What was the scene that most captivated viewers in the 84th episode (broadcast on January 29th) of the NHK morning drama "Bakeke" (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring actress Takaishi Akari? When we looked at minute-by-minute trends in "attention level" (surveyed by REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the percentage of viewers glued to the screen, the peak was 62.4% at 8:09 AM.
"Bakeke" is the 113th morning drama. The heroine, Toki Matsuno, and her husband, Lefkada Heaven, are based on Setsu Koizumi, the daughter of a fallen samurai from Matsue, and Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo), known for his works such as "Kwaidan." The drama boldly reconstructs the characters, changing some of the names of characters and organizations to create a fictionalized portrayal.
◇The calm before the storm? Attention to the 84th event remained flat
In episode 84, Toki (Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow) bump into Sawa (Marui Wan) and Shoda (Hama Shogo) when they are together. Toki is surprised by the unexpected reunion with Shoda, but is happy to see Sawa again after a long time. Sawa explains that Shoda is helping her study for the teacher's exam. Heaven takes a liking to Shoda and invites Shoda and Sawa to her home.
The "attention rate," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching TV who were intently watching the screen, had been at its highest point of over 70% this week, but for the 84th episode, it had fallen to the low 60% range. However, it rarely fluctuated wildly, and often remained flat for long periods.
◇Now you can relax? Toki and Sawa's exchange is back
Before the opening, from 8:00 AM to 8:03 AM, Toki was walking with Heaven when he bumped into Sawa and Shoda, who were hearing insects chirping. It was a scene where Toki and Sawa met for the first time in a long time, and it was exciting to see how things would unfold. The interest rate remained roughly flat at 60-61%.
After the opening scene, Heaven, who has taken a liking to Shoda, invites him and Sawa to her home. Heaven and Shoda sit on the veranda, while Toki and Sawa sit in the tatami room and start a conversation. Attention levels started off relatively low, in the high 50s, but at 8:09 AM they hit the highest of the day, 62.4%. They remained in the 60-62% range for four minutes until 8:12 AM.
The 8:09 AM segment continues with Heaven, who suspects a relationship between Shoda and Sawa, asking Shoda in English. After asking "What will you do?" in English, he adds "Osawa-chan" in Japanese, which makes Sawa and Toki, who are sitting in the tatami room, wonder what he's talking about. Sawa asks Toki, who is studying English, "Can't you hear me?", but Toki replies, "I can't understand you at all, only Osawa-chan." Sawa immediately chimes in, "That's the same as me," to which Toki laughs.
Afterwards, Toki also begins to suspect something about Sawa and Shoda's relationship. "Could it be that we were in the way?" "Wasn't today supposed to be our rendezvous?" Toki asks, and Sawa thinks for a moment before yelling in surprise.
At around 8:10am, Toki keeps repeating the word "rendezvous," to which Sawa denies it, saying, "It's not a rendezvous." Sawa is excited and looks cute as she raises her hand, saying she's getting hot. At around 8:11am, Toki reports that Nami (Sato Honami) has come to visit him and they've talked about Sawa. After talking about how Nami had said, "She'll get out of there on her own, unlike us," Toki says to Sawa, "But maybe she's trying too hard on her own." The fun conversation that follows makes it seem like Toki and Sawa's relationship has completely returned, and it was a heartwarming scene for viewers.
◇ "Osawa, switch on"
The 8:12 AM cutscene begins with Nishikori (Yoshizawa Ryo) reporting to Shimane Prefecture Governor Eto Yasumune (Sano Shiro) that he has decided to accept the principal's offer, followed by a scene of Shoda visiting Heaven's house again. This time, Shoda is alone. Toki, Heaven, and Shoda all close their eyes and sit on the veranda, listening to the insects in the garden.
The level of attention had remained relatively stable up until this point, but at 8:13 a.m. it dropped slightly. However, the scene was still very interesting right up until the end.
Hearing the sounds of insects, Shoda says, "There are some umaoi as well," and mutters, "Switch." Toki asks, "By the way, what happened today?" Shoda laughs and says, "I just wanted to meet you two. I had a lot of fun talking to you the other day."
At around 8:14 AM, Shoda began, "But... this isn't really about anything... Osawa..." and Toki and Heaven suddenly became excited. Shoda quickly tried to cover it up by saying, "No, no, it's nothing. Well, I came here today because I had a really good time talking to you two the other day. No, no, it's not about anything... we're not talking about anything..." but it was already too late.
Heaven exchanges a wink with Toki and asks Shoda, "Really?" Toki responds, "Are you sure it's true?" Toki mutters, "Osawa, switch..." and Heaven leans closer to Shoda and whispers, "Switch?"
The exchange between Heaven and Toki at 8:14 am was particularly funny. However, although the interest rate recovered slightly, it only reached 58.9%.
The data used is REVISIO's proprietary indicator "Attention Level" (Kanto region, preliminary figures) published by the company that surveys TV program and commercial viewing habits in 2,000 households in the Kanto region and 600 households in the Kansai region. A dedicated device equipped with a human body recognition sensor constantly measures whether people are looking at the TV screen, and calculates the percentage of people in front of the TV who are paying close attention to the program. (Text by Sasamoto Hirozai/MANTAN)
