What was the scene that most captivated viewers in the 112th episode (broadcast on March 10th) 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 71.5% 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.
◇Attention levels soar towards the end
In episode 112, Heaven (Tommy Bastow) and Kanta. This is because they need to go through the necessary procedures at Matsue City Hall to register their marriage. Toki and Heaven, accompanied by Tsukasanosuke(Takashi Okabe) and Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki), first visit the nostalgic Hanada Inn.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching TV who were paying close attention to the screen, continued from the previous day to show a "late-stage" graph, rising towards the end. It rose sharply at a certain point and remained flat until the end, but who was in that scene, among the various people reunited in Matsue?
◇ Heaven is jealous of Ginjiro
Episode 112 begins with Nishikori (Ryo Yoshizawa) reading a letter from his younger brother, Takeru (Sugita Rairin). The scene starts at 8:00 AM and lasts just over a minute, but perhaps because Yoshizawa had no lines, the attention rate was a very low 60.8%.
After the opening theme song plays, the scene where Toki, Heaven and their group arrive at Hanada Ryokan continues from 8:03 a.m. The attention rating immediately rose to 64.6% and continued to increase steadily, reaching 67.0% by 8:05 a.m. when Toki and Heaven visit Matsue City Hall to discuss family registry matters.
At city hall, they are told there are two problems with registering their marriage. First, Heaven's first husband, Ginjiro (Kanichiro), is still registered as a Matsuno family member, so Heaven cannot be registered as a Matsuno family member. There are amusing scenes, such as Heaven, who is more jealous than anyone else, trying to write over Ginjiro's name on the family register and erase it.
Another problem is that Shimane has no precedent for a foreigner being registered in a Japanese family register and becoming Japanese. The governor of Shimane Prefecture, Eto Yasumune (played by Sano Shiro), asked for permission, but was flatly refused. This was up to 8:08 a.m. Attention levels peaked at 67.0% at 8:05 a.m., and have since declined gradually, remaining in the 65-66% range.
◇It's not Kajitani! With Sawa's appearance, attention level jumps to the 70% range
Later, at around 8:09 a.m., when Toki is talking to newspaper reporter Kajitani (Iwasaki Udai) in the city of Matsue, the ratings suddenly drop to 60.0% for some reason, but then rise again to 63.0% at 8:10 a.m., and then to the highest level of the day, 71.5% at 8:11 a.m. The level of attention remains almost flat until the end.
At 8:11 AM, Toki is shown around by Kajitani to the home of Takichi Shoda (Shogo Hama). Toki decides to turn to Shoda, who has become the principal of Matsue Junior High School, to persuade Eto. Then, for some reason, Sawa (Wan Marui) appears from inside the house. Toki is happy to be reunited with Sawa, but he doesn't understand why she is there.
At 8:12 AM (71.2%), Shoda came out and asked, "Are you a customer?" Toki responded, "Oh! So that's it?" Sawa replied, "I guess so... We're married," and announced her marriage to Shoda. Sawa passed the exam and became a full-time teacher. Shoda revealed, "Then, when she left the tenement house on her own, I came back again..."
The 8:13am (70.7%) segment was when Toki asked Shoda to persuade Governor Eto. Shoda refused, saying it would be difficult, and Sawa dismissed him by saying, "You're really only half right," creating a "couple's conversation." It was a great scene that really made you realize that Sawa and Shoda are truly married.
The next episode, at 8:14 AM, also saw ratings of 70.6%, maintaining the 70% range. This is the scene where Heaven visits Nishikori's home. Nishikori greets her at the front door, but when Heaven asks for a handshake, he is cold and welcomes her inside. How will Nishikori respond in the next episode, episode 113?
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)
