Attention rate for the 110th episode peaked at 70.6% at 8:05 AM. Has the classic "The Gentle Lion" captured the hearts of today's viewers?

What was the most captivating scene in the 110th episode (broadcast on August 29th) of the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM and others), starring Mio Imada ? The 110th episode featured a story related to the popular radio drama "The Gentle Lion," created by manga artist and picture book author Takashi Yanase. We looked at minute-by-minute trends in "attention level" (surveyed by REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the degree to which viewers in front of the TV were glued to the screen, to see if "The Gentle Lion" has captured the hearts of today's viewers.

"Anpan" is based on the married couple Yanase (1919-2013), the manga artist and picture book writer who created "Anpanman," and 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 score was 70.6% at 8:05 AM when Hatako made a mistake...

"The Kind Lion," featured in the 110th episode, was actually broadcast as a radio drama on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting in 1967, and was so well-received that a picture book was published by Froebel-kan in 1969. In 1970, an animated film was released, directed and written by the original author, Yanase himself. Incidentally, the film was produced by Osamu Tezuka. The heartwarming story of "The Kind Lion" has been generating a lot of buzz on social media since the morning.

The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of people actually watching the TV screen, did not peak extremely high that day, but it peaked at around 70% three times in 15 minutes and never dropped significantly. It seemed to maintain a steady 65-70% rating for most of the time slot. In other words, it was an episode that had a "stable flight" that grabbed viewers at the beginning and held on to them until the very end.

After the opening scene of the couple moving into their new apartment, the opening video began. As usual, the theme song began playing at around 8:01 AM, and the ratings plummeted to the 50% range, but then rose sharply. The first and highest peak of the day was at 8:05 AM, recording 70.6%.

At exactly 8:05 AM, Hatako (Noriko Eguchi) answers a phone call and takes on Taka (Takumi Kitamura) a request to write a radio drama script without his permission. The deadline is tomorrow morning. She doesn't say it outright, but she must have realized it from Taka's confused expression. Alone in the Japanese-style room, Hatako is feeling down, and when Nobu (Imada) comes home, she confides, "You shouldn't take Taka's job like it's a delivery from a restaurant," which is so cute that it's hard to blame her. This part is just under five minutes long. It's a scene that attracts a lot of attention, and it's no wonder.

When Nobu apologizes to the flustered 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." It is said to be about a baby lion who has lost its mother, and a mother dog who has lost her cubs.

Next, at around 8:07 a.m., Taka explains the story of "The Kind Lion" to Nobu. It's a long scene, narrated by Taka, that feels like watching a picture-story show.

The story depicts the bond between an orphan lion named Bulbul who lost his mother and his dog named Mukumuku who raised him. When he grew up, Bulbul was sold to a zoo and later became a popular attraction at the circus.

Attention levels rose from a low of 8:07 AM when the story began to be introduced. The more the story was explained, the higher the interest level rose. The second peak was at 8:09 AM, at 69.5%. One night, desperate to see his mother, Buruburu escapes from his cage and heads into town. "Buruburu is shot by the police and dies." The point where Taka quietly tells Nobu the shocking ending is around the mid-9 minute mark. When Taka says "it's over," Nobu can't help but let out a "Huh?". Viewers likely felt the same way. The level of interest shows how viewers have become completely immersed in the world of Taka's work.

"It's a cruel ending. I've always wanted to write a sequel to this drama. But I wonder if it's okay," Taka tells Nobu, hesitant to write. He worries that his aunt Chiyoko (Naho Toda), who raised him, and his biological mother Tomiko (Nanako Matsushima) might be hurt if they heard the drama. Encouraged by Nobu, who says, "If you want to write it, you should write it. But now isn't the time," Taka writes a 30-minute radio drama in one night.

"The Gentle Lion," written by Taka, is played on the radio. The story is told once again in the form of a radio drama, with Yagi (Satoshi Tsumabuki), Ranko (Yuumi Kawai), Tomiko, Chiyoko, and Teshima Osamu (Gordon Maeda) listening. The viewership peaked for the third time at 70.4% around 8:12 AM, when viewers were also tuning in to the radio drama.

So what was the ending? We know that gunfire was heard and that the police had opened fire, but the rest of the story was rewritten. It ended with, "That night, several people reported seeing a lion carrying an old dog." This conclusion was revealed around 8:13 a.m. Although it dropped slightly, it still had a relatively high level of interest, with 69.4% of viewers.

"The Kind Lion" is certainly a masterpiece, but spending nearly half the time explaining the story twice must have been a difficult production for the director to follow. There were few scene changes, and there was a risk that viewers would lose interest. Nevertheless, the "kamishibai"-style direction with Taka reading aloud and the radio drama-style direction with sound effects proved to have kept viewers engaged almost to the very end. This week's director was Yanagawa Tsuyoshi, and it was a skillful presentation that showed the skill of a veteran. I think this episode left a strong impression even on people who were not familiar with "The Kind Lion."

The data used is a unique indicator called "attention level" published by REVISIO, a company that surveys the viewing habits of programs and commercials 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. (Text by Sasamoto Hirozai/MANTAN)