It has been three weeks since the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and others), starring Mio Imada , started. The story is based on the married couple Takashi Yanase(1919-2013) and Nobu (1918-1993), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman", and the show has already featured some memorable lines that are reminiscent of Yanase and "Anpanman", becoming a hot topic among viewers. Here we would like to introduce some of these "heartwarming lines".
◇The message behind "Anpanman" appears at the beginning of the first episode
The memorable first episode of the drama (broadcast on March 31st) began with narration by Takashi (Takumi Kitamura), who was modeled after Yanase.
"Justice can be reversed. It's hard to believe, but justice can be turned upside down so easily. So what is the one justice that can never be turned upside down? If someone is hungry and in need, offering them a piece of bread."
These words are the message that Yanase put into "Anpanman" while he was alive, and express his belief that helping people in need is true justice.
◇Two famous quotes in a row in the fifth session, including the lyrics of Yanase's poetry collection, "Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni"
In the fifth episode (broadcast on April 4th), the protagonist Nobu's (Yuzuna Nagase) father Yutaro (Ryo Kase) passes away, and Takashi (Yuki Kimura) tells "Yam-onchan" Kusakichi (Sadao Abe) that Nobu's father has passed away. When Yam-onchan finds out that Takashi's father Kiyoshi (Kazunari Ninomiya) has also passed away, he says, "You're born alone, and you die alone. That's what humans are like."
This line is thought to be a quote from Yanase's poetry collection "Humans are lonely." The collection contains the line, "We're born alone and die alone. Humans are lonely. Humans are strange," which is likely the "source" of the above line. In fact, the subtitle of the first week of the drama is "Humans are lonely."
Furthermore, there was a scene where Hiroshi (Yutaka Takenouchi) told Taka, who was wondering if there was anything he could do for the depressed Nobu, "Living is sad. Living is painful. Living is happy, one day you will get better and you will surely be able to laugh." This is reminiscent of the lyrics of the children's song "Te no Te no Hira wo Taiyou ni), written by Yanase.
◇The line is "Anpanman March"
Hiroshi's famous quote also appeared in the 11th episode (broadcast on April 14). Taku (Kitamura) is in the fifth year of middle school and has started drawing manga. He is worried about what he should do in the future with his entrance exams coming up next year. Hiroshi advises Taku, "What were you born for? What should you do with your life? What makes you happy? What do you do to make you happy? Think about it desperately, over and over again, until you find that one thing that you think is right."
This line overlaps with the lyrics of "Anpanman's March" written by Yanase, "For what purpose were we born and what do we live for?", and viewers commented, "I got goosebumps when I saw the connection to the lyrics of Anpanman!" and "I realized the depth and greatness of the lyrics of Anpanman's March." Incidentally, the subtitle of the third week of the drama is "For what purpose were we born?" and the subtitle of the fourth week is "For what purpose do we live?"
◇ Viewers react to Anpanman's catchphrase
In the 13th episode (broadcast on April 16th), Nobu (Imada) takes first place in a bread-eating contest, overtaking the men, but is disqualified because women were not eligible to participate. In front of Nobu, who is dejected, Takashi expresses his anger, saying that it is terrible that she was disqualified. Then Chihiro (Motoki Nakazawa), who had risen to first place, comes over and gives her the radio that was her prize.
When Nobu rejoiced, "No way!", Taka said kindly, "That's good... Nobu-chan, I'm glad for you. You're 100 times more energetic." The phrase "100 times more energetic" is the familiar catchphrase that Anpanman utters when he gets a brand new face. Viewers also responded, saying, "He's 100 times more energetic!!" and "I'm glad they inserted Anpanman's lines in the show."
The words that Yanase weave convey a universal message of human love. Along with the story of Nobuya Takashi, we would like to continue to pay attention to the "Takashi Yanase ism" = "heartwarming lines" scattered throughout his works.
