Sato vs Ito: Requiem.

Hideaki Ito is a well-established actor in Japanese TV and film, having starred in the popular Umizaru series, some Takashi Miike films, Kamen Rider, and three Coca-Cola commercials. He is also the current star of the live-action adaptation of the yakuza manga Donketsu, currently in its second season of streaming on Japan’s DMM TV.

With rugged good looks and award-winning acting chops, it’s certainly no understatement to say he’s among Japan’s top stars. And now that we’re all on the same page, we can begin to understand why our star reporter Mr. Sato was on a mad dash to the venue of Tokyo Comic Con 2025.

6 December, 2025

▼ Mr. Sato: “Huff, huff, huff…”

▼ Mr. Sato: “Huff… Huff…”

▼ Mr. Sato: “Hey, huff…”

▼ Mr. Sato: “You hear me? Huff… Today’s the day, you pile of crap!”

▼ Mr. Sato: “Hey, Ito! I’ve finally got you cornered, and I’m gonna make you pay!”

The reason Mr. Sato is unusually upset all began in 2022. Around the beginning of the year, there was some buzz online that our reporter and Ito shared more than a passing resemblance to each other. This came as a surprise to Mr. Sato, who, despite all of his winning qualities, would be the first to admit he’s not planning to enter any beauty contests.

However, after investigating, Mr. Sato found a picture of Mr. Ito eating his first noodles of the new year. The way the actor looked, with his guard completely down and slurping up a noodle, really did kind of look like Mr. Sato. So, our reporter recreated that scene himself for us all to compare and contrast.

That photo ended up getting noticed by Ito himself, who posted it on his own Instagram account along with a link to Mr. Sato’s article about it.

▼ Ito: Mr. #HidenoriSato, thank you so much! LOL Even our names are almost the same. Hidenori Sato Hideaki Ito. #helookslikeme #ilooklikehim

As anyone who uses Instagram will tell you, that message was horribly offensive. Ito clearly hashtagged Mr. Sato’s name when he should have @ed him. Microaggressions were his least favorite form of aggression and these had been lingering for far too long, so it was time to settle the score.

▼ Mr. Sato: “Where are you Ito?!”

Using all of his skills as an investigative reporter, Mr. Sato checked the schedule and found where Ito was set to take the stage as a part of the Donketsu panel.

He was surprised at the size of the venue and the stage, which caused him to reconsider things. Maybe, Ito wouldn’t be such a pushover after all.

In Donketsu, Ito plays the main character Masatoshi Sawada, who’s nicknamed “Rokemasa” because he uses a rocket launcher. Remembering that made Mr. Sato’s blood boil anew.

▼ Mr. Sato: “Rocket, eh? I’ve had a rocket logo for over a decade now. This guy just loves ripping me off!”

Ito was joined on the stage by an impressive group of actors, including Sho Aoyagi, Nobuaki Kaneko, Toshiro Yanagiba, and Yasukaze Motomiya, as well as the manga’s creator Tashi.

On stage, Ito explained that he’s been a fan of Western comics and always wanted to make a comic book adaptation of his own. He added that he was thrilled to finally get the chance and was proud of the way Donketsu had stayed true to the source material.

Mr. Sato, despite hating Ito with every fiber of his being, reluctantly agreed that it was a good show.

▼ Mr. Sato: “Urghhhh, you can’t at least say thanks to Mr. RokeSato for everything I did to help your career? Psh, after stealing my whole look, why am I not surprised?”

The talk went well, and afterward everyone gathered to take a commemorative photo on stage.

Mr. Sato suddenly remembered he was posing as a reporter while on this personal mission of revenge, and quickly snapped back into character.

▼ Mr. Sato: “Ito! Ito! Look over here! Yes, there you go! Beautiful! You’re such a handsome jerk!”

Then, all of the actors made a surprise appearance in the main venue to hand out Donketsu promotional goods. Mr. Sato realized he was indeed dealing with a cunning foe, who used his many, many fans as a buffer to keep his enemies at bay. Despite getting pushed around by the throngs of adorers, Ito smiled, as if knowing there was no way Mr. Sato could get to him.

However, Mr. Sato was already one step ahead of the game and had made arrangements well in advance to interview Ito. The deal was to discuss Donketsu, but our writer secretly had other fish to fry…

▼  Mr. Sato: “Everyone else might buy into that sexy smile, but not me…”

▼  Mr. Sato: “Three years…”

▼  Mr. Sato: “It’s time to pay the piper.”

▼  Mr. Sato: “And if you don’t… I’m liable to put you down like the dog you are.”

▼  Mr. Sato: “Oh, what do we have here? Ito’s dressing room.”

▼  Mr. Sato: “I don’t know what’s about to happen. But it sure won’t be pretty.”

With a clack of the latch, Mr. Sato opened the door to Ito’s dressing room…

▼  Mr. Sato: “You here, Ito?”

▼  Ito: “The hell you want?”

▼  Mr. Sato: “I finally found you, you dirty rat! This is a shakedown!”

▼  Mr. Sato: “How much longer are you gonna keep my face on your Instagram account!”

▼  Ito: “I’m sorry, all I can hear is the yap, yap, yapping of a little dog.”

▼  Mr. Sato: “I’ve come to square up for that photo of me you’ve been using.”
Ito: “So, this is about the photo. I’d wondered when you’d finally show up…”

▼  Mr. Sato: “Stick a sock in it, punk! You aren’t gonna talk your way outta this! Your photo-posting days are over!”
Ito: “What the hell are you talking about! Barging in here like this when the only photos I post these days are for Donketsu, now streaming on DMM TV! Check your app store for more details if you live in Japan, jackass!”

▼  Mr. Sato: “I’m talking abou… Whoa, y-you’re bigger in person…”
Ito: “Not so tough now, are ya? Maybe ya shoulda thought this through before getting all up in my face.”

▼ Ito: “Yes, I know who you are! I was going for a subtly pensive reaction to that when you trampled all over it! As I was saying, the reason I posted that was…”

▼  Ito: “Now, I want you to take a moment, and really think about what you’re saying to me.”

▼  Ito: “Let’s see how you feel after I show you this…”

▼  Ito: “I hope you’re ready.”

▼  Mr. Sato: “What… the…”

▼  Mr. Sato: “No way… No freaking way…”

▼  Ito: “The truth is… I never forgot about you.”

▼  Mr. Ito: “We are the same, you and I.”

▼  Mr. Sato: “I-I-I, um… Could you stop the camera for a second? I had no idea… This can’t be…”

▼  Mr. Ito: “So, what was that about royalties again? Something about me being a dirty rat?”
Mr. Sato: “Y-You made that yourself, didn’t you? No one told me…”

▼  Mr. Sato: “I never knew I meant that much to you… I-I’m so sorry.”

▼ Mr. Ito: “I see. Well, look… I do have one more of these.”

▼ Mr. Ito: “Yo, knock off the bowing and look up for a sec.”
Mr. Sato: “B-But, sir…”

▼ Mr. Ito: “I want you to wear this, too.”
Mr. Sato: “I-I don’t know what to say.”

▼ Mr. Sato: “You… and I… We’re…”

▼ Mr. Ito: “You have such a funny face. I love that face.”

And so, Mr. Sato and Mr. Ito were reunited, and it felt so good.

Their matching T-shirts, which read “Technologia: Parallel Universes” for reasons I don’t think anyone knows, would connect these two non-related identical twins for life.

They say we’re hardest on those who most reflect who we ourselves are. This was a lesson that only a major actor could teach our reporter, and it left him full of gratitude for both the enlightenment and T-shirt.

It will be a shirt that Mr. Sato and Mr. Ito will cherish for the rest of their lives. Their paths may never cross again in this crazy world, but their unique bond will live on for eternity in cotton-polyester blend. That lasts an eternity, right?

This moment of transcendent euphoria was quickly interrupted by an agitated PR rep staring at them and tapping her watch. That’s when it dawned on Mr. Sato that he was supposed to be interviewing the actor instead of trying to kill or extort him, only to form a bond deeper than love with him. So, they sat down for a few quick questions.

Mr. Sato: “Mr. Ito, you’ve certainly been in a lot of major productions, but I found your portrayal of Rokemasa in Donketsu a real departure from your previous roles.”

Mr. Ito: “That’s absolutely right, Mr. Sato. Most of my other characters originate within the TV series or movies they appeared in, but because of the Donketsu manga, Rokemasa already has a fully fleshed-out image. While acting as him, I felt it was important to get as close to his appearance as possible.”

Mr. Sato: “It’s impossible to get it exactly right without CG though, isn’t it? I think you perfectly captured his presence and intensity.”

Mr. Ito: “I had to gain 15 kilograms (33 pounds), too.”

Mr. Sato: “You were already pretty yoked. It must have been difficult to put on another 15 kilos.”

Mr. Ito: “I spent about six months working out. Because it’s based on a manga, I felt the visuals were very important. If I didn’t pull them off, I wouldn’t be convincing enough.”

Mr. Ito: “I shaved my head and eyebrows too, so during filming they wouldn’t let me pick up my daughter from school [laughs].”

Mr. Sato: “You filmed that a year ago, didn’t you? You must be back to normal now.”

Mr. Ito: “No, not really. My hair grew back, at least [laughs].”

Mr. Sato: “Another thing that impressed me was how natural everyone’s dialects were. The dialogue didn’t feel forced at all, and everyone’s accents felt natural.”

Mr. Ito: “There was always a dialect coach on hand to help us. If we didn’t get the regional ways of speaking right, people from those areas would be turned off and complain, so I wanted to make sure I got it right.”

Mr. Sato: “Right down to the dialects, you could feel the production’s attention to detail. It’s obvious that not only the cast, but everyone involved took their work seriously.”

Mr. Ito: “Thank you. We’re all happy with how it turned out.”

Mr. Sato: “And don’t get me started on the action. The end of season two was especially full of suspenseful parts. I wonder if there were any creative ways you all kept the tension high on set.”

Mr. Ito: “The director, Nobuo Mizuta, and the rest of the production team were all amazing. Filming seemed to fly by, and even days that went three hours over felt smooth. At the same time, everyone just seemed really focused on making it good. I think everyone’s enthusiasm and the constant high level of energy just made everything come together.”

Mr. Sato: “Finally, can you tell me what the highlights of Donketsu are?”

Mr. Ito: “I’d just love it if everyone sees those scenes where the energy I just described comes to life. The manga it’s based on has a really unique sense of tension, and each character exudes a sense of awe. All of the actors put in a lot of effort to capture that, so I hope everyone enjoys that aspect as well.”

Mr. Sato: “I agree everyone’s acting was absolutely incredible. Thank you so much for everything today, Mr. Ito.”

Mr. Ito: “And thank you for such a wonderful interview, Mr. Sato.”

Mr. Sato: “And these shirts… I’m just blown away that you put us side by side like that.”

Mr. Ito: “I’m glad you like them.”

Mr. Sato: “Thank you again for everything.”

Mr. Ito: “Let’s go to a ramen place together someday.”

Mr. Sato: “I hope we’ll get the chance. Thank you very much.”

As a part of the interview, Mr. Sato was able to get a preview of the entire second season of Donketsu. He felt it was amazing, and not just because his soulmate was starring in it. All of the actors delivered performances that felt unlike anything they’ve done before, and the ending climax completely floored him.

As for Hideaki Ito, Mr. Sato learned a valuable lesson not to judge a celebrity by their Instagram account.

Related: Doketsu Season 1, Season 2
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[ Read in Japanese ]