What was the most captivating scene in the 120th episode (broadcast on September 12th) of the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM and other times), starring Mio Imada ? When we looked at minute-by-minute trends in "attention level" (surveyed by REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the degree to which viewers were glued to the screen, we found that attention peaked at 76.8% at 8:12 AM, in the latter half of the episode, when attention levels were at their highest.
" Anpan" is based on the married couple Yanase (1919-2013), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman," and Nobu (1918-1993). It is a "story of love and courage" that will fill you with the joy of living, depicting how these two, who were once nobodys, overcame all sorts of troubles to become "Anpanman," the embodiment of "unreversible justice."
◇The highest value was 76.8% at 8:12 a.m. Could this be a scene of a casual conversation between three sisters and their mother?
Shortly after Tokairin's (Kenjiro Tsuda) visit, he receives a letter from Kotoko, a former colleague at Kochi Shimpo. The letter informs him of Tokairin's death and explains the real reason he came to Tokyo. Episode 120 begins with this shocking scene.
Despite the doctor's warnings, Tokairin sneaks out of the hospital where he is staying and comes to see Nobu (Imada) and Taka (Takumi Kitamura), saying there is something he absolutely wants to confirm. When Tokairin returns to the hospital in Kochi, he says with joy, "Those two have finally found justice that will never be reversed," and a short time later, they depart for heaven. That night, Taka secludes himself in his workspace, his pencil running as if driven by something.
With Tokaibayashi's performance from the previous day's episode 119 still fresh in my mind, I had a vague idea of what would happen, but it was a shocking start. However, the "attention level," which indicates the percentage of people actually paying attention to the screen among those in front of the TV screen, was not particularly high. From 8:01 to 8:03 AM, when Nobu and Taka read Kotoko's letter and Taka began to immerse himself in his work, the attention level remained at the lowest level of the day, in the 62-63% range. As the attention level increased from the middle to the latter half of the show, the low numbers at the beginning stood out.
To be precise, the ratings weren't extremely low in the beginning, but remained so high that interest rates were barely noticeable from the middle onwards. After hitting the 70% mark in the middle, they remained in the high 70% range throughout the latter half. Considering that the previous day's 119th episode peaked at 69.8%, which didn't even reach 70%, this shows that interest rates were quite high.
Finally, the current "Anpanman" was born, with a face like a Anpan. This was the story that was depicted from the middle of the series onwards. For viewers, this may have been a moment they had been waiting for.
First, at 8:05 AM, it was at 71.37%, breaking into the 70% range for the first time that day. When Nobu entered his workplace in the morning, Taka, who had been up all night drawing, muttered, "I'm done!" When Nobu peered at the work on his desk, he saw "Anpanman" drawn there. It was a quiet scene with almost no dialogue. Come to think of it, this was the scene that appeared at the beginning of the first episode.
From 8:07 to 8:09 a.m., after the opening theme song plays, the graph remains roughly flat, at around 70%. Through a conversation between Nobu and Taka, who are watching the film, Anpanman's characteristic of feeding his face, made of Anpan, to people in need is explained. On-chan bakes a new Anpan that will become his face, so Anpanman's life is not in danger. Although the scene is a little long, the numbers back it up by showing that it kept the viewer's attention.
Attention then picked up another gear, hitting 74.8% at 8:10 a.m., and remaining above 75% from 8:11 to 8:14 a.m. At 8:12 a.m., it reached its highest level of the day at 76.8%.
Scenes shown from 8:10 a.m. onwards include Nobu reading the new "Anpanman" at her tea ceremony class, asking Ranko (Yuumi Kawai) and Meiko (Nanoka Hara) what they think of "Anpanman," and children gathering at Yagi's (Satoshi Tsumabuki) company and spending time freely.
Incidentally, the highest score of 76.8% was recorded at 8:12 AM, and after reciting aloud in a tea ceremony class, Nobu is told by a female student, "No matter how hungry you are, eating your face is a bit much," which makes Nobu's expression look a little down. One of the students, Nakao Hoshiko (Furukawa Kotone), is staring at Nobu with an expression that seems to want to say something, which is very memorable.
The next scene is in the Yanai household's kitchen. Nobu, Ranko, Meiko, and Hatako (Noriko Eguchi) appear to be making Anpan(bean buns). When asked what they thought, Ranko immediately replied, "My daughters love them, I'm glad they're Kojan," which puts Nobu at ease. Meiko then says, "My daughters asked me if it hurts when they eat your face," to which Hatako replies, "If they say 'Ouch, Ouch' every time they eat, I'll feel a bit reserved," and everyone except Nobu laughs, but Nobu hangs his head. What will happen to Anpanman this time? A series of scenes builds up a little anxiety, and this is the moment when attention is at its peak.
From 8:13 a.m. onwards, the scene shifts to Yagi's company. Children gathered in a room are spending their time freely, enjoying themselves in their own way. Yagi places an "Anpanman" picture book there. After a while, a little girl picks it up and begins to read, bursting into laughter. The 120th episode ends with the girl's expression, engrossed in the book.
There were no particularly unexpected developments after 8:10 AM. Nor were there any funny lines. The 120th episode ended with the message that the newly born "Anpanman" picture book was about to start spreading little by little. That was all, but the final five minutes were spent in a rare situation where the viewer's viewer's view remained above 75%.
The data used is a unique indicator called "attention level" published by REVISIO, a company that surveys the viewing habits of programs and commercials in 2,000 households in the Kanto region and 600 households in the Kansai region. A dedicated device equipped with a human body recognition sensor constantly measures whether people are looking at the TV screen, and calculates the percentage of people in front of the TV who are paying close attention to the program. (Text by Sasamoto Hirozai/MANTAN)
