The 32nd 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 May 12th. In this episode, Mansaku Shibata, a janitor at Teito Medical University Hospital, played by Kazuki Iio of the comedy duo "Zun," made his first appearance and attracted the attention of viewers.
Rin (Mikami) begins her nursing internship at Teito Medical University Hospital, but she still can't get her assigned patient, Sonobe (Nozoe Yoshihiro), to open up to her. During rounds, Rin asks Professor Imai (Furukawa Yudai), the professor of surgery, if it's okay that Sonobe is rubbing the affected area with his hand, but the doctors don't take her seriously.
As a dejected Rin passed through the courtyard, she spotted a man crouching down. Rin rushed over, asking, "What's wrong?" but the man quickly sat up and muttered, "Hmm?" It was Mansaku, the janitor. When Rin said, "I thought you were a patient who had come in for a checkup...", Mansaku laughed and said, "I'm the hospital's errand boy," explaining, "I do things like weeding and fixing small items... I'm basically a jack-of-all-trades."
When Mansaku asked, "Hey, are you that? The one who's a nursing intern?" and Rin replied, "I don't really know," Rin sadly murmured, "Yeah, I don't really know either... I've never seen a patient or a doctor. I don't know what nursing is like."
Then Mansaku told Rin, "There's a tree just ahead that's perfect for sitting on. It's just right for crying," and resumed weeding as if nothing had happened.
On social media, comments included "He's got a great presence," "Iio's playing another character with character," "Iio's portrayal of Mansaku is heartwarming," "He's so comforting," "He gives off a sense of security," "Iio is reliably a source of comfort," "I guess Iio is the mascot, right?", and "Just his presence lightens the mood." There were also speculative comments such as, "Is Iio actually the owner of this hospital?", "He seems to be the hospital's janitor, but is he actually the hospital's chairman?", and "Maybe he's actually an important person."
