The NHK Asadora drama series "Bakebake, " which ended in March (NHK General, Monday-Saturday 8:00 AM, etc.), aired 125 episodes over six months. Of all the episodes, which ones did viewers watch most intently? The story of Toki Matsuno ( Tommy Bastow Akari Takaishi), the daughter of a fallen samurai family who becomes the wife of Heaven (Tommy Basto), unfolds with many twists and turns. Compared to previous Asadora dramas, it focused on a smaller cast of characters and carefully depicted Toki's relationships with her relatives and friends, leading viewers to a deeper understanding of Heaven and Toki's journeys.
On May 4th, "Compilation Part 1 & 2 (Part 1)" (NHK General, 8:15 AM) and "Compilation Part 3 & 4 (Part 2)" (NHK General, 9:50 AM) will be broadcast. Before we can once again experience the world of "Bakebake," we looked back at the show using its "attention level," which indicates how captivated viewers are at their television screens.
The data used is "Attention Level," a unique index published by REVISIO Co., Ltd., 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 intently watching the program. The higher the number, the more people were engrossed in the program and couldn't take their eyes off it.
◇The number one choice for "overall individual" is, as expected, "I don't want to be hugged!"
First, I looked at the top 10 most popular episodes in the "Overall Individuals" category, which covers a wide range of age groups, as well as the top 10 episodes for "Men" and "Women."
The top-ranked episode in the "Overall Individual" category was episode 34 (aired November 13, 2025), which recorded a 74.0% attention rating. This episode became such a hot topic that Heaven's line, "I don't want to hug you!", trended on the social media platform X. In terms of peak attention ratings per minute (preliminary figures), the episode hit a record high of 83.0% at 8:12 AM, the time when the line "I Bakebake!" was spoken. Episode 34, which was ranked number one in the first half of the season, continued to demonstrate its strength throughout the entire series.
In episode 34, Toki's family finally finds out that she has started working as a maid for Heaven (Tommy Bastow). When her mother, Fumi (Chizuru Chizuru Ikewaki), presses her, saying, "You're getting paid so much money, so that means...", Toki gives in and, with tears in her eyes, reveals that she has become Heaven's concubine. The episode becomes more interesting when her grandfather, Kan'emon (Fumiyo Kohinata), and father, Tsukasanosuke(Takashi Okabe), "storm" into Heaven's house.
Kan'emon brandishes his wooden sword at Heaven, and Tsukasanosuke grabs Nishikiori (Ryo Yoshizawa) by the collar, saying, "You tricked my daughter." Heaven, who doesn't understand Japanese, doesn't understand why they're angry and asks Nishikiori for an explanation. When Nishikiori explains that it's Toki's family who are angry, and that no family would be happy if their daughter became a concubine, Heaven starts to get angry. "This is no joke. Don't mess with me," he shouts in English, and then in Japanese, "Otoki-san, concubine... shaman... That's wrong. Otoki-san, concubine! Okay?"
In fact, perhaps thinking that the "commotion" would calm down for the time being, the level of attention had decreased slightly at this point. What followed was the devastating line, "I don't want to hug you!"
Heaven, trying to convey something, frantically looked up words in the dictionary and found the word "I don't want to hug you." Upon hearing this, Toki muttered, "Huh? That's pretty rude!" Fumi immediately retorted, "You want to hug me, don't you!" and Tsukasanosuke added, "Of course!" Kan'emon raised his wooden sword and yelled, "Perry, prepare yourself!" as he was about to attack Heaven.
This is a typical "Bakebake" scene where a serious situation suddenly turns into comedy. The late rakugo storyteller Katsura Shijaku proposed that laughter arises from "tension and release," and this scene perfectly exemplifies that shift from tension to release, with the unexpected phrase "I don't want to hug you" being uttered. The line "I don't want to hug you!" trended on the social media platform X. It's no surprise that this was the episode that viewers paid the most attention to.
◇Women are captivated? What about men when they encounter a shocking event?
"I Don't Want to Hug You" ranked 2nd in the "Men's" ranking and 1st in the "Women's" ranking, showing high popularity among both sexes. However, apart from "I Don't Want to Hug You," there isn't much common ground between the episodes in which the show ranked highly in the "Men's" and "Women's" rankings. Perhaps this indicates subtle differences in the preferences of men and women.
The 30th episode (aired November 7, 2025) and the 16th episode (aired October 20, 2025), which recorded a 71.5% rating, tying for second place overall, can be said to have attracted a significant number of female viewers, as they ranked 4th and 3rd respectively in the women's rankings. In comparison, the ratings for men were somewhat lower, at 6th and 8th respectively.
In episode 30, Toki unexpectedly reunites with Sannojo(Rihito Itagaki) in town and learns what happened after Tae (Keiko Kitagawa) and Sannojo left Matsue. Upon learning of Tae's plight, Toki decides to become a "Rashamen" for Heaven. There is also a shocking scene where the begging Tae finally bows her head to the person who gives her alms.
In episode 16, Ginjiro (played by Kanichiro), the husband who has endured so much and worked tirelessly for the sake of the Matsuno family, who are struggling with debt, runs away from home. When Toki wakes up in bed and realizes that Ginjiro is gone, she screams, "No!" Toki's tears and regret as she says, "I was being too spoiled... I was taking it for granted that we would always be together..." were particularly memorable.
What the 30th and 16th episodes have in common is that they depict pivotal moments in the heroine Toki's life. The female characters seem to react very honestly to the events that befall the heroine, as if they were happening to them.
The 39th episode (70.6%, aired November 20, 2025), which ranked 4th overall, and the 40th episode (70.3%, aired November 21, 2025), which ranked 5th, conversely ranked 1st and 4th respectively in the "Men" ranking. In the "Women" ranking, they ranked 36th and 13th respectively, indicating significantly lower attention.
In episode 39, Toki (Takaishi), who has started working as a maid, decides to relearn flower arrangement and tea ceremony in an attempt to gain Heaven's approval. She visits her biological mother, Tae, who has started living in the tenement house. Heaven has thoughtfully brought a pineapple, but Toki doesn't know how to cut it. Tae asks, "How about filleting it?", leading to a somewhat comical conversation. It was also a touching scene, showing the mother and daughter enjoying some quality time together.
Episode 40 depicted a "Heaven Quiz" where Heaven quized students from Matsue Junior High School about himself. Because the students "didn't know anything about Professor Heaven," the quiz competition was held at Heaven's house as a "little game," and Nishikiori (Ryo Yoshizawa) and Toki also participated. The more flustered Nishikiori became, the less likely he was to get the answers right, and this episode revealed a lot about Nishikiori's personality.
If episodes 30 and 16, which attracted a lot of attention from women, followed a "classic" format, then episodes 39 and 40, which attracted a lot of attention from men, could be considered somewhat "unconventional." A mother and child continue their conversation, debating back and forth on how to cut a pineapple. The "Heaven Quiz" took up almost 15 minutes, an unusual development. Perhaps men are drawn to such unexpected and unconventional content.
◇"We...can't...become a family!" Toki and Heaven's married life has its ups and downs.
Have you noticed anything when you look at the rankings for "Overall Individuals," "Men," and "Women"? In fact, the top 10 are all episodes broadcast up to episode 65, which are included in this "Compilation Part 1 & 2 (First Half)." Does this mean that "Compilation Part 3 & 4 (Second Half)" had no highlights? Not at all.
Next, looking at the "core audience" targeting a slightly younger generation of men and women aged 13 to 49, as well as "peak attention," and REVISIO's "household TV-on rate," which is equivalent to the so-called "household viewership rating," the show continues to rank highly even after episode 66, when Toki and Heaven were united.
The "core audience" of the younger generation seems to favor episodes related to "love" compared to the "general audience." The number one ranked episode, episode 10 (aired October 10, 2025), is the episode in which Toki's first husband, Ginjiro (played by Kanichiro), is chosen to marry into the Matsuno family and comes to live with them. The second-ranked episode, episode 5 (aired October 3, 2025), is a romantic scene where Toki tries a love fortune-telling at Yaegaki Shrine in Matsue, but it's a fun episode in which Toki is the only one who doesn't get a result, which seems to foreshadow what will happen next.
Coming in at third place was episode 69 (77.5%, aired January 8, 2026), in which the entire Matsuno and Ushimizu families gathered to celebrate Toki and Heaven's marriage. Ushimizu family's situation and refusing to tell the truth. Just after Tsukasanosuke says, "Now you're officially a family," and "Right, Sensei!", Heaven explodes in frustration, "Family... I... Can't!", bringing the episode to a shocking ending.
Incidentally, the 116th episode (76.2%, aired March 16, 2026), which came in 6th place, was the first episode of the story after they moved to Okubo, Tokyo, and depicted their peaceful daily life with their eldest son Kanta and second son Isao having grown up. The 112th episode (75.9%, aired March 10, 2026), which came in 7th place, was the episode in which Toki and Heaven, who had moved to Kumamoto, returned to Matsue after a long time. Toki was reunited with her childhood friend Sawa (Wan Marui) and learned that she had become husband and wife with Takichi Shoda (played by Shogo Hama). It was a scene that made not only Toki but also the viewers feel happy.
◇The final week's episode ranked as the most talked-about moment.
In terms of "household TV-on rate," which is equivalent to the so-called "household viewership rating," the 78th episode (10.1%, aired January 21, 2026) came in 4th place. In this episode, Nami (Honami Sato), a courtesan, receives an offer to be bought out of her contract, but she pleads, "If it's permissible, please wait just a few days, just a few days," which results in the shop owner yelling at her. Around this point, not only Toki, but also Sawa and Nami face turning points, and the story continues in a way that makes it a little difficult to watch.
The ranking of "Most Popular Moments" (preliminary figures) included memorable scenes from the final week. In episode 121 (aired March 23, 2026), which came in 3rd place, Heaven, feeling chest pain and sensing his impending death, hands Toki a will in which he has bequeathed all his possessions, and confesses, "If this...pain gets worse, I'll die." Later, when Heaven wakes up from his nap and tells Toki, "I'm sorry, Mama, I'm better," indicating that his chest pain has subsided, the episode reached its peak of 81.7% viewership.
In the 5th-ranked episode, episode 123 (aired March 25, 2026), Eliza (Charlotte Kate Fox), who has come to Japan after learning of Heaven's death, talks with Toki and learns that Toki was the inspiration for Heaven writing "KWAIDAN." She then unleashes her intense anger on Toki. That scene garnered a 77.8% viewership rating.
"Bakebake" has a dramatic structure where the last scene of the final episode connects to the opening scene of the first episode. If you watch the "Compilation" version in its entirety, you might encounter a whole new world of "Bakebake" and be captivated by completely different scenes. (Text by Hiroki Sasamoto / MANTANWEB)
