What was the most captivating scene in the 96th episode (aired February 16th) of the NHK morning drama "Bakeke" (General TV, Monday-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 highest point was 69.83% at 8:11 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.
◇Toki and Heaven are confused about their new lives
Episode 96 follows Toki (Takaishi) and Heaven (Tommy Bastow) as they move to Kumamoto and begin their new life together. The Matsuno family has grown into a large household, with Tsukasasuke (Okabe Takashi) and Fumi (Ikewaki Chizuru) joining them from Matsue: Takeru (Sugita Rairin), Masaki (Hidaka Yukito), Nagami (Onishi Nobumitsu), and the maid Kuma (Natsume Towa). While they might expect a fulfilling life in their new home, the family can't hide their confusion at living with a maid for the first time.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching TV who were paying close attention to the screen, showed an unusual pattern of peaking three times in the beginning and middle of the show, before dropping towards the end, where it usually hits its highest point.
◇ Nishikori is not in Kumamoto!
The peak of the early episode is at 8:03 AM, when Tsukasasuke complains about the boiled lotus root served for breakfast, and the maid Kuma takes the lotus root away from him along with the plate. Tsukasasuke's nitpicking, even if it's just pickled lotus root in Kumamoto, is infuriating. The breakfast is a Western-style meal with bread, but Toki orders clam soup, and the scene continues with Toki trying to see if the bread and clam soup go well together. It's a morning scene with Toki, Heaven, and others starting their new life in Kumamoto. Typical of "Bakeke," at first glance, it's an inconsequential exchange of conversation, but in the 20th week, Kuma's "personality" will likely have a ripple effect on the family.
If the first "peak" is when Toki, Tsukasasuke, Fumi and the rest of the Matsuno family struggle to adjust to their new life in Kumamoto, the next "peak" at 8:09 AM (67.4%) is when Heaven feels uncomfortable about her new life. At 8:09 AM, Heaven, unable to bear the cold at the Fifth High School where she works, asks her colleague, English teacher Sakuyama (Hashimoto Jun), to "turn on the stove and find the island," but he responds, "You do that yourself. You know where the matches are, don't you?" Sakuyama, a rationalist, is not as kind as Nishikori.
In the following episode, at 8:10 AM, Heaven complains to fellow English teacher Robert (Joe Tremaine) in English, "Kumamoto has none of the good old Japanese things." It's shortly after the Seinan War, and Kumamoto Castle has burned down, leaving the city filled with soldiers. Sakuyama, who happens to be passing by, warns her, "That's fine. This is the time to strengthen and promote civilization and culture," and "Please keep that in mind," but Heaven, a fan of ghost stories, is not convinced. This scene explains Heaven's discomfort in detail, but the attention rating drops to the 64% range.
◇Playing with balls is prohibited, but is it okay to pull out weeds?
It then reversed course, reaching its highest point of the day at 8:11 AM, at 69.83%. At 11 minutes, the story returns to the Matsuno family members. Freed from housework and with free time, Toki and Fumi try to have fun playing the children's song "Where Are You?" with their temari balls, but Kuma takes them away, saying, "If anything were to happen, your husband would be angry." Meanwhile, Tsukasa is allowed to pull out weeds, but he carefully leaves some weeds, knowing that if he pulls them all out, there will be nothing left to do.
After this, the scene shifts to dinner, where Tsukasa complains to Heaven, "I haven't felt a burning tingling sensation since coming to Kumamoto, and I don't feel like I'm alive," and "If this keeps up, I'll end up a wimp." However, at around 8:13 AM, the viewership dropped sharply to the 58% range. The ratings remained at that level, with barely any increase, until the ending.
Heaven and the Matsuno family seemed to have escaped the "Rashamen Incident" in Matsue and found a peaceful life in Kumamoto, but it seems their new life has become full of confusion.
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)
