his country. On landing in Balka, he told Nozaki that he had some work at the Snape Company. This was a reference to the character of Professor Snape from ‘Harry Potter’. Even though Professor Snape appeared to be a traitor, he had infiltrated the enemies to help Harry and Dumbledore.
Final Words
Despite knowing of Nogi’s intent to lay the secrets of Tent bare, Beki could not kill him. The fatherly instincts in him stopped him from killing his own son. He was also impressed that his son had chosen not to betray his own companions. In the end, Beki is killed by Nogi for trying to kill one of the Japanese government officials, the same man who didn’t help Beki when he was frantically looking for help to save his family. This brings a sense of relief to Beki, because before dying, he got to know that his son was a patriot and could do anything to keep his promises to his country. The fragmented mind of Nogi is a projection of two sides of his personality. While one is timid, the other is courageous and provides him with strength when he breaks down. It is possible that immense trauma during childhood caused him to have bipolar disorder. Unable to cope with his own emotions, he had to murder his own father in the end. Boasting an extremely complex storyline, the series Vivant has a lot of layers to it. The Japanese action thriller is one of a kind, as the multiple twists and turns set the story completely apart from the other action thrillers that I have come across so far.
