The 40th episode of the NHK Asadora drama series "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 a.m. and others), starring Mio Imada , was broadcast on May 23rd. In the episode, Nobu (Imada), who was not keen on marriage, made a surprising decision to accept a proposal from her arranged marriage partner Jiro ( Ayumu Nakajima), which became a hot topic among viewers.
In episode 40, Nobu receives a letter from Jiro asking if they can meet again. Nobu's mother, Hatako (played by Noriko Eguchi), tells her to be honest, so she meets Jiro again to tell him how she feels.
Nobu tells Jiro that she is not yet ready to get married and start a family, but Jiro responds that she would like to continue working as a teacher even after marriage. When Nobu asks, "What made you want to make me your partner?" Jiro asks, "Do you need a reason to fall in love with someone?" and answers, "If I had to say, I was attracted to your honesty."
Nobu said, "I haven't told Jiro anything yet, to be honest," and recalled that she became a teacher because she wanted to teach children the joys of gymnastics and learning, and the importance of having dreams, but before she knew it, she was raising children to become soldiers and serve their country. However, she revealed that it was difficult for her to preach patriotism to her students after Ranko (Yuumi Kawai) told her, "That's a lie," and she honestly said, "I'm hanging in the balance both as a teacher and as the eldest daughter of the Asada family. Even if I get married, I'm not confident that I can make Jiro happy."
Jiro gently said, "If you were a ship, you would sink if you carried that much heavy luggage. Wouldn't you like us to prepare to unload the luggage?" and told Nobu that he wanted her to start dreaming now, in anticipation of what would happen when the war ended. When Nobu couldn't think of anything, Jiro told her, "Just think about it slowly. You're fast, so you'll catch up in no time. If there's even the slightest bit of space for me to live with you, please marry me."
On the way home, Nobu remembered that Jiro's words were the same as those her late father, Yutaro (Ryo Kase), had told her when she was a child, so she turned around and chased after Jiro, accepting his marriage proposal, saying, "If you're okay with me, I know it's a bit clumsy, but please, I'd love to hear from you."
In response to the unexpected turn of events in which she accepts the proposal of Nobunojiro, who was not positive about marriage, comments were made on social media such as, "Wow, this is an unexpected turn of events," "Seriously?", "I think they would make a great couple," "I wonder if Nobu sees the shadow of his father," "I'm worried about Takami," and "What will Takami do...?!"
