The fourth episode of the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring Akari Takaishi , was broadcast on October 2nd, and viewers responded to the countdown caption inserted in the final scene that read, "5,612 days until the two meet."
In the fourth episode, Tsukasa ( Miharu Fukuchi Okabe) suddenly disappears from Toki (Miharu Fukuchi), Fumi (Chizuru Ikewaki ), and Tsukasanosuke ( Fumiyo Kohinata ). When Tsukasanosuke does not return home for several days, the Matsuno family becomes increasingly worried.
One day, on her way to school, Toki spots Tsukasanosuke wandering around a sandbar near a bridge. Tsukasanosuke tells Toki that the price of rabbits has plummeted, making them practically free, and that he has accumulated so much debt that he could never repay it even if he worked his whole life. Tsukasanosuke asks Toki, "Will you work for me? Starting tomorrow?" and adds, "No matter how poor you are, I will always let you drink clam soup," causing Toki to collapse in shock.
That night, Toki had shimeko soup made with rabbit meat for dinner. Crying, Toki begged Fumi to tell him a ghost story. Whenever Toki was feeling sad, he always asked Fumi to tell him a ghost story, but on this particular day, he felt nothing but resentment.
Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, Lefkada Haven (Tommy Bastow), a newspaper reporter who had lost his job and was on the verge of starvation, was living a life of bitterness, just like Toki. "Money, bread, family. I have had nothing in my life. I don't even have a single friend in my life who will read this will," Haven muttered to himself, putting the gun to his temple and pulling the trigger. However, there was no bullet in the gun, and Haven stood stunned in his messy room.
At this scene, a caption was inserted saying, "It took 5,612 days for the two to meet," and the fourth episode ended with the Snake (Watanabe Eriko) and the Frog (Kimura Miho) exclaiming in surprise, "If two people like this could meet, then life is... isn't it?"
On social media, comments such as "5,612 days = about 15 years," "About 15 more years," "5,612 days until the two meet lol, a long, long time lol," and "What an amazing countdown of over 15 years!" were posted. Many people from the Showa era were reminded of the popular anime "Space Battleship Yamato," with others saying things like "Is it the Space Battleship Yamato style?", "A countdown like the first one since Space Battleship Yamato lol," and "'X days left' reminded me of Yamato."
