What was the scene that most captivated viewers in the 104th episode (aired on February 26th) of the NHK Asadora drama "Bakebake " (General TV, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 AM and other times), starring actress Akari Takaishi ? 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 72.9% at 8:10 AM.
" Bakebake" is the 113th morning Asadora. 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(Yakumo Koizumi), 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.
◇Attention levels spike at 8:10 AM
Episode 104 continues with Ise Yoshino (Tommy Bastow). The legends they mention are all familiar to Heaven, and Heaven gradually becomes annoyed. At that time, Toki (Takaishi) asks him to tell her the story of how Ise is cursed. Ise stubbornly refuses to talk, but finally opens up.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching TV who were paying close attention to the screen, remained somewhat low in the early and middle stages, hovering around the low 60s, as it had been the day before, but suddenly reached the 70s at 8:10 a.m. The graph showed a slow decline towards the end, mainly in the high 60s.
◇What is the curse that Ise is carrying?
Ise, who stubbornly refused to talk, finally began explaining about the "curse" between the latter half of 8:05 AM and the first half of 8:09 AM. After much teasing, Ise began talking about the curse, but the attention rate remained roughly flat at 61-63%.
Here's Ise's story. When Ise was 10 years old, his parents died of illness one after the other. There was a legend in the village that if two people died in the same house within a year, the third would soon follow, and any fourth person onwards would be cursed for the rest of their lives, even if they survived. It was said that if they built a "doll grave" with a straw doll inside, they could avoid the curse.
However, Ise and his brother didn't build a doll grave, believing that the story was just superstition. Then his brother passed away, and Ise, left behind, hastily built a "doll grave." However, he fell seriously ill and was on the verge of death, and was stricken with debt. Having lived a life that felt like a curse, even being kicked out of the house by his relatives, Ise reveals that since then he has come to believe in the legend.
The room fell silent as the conversation was so heavy. Before the conversation could begin, Mokichi "evacuated" to the next room. As the conversation began, the maids Kuma (Natsume Towa) and Tsukasanosuke(Takashi Okabe) also fled the room. Ise regretted his decision, saying, "That's why I didn't want to. If I keep talking like this, I'll end up like this," and tried to leave the room.
◇Toki takes on Ise's "curse"
The scene immediately follows this, at 8:10 AM, when the highest reading of the day, 72.9%, was recorded. Toki suddenly stands up and quickly sits down where Ise had been sitting. Mokichi worries, saying, "It's still warm... You'll be cursed," and "According to legend, you shouldn't make fun of it," but Toki asserts, "No way you're a fool... In fact... I believe it!" and happily adds, "Being cursed... sounds fun... it gives me goosebumps..." This all takes place in the 10-minute range.
Next, at around 8:11 AM, Toki's breathing became increasingly heavy as she explained her "situation," saying, "It's here... I can feel it. Wow, it's so heavy. My head... hurts..." She continued, "I don't know if I'm okay, but... it's fun... Oise-san... unhappy... has possessed me. From now on, I'm sure... good things will happen. I didn't have any... good things happen to me in the past, either. But now... there are lots of good things happening!" She smiled. This was around the 11-minute mark. The attention level dropped to 68.5%, but quickly rose back up to 69.9% at around 8:12 AM.
Toki's smile remained unchanged as he continued to get excited, and Ise smiled back at him. Then, when Ise expressed his gratitude, Toki collapsed on the spot, perhaps relieved to hear it.
It is said that sitting on the warmth of another person will bring misfortune to you. Toki did just that, and the drama took a sudden turn at around 8:10am. What would happen to Toki after his unexpected behavior? Viewers were likely glued to the screen.
It is unclear whether he was cursed or simply overwhelmed with excitement, but viewers continued to pay close attention to Toki's strange reactions afterwards, even though their interest waned slightly, and when Toki collapsed around 8:12 a.m., attention probably rose again.
◇ "I just want to be cursed."
At 8:13 AM, Toki enters Heaven's study where she is writing that night. When Heaven notices her, she says, "Your story... is sad. But... you're a wonderful man," to which Toki laughs and says, "I just... want to be cursed." Toki is not simply portrayed as a good heroine, but rather, she "wants to be cursed." It's a touching scene, showing the interaction between the two who have become quite a good couple, and although the interest rate dropped slightly, it still maintained a relatively high level of interest at 68.3%.
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)
