In the 30th episode (aired on May 8th) of the NHK Asadora drama series "Kaze,Kaoru " (NHK General, Monday-Saturday, 8:00 AM, etc.), Ai Mikami and Juri Kosaka , what scene captivated viewers the most? We examined the minute-by-minute changes in "attention level" (according to REVISIO, Kanto region, preliminary figures), which indicates the percentage of viewers glued to the screen, and found that the peak was 71.3% at 8:13 AM.
" Kaze,Kaoru" is based on the story of two trained nurses, Chika Ozeki and Masa Suzuki, who graduated from the same nursing school. The drama depicts how these two women struggle with how to interact with patients and doctors, clash with each other, grow as individuals, and eventually become the "ultimate buddy duo." Mikami plays Rin Ichinose, and Uesaka plays Naomi Oya.
◇Tae collapses with a high fever
In episode 30, Rin (Mikami) and Naomi (Uesaka), worried about Tae (Ikuta Erika), who has collapsed with a high fever and lost her voice, rush into her room one after another to nurse her, but things don't go smoothly. Burns (Emma Howard) orders everyone to remember their assignments. Meanwhile, Tae's father (Yoshioka Mutsuo) comes to the school.
The "attention level," which indicates the percentage of viewers watching the show intently, fluctuated but steadily increased towards the end of the episode. In the final minute, it reached over 70%, and this peak of over 70% was achieved for the sixth consecutive episode since episode 25 (aired May 1st). Episode 25 was the episode in which Professor Burns made his first appearance in the ending scene, and it seems that viewers have been captivated ever since his appearance.
The data used is REVISIO's proprietary "Attention Level" index (Kanto region, preliminary figures), which surveys 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 recognition sensor constantly measures whether people are looking at the television screen, and calculates the percentage of people in front of the television who were paying close attention to the program.
◇Father makes surprise visit to Tae's hospital room; attention rises.
The viewership begins to rise when Tae's father visits her in the "hospital room" where she is resting. After examining Tae, he begins to say, "My daughter will likely have to leave this school," at around 8:08 AM, and the viewership first jumps to 68.1%.
In front of her father, Tae declares her resolve, "I'm going to become a nurse," and "Not for marriage training. I want to work as a nurse." At around 8:09 AM, the ratings plummet to 63.1%, but then surge to 69.2% at 8:10 AM.
Around 8:10 a.m., there's a scene where Tae passionately explains to her father, who says, "Even if you become a nurse, you won't be able to do much," the role of a nurse, which is different from that of a doctor who diagnoses and treats patients.
At around 8:11 AM, the viewership rating drops again to around 65%, but recovers to 69.1% at 8:12 AM. At around 8:12 AM, the father, who had heard that "observation" is important in nursing, reports that Miyoshiya, the owner of the liquor store who was a patient at the hospital, had beriberi, just as Tae had predicted, and acknowledges Tae's abilities. He then leaves the room, saying, "It seems like no hospital would hire a strict nurse who scolds her colleagues," and "In that case, work for us. We'll be the first hospital in town to have a nurse." This is an indirect way of telling Tae that he approves of her becoming a nurse.
Viewers were undoubtedly relieved to see how the conflict with her father would unfold.
◇ "I'm a Tengu (a mythical Japanese creature)" - Surprisingly, Professor Burns is fluent in Japanese.
At 8:13 AM, the level of attention rose even further, reaching a peak of 71.3% for the day. However, this time slot did not feature a scene with Tae and her father, but abruptly jumped to a classroom scene six months later.
"There's nothing more I can teach you here," Professor Burns told the seven first-year students. He then gave them a message: "Have a fruitful internship, interacting with patients in the hospital, working alongside doctors, and presenting them with their internship uniforms.
When Kiyo (Akiko Kikuchi) murmured, "He's a surprisingly nice guy," Burns responded in English, "Surprisingly?" Then Naomi panicked and asked, "Wait a minute. Why does Sensei understand Japanese?" Hearing this, Burns fluently explained in Japanese, "I started studying after I decided to come to Japan. Because I have to raise you all." For the first time, he showed off the Japanese he could actually use. When Rin asked in Japanese, "Could you speak Japanese from the beginning?", Burns replied, "Yes," and added, "I'm a tengu, after all. I might have shown you an illusion."
Incidentally, "Tengu" is a word that Naomi uttered in episode 26 (aired on May 4th). While Mr. Burns explains how to change the sheets, he doesn't explain what nursing is at all, and the students are growing increasingly dissatisfied with his teaching methods, repeatedly telling them to "think for yourselves." Naomi grumbles, "Should I put my hand on my heart and think about it?" and "He's not a messenger from heaven, he's definitely a Tengu." It seems Mr. Burns was watching Naomi at the time, but it appears that he was able to hear Naomi's gossip.
The students were left breathless when Mr. Burns spoke Japanese, and viewers must have been surprised as well. The high level of attention likely reflects this viewer reaction. (Text by Hiroki Sasamoto/MANTANWEB)
