The final episode (episode 48) of the 2025 NHK Taiga drama " UNBOUND (Berabou) " (General TV, Sunday 8pm and others), starring actor Ryusei Yokohama , was broadcast on December 14th, and it was revealed that the average viewership rating (according to Video Research, Kanto region, same below) was 9.5% for households and 5.3% for individuals.
The highest viewership rating for the show was 12.6% for households and 7.3% for individuals in the first episode. The average viewership rating for all 48 episodes was 9.5% for households and 5.3% for individuals.
" UNBOUND (Berabou)" is the 64th taiga drama, depicting the life of Tsutaya Juzaburo(or "Tsutajyu" for short), who is said to have laid the foundations for Japan's media industry and pop culture. The script was written by Yoshiko Morishita, known for her work on the popular drama "Drama 10: Ooku," which aired on NHK two years ago.
In the final episode, Tsutaju reopens his shop and continues to sell Sharaku's art. He then expands into the field of Japanese studies and continues to work energetically as a bookseller. However, one day, Tsutaju falls ill with beriberi.
While Tei (AI Hashimoto Ai) and Utamaro (Sometani Shota) are worried about him, he continues to create works and cultivate the world with calligraphy, along with his friends Masanori (Jun Hashimoto), Nanpo (Kenta Kiritani), and Kisanji (Omi Toshinori), despite his illness. Then, one night, Tsutae has a strange dream.
Kurosuke Inari (played by Ayase Haruka) appears in his dream disguised as a shrine maiden. He is told that the signal for his "time of death" and his arrival is a wooden clapper. Tsutaju consults with Tei about what to do with the store after he dies. Then, just as it seems that his arrival is about to begin, his friends rush in one after another, and at the signal of Nanpo's cry of "We're farts!" they all shout "Heh!" They begin fooling around, trying to bring Tsutaju back to this world. Then, waking up from the brink of death, Tsutaju mutters, "The wooden clappers... I can't hear them," to which everyone responds with an unconscious "Huh?" Then the sound of the wooden clappers rings out, "Clang clang!"... and so the story unfolds.
