What was the most captivating scene in the 102nd episode (aired February 24th) 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 peak was 72.2% at 8:13 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.
◇Struggling to find a subject for Heaven
In episode 102, Heaven (Tommy Bastow) receives a money order from the United States for 80 yen as payment for his manuscript. Everyone is surprised to receive this much money, more than he expected, and Heaven declares that he will earn money by writing. However, he has more school work than he expected, and in frustration at not being able to write, he takes it out on his family. Toki asks everyone to help Heaven with her writing, and they all begin looking for a topic for Heaven.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching TV who were paying close attention to the screen, fluctuated slightly in the middle of the show, then gradually rose, creating small peaks. At the end of the show, it reached a peak of over 70%. The peak in the latter half was related to the search for a subject for Heaven.
For example, at 8:08 AM (67.3%), Toki calls everyone together to gather material for Heaven. Hearing this, Tsukasasuke (played by Okabe Takashi) replies with a straight face, "Then you can write about me." Toki brushes it off with a casual "If that's what interests you," but Fumi (played by Ikewaki Chizuru) stands next to him, silently glaring at Tsukasasuke. While the overall tone of the video is one of serious exchanges, the parts between Tsukasasuke and Fumi are the highlights, making for some amusing moments that will make you chuckle.
The next "mountain" at 8:10 AM (69.5%) shows the maid Kuma (played by Natsume Towa) trying to hide Heaven's chopsticks in a gap in the kitchen. Kuma seems to think that if she could write the manuscript when the bread griddle disappeared, then she could write if the chopsticks disappeared. Everyone is thinking hard, but their responses are a little strange. It's quite difficult to suddenly find a subject for Heaven's manuscript.
◇ With the mysterious appearance of Ise, attention is at its peak.
After that, interest dropped to the 63% range, but then rebounded, hitting the highest point of the day at 8:13 AM, at 72.2%. At 8:14 AM, it was at 71.6%, and interest remained high until the end. At 8:13 AM and 8:14 AM, the same subject matter was being explored, but it was very different from the others. A mysterious woman, Yoshino Ise (played by Imo Yu), appears before Toki and Fumi, and the story suddenly takes a horror-like turn.
Toki and Fumi went to a bookstore but didn't find much. On the way back, they came across a small Jizo statue and prayed to it, hoping to find a good subject. At that moment, Toki noticed a woman with a gloomy aura, Ise, watching them. Approaching, Ise suddenly called out, "You're... a rickshaw puller... right?" When the rickshaw puller, Nagami (Onishi Nobumitsu), responds, "Yes, but..." she asks, "There's a legend that if you pray to Jizo to be a rickshaw puller, your wish will not come true... did you know that?"
Nagami says he wasn't praying, just putting his hands together, but Ise snaps, "Liars... will become snakes in the next life." Toki shows interest, saying, "What? This guy... is interesting," and "Heaven, don't you think he'll like you?"
With the appearance of Ise, a mysterious woman who seems possessed, the story takes an unexpected turn. Following Kuma's previous comment that "my unhappiness is transferred to others," many viewers may have had a hunch that Week 21 would be an interesting one, and interest in the series has suddenly risen.
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)
