The third episode of the TV Asahi drama series "Reborn ~The Last Hero~" (Tuesdays at 9 PM), starring actor Issei Takahashi, aired on April 28th. In the latter part of the episode, the story jumps to November 2015. At the end, Mitsunori Neo (Takahashi) from 2015 appears, which caused a stir on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers.
In episode 3, Mitsumasa, who has been reincarnated as Hideto Nomoto in 2012, uses his "14 years' worth of memories" to revive the Akari Shopping Street, which he had once tried to shut down. Furthermore, with the 10 million yen he won in a bet with Togo (Masachika Ichimura), he is able to see a way to pay off the debts his father, Eiji (Fumiyo Kohinata), has incurred.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Eito, in his previous life, had proposed to Sarasa (played by Anne Nakamura). Believing that marriage would bring Sarasa unhappiness, Eito searches for ways to make her happy other than marriage. Noticing Sarasa's overwhelming artistic talent, Eito cleverly guides her towards a career in art, even resorting to lies. He then plans to hold a solo exhibition for Sarasa at a famous gallery in Tokyo, aiming to bring her attention as an artist.
Later, Hideto's younger sister, Eri (played by Mayu Yokota), who has joined the up-and-coming IT company "NEOXIS," is scheduled to go on a business trip to Paris with Kosei. Hideto knows that a terrorist attack will occur on November 13, 2015, the day Eri is going to Paris, and he begins to wonder what will become of his own existence if Kosei is caught up in the attack and dies...and the story unfolds from there.
In this episode, the story is set on November 13, 2015. Eito, who has been reincarnated as Kosei, heads to the airport to try and stop Eri and the others from going to Paris. At the airport, Tomono (Ouji Suzuka), a founding member and executive of "NEOXIS," calls out to a man in a suit who is looking out the window, saying, "Well then, Mr. President..." The man is Kosei from 2015, and he slowly turns around when he is called.
On social media, there was a flurry of excited comments about the appearance of Kosei from this era. Comments included: "This is the first real Kosei Neo since his reincarnation!", "Kosei Neo is here!", "Finally, President Neo!", "Two Kosei Neos at the same time!?", "It's been a while since we've seen the president!", "Finally, Neo from this era has appeared", and "His face looks different from the Kosei we've seen before...". Also, with "two Kosei" existing in the same era, some speculated that the person who pushed Kosei down the stairs in the first episode might have been Kosei who had been reincarnated as Eito, with comments such as: "Was it Eito who pushed Neo? To protect Akari Shopping Street?", "I predict that Kosei Neo, who lived as Eito, will push the real Kosei Neo from 2026 at the shrine", "In the end, will Eito, in Neo's body, push Neo?", and "Maybe he pushed himself down the stairs...".
