The winter drama series that began in January 2026 are nearing the middle of their run. When we ranked the dramas by "attention level," which indicates the degree to which viewers in front of the TV are glued to the screen, the top spots were slightly different from the "viewer ratings" ranking. What was it that truly kept viewers glued to the screen from the very first episode, surpassing the number one "viewer ratings" TBS series "Reboot" (Sunday 9 PM)? We'll introduce the rankings by gender and generation.
The data used was a proprietary index called "attention level" published by REVISIO Inc., which 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.
Viewer ratings tell us the percentage of households and individuals who tuned in to a program, but they don't tell us how intently people in front of the TV were watching. By combining viewer ratings with attention levels, we can get a true picture of how a program is being viewed.
This ranking was based on the first episodes of 17 drama series that have been broadcast in prime time or golden time slots on NHK and commercial broadcasters since January.
◇The one that has attracted the most attention by far is "The Toyotomi Brothers!", but...
In terms of attention, the NHK Taiga drama "Toyotomi Brothers!" (General, Sunday 8pm and others) came in first by a long way, not only in the "overall" ranking for all ages, but also in the rankings by gender for "male" and "female," and among the relatively young "core audience" (men and women aged 13-49). In terms of "household TV on rate," which is the so-called "viewer rating," it came in second place, losing first place to TBS's "Reboot," but there is no doubt that it captured the interest of viewers from the very first episode, regardless of gender or age.
However, because NHK's taiga dramas are broadcast over the course of a year, the nature of these dramas is somewhat different, so this time we'll focus on the works ranked second and below. For this reason, instead of the top three works, we've colored in the rankings table the top three works from commercial broadcasters.
◇ "Reboot" was surpassed by "The Uncertain Court of Themis" and "Former Forensic Investigation Housewife."
"Reboot," which ranked first in household TV tune-in rates, unfortunately came in fourth in "overall individuals" attention. The "Sunday Theatre" slot in which it is broadcast is said to have many male fans, but although it came in fourth in the "female" ranking, it was a little low at sixth place among "males." It also did not perform so well among the relatively younger "core audience," coming in fifth place. As it is a hot topic, attention will be focused on how viewing trends will change as the story unfolds.
Beating out the "champion" of commercial TV dramas, "Reboot," NHK General TV's "The Uncertain Courtroom of Themis" (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.) came in second in the "overall" attention ranking. Considering that "men" came in third and the relatively young "core audience" came in 10th, it appears that the audience that was glued to the show were older men. Perhaps the reason it captured the hearts of this audience is that it offers an enjoyable legal mystery glimpse into the lives of judges and the behind-the-scenes of trials, which are usually hidden from view. Matsuyama Kenichi's solid performance as Ando Kiyoharu, a judge with a developmental disorder, also played a major role, making it easy to enter the show with ease.
Coming in third place in the "Overall Individual" category is TV Tokyo's "Former Forensic Investigation Housewife" (Fridays, 9 p.m.), the highest-rated drama among commercial broadcasters. Along with fourth place among "males" and sixth place among "females," it has captured the hearts of a fair number of viewers, but the fact that it leans more toward "males" may be due to the fact that it stars Marika Matsumoto and has a strong mystery element. The drama centers on Shiori Yoshioka (Matsumoto), a former "ace of forensic investigation" who is now a full-time housewife, who becomes involved in criminal investigations by helping her husband (Yokoyama Yu), a rookie detective. As there are long-running dramas on other networks, perhaps there's something about the word "forensic investigation" that draws viewers. The key to the future may lie in whether it can capture the hearts of the relatively young "core audience," which ranked 16th.
◇ "Reunion," which ranked 5th among "individuals overall," was 2nd among "women" and "core viewers."
If "The Uncertain Court of Themis" and "Former Forensic Science Housewife," which surpassed "Reboot" in fourth place in the "Individual Overall" ranking, are likely to have captured the attention of men, then TV Asahi's "Reunion: Silent Truth" (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.), which follows "Reboot" in fifth place in the "Individual Overall" ranking, can be said to have captured the hearts of women.
"Reunion: Silent Truth" came in second place behind "Toyotomi Brothers!" among both female viewers and the relatively young core audience, showing outstanding results among commercial winter dramas. However, for some reason, it only ranked 14th among male viewers, which had an impact. If it can capture male viewers by the final episode, it has the potential to rise significantly in the rankings.
◇Are "Okome no Onna" and "Yandoku!" popular among men?
TV Asahi's "Okome no Onna" (Thursdays, 9 p.m.), which ranked 6th among "individuals overall," was 2nd among "men," but 12th among "women," and 9th among "core viewers." It's interesting to note that, despite being a drama on the same network, the results are so opposite to "Reunion: Silent Truth."
Coming in at 7th place in the "Individual Overall" category for attention was Fuji TV's "Yandoku!" (Mondays, 9pm), which was supported by male support and came in 5th among "Men".
◇Are women hooked on "Ramune Monkey"?
One interesting ranking by gender and age group was Fuji TV's "Ramune Monkey" (Thursdays, 10 p.m.), which came in third for popularity among women. The main characters are three middle-aged men who were junior high school students in 1988, and their conversations are peppered with references to the anime "Mobile Suit Gundam." While the content seemed to be more popular with men, at least for the first episode, it was overwhelmingly female, coming in third among women and 15th among men.
Incidentally, in the rankings for the relatively younger "core audience," following "Toyotomi Brothers!" and "Reunion: Silent Truth," the third place is TBS's "Mirai no Musuko" (Tuesdays at 10 p.m.), and in fourth place is Nippon Television's "Punch-Drunk Woman" (Sundays at 10:30 p.m.). This is quite different from the rankings for "individuals as a whole," but it seems that the more "romance" elements a drama incorporates, the higher it ranks among the "core audience."
◇The results of the popular "Something in Winter, Something in Spring"
Also noteworthy is Nippon Television's "Winter Something, Spring Something" (Wednesdays 10pm), which ranked low in the "individuals as a whole," "men," "women," and "core audience" categories. The drama is a continuous dialogue between the heroine, Sugisaki Hana, and the man, without the excessive background explanations that are common in TV dramas. In that sense, it is a unique drama, and it has become a hot topic online, with people splitting into two camps: those who love it and those who hate it. It will be interesting to see how the final episode will turn out once the content of the drama is fully understood. (Text by Sasamoto Hirozai/MANTAN)
