The second season of TBS’s Sunday Theatre drama VIVANT premiered on July 26, 2026, and viewers were in for a major surprise: world-renowned game creator Kojima Hideo made a cameo appearance as Superintendent General of Police, Ken Watanuki.
Starring Sakai Masato, VIVANT originally aired in 2023 and became a hit for its epic scale and story. The new season runs for two consecutive cours and picks up right where the first season left off, starting with Episode 11.
Before the broadcast, it was already announced that voice actors Hanae Natsuki and Kito Akari would appear as newscasters. But the surprises didn’t stop there: Takayama Minami, known as the voice of Conan Edogawa in Detective Conan, voiced the new character AI Hayato, and Seki Tomokazu, who voices Suneo Honekawa in Doraemon and Sanemi Shinazugawa in Demon Slayer, appeared as a voice on the police radio. Hayashibara Megumi, famous for Rei Ayanami in Evangelion, also returned as the voice of a smartphone translation app.
Kojima Hideo as Superintendent General Ken Watanuki
Kojima Hideo, the creator of the Death Stranding series, appeared only in a photograph as the sharp-featured Superintendent General. He was missing his trademark glasses and beard, making him almost unrecognizable. Viewers took to social media with comments like “I had no idea it was him!”, “Without the glasses and beard, I didn’t notice at all lol”, “I was shocked when I saw his name in the opening credits!”, and “That’s a high-difficulty cameo!”
Back in March, Kojima had posted on X about visiting the VIVANT set, sharing a photo with director Miyazaki Yohei and actor Balser (who plays Genghis), simply saying, “I dropped by the filming location. Amazing scale.” That visit apparently led to his role as the police superintendent.
Miyazaki also posted, “Did everyone notice our Kojima Hideo director’s appearance?” but given how different Kojima looked, few spotted him at first glance.
This is not Kojima’s first police-related cameo. He previously voiced a mole named Paul Moldebrant working at the Zootopia Police Department in the Disney animated film Zootopia 2, released December 5, 2025, after a direct offer from the director.
As the story of protagonist Nogi Yusuke continues, fans of anime and games will have plenty to look forward to—not just the plot, but also hidden cameos like this one.
VIVANT airs every Sunday from 21:00 to 21:54 on TBS. Streaming is available on TBS FREE, TVer, and U-NEXT. TVer also offers a making-of segment called “Adventure Log” for each episode.
Program Information
Broadcast schedule: Every Sunday 21:00–21:54
Production/Copyright: TBS
Staff:
Original Work, Direction, Production: Fukuzawa Katsuo
Direction: Miyazaki Yohei, Kato Akiko
Producers: Iida Kazutaka, Tomura Hikaru
Script: Miyamoto Yuto, Lee Jeong-mi, Yamamoto Nana, Doi Shōsei
Cast: Sakai Masato, Abe Hiroshi, Nikaido Fumi, and others
(C) TBS
