The 22nd episode of NHK's evening drama "Someday, in Zero Gravity Sky" (General TV, Monday to Thursday 10:45pm), starring actors Kiriyu Aso and Misato Morita, was broadcast on October 14th, and viewers were moved to tears by the final developments.
The drama features four girls from the astronomy club who, in high school, shared their dream of "going to space together." As they grow up and go their separate ways, they suddenly reunite with their forgotten dreams. "If we had a micro-satellite, maybe even we could aim for space today..." Encouraged by their "older selves," they begin their second youth...
Kiryu will play the main character, Mochizuki Asuka, while Morita will play Hibino Hikari, whom Asuka reunites with. Other cast members include Katayama Yuki as Mizuhara Shu, a friend of Asuka and Hikari's in the astronomy club, Ito Marika as Kiuchi Haruko, and Daiken Okudaira as Kanazawa Sui, a university student in a space engineering lab. The drama is narrated by Tasuku Emoto.
In episode 22, Asuka has been working hard with Hikari, Shu, and Haruko to develop an artificial satellite, but Hikari's passing means they can no longer continue the project. Just like in the summer of their third year of high school when the astronomy club fell apart, Asuka and the others continue to drift apart, and Sui worries about them and calls out to them, but Asuka's heart remains heavy.
The next day, Asuka has a fever and can't eat anything all day, so she tries Hikari's recommended way of eating yakisoba.
"Hikari's recommended way of eating yakisoba" is something that Hikari, who was hospitalized after her cancer recurred, told Asuka and the others who came to visit her. Hikari said that she wanted to eat something junky when she was released from the hospital, so after making a regular cup of yakisoba, she would pour natto on top, then top with kimchi and chopped green onions, drizzle with sesame oil, mix well before eating, but Asuka was reluctant to eat it this way.
However, Asuka decides to try it herself and finds it delicious. Then, Emoto's "heavenly voice" overlaps, saying, "When I'm sad, it makes me even sadder that food tastes delicious." Asuka then begins to sob alone. "Why did it have to disappear?" she asks.
Comments on social media included, "So they make some seriously modified yakisoba here?", "I can't believe it would have turned out like this...! The cup of yakisoba that Hikari recommended is delicious, so it makes it even more sad...", "I couldn't stop crying when I saw Asuka connect with Hikari over the special yakisoba... I wondered if it had to happen at this timing", "Yakisoba really makes me cry... what is with this sense of loss...", and "The story progresses without anyone shedding a tear until the last minute, and then at the end, everyone bursts into tears while silently slurping down the junky yakisoba... the direction is genius."
