The third episode of the Monday 9pm drama " 119 Emergency Call " (Fuji TV, Mondays 9pm) starring actress Nana Seino was broadcast on February 3rd. The instructions given by Ai Mikami, who plays the role of the command and control officer Sara Niijima, became a hot topic on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers
The drama is an original story set in the communication command center of a fire department, depicting the real daily lives of command and control officers. Niijima, played by Mikami, is a highly skilled command and control officer, and always maintains a calm and collected attitude over the phone. On the other hand, he is a character who is not very sociable off-duty, and does not try to interact with others more than necessary outside of work.
Niijima happened to meet Takachiho (Yuri Nakamura) during her off time. In conversation with Takachiho, Niijima reflected, "I couldn't become a paramedic like my father, but I thought I could use my skills in the Command Section and do my best." When she frankly revealed her thoughts, "But in the end, I think someone who is proactive like Kasuhara-san (Kiyono-san) and can get others involved is more suited to that. I can't become like that," Takachiho was surprised, saying, "You were thinking that."
Meanwhile, Niijima is taking a break by himself, avoiding the commotion from the command and control team. Dojima (Koichi Sato) comes over and asks Niijima, "What's a good baby shower gift these days?", but then asks, "Ah, is small talk bad?"
Niijima reveals his thoughts that he doesn't understand the point of talking to someone at other times, when talking to various informants at work wears him down emotionally. Dojima tells Niijima the importance of talking with the members, saying, "If you don't let off steam with stupid, pointless talk, you'll definitely collapse one day." He goes on to say, "Even if they're brazen, the ones who can say, 'Help me!' are the ones who are tough in the end."
Afterwards, a call comes in in Spanish to the command center. Niijima, while communicating in English on behalf of Kasuhara, learns that the caller's friend is complaining of stomach pain. The friend begins vomiting blood, but they are unable to identify an address to send an ambulance to.
Niijima gave instructions to the caller in English, saying, "I have a request. Please repeat this Japanese word: 'Help.' Shout it. Someone will definitely come to your aid." When the caller shouted for help, a Japanese woman answered the phone, saying, "The call has been taken." With the woman's help, an ambulance was sent to the scene.
On social media, comments such as, "I cried my eyes out during the "help" scene," "Mikami Ai was really good as Sara in episode 3. It was so heartwarming to see how a girl who isn't capable of saying 'help me' by nature uses her quick wit to get the caller to yell 'help me' and break out of her shell," "I'm glad she gave the instructions to call 119 for help," "Mikami Ai's acting was fantastic. It was brilliant how cleverly Niijima went from being a solitary person to opening up and becoming a part of the command center," and "The script, in which "help me!" is the key phrase, was well done. I want to watch this drama until the end."
