In the 116th episode (aired March 16th) 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 75.0% at 8:12 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 levels have remained in the high 60s to low 70s.
In episode 116, the story jumps forward 10 years, and Toki (Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow) have moved to Okubo in Tokyo. They spend lively and happy times with their eldest son Kanta, second son Isao, Tsukasanosuke(Takashi Okabe), and Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki). Heaven teaches the children English, commuting between Tokyo Imperial University and home for classes. Toki supports Heaven and loves the children. From every angle, they seem happy and are enjoying their Tokyo life, which is like a "paradise," but Heaven seems to have some kind of worry.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching the screen intently, remained above the high 60% range for most of the time slots. Moreover, it even reached the 70% range for a total of six minutes, making it an episode that kept viewers glued to the screen from beginning to end.
◇Salt in coffee: "This is fine."
The first time the viewership reached the 70% range was at 8:03 AM (74.0%), showing the Heaven family having breakfast after moving to Tokyo. When Heaven mistakenly puts salt in his coffee and Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki) points it out, he says, "This is fine, isn't it?" and puts salt in his own coffee as well. Then, both of them drink their coffee, and of course, it's salty. Seeing this, Tsukasanosuke(Takashi Okabe) scolds them, "Don't say 'Ahhh' (when you drink it). It's unrefined," and the scene unfolds as a typical everyday scene that hasn't changed from the past.
While there were elements of change, such as the appearance of the slightly older eldest son Kanta and second son Isao, it's possible that what captured viewers' attention most was the lingering effect of the preceding 8:02 AM broadcast (69.6%).
At around 8:02 a.m., before breakfast, the children gather around Heaven, Toki, and Fumi, putting their hands together and saying "Good morning, Grandpa" to a photograph. Just when you think that Tsukasanosuke, who isn't there, has passed away, Tsukasanosuke enters the room a little later. It seems that "Grandpa" refers to Toki's grandfather, Kan'emon (Fumiyo Kohinata). In the photograph, Kan'emon is seen with a dignified expression and posture, looking directly at the camera. It's sad to think that he won't appear again, but his dignified appearance, befitting a "Last Samurai," is quite amusing.
◇Playing with the children by skipping: "It's like a paradise."
For most of the middle of the show after the opening, the viewership rating remained around 70%. It stayed above 70% for three consecutive minutes: 8:08 AM (70.3%), 8:09 AM (70.0%), and 8:10 AM (70.5%).
At around 8:08 AM, after a scene where Heaven is teaching English to Kanta and Isao at home, he hastily gets ready and heads to Tokyo Imperial University by rickshaw. He stops the rickshaw along the way and gets out. "53 years old. Life is running low." From there, he seems to be walking to the university and keeps walking.
At around 8:09 AM, in the garden of their home, the maid Kuma (Natsume Touha) is teaching Kanta and Isao how to skip. Watching them, Tsukasanosuke says, "It's like paradise," to which Toki agrees. Fumi also looks happy, saying, "I'm shaving bonito in paradise."
Around 8:10 a.m., Toki and Tsukasanosuke also go down to the garden and show the children how to skip. Then Heaven comes home and they skip together. Considering Toki's story up to this point, it was a scene of overwhelming happiness.
◇Pretending to be going to university, Heaven heads to the milk hall.
Towards the end, the blissful atmosphere of the first half begins to change slightly. Heaven writes a letter to Eliza (Charlotte Kate Fox) in America. "Next time, I'm going to write a bestseller," "Something I won't regret even if it's my last book." Heaven's extraordinary determination as he enters his 50s is palpable.
The highest point of the day, 75.0%, was recorded at 8:12 AM, immediately following the scene where that letter is written. Heaven blows a conch shell, gathering the family to a certain place. What could it be? Following Heaven, they find a beautiful sunset visible from the veranda. Fumi is also moved, saying, "It's like the sunset over Lake Shinji (in Shimane)." Seeing the children playing excitedly, Toki says to Heaven, "This is a paradise." Here again, the keyword is "paradise."
On his way to work at the Imperial University, Heaven stopped his rickshaw as usual and began walking. At around 8:13 AM, the level of attention dropped slightly, but at 8:14 AM, it surged again to 74.4%. Heaven was walking in the direction of the university, but upon seeing the rickshaw turn back, he suddenly changed direction and entered a milk hall. What could Heaven's mysterious behavior mean? It was a rather intriguing ending, hinting at some kind of incident.
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)
