Divergence between VIVANT and The House of the Ninja on Netflix

At the awards ceremony for “Location Japan” held in Tokyo on February 15th, director Katsuo Fukuzawa became a topic of discussion. Director Fukuzawa revealed that the production of a sequel to the highly successful drama “VIVANT” (TBS series, 2023) is becoming difficult due to significant losses, stating, “There is no decision on the sequel, and it’s not up to me.” The primary reason seems to be the poor reception overseas despite investing a considerable amount, rumored to be one billion yen per episode, in production costs.

“Although it started streaming on Netflix last December, outside of Japan, it only entered the top 10 in Taiwan for just one week. The score on ‘IMDb’, which is one of the benchmarks for global evaluation, is 7.2. Considering that well-received works usually score in the high 7s to 8s, it’s safe to say that it’s unsatisfactory,” commented a staff member from the production company.

There are various reasons cited for the failure. Despite attempting to create a globally appealing drama with a large-scale conspiracy suspense theme, such productions are not uncommon worldwide. The storytelling details were messy, and the portrayal of romance was lacking, among other issues.

Nevertheless, with the globalization of not only films but also dramas, creating works that are hits both domestically and internationally has become an essential task. “VIVANT” was also an attempt driven by such urgency, so it is necessary to accept and analyze this result thoroughly. Meanwhile, a drama that seems to overshadow “VIVANT” has emerged like a comet and is gaining attention.