Celebrating the 117th "Anpanman" magazine appearance, with the highest attention rate of 72.4%, isn't this the moment Nobu would be happy about?

What was the most captivating scene in the 117th episode (broadcast on Getsuku ) of the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring Mio Imada ? When we looked at minute-by-minute trends in "attention level" (surveyed by REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the degree to which viewers were glued to the screen, we found that the highest level of attention was at 8:08 AM, at 72.4%.

" 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 reading was 72.4% at 8:08 AM. "A hero?" Meiko asks a simple question.

In episode 117, the film "The Thousand and One Nights," for which Takashi (Takumi Kitamura) was in charge of character design, became a huge hit. Riding on this momentum, Nobu (Imada) appeals to an editor who visits him about "Anpanman," and he is finally featured in a magazine. This episode can be considered a milestone.

The graph for "attention level," which shows the percentage of people actually watching the TV screen, showed a large peak in the middle of the day. There were multiple times when it exceeded the 70% mark, which had not been reached in the 116th episode the day before, and the peak continued for a relatively long time.

The highest rating for the day was 72.4% at 8:08 AM. At 8:05 AM, it was just below 70%, at 69.9%, but for three minutes from the 6th to 8th minutes, it continued to record in the 70% range. What was it that kept viewers glued to their screens for those four to five minutes?

The episode started at 8:05 AM, right after Taka and Nobu were discussing whether to show "Anpanman" to an editor who had come to visit the Yanai household and said, "Anything is welcome." When they finally showed him the finished work, he gave a vague response, "Is this it?" But Nobu wasn't about to give in, saying, "Just try reading it all the way to the end." Taka and Nobu continued to wait, staring intently at the editor as he read. What on earth would happen? Viewers were sure to be feeling the same way as Taka and Nobu.

At 8:06am, when the film had reached the 70% mark, the editor's reaction was a highlight. He began by saying, "I think it's certainly a good piece," but then immediately added, "Couldn't the main character lose a little weight, if possible?" Seeing Takeru struggling to answer, Nobu firmly replied, "No, we can't. It's his personality." The answer "personality" is very modern!

The scene around 8:07 AM shows the editor giving his approval for publication, and Anpanman finally being released to the world as a work. Nobu goes to the publisher to pick up the magazine, then comes home and opens the page with Taka. Nobu is delighted, saying, "Anpanman's uncle is in it!", to which Taka thanks him, saying, "It's in it! It's all thanks to Nobu that Anpanman saw the light of day." It's truly all thanks to Nobu. Everyone must have thought so. It's also a moment of relief and joy for the viewers who have been watching anxiously for a long time.

And then, at 8:08 AM, the attention reaches its peak. The episode begins with Nobu engrossed in reading the magazine with a broad smile on his face, but the cheerful music soon comes to a sudden halt and the story takes a complete turn. When Nobu meets Meiko (Nanoka Hara) at a cafe, she asks him a straightforward question: "Isn't this guy a hero?"

"Even though 'The Arabian Nights' was a hit and brought Taka's talent to the spotlight, it feels a bit plain..." Meiko says, and Kentaro (Fumiya Takahashi), who was also present, chimes in with, "If you're on the side of justice, you might as well fight the bad guys..." Nobu carefully explains, "It's about war," and "The war has left food scarce, so we're fighting against the hunger of the Shinju people who are coming," but Meiko finishes him off by saying, "I wonder if kids today will understand. Your daughters' reaction was a bit lacking."

Interestingly, the highest level of attention was not at 8:07 AM, when the joy of the publication was at its peak, but at 8:08 AM, when the negative reviews were beginning to spread. Next, at 8:09 AM, Tomiko (played by Nanako Matsushima) also appeared. She was laughing out loud while reading "Anpanman," so Nobu asked her, "Is it really that funny?" to which she was simply dismissed with, "It's the worst."

"What do you mean?" Nobu asks, to which Tomiko responds, "His cape is tattered and he's so poor he can't even buy a weapon, right? Plus he's not good-looking, he sweats a lot, and it looks like he doesn't take baths often, and..." she says, rambling on in rapid-fire fashion. Unable to bear it any longer, Nobu interrupts, saying, "That's enough!" and the scene changes. It's a fun scene for viewers, making the most of Tomiko's character.

Although this 9-minute episode fell below the 70% mark, it still received a relatively high level of attention at 68.1%. Perhaps the biggest spike in attention was when Nobu, who was happy that Anpanman had finally been released into the world, was hit with three punches: Kentaro's jab, Meiko's straight, and Tomiko's uppercut.

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)