Attention levels for the 118th episode peaked at 8:06 AM during the second round of "Hatako vs. Tomiko" - what was the result?

What was the most captivating scene in the 118th episode (broadcast on September 10th) 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 8:06 AM, at 70.0%.

" 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 level was 70.0% at 8:06 AM. Hatako and Tomiko met again at the movie theater.

Episode 118 begins with Nobu (Imada) reading "Anpanman" to children at Yagi's (Satoshi Tsumabuki) company. However, the children are not interested in Anpanman. Meanwhile, the film "The Gentle Lion" directed by Takashi (Takumi Kitamura) is released and receives positive reviews.

The graph for "attention level," which shows the percentage of people actually watching the TV screen, fluctuated between the mid-60% range and the end of the show at 8:02 a.m., after the opening. It barely reached 70% at its peak, but it never made a big jump, and the level of attention remained stable.

There were two peaks in the story, mainly from the beginning to the middle. The first peak occurred at 8:04 AM, at 69.7%. This is the scene where Yagi (Satoshi Tsumabuki) and Ranko (Yuumi Kawai) talk to Nobu, who is feeling a bit down after her reading isn't going well. The scene just before that, around 8:03 AM, is mainly Yagi talking to her, and from around 8:04 AM, it switches to Ranko.

The interest rate jumped from 65.7% at 8:03 AM, but there wasn't any major change. The cool Ranko started off by saying, "That's a really good story," before accurately pointing out, "However, I think it's a story that's selective in its readers, and won't appeal to everyone." It's typical of Ranko, but it's hard to understand why it's gotten so much attention at this point.

In comparison, the 8:06 a.m. mark, when the highest rating of the day was 70.0%, is very clear. Hatako (Noriko Eguchi), who was watching "The Kind Lion" at the cinema, stood up after the screening and noticed Tomiko (Nanako Matsushima) sitting behind her. When Hatako called out to her, Tomiko, looking a little embarrassed, replied, "Good day." Hatako cheerfully said, "Taka's film was wonderful. It was the most moving film I've ever seen," but Tomiko replied, "That was nice," without any hesitation.

Tomiko holds a handkerchief over her eyes and says, "Oh, there's something in my eye," to which Hatako responds, "It's the same. This movie theater is really dusty." It's a captivating scene that brings out the characters of Tomiko, who is endlessly stubborn, and Hatako, who is a bit of a busybody.

Hatako then adds with a smile, "Mum Mukumuku must be so lucky to have her son Buruburu love her so much." So, how will Taka's mother, Tomiko, respond? "I'll tell you, I'm not Mukumuku, I'm Mukamuka." With that, Tomiko leaves.

The "annoying" was a phrase Hatako uttered to Tomiko in episode 111 (broadcast on September 1st). In response to Tomiko's constant badmouthing of Taka, who refused to acknowledge Taka's radio drama "The Gentle Lion" for which he was the scriptwriter, she lashed out angrily, saying, "Taka wrote such a beautiful story for you, but you keep saying things that ruin it! You're not annoyed, you're annoyed!" She likely never forgot how annoyed she was at the time. Perhaps this time, Tomiko was retaliating. Even Hatako, as expected, could only nod and say, "Yes." It was a scene that had me on edge until the very end, wondering about every word the two of them said.

Incidentally, towards the end of the show, Tokairin (played by Kenjiro Tsuda), Nobu and Taka's boss from their days at Kochi Shimpo, made his first appearance in six weeks, which became a hot topic. The 8:14 a.m. time slot had a rating of 69.1%, the third most popular of the day. What kind of attention will Tokairin's appearance in the 119th episode the following day attract?

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)