In the 13th episode (aired April 15th) of the NHK Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday, 8:00 AM, etc.), Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , 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 peak was 73.3% at 8:12 AM.
" 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, clash with each other, grow as individuals, and eventually become the "ultimate buddy duo." Mikami plays Rin Ichinose, and Uesaka plays Naomi Oya.
◇The graph continues to show a plateau at around 70%, as it did the previous day.
Naomi (played by Uesaka), who has disguised her identity, becomes a waitress at the Rokumeikan. In episode 13, she uses her excellent English skills to work while searching for a husband, but she also learns of Sutematsu's (Mikako Tabe) feelings for the Rokumeikan. One day, Lieutenant Kohinata (played by Fujiwara Kisetsu) of the Navy comes to the Rokumeikan. Meanwhile, Rin works diligently at Mizuho-ya and receives her first paycheck from Usaburo (played by Bando Yajuro).
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching the screen intently, remained almost flat, staying above 70% for most of the time from the middle of the program onward, as it had been the previous day. It first rose above 70% at 73.0% at 8:04 AM, and then maintained a level of 70-72% thereafter, except for 8:06 AM and 8:14 AM. Although there were no major jumps, it can be said that the program maintained the viewer interest it had captured in the first half of the program almost until the end.
◇Viewers are also paying attention to the enigmatic Shimaken.
The peak for the 13th episode was 73.3% at 8:12 AM, matching the 73.0% recorded at 8:04 AM, indicating that the show's popularity reached the 73% range twice.
At 8:04 AM, which corresponds to the first 73% mark, Rin is talking to the apprentice Makimura Taichi (Hayashi Yuta) at Mizuho-ya when Shimada Kenjiro, also known as "Shimaken" (Sano Masaya), comes in. Rin asks Shimaken, who doesn't reveal his true identity, "Is he a regular customer of this store? Is that right?" Makimura immediately denies it, saying, "He's a regular customer who doesn't buy anything. He just looks," and the 8:04 mark begins around the time Rin laughs.
Perhaps it was because she had said she was "just looking." Shimaken quickly pulled half the price of the two expensive books that Makimura had been hesitant to buy from his pocket, and settled the matter by saying, "I'll get the other half from this guy later." For viewers who had seen the harsh situation Rin had been in up to this point, it was a reassuring scene of conversation. As always, Shimaken's true identity remains unknown, but it seems certain that he is not a bad person. Perhaps viewers were drawn to Shimaken, a character with a strong personality that seems somewhat twisted.
Incidentally, the 8:14 AM timeframe, when Lieutenant Kohinata of the Navy arrived late at the Rokumeikan and first met Naomi, saw a significant drop in viewership, falling to 67.4% and dropping below 70%. It seems Kohinata is portrayed as a straightforward, handsome character. In this episode alone, he may have been completely defeated by the more eccentric character.
◇The highlight of this episode was once again the scene where Sutematsu-sama appears.
The highest point of the day, 73.3%, was at 8:12 AM, in a scene where Naomi, who works at the Rokumeikan, unexpectedly hears about Sutematsu's deep feelings. One day, Naomi overhears some ladies sarcastically referring to Sutematsu as a "European geisha." Realizing that Sutematsu has also heard them, Naomi tries to call them out, but Sutematsu gently stops her. The scene that follows is around the 12-minute mark.
Sutematsu said to Naomi, "This is the Rokumeikan," and "Don't worry about it. I'm used to it." She continued, "This place may be a lavish facade, but depending on how you use it, you can do what you want, so it's nothing." When Naomi repeated, "What I want to do?", Sutematsu nodded and left.
Following episodes 5 (aired April 3rd) and 12 (aired April 14th), the scenes featuring Tabe's character, Sutematsu, were the highlight of the day. It seems this jinx of Sutematsu's appearances captivating viewers will continue for some time.
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)
