The fourth special episode of the NHK morning drama series " Anpan ," starring Mio Imada, titled "The Inheritance," aired on October 2nd, marking the end of the four-part series. The story of Ranko (Asadora Yuumi Kawai) and Yagi (Satoshi Tsumabuki), which had been attracting viewers' attention during the main series, was not shown, leading to a variety of reactions on social media.
In the 129th episode of the main series (broadcast on September 25th), Yagi sends Ranko a birthday card, saying, "It's a little early for your birthday, though." Ranko casually opens the card and notices a ring stuck inside. As if to suppress a smile, Ranko silently prepares to leave Yagi's office. At that moment, Yagi says, "Think about it when you get back," to which Ranko replies clearly, "Yes," and leaves the office.
The main series aired its final episode on September 26th, with the special edition airing over four consecutive nights starting on September 29th. The first episode focused on Kentaro (Fumiya Takahashi), the second on Meiko (Nanoka Hara), the third on Takuya (Motoki Omori), and the fourth on Hoshiko (Furukawa Kotone). Ranko appeared in the first episode, showing her struggles behind the scenes of Kentaro's proposal, but the aftermath of her relationship with Yagi was never shown.
On social media, various comments were made, such as, "I'm sad about Anpan... I'll keep waiting for the day when we can see the rest of Yagi and Ranko's story!", "I wanted to see what happened to Yagi and Ranko afterwards - I hope they can find happiness together", "I guess we'll just have to look forward to the Red and White Song Contest at the end of the year", "Wouldn't it be nice to make a movie version with Ranko and Yagi as the main characters?", "I think it's fine to leave it up to your imagination what happens to Ranko and Yagi afterwards. I think that's fine", and "The fact that it's not clearly stated leaves a lingering impression, which is great."
