What was the most captivating scene in the 97th episode (broadcast on August 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," which indicates the degree to which viewers were glued to the screen, we found that the scene with the highest attention level (surveyed by REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures) was at 8:08 AM, when Nobu (Imada) visits his mother-in-law Tomiko ( Nanako Matsushima) and they talk alone, at 73.2%.
"Anpan" is based on the married Takashi Yanase(1919-2013), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman," and his wife, 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 temperature was at 8:08 a.m. The "face-to-face" between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law will remain a focus of attention until the very end.
In the 97th episode, Takashi (played by Takumi Kitamura) still has no work, but he writes a false schedule on the blackboard to reassure Nobu. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the 97th episode, Nobu is fired by Tetsuko (played by Keiko Toda), who says, "You're not fit to be my secretary."
The highlight of the day was when Nobu visited Tomiko's house, resulting in a "confrontation" between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. The "attention level" rose sharply from 8:07 AM, when the two began their conversation in the tea room, and reached its peak of 73.2% at 8 minutes. The 8th minute was the exact moment when Nobu revealed, "I've lost my job. I've been fired from my job as a secretary to a member of parliament." How would Tomiko react? It was a moment that instantly increased the tension among viewers.
Tomiko looks a little surprised, and after a short pause, she says, "I guess it can't be helped," and calmly asks why she's trying so hard to support Takashi. Nobu replies that her late father, Yutaro (Ryo Kase), taught her, "Girls should be ambitious too, and don't be shy." She adds that there's something she and Takashi are searching for, and that she believes they can find it together, even if it takes their whole lives.
In response, Nobu asked, "What is your mother-in-law's dream?" Tomiko replied, "My dream... is to go back to that day. Taka and Chihiro were still little, and Kiyoshi (Kazunari Ninomiya) was there, and we were all laughing, and we lived like we were dreaming. It was a short time, but we were happy. Since he passed away, a void has formed in my heart and the wind is blowing through it." This was around 8:11 AM. Although interest had been gradually declining, it was still relatively high at 69.3% after 11 minutes.
After this, Nobu revealed that Taka had said about Tomiko, "Even on the day you turned your back on me and left, I feel like my mother was always crying." At around 8:12 a.m., the ratings dropped sharply to 66.3%, but by the 13th minute, it had risen to 71.2%, the second most popular rating of the day.
"That boy is too kind. Just like Kiyoshi. I can't help but see Kiyoshi in him. I feel like Takashi will make me happy in Kiyoshi's place. Days like that will never come again. Even though that person is no longer here."
The point at which Tomiko finishes speaking tearfully is exactly 13 minutes into the film. After a shot of a blue sky, the scene continues with the two of them having a relaxed conversation.
After tasting the tea Tomiko had made, Nobu said that he hadn't yet told Taka that he had been fired from his job, and that he didn't want to cause the busy Taka any unnecessary worry. Tomiko then laughed and advised, "Busy? Is that really true? Aren't you lying to Nobu about being a pointless show-off? That's the only thing Taka is like me in that show-off aspect. It'll be fine, I'm sure. Just tell Taka quickly." Nobu's relieved expression, with the tension in his shoulders now relaxed, was striking. The episode ended with a high attention rating of 69.5% even after 14 minutes.
The "face-to-face" between the daughter-in-law and mother-in-law was a show-stopping moment that revealed the mother's heartbreaking feelings. The show maintained a high level of interest until the very end.
The data used was a proprietary index called "attention level" published by REVISIO, a company that surveys TV program and commercial viewing habits 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.
