What was the most captivating scene in the 108th episode (broadcast on March 4th) 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 71.4% at 8:14 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.
◇Attention is rising as the ending approaches its peak
In episode 108, Toki (Takaishi) is unable to move on the way home from Ran's (Misako Renbutsu) house. He is taken to the hospital by Takeru (Sugita Rairin) and Masaki (Yukito Hidaka), who happen to be passing by, to be examined. Toki is worried that he may have a serious illness, but after the examination he learns that he has been blessed with a new life.
Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki) and Tsukasanosuke(Takashi Okabe) are overjoyed when Toki returns home with the news, but Toki tells his family to wait before telling Heaven (Tommy Bastow).
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching TV who were staring intently at the screen, peaked early on, but the graph generally showed a gradual increase towards the peak at the end.
◇Fumi and Toki are delighted. Fumi screams and the attention reaches its first peak.
The circle of joy spreads among those who hear of the new life they have been blessed with. However, viewers also learn of Toki's deep desire to keep this news a secret from Heaven, making this an episode with many highlights.
The opening scene sees Toki receiving her diagnosis after a checkup at a gynecologist's office. Yasui Junpei makes a surprise appearance as Kuroda, a skilled doctor with a gentle gaze. When Kuroda says, "You already know, don't you?", Toki seems to have guessed and replies, "Maybe." She tries to tell him she's pregnant with an "Eh?", but just as he starts to speak, Toki says, "Just wait a moment." After repeating this several times, Kuroda sees Toki's smile begin to form and laughs, saying, "Can I stop saying it now?" It's a very entertaining scene, but the ratings for 8:00 AM and 8:01 AM were in the 63% range, so it doesn't really gain much traction here.
After a dip in interest during the opening, the ratings peak at 66.8% at 8:04 AM. This is the scene where Toki returns home and talks with Fumi. They take Toki to the hospital, but Fumi hears Takeru and Masaki report that "it doesn't seem like he's sick." She stands up and goes over to Toki, who is resting in another room, and the time is in the four-minute range.
"Maybe it's 'age'?" "I thought so."
Fumi, realizing the situation, asks Toki, "Soge." When Fumi repeats, "Really?", Toki looks at her and nods, saying, "Really 'soge'." The Matsue dialect "age" and "soge" make for a fun conversation. Fumi runs over and hugs Toki. "That's great," she says, bursting with joy. Perhaps for Fumi, who was never blessed with a life, this was as happy as if it were her own. Fumi's joy was sure to make viewers happy too.
◇I can't believe Toki knows about my request to write about my stay in the Philippines.
After that, there are no major peaks. The only moments that receive a little attention are 8:08 AM (63.4%), when Toki explains to his family that Heaven has been asked to go to the Philippines and write an account of her stay there, and 8:10 AM (64.8%) and 8:11 AM (64.6%), when Toki asks his family not to tell Heaven that he has been blessed with a life, because they cannot stop Heaven, who wants to become a writer.
The second half of the film, at 8:11 AM, shifts to Haven returning home and having dinner with her family. Haven senses something unusual about her family, but is unable to realize what is going on.
The popularity of the show began to soar from 8:13 AM when Heaven visited her colleague Robert (Joe Tremaine). At 8:14 AM, it reached its highest point of the day, 71.4%. When Heaven told Robert that he had to go to the Philippines alone or give up, Robert declared that if he went to the Philippines, he would never return to Japan. "Once I go, that's the end of Japan," he declared.
Shortly afterwards, a visitor arrives and Robert leaves his seat, and Ran, who has replaced him, enters the room and tells Heaven that Toki knows that Heaven has been asked to write a diary of her stay in the Philippines. Heaven is still unaware of the pregnancy, but she learns that the request to write a diary of her stay in the Philippines has been exposed. This is the moment when the story begins to unfold at an accelerated pace, and the interest in the story rises. And so it ends.
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)
