What was the most captivating scene in the 106th episode (broadcast on March 2nd) of the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring actress Akari Takaishi ? When we looked at minute-by-minute trends in "attention level" (surveyed by REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the percentage of viewers glued to the screen, the peak was 70.3% at 8:11 AM.
" Bakebake" is the 113th morning Asadora. The heroine, Toki Matsuno, and her husband, Lefkada Heaven, are based on Setsu Koizumi, the daughter of a fallen samurai from Matsue, and Lafcadio Hearn(Yakumo Koizumi), known for his works such as "Kwaidan." The drama boldly reconstructs the characters, changing some of the names of characters and organizations to create a fictionalized portrayal.
◇Toki's English lesson scene draws attention
Episode 106 tells the story of Toki (Takaishi), who continues to study English to support Heaven's (Tommy Bastow) work. One day, Toki is invited to a tea party by Ran (Misako Renbutsu), a foreign wife who is also fluent in English. Toki learns tips for studying English, and at home, he receives English instruction from Takeru (Sugita Rairin) and Masaki (Yukito Hidaka). Meanwhile, Heaven receives another letter from Eliza (Charlotte Kate Fox).
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching the TV intently, recorded a high number immediately after the broadcast began. It dropped during the opening, but gradually rose again, peaking once towards the end. In fact, both times it peaked during Toki's English lesson.
◇ "Do you want to go to America?"
The peak early on in the show was 69.7% at 8:01 AM, followed by 8:00 AM (68.6%) and 8:02 AM (69.0%), lasting for about three minutes before the opening. When the 22nd week began, the show suddenly became a hot topic. Heaven teaches Toki English one-on-one. Yakumo Koizumi, the inspiration for Heaven, also taught English to children, but like in the drama, he was apparently strict, especially on pronunciation.
At 8:00 AM, Toki first pronounces an English sentence using the word "hat," but he lets out a big yawn and buries his face in his hat. At the end of the previous week's 21st week, Toki also becomes sleepy while being taught English. Toki's English is not improving very quickly, but Heaven is patient with him.
At 8:01 AM, Heaven pauses Toki's English practice after giving him a "good" response to his English pronunciation. Then, Heaven suddenly asks, "Toki, do you want to go to America?" Toki is so abrupt that after saying "America?" he clearly replies, "No."
At the last moment, at 8:02 AM, Toki explains that he's scared because he doesn't understand the language, but Heaven persists, saying, "But you're scary, I love you." Heaven then tries to pique Toki's interest by telling him that there are ghosts in America. Toki begins to wonder, "Are there ghosts?" and just as it seems he might agree to go to America, Toki yawns again. Heaven and Toki, who had been paying attention to Toki's answer, both end up laughing.
The exchange between the two is a fun scene, but viewers must have been particularly intrigued by Heaven's response when she asked, "Do you want to go to America?"
◇ Heaven makes you repeat the pronunciation of "Philippines"
After dropping to the 57% range during the opening, the viewership gradually increased during the scene where Toki and Ran talk over tea. It peaked at 8:11 AM, hitting the highest of the day at 70.3%, before declining again.
In the scene just before 8:11 AM, Haven receives a letter from Eliza, asking her to write a "Philippines diary." Having begun to seriously consider going to the Philippines, Haven blurts out, "The Philippines... an unknown country. If I were alone, I'd go right away..."
The 8:11 a.m. segment begins when he consults his colleague Robert (Joe Tremaine), who points out that it will be difficult for him to continue writing in Japan and suggests that he "go to the Philippines."
That evening, Heaven teaches Toki English as usual, but the example sentence she uses is "Philippines." Heaven's obvious behavior of repeatedly pronouncing "Philippines" as she gets ahead of herself likely made viewers laugh. The next scene, at around 8:12 AM, features Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki), who was watching the scene, remarking, "Heaven, you're putting in a lot of effort," which must have made viewers chuckle even more.
The data used is REVISIO's proprietary indicator "Attention Level" (Kanto region, preliminary figures) published by the company that surveys TV program and commercial viewing habits in 2,000 households in the Kanto region and 600 households in the Kansai region. A dedicated device equipped with a human body recognition sensor constantly measures whether people are looking at the TV screen, and calculates the percentage of people in front of the TV who are paying close attention to the program. (Text by Sasamoto Hirozai/MANTAN)
