It was a television crossover joke, not a resurrection in the drama. In VIVANT, the operative Wada is killed after being tortured by the villain Zhou. On the October 26, 2026 edition of Japan's morning variety show Love It! (Ravitto!), the actors who play them met again. This time, Wada's actor won a rhythm game and pressed the button for the losing team's electric-shock-chair penalty.
Which show, and who was there?
TBS aired the live morning program Love It! from 8 a.m. Japan time on Monday, October 26. Yusuke Hirayama appeared as the actor behind Wada, Ryo Tamaki as Hirose, and Rinrin as Zhou Haoran, a member of the rival Xinxi intelligence group. Host Akira Kawashima steered the reunion toward a game-show showdown. TBS's official catch-up listing identifies the second half as a VIVANT-themed rhythm-game contest between Wada and Rinrin.
The crucial distinction is between characters and performers. Wada dies within the fictional spy story; Hirayama was very much alive and joking on television. The game did not change the series' plot.
Why did Wada want revenge?
In the 2026 VIVANT storyline, Zhou's torture leads to Wada's death. Hirayama said that watching the scene involving Wada and the protagonist Nogi, played by Masato Sakai, moved him to tears. Rinrin then mischievously spoke as though he were his villainous character, claiming he had watched with a smile. The actors turned a grim fictional history into a mock confrontation.
Hirayama added a second complaint: the actor playing this terrifying villain had been bowing in apology on last week's breakfast-time show. Imagine learning that the ruthless enemy who defeated your character cannot even reliably make an 8 a.m. television booking. That collapse in menace is the first punchline.
What did a missed alarm have to do with a spy drama?
On October 19, Rinrin arrived almost one hour and fifty minutes late for Love It! after oversleeping and getting stuck in traffic. He reached the studio near the end of the broadcast, apologized repeatedly and joined the program's familiar electric-chair gag. The following Monday he stayed in a hotel near the TBS studio to make sure he arrived on time.
The show even presented a morning photograph of him leaving the hotel, jokingly credited to a Love It! version of Beppan, the covert unit from VIVANT. It was a parody of spy surveillance, not evidence that anyone was actually investigating him. The intelligence operation's urgent mission had somehow become: confirm that our guest has left his hotel.
How did the contest end?
The special game, introduced for around 9:20 a.m., required contestants to answer in time with a rhythm. A mistake eliminated a player; the team with someone left standing won. The Xinxi side lost members until Rinrin, its final hope, also failed to keep the beat. Beppan won.
Hirayama then got to press the switch for the losing team's biribiri isu, a Japanese variety-show chair that delivers an unpleasant electrical jolt as a penalty. TBS announcer Ayumu Akaogi narrated the moment like the climax of a long feud. Hirayama celebrated; Rinrin reacted dramatically to the penalty. This was a consensual game-show stunt, not a reenactment of the fictional torture.
Why was the scene funny rather than just a promotional appearance?
It had a precise comic sequence. First, two actors with a deadly fictional rivalry faced each other. Second, a real-world oversleeping incident made the fearsome antagonist look comically unreliable. Third, the final battle was settled not with espionage or martial arts but with a rhythm exercise. The announcer's heroic commentary treated a morning-show penalty as if it could avenge a spy's death.
Hirayama later said he felt relieved. Rinrin observed that at the same time the previous week, he had only just arrived at the studio. Japanese coverage reported laughter in the room; this is evidence of the local moment, not proof that the clip was trending worldwide.
Conclusion
*Wada's “revenge” happened on Love It!, not in a new episode of VIVANT.* A dramatic murder, an actor's embarrassing late arrival and a rhythm-game penalty were stitched into one surprisingly coherent joke. The villain lost because he missed the beat—after nearly missing the entire show the week before. This account relies on TBS program listings and contemporaneous reporting; the complete broadcast was not independently watched.
