Eastbound FindsMore than 60 million people in Japan watched VIVANT’s first season on TV, counting recorded viewing, TBS says – the spy drama that had the whole country guessing in 2023. It starts with an ordinary-looking office worker in Tokyo and ends up crossing deserts on the other side of Asia. Its second season has been on air in Japan every Sunday night since 26 July 2026. This guide covers what you can know before you press play: where to watch it from abroad, who is in it, and a few Japanese things that make the story more fun. No spoilers – we don’t say who anyone really is or how anything ends.
Key points
- VIVANT is an original TBS spy-adventure drama starring Masato Sakai, created and directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa. Season 1 (10 episodes) aired in summer 2023; season 2 started on 26 July 2026 and runs for two cours in a row.
- Season 2 picks up straight after the last scene of season 1, so watch season 1 first.
- Outside Japan, season 1 is on Netflix (10 episodes; English subtitles on Netflix's US title page). As of 27 October 2026 we found no official announcement of season 2 streaming abroad; in Japan it streams on U-NEXT.
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- The secret unit 'Beppan' in the story is based on a real debate: Japan's government said in a 2013 written answer that no such unit has ever existed in the Self-Defense Forces.
- Season 1 was shot in Mongolia for more than two months; season 2 also goes to Azerbaijan and Thailand, with the Thai actor Ohm in the cast.
This official TBS trailer gives you the mood of the new season in 30 seconds:
VIVANT season 2 – “Starts 26 July!” (TBS official)
VIVANT at a glance
| Channel and slot | TBS, Nichiyō Gekijō (Sunday Theatre), Sundays 9 p.m. Japan time |
| Season 1 | Summer 2023, episodes 1–10 |
| Season 2 | From 26 July 2026, two cours in a row; episode 23 airs on 1 November 2026 |
| Story | Original – not based on a manga or novel |
| Created, directed and produced by | Katsuo Fukuzawa |
| Lead | Masato Sakai as Yusuke Nogi |
| Genre | Spy thriller and adventure, with action and some violence |
The 60 million figure covers episodes 1–10 (Video Research, 32 areas of Japan, July–September 2023). The show also won the grand prize in the serial drama category at the Tokyo Drama Awards 2024 and the MIPCOM Buyers’ Award for Japanese Drama 2023 – a prize chosen by overseas buyers for the Japanese drama they most wanted to sell abroad.
AdvertisingQuick pick: VIVANT novels, scenario books and Blu-ray (search on Amazon) – Amazon.com
Mikan's note: Ordering a VIVANT Blu-ray from Japan? Japanese discs are region A, so check your player first, and check the eBay listing's shipping and import fees. Books like the novels and scenario books are in Japanese only.
Where to watch VIVANT outside Japan
| Season | In Japan | Outside Japan (checked 27 October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 (2023, 10 episodes) | Streaming services, plus TBS reran all ten episodes in the Kanto area in June–July 2026 | Netflix, as “Vivant”. The US title page lists Japanese audio and English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil) and Simplified Chinese subtitles, rated 16+ |
| Season 2 (from July 2026) | TBS on Sunday nights; every episode so far on U-NEXT, which the official site links to | We found no official announcement of overseas streaming yet |
| Prequels Dram and Genghis – VIVANT The Origin Story | U-NEXT | Not announced |
Two practical points:
- Netflix differs by country. Search “Vivant” in your own app rather than trusting a list online. If it isn’t there, it simply isn’t licensed in your country right now.
- Season 2 is one long story with season 1. TBS says it begins right after the last scene of 2023, so start at episode 1 of season 1 even if you only care about the new episodes.
If season 2 is announced for your country, we’ll add it here. In the meantime, the official TBS site (Japanese) is the first place news appears.
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“Sunday Theatre” is a big deal
Nichiyō Gekijō is TBS’s Sunday 9 p.m. drama slot – the hour when many families in Japan sit down together before the work week. A VIVANT episode on Sunday night is followed by Monday-morning chat at work and school. TBS itself puts guests from the show on its morning programmes in the same week.
Everyone is a detective: kōsatsu
VIVANT is full of small clues, and Japanese viewers love kōsatsu (考察) – posting their own theories after each episode. TBS describes season 1 as setting off a “theory boom” centred on social media. If you watch, it helps to know that this is part of the fun: people rewatch scenes, pause on objects in the background and argue about who can be trusted. TBS even runs a radio and YouTube spin-off where the story’s defeated villains discuss what happens next.
Beppan: a secret unit with a real-life question mark
The story revolves around Beppan (別班, literally “separate squad”), a secret unit inside Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. What makes Japanese viewers lean in is that the name is not pure invention:
| What the record says | |
|---|---|
| In the drama | A covert unit whose members work in secret – which is all we’ll say here |
| Japan’s government | Its written answer to the House of Councillors of 10 December 2013 says the “Ground Staff Office Operations Support and Intelligence Department Beppan” has never existed in the Self-Defense Forces and does not exist now |
| News reports | The House of Councillors question that led to this answer cited 2013 news reports saying the unit had been gathering intelligence abroad |
So VIVANT plays in the space between an official “no” and years of rumour. Enjoy it as fiction – the show’s Beppan is the writers’ creation.
Kōan: the other kind of police
Another side of the story comes from Japan’s kōan (公安) – public-security police who deal with threats such as terrorism and espionage rather than everyday crime. In Tokyo they belong to a Public Security Bureau within the Metropolitan Police Department. Hiroshi Abe plays Mamoru Nozaki, an officer from this world.
Who is in VIVANT
Part of the fun in Japan is that even small roles are played by famous faces. These are the main characters as listed on TBS’s official character page (no spoilers about who they really are):
| Character | Actor |
|---|---|
| Yusuke Nogi | Masato Sakai |
| Mamoru Nozaki | Hiroshi Abe |
| Kaoru Yuzuki | Fumi Nikaido |
| Shun Kurosu | Tori Matsuzaka |
| Nokoru | Kazunari Ninomiya |
| Beki | Kōji Yakusho |
| Kōtarō Shinjō | Ryo Ryusei |
| Dram | Doramu Tomisakae |
| Genghis | Barslkhagva Batbold |
Season 2 also brings in Ohm (Ohm-Tanapak in TBS’s cast list), an actor from Thailand who plays a new character this season.
From Mongolia to Azerbaijan: where VIVANT was filmed
VIVANT looks like a film because much of it was shot abroad. Director Katsuo Fukuzawa said the story needed landscapes Japan doesn’t have – deserts and camels – and the team filmed in Mongolia for more than two months for season 1.
Season 2 goes further. The official overseas tour that a Japanese travel company runs with the show lists these filming locations:
| Country | Places named as filming locations |
|---|---|
| Azerbaijan | Baku Old City, Palace of the Shirvanshahs, the Baku Metro, the historic centre of Sheki (the caravanserai), the Juma Mosque, the Candy Cane Mountains |
| Thailand | The southern end of Jomtien Beach, near Pattaya |
If you are travelling in Azerbaijan or Thailand, several of these are ordinary sightseeing spots you can visit on your own – the old city of Baku and the Sheki caravanserai are open to visitors without any tour. (The tour itself is sold in Japanese, from Japan.)
What the owner of this site thinks of VIVANT
The person who runs this site is watching VIVANT right now, and their view in short: the story moves across the world – a famous Thai actor, scenes in Azerbaijan and more – and you can never see where it is going, which keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are lots of mysteries and puzzle-solving, and a great many people in Japan are trading theories about them. The cast is full of very famous actors such as Masato Sakai and Hiroshi Abe, and even small parts are played by people you would never expect in such a role. There is some violence, but at heart the theme is love between people, and with plenty of action it is easy to recommend. That is one viewer’s opinion, not a review.
If you would rather binge a Japanese drama that is already complete, Netflix’s 2026 series about two rival surgeons is all out now – see what to know before watching Plastic Beauty (Downtime).
If you visit Tokyo
TBS’s headquarters are in Akasaka (Akasaka Station on the Chiyoda Line). The VIVANT monument usually stands in Sacas Square in front of the TBS building; it was away at a pop-up event at Nihombashi Mitsukoshi from 7 to 20 October 2026, so check the official news page before you go. Official goods – from “Beppan manjū” buns (¥1,100) to a scenario book of season 1 (¥2,860) – are sold through TBS’s own shops and online store.
If you want the books or discs at home instead, they are published in Japanese. From abroad you can search Amazon or eBay listings shipped from Japan; check the region code of any Blu-ray and the import fees. Our guide to ordering Japanese souvenirs online explains how shipping from Japan works.
If VIVANT makes you curious about other Japanese stories with real places behind them, the Like a Dragon games are another good door: see the real Tokyo and Osaka streets behind the Yakuza games.
