In the 73rd episode (aired July 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 69.4% at 8:09 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.
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.
◇Naomi and others head to Toyo's tenement house after her condition suddenly worsens.
In episode 73, one night, while Rin (Mikami) and Naomi (Uesaka) are sleeping, Maruyama (Wakabayashi Tokie) comes to them asking for help. When the two go to the tenement house, Toyo (Matsukane Yoneko) is happy that Naomi has come. Toyo passes away while Naomi and the others watch over her.
The level of attention on this day, like the previous day, showed a volatile graph, fluctuating wildly between the mid-50% and high-60% ranges. Towards the end, there were moments when the level of attention was even lower than at the opening, suggesting that viewers' interest was quite fickle.
◇Is Mansaku the hospital director's "spy"!?
The peak of attention for the 73rd episode was at 8:09 AM, recording a 69.4% viewership, during a scene in a hospital room where Naomi and surgical assistant Kurokawa (played by Hirano Kisei) are having a conversation.
When Naomi remarked that Director Tada (Michitaka Tsutsui) was "surprisingly kind" because Rin received no punishment, Kurokawa replied, "You're naive. No, you don't understand how organizations work," teaching her about the cold, hard judgment of organizations. At around 8:08 AM, the episode's viewership began to rise to 65.8%. Around the 8:08 mark, Kurokawa mentioned janitor Mansaku (Kazuki Iio), who had started working nearby, as if eavesdropping on their conversation, saying, "Among the doctors, there's a theory that Mansaku is connected to the director," suggesting the "Mansaku = Director's spy theory," which caused a stir online.
The peak of the conversation, around 8:09 AM, takes place after Mansaku has left and closed the door to the room. The conversation returns to Rin's actions, who secretly brought Yamamoto (Daisuke Honda), a terminal cancer patient, home without telling the doctor. To Kurokawa, who says, "We won't know what the right thing to do is unless we ask Yamamoto," Naomi replies, using Tome, who died in the tenement house because she couldn't afford to go to the hospital, as an example, "Some people say it was good that she was cared for at home, but I wanted her to receive treatment at a hospital."
The conversation, which delved into the often enigmatic mind of Director Tada, covered a wealth of noteworthy topics, from the "Mansaku = spy theory" to issues surrounding end-of-life care, making it no wonder that the show garnered increased attention. It was also a valuable takeaway to reaffirm that Dr. Kurokawa is indeed a "good person."
The drama then shifts to a scene in the staff room where Rin is silently practicing bandaging alone. Naomi then arrives, and the two begin talking, but for some reason, viewership rapidly declines. By 8:12 AM, it had plummeted to 55.2%. This was lower than the opening scene at 8:01 AM (57.2%), when the theme song was playing, and was the lowest point of the day. (Text by Hiroki Sasamoto/MANTANWEB)
