The second episode of the NHK Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), starring Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , aired on March 31st, and viewers expressed concern over the impending threat of cholera.
" Kaze,Kaoru" is based on the story of two trained nurses, Chika Ozeki and Masa Suzuki, who graduated from the same nursing school. The drama depicts how these two women struggle with how to interact with patients and doctors, grow through their conflicts, and eventually become the "ultimate buddy" duo. Mikami plays the main character, Rin Ichinose, and Uesaka plays the other main character, Naomi Oya.
A case of cholera has been reported in the neighboring town where Rin lives. Rin's mother, Mitsu (Mizuno Miki), is terrified of cholera, as 70% of those infected die, but her father, Shin'emon (Kazuki Kitamura), says that no one in their village has contracted it yet. Meanwhile, a festival is held in the village, and Rin enjoys a pleasant time with Kotaro (Kobayashi Toranosuke) and her family, but strange things begin to happen in the village.
One day, a case of cholera finally appeared in the town where Rin lived. As Rin and Kotaro were watching the house where the cholera outbreak had occurred, mingling with the villagers, a caregiver hired to tend to the sick arrived. The villagers were gossiping, saying things like, "What a lot of work, taking care of cholera patients," and "They must be really desperate for money." Then the patient's family came out to the front door, bowed their heads and said, "We're sorry," before quickly retreating back inside. Seeing this, Rin murmured, "Why are they apologizing?" and Kotaro added, "They didn't choose to get cholera."
As people were gripped by fear, Kotaro's mother contracted cholera. The episode ended with Rin watching anxiously as she was carried away.
On social media, comments included: "I'm worried about what's going to happen next," "What's going to happen now...", "It's painful because it reminds me of the pandemic," "I'm really nervous because I remember what happened with COVID-19," and "Everything seems like some kind of omen, and it's scary."
