The 127th 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 23rd, and the exchange between Yagi ( Satoshi Tsumabuki) and Ranko (Yuumi Kawai), who revealed their tragic pasts, became a hot topic among viewers.
Ranko is currently working to interview people who have experienced the war and pass on their words to future generations. Yagi had previously refused to be interviewed by Ranko, but after realizing that Ranko, Nobu (Imada), and Takashi (Takumi Kitamura) are thinking of the war from 30 years ago as something that happened to them, he tells Ranko, "I'll accept your interview, even though I turned you down once. I want to face you properly."
Ranko began by saying, "Before we spoke, someone told me that you were once awarded the Order of the Golden Kite, Mr. Yagi." Yagi replied, "It's true. A soldier's medal is determined by how many enemy soldiers they kill." He continued, "It was my first tour of duty, in the summer of the second year after the war with China began," and began to recount his own experiences.
Yagi's platoon was surrounded by the enemy, and his superiors and comrades fell one by one. Crouched and trembling on the spot, Yagi heard a comrade cry, "We're going to die if we keep going like this. I don't want that to happen." When that comrade was also killed, Yagi picked up a machine gun and fired away.
"Soon, night fell. This time, the enemy launched a night attack. He jumped at me, and I grappled with him, stabbing him with my bayonet. Our faces met, and I could clearly hear his heartbeat gradually fading away, until it finally disappeared. I used his body as a sandbag and waited for morning. Then, a wallet fell out of the corpse's pocket. Inside it was a photograph. A photograph of the wife and child of the enemy soldier I had stabbed to death."
Yagi was crying bitterly. Ranko took hold of Yagi's trembling hand. Ranko gently embraced the crying Yagi, tears streaming down her face.
Comments on social media included, "A stunning performance," "I can't stop crying," "A heavy cross to bear for Yagi," "It's so sad to think that he has lived with such anguish for so long," "Ranko is the only one who can cry with him and hold him...," "Now that he's been able to share the things he's kept in his heart with Ranko, I think the distance between them has grown a lot closer," and "I hope they both find happiness."
