"Anpan" Episode 62: Two deaths in quick succession

The 62nd episode of the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " starring Mio Imada was broadcast on June 24th, depicting the deaths of two characters in quick succession, eliciting heartbreaking responses from viewers.

In episode 61 (broadcast on June 23), Nobu received a telegram from the naval hospital informing her that Jiro (Ayumu Ayumu Nakajima) was in critical condition. Then, at the beginning of episode 62, Jiro took his last breath while being watched over by Nobu and Setsuko (Misuzu Kanno).

After the seventh day after her death, when Nobu shows up at the Asada house, Ranko (Yuumi Kawai) tells her, "If your sister doesn't eat anything and is all alone and dejected, Jiro will be sad," and gently embraces her.

On the way back, as Nobu waits for the train at Gomenyo Station, Takashi (Takumi Kitamura) gets off in a military uniform with scruffy beard. When Takashi returns to the Yanai house, Chiyoko (Naho Toda) runs up to him and says, "Thank you for all your hard work!", and hugs him, saying, "Welcome back!"

When Takashi asks, "Auntie... what about Chihiro (played by Motoki Nakazawa)?", Chiyoko's face clouds over. The scene changes to show a portrait of Chihiro. There are no remains of Chihiro in the urn, only her memorial tablet.

Takashi despaired and said, "I wonder why. Dad, you should have protected Chihiro, who is much better than me. I wish it had been Chihiro who came back alive, not me."

With the two "exiting" one after the other, comments were made on social media such as, "I was prepared for it, but to have them both exit at the same time," "I can't imagine losing both Jiro and Chihiro at once!!" "It's still Tuesday but it's so hard," "I haven't been able to stop crying since this morning," and "I knew it would happen, but it's still hard. I'm not mentally prepared..."