"Anpan" 110th episode features Takashi Yanase's masterpiece "The Kind Lion"

The 110th episode of the NHK Asadora drama series "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring Mio Imada , was broadcast on August 29th. The episode featured a story about "The Kind Lion," a radio drama written by Takashi Yanase that was later adapted into a picture book and a movie, and became a hot topic among viewers.

In episode 110, Nobu (Imada) and Taka (Takumi Kitamura) move out and start living with Hatako (Noriko Eguchi).

Meanwhile, Hatako answers the phone and accepts Taka's request to write a radio drama script. The deadline is tomorrow morning. When Nobu apologizes to the anxious Taka, Taka seems to remember something and mutters, "Mom..." and pulls out a picture. The picture features characters Buruburu the lion and Mukumuku the dog, and is titled "The Gentle Lion." The story is about a baby lion who has lost its mother, and a mother dog who has lost her cubs.

The story depicts the bond between an orphan lion named Bulbul who lost his mother and the dog named Mukumuku who raised him. When he grew up, Bulbul was sold to a zoo and later became a popular circus performer. One night, desperate to see his mother, Bulbul escapes from his cage and heads towards the city. However, he is shot and killed by the police.

Taka says, "It's a cruel ending. I've always wanted to write a sequel to this drama. But I wonder if it's okay to write it." Nobu asks Taka, who is hesitant to write, "Is it because it's a story about a child and his mother?" Taka responds, "I have two mothers, don't I?", expressing concern that his aunt Chiyoko (Naho Toda), who raised him, and his biological mother Tomiko (Nanako Matsushima) might be hurt if they heard about the drama. Nobu encourages Taka, saying, "If you want to write it, you should. But now isn't the time." Taka wrote the 30-minute radio drama in one night.

The next day, Taka's completed story, "The Kind Lion," is played on the radio. Yagi (Satoshi Tsumabuki), Ranko (Yuumi Kawai), Tomiko, Chiyoko, and Teshima Osamu (Gordon Maeda) are also listening to the story. The ending is rewritten to read, "That night, several people said they saw a lion carrying an old dog flying away."

In fact, "The Gentle Lion" was broadcast as a radio drama on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting in 1967. Due to its popularity, a picture book was published by Froebel-kan in 1969, and in 1970 it was released as an animated film directed and written by the original author, Yanase himself. The film was produced by Osamu Tezuka.

Comments on social media included, "So this is what 'The Kind Lion' was about...", "It's a heart-warming story. Takashi is amazing! It's sad, but in the end it's a heartwarming drama", "I've been sweating since this morning", "The story is just as it sounds and I'm in tears", "'The Kind Lion' made me cry... It's a wonderful picture book filled with Takashi's sadness, his longing for his mother, and his kindness", and "Today's episode of The Kind Lion made me cry so much. I've had this picture book and read it since I was little...".