Spring 2012 First Episode's Ratings Ranking

Here is the revised ranking after all dramas (except W no Higeki starring Takei Emi) went through their first OA:

1) Ataru 19.9%
2) Kagi no Kakatta Heya 18.3%
3) Mikeneko Holmes no Suiri 15.9%
4) 37-sai de Isha ni Natta Boku 13.2%
5) Legal High 12.2%
6) Papadoru! 11.6%
7) Answer 11.4%
8) Toshi Densetsu no Onna 10.3%
9) Hanchou 5 10.2%
10) Cleopatra na Onnatachi / Mirai Nikki 9.9%
12) Kaeru no Oujosama 9.0%
13) Mou Ichido Kimi ni, Propose 8.8%
14) Kazoku no Uta 6.1%

There aren't any changes in the top 4 since most of those which debuted last week were filling in the middle or bottom slots of the ranking. Personally, I was very surprised that Takenouchi Yutaka's drama got such a low rating (below 10%) so I'm guessing that people might have been turned off if they are assuming that this is going to be a drama meant to make people sob. Cleopatra and Mirai were just 0.1% away from the 10% mark so they shared the 10th spot despite being vastly different dramas and obviously attracting different sets of viewers on different days.

The 2nd episode ratings so far have seen a downward trend for most dramas i.e. Toshi Densetsu no Onna (9.2%), Mikeneko Holmes no Suiri (12.1%), ATARU (16.9%) and Kazoku no Uta (3.6%). It's perfectly normal for the 2nd episode ratings to suffer a dip since figures for the first OA are usually jacked up by people who just want to take a brief look but may not stay on for subsequent episodes. However, Kazoku no Uta looks set to be headed towards disaster because getting below 5% consistently will probably warrant a premature termination of its run which is supposed to last till June. I haven't watched this yet so I can't really tell if people are not watching this because of the copycat claims or the drama is indeed not appealing. ATARU is still doing well (any drama getting above 16% these days is a hit!) so we might see a clearer trend in where its ratings are going to hover around. Mikeneko Holmes lost 3.8% of its first episode ratings so it's rather alarming as well.

On the other hand, you have dramas bucking the trend, either suffering a slight dip or even increasing its rating in the 2nd OA. Kusanagi's drama dropped just 0.1% so its viewership base seems quite stable for now. Kaeru no Oujosama climbed close to 2% and got 10.7% which is good news considering the bad press recently over how it's not appealing or how it felt like this drama or that movie.

The full ranking for the 2nd episode will be posted once all dramas have done their rounds. As for W no Higeki, I don't foresee it going right to the top so it should fit in around the middle or even bottom of the ranking. I think this is Takei Emi's first leading role so it depends whether her personal popularity will be enough to attact people to catch at least the first episode. The story isn't that new (people looking alike who switch identities) thus it really hinges on the lead's acting to make it more interesting.