The 122nd episode of the NHK Asadora drama "Anpan " (General TV, Monday to Saturday 8:00 AM and other times), starring Mio Imada , was broadcast on September 16th, and viewers reacted to the person who came to visit Takashi ( Takumi Kitamura).
◇The following contains spoilers
In episode 122, production of the "Anpanman" musical begins following a suggestion from Takuya (Motoki Omori). One day, Nobu (Imada) and Taka receive a call from Ranko (Yuumi Kawai). They rush to Yagi's (Satoshi Tsumabuki) company, where they find Kazuaki (playing a dual role), the son of the late Iwao Tagawa (Noritake Hamao), a war comrade of Taka and Yagi.
Kazuaki has a son, but says he doesn't know how to interact with him as a father. "I think it's because I have no memory of my father. That's why I want to know, even if just a little, about him," he says, asking Taka and Yagi, "Why did my father die?"
After a moment of speechlessness, Yagi began, "It was a little boy who took your father's life." Yagi continued, "The boy was an orphan of Chinese descent. He was very attached to Corporal Tagawa, and his father loved him very much." Takashi added, "Iwao saw you, even though he had never met you, in the boy, and loved him very much."
Kazuaki asks, "Wait a moment. Why would a child who was so attached to him take his father's life?" Taka tries to stop him, but Yagi tells him, "The boy was the son of a guerrilla. His parents were killed by Japanese soldiers during a guerrilla suppression operation." Kazuaki is shocked and says, "And that Japanese soldier... Dad," but Yagi says, "Your father was simply following military orders. The boy avenged his father with his father's keepsake gun, and was crying immediately afterwards. He said, 'Iwao-san was my kind teacher.'"
Kazuaki asks if the boy was executed, but Yagi replies, "No, I helped him escape," and Taka says, "That was what Iwao wanted. Iwao continued to protect the boy until the end and took his last breath. If there hadn't been a war, the two of them would have been able to open up to each other more than anyone else."
Kazuaki's eyes widen as he asks, "Why? Why did my father continue to protect that boy? Why did he have to be killed?" When Taka replies, "That's war," Kazuaki's expression becomes complicated, then he frowns in pain.
Nobu chased after Kazuaki as he was leaving, saying, "This is how we feel. If you'd like, please read it with your child," and handed him the "Anpanman" picture book. Kazuaki bowed his head and said, "Thank you," and Nobu thanked him, saying, "Thank you too. Thank you for accepting it." Nobu continued to stare at Kazuaki's back as he left, a sad expression on her face.
On social media, viewers reacted to Kazuaki's appearance with comments such as "What?", "Iwao?!", "Iwao's here!! Who is that?", and "Iwao's son?", as well as comments such as "Oh, so now we have to face the Iwao issue," "The Iwao story is painful," "Yagi-san spoke," "Yagi-san is painful," "This is an extremely painful episode after the holidays," and "It's heavy, too heavy, after the holidays."
