The spring dramas for the April season have begun. Last season, "Reboot" (TBS) generated a lot of discussion and speculation, but what about this season...? We've compiled a list based on the number of favorites registered on TVer (as of midnight on the 2nd), which is one of the barometers of popularity.
April marks the start of a new fiscal year and a period of significant programming changes. As this crucial time will shape the next year, many new variety shows and daily programs begin airing. On the other hand, viewers tend to be busier during this period, making it a challenging season for dramas, which rely on consistent viewing. It's a phenomenon unique to spring dramas that they struggle due to the impact of new programs aired before and after them.
In the April 2019 season, TBS's Sunday Theater (Sundays at 9 PM) featured " Caster " starring Hiroshi Abe , Fuji TV's Getsuku drama (Mondays at 9 PM) featured " The Second to Last Love 3 " starring Kyoko Koizumi and Kiichi Nakai , and as a dark horse , "A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You for a Married Couple" (Fuji TV, Thursdays at 10 PM), starring Kyoko Yoshine Yoshine and co-starring Kyoya Honda, became a hit.
Currently, the show with the most subscribers, excluding Season 11 of " Kodoku no Gourmet" with 852,000, is "Tsukiyo Koro - Kotae wa Meisaku ni Naka ni -" (NTV, Wednesdays at 10pm), starring Haru and Kumiko Aso, with 673,000 subscribers. This road mystery features a mysterious bar owner played by Haru and a housewife who feels lonely at home, played by Aso, and has gained popularity as a classic mystery with self-contained episodes, a specialty of NTV.
Following closely behind with 638,000 viewers is the TBS Sunday drama "GIFT" (Sundays at 9 PM), starring Shinichi Tsutsumi. Surprisingly, it features a star-studded cast including Kasumi Arimura and Yuki Yamada, who are making their first appearances in a Sunday drama, as well as Ms. Honda, who rose to fame in "Meoto Biyori," and it is a carefully crafted human drama centered around wheelchair rugby.
In third place with 630,000 viewers, just behind "GIFT," is the drama series "Takusari Brothers" (TBS, Fridays at 10 PM), starring Masaki Okada and co-starring Shota Sometani. The story follows two police officer brothers as they investigate the mystery of their parents' murder, a case for which the statute of limitations has expired. With the search for the real culprit in their parents' murder as the central thread, the series unfolds as they solve various other incidents that occur along the way. As a crime suspense drama produced by Junko Arai, known for "Unnatural" and "Saiai," it is a highly anticipated work.
Compared to last year's fall dramas, which were packed with popular shows like "Jaa, Anta ga Tsukutte Miro yo It" (TBS) and "The Royal Family" (same network), and the winter dramas, which featured the highly-anticipated "Reboot," this spring's dramas are undeniably off to a slow start, partly due to the timing.
However, TV Tokyo's popular late-night suspense dramas, such as "Is It Wrong for Women Not to Give Birth? DINKs' Ten Months and Ten Days" (Mondays at 11:06 PM) starring Emma Miyazawa Miyazawa, and "The Revenge of the Betrayed - Wives Who Formed an Alliance" (Wednesdays at 1:00 AM) starring Ayame Mizusaki, Mariko Shinoda, and Nako Yabuki, have been smash hits with 425,000 and 389,000 subscribers respectively. In addition, "A Vote in the Galaxy" (Kansai TV/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10:00 PM), starring Haru Kuroki and co-starring Kayo Noro, which is themed around the Tokyo gubernatorial election, has already gained 437,000 subscribers despite only two episodes having aired so far. It seems there are still many unique and hidden gems to discover. (MANTANWEB/Natsuyuki Tateyama)
