In the 115th episode (aired March 13th) of the NHK Asadora drama series "Bakebake " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), starring actress Akari Takaishi , what scene captivated viewers the most? We examined the minute-by-minute changes in "attention level" (according to REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the percentage of viewers glued to their screens, and found that the highest value was 74.7% at 8:14 AM.
" Bakebake" is the 113th morning Asadora. The heroine, Toki Matsuno, and her husband, Lefkada Heaven, are modeled after Koizumi Setsu, the daughter of a fallen samurai family in Matsue, and Lafcadio Hearn(Yakumo Koizumi), known for his works such as "Kwaidan." The drama boldly reconstructs these events, changing some of the character and organization names to portray them as fiction.
◇Attention is steadily increasing as the story heads towards its shocking ending.
Heaven (Tommy Bastow) woke up in Matsue for the first time in a long time, but he couldn't feel any of the emotions he used to feel, no matter how he heard the sounds or looked at the scenery. Episode 115 continues from the scene where Nishikori (Ryo Yoshizawa) spoke to Heaven on the bridge, who was shaken by his own change. Nishikori calmly confronts Heaven with the meaning of becoming Japanese, the reasons why he opposes it, and the reality of Heaven. Toki (Takaishi) was also watching the two of them.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching the show intently, showed a beautiful upward trend towards the shocking finale at 8:14 AM. Week 23, which featured appearances by Nishikori and other familiar faces from Matsue, saw episode 114 fall just short of the 70% mark, but the other four episodes all exceeded 70%, making it a week that held viewers' attention.
◇"You as a writer are dead."
Why doesn't Nishikori help Heaven, who is trying to become Japanese? The dialogue between Heaven and Nishikori, which reveals this question, began at the start of the drama, but the viewership rating at 8:00 AM was 59.9%. It didn't rise much after that.
"Let me be honest. Right now, you... can no longer feel anything in this country. You can't write anything. You were living in an illusion. You dreamed of Japan. But... you've now woken up from that dream." Nishikori hurled harsh words at Heaven.
The show finally gained some attention at 8:06 AM (67.4%). Nishikori continued by saying that if he had written a "Diary of My Time in the Philippines," he might have been able to write something even better than his "Diary of My Time in Japan," and then added, "Didn't you yourself want to write one? Becoming Japanese means that all of those things become impossible." It was around 8:06 AM that he delivered a powerful statement.
"As a writer, you're as good as dead. No, you *are* dead," Nishikori declared in English. To Toki (Takaishi), who apologized, blaming himself, Nishikori even asked, "I know this is a long shot, but could you ever become British?" Heaven was well aware of his own inability to write. Every word Nishikori spoke seemed to hit Heaven's weak spot, making it a scene that was impossible to look away from.
Although the level of attention dropped slightly, it began to rise again, reaching 69.4% at 8:10 AM, just shy of 70%. Spurred on by Nishikori's encouragement, Heaven began writing the manuscript with single-minded focus in Matsue, and continued writing in Kumamoto. 8:10 AM marks the point where Heaven reports to Toki that the manuscript is complete. Toki shows Heaven a letter sent by Nishikori, saying that Nishikori will be surprised. It reveals that Heaven has successfully become a Japanese citizen and has been registered in the Ushimizu family register.
The video then switches to a flashback scene immediately following Heaven and Nishikori's conversation. Nishikori approaches Toki, who is observing from outside the room where Heaven is intently writing his manuscript, and says, "I've egged him on," and "I hope this will get him to write." This part of the video was around 8:10 a.m.
◇ Nishikori and Heaven had a deep connection
While viewership dwindled slightly around 8:11 AM when Nishikori revealed his true intentions to Toki, it rose again to over 70% at 8:12 AM (70.3%) when the scene returned to Toki and Heaven in Kumamoto. It continued to captivate viewers, reaching 73.8% at 8:13 AM and a record high of 74.7% at 8:14 AM.
At 8:13 a.m., Nishikori picks up Heaven's book, "From the East," and is struck by the opening sentence, smiling. Looking down as if nodding, Nishikori seems to be savoring the joy of having completed his work as a literary assistant. At that moment, the screen goes dark. Then, the narration by Snake and Frog (Asagaya Sisters) reveals that Nishikori passed away a few months later.
At around 8:14 AM, we can see the content of the opening text that Nishikori was reading. Written in English, it reads, "To Yuichi Nishikori, fond memories of the Izumo era." Nishikori's true intentions, which had "spurred" Heaven on and motivated him, had been properly conveyed to Heaven. It was a good scene that showed the relationship between the two. It wasn't a dramatic scene with someone shouting, but Nishikori's death and the episode written in his book seemed to have resonated deeply with the viewers.
And so, Heaven begins writing his manuscript again. The 115th episode ended with this scene, leaving a lingering impression.
The data used is REVISIO's proprietary "Attention Level" index (Kanto region, preliminary figures), which surveys 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 recognition sensor constantly measures whether people are looking at the television screen, and calculates the percentage of people in front of the television who were paying close attention to the program. (Text by Hiroki Sasamoto/MANTAN)
