Which drama series captivated viewers the most in their first episodes, which began in April 2026? When ranked by "attention level," which indicates how glued viewers were to their screens, the results were completely different from those based on so-called "household viewership ratings." The rankings also differed significantly by gender and age group. It was a chaotic start to the season, giving the impression that viewers were wandering around in search of their favorite dramas.
The data used is "Attention Level," a proprietary index published by REVISIO Corporation, which surveys program and commercial viewing habits in 2,000 households in the Kanto region and 600 households in the Kansai region. Using a dedicated device equipped with a human body recognition sensor, it constantly measures whether people are looking at the TV screen and calculates the percentage of people in front of the TV who were paying close attention to the program.
While viewership ratings show the percentage of households or individuals who tuned into a program, they don't actually reveal how intently they were watching the program on screen. Combining viewership ratings with attention levels reveals the true picture of how a program is being viewed.
This ranking is based on the first episodes of 17 serial dramas airing in prime time or golden time slots on NHK and commercial broadcasters that began airing in April.
◇ "GIFT" is indeed the number one choice in household viewership ratings.
First, the top three shows in REVISIO's "Household TV-On Rate," which is equivalent to the so-called "household viewership rating," are: 1st place is "GIFT" at 8.1%, 2nd place is "Unsolved Cases: Metropolitan Police Department Document Investigator Season 3" (TV Asahi, Thursdays at 9pm) at 7.3%, and 3rd place is "Borderless: Wide-Area Mobile Investigation Team" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm) at 6.2%. Following these are "Canned Mackerel Goes to Space" (Fuji TV, Mondays at 9pm) at 5.4%, "Is It Already Sushi Time!?" (TBS, Tuesdays at 10pm) at 5.3%, and "A Vote in the Galaxy" (Fuji TV, Mondays at 10pm). The top spot is held by the usual drama slots with strong viewership, such as "GIFT" from TBS's Sunday Theater slot, which is almost always in first place, as well as Fuji TV's "Getsuku" and TBS's "Tuesday Drama."
◇The most talked-about topic overall is "Detectives who want to keep separate surnames for married couples," receiving support from men.
However, the ranking of "attention levels," which indicates how much viewers were focused on the drama, shows a very different picture.
The top two shows in the "Overall Individual Attention" ranking were "Married Couple with Different Surnames Detective" (Tuesdays at 9 PM) and "LOVED ONE" (Wednesdays at 10 PM), both from the Fuji TV network. Although their viewership ratings were low, ranking 14th and 12th respectively, it's clear that they captivated a large portion of the viewers who were watching. A notable characteristic of these two shows is their strong support from men. The top two spots in the "Men's Attention" ranking were also held by the same hosts.
"The Detectives Who Keep Their Surnames Separate" stars AI Hashimoto and the eccentric Jiro Sato as a married couple working as detectives in the same police station. The core of the drama revolves around the fact that, due to an unwritten rule in the police force that married couples are not assigned to the same department, they keep their separate surnames and hide the fact that they are married while working together as partners. The series features a mix of serious and comedic episodes, but ultimately, a series of murders gradually leads to an unpredictable turn of events that involves the couple's past and families, culminating in a shocking conclusion in this thought-provoking mystery.
"LOVED ONE" stars Dean Fujioka as Masumi Mizusawa, an eccentric genius forensic pathologist who has performed numerous autopsies as a medical examiner in the United States. It also ranked first in popularity among the "core audience," which is a slightly younger demographic of men and women aged 13 to 49.
◇ "GIFT" ranked 3rd in the "Overall Individual" category for popularity.
In third place in the "Overall Individual" category for attention is "GIFT," which also ranked first in "Household TV-On Rate." This is the latest installment in TBS's popular "Sunday Theater" series, but it doesn't have the same momentum as "Reboot" (TBS, Sundays at 9pm), which aired until March and topped all rankings. Its "Household TV-On Rate" didn't reach double digits, and while it showed its strength by ranking second in attention among "Women" and "Core Viewers," it started in fourth place among "Men." Originally, the "Sunday Theater" slot had a relatively large male audience, but it seems that the main audience is gradually shifting towards women.
◇The most popular answer among women is "There is no tree that does not fall after being cut 10 times."
While women are said to be the main audience for dramas, the rankings for "overall individuals" and "women" differ significantly in terms of attention they receive.
The show that garnered the most attention from women was "There's No Tree That Doesn't Fall After Being Cut Ten Times" (Nippon Television Network, Sundays at 10:30 PM), but it ranked 12th overall among individuals. "Magudaraya no Maria" (NHK General, Saturdays at 10 PM), which ranked 3rd among women, was ranked 14th overall among individuals.
"Error" (TV Asahi, Sundays at 10:15 PM) came in third among the "core audience" consisting of men and women aged 13 to 49, but it sank to last place in the "overall individual" ranking at 17th.
While the winter dramas were dominated by "reboots" in terms of "attention" and "household TV-on rate," the spring dramas lacked any particularly compelling works that truly captured viewers' hearts, resulting in a wide distribution of preferences across genders and generations.
Will the final rankings also see a similar close competition? Or will one show emerge as a clear winner, like the "reboot" winter dramas? (Text by Hiroki Sasamoto/MANTANWEB)
