Showing posts with label Hanbun Aoi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hanbun Aoi. Show all posts

Monday, April 01, 2019

Key ratings highlights for NHK morning drama "Manpuku"

Although I have not been posting anything about drama ratings in recent years, I think that it's only right for me to share these key highlights in Manpuku's ratings for the past 6 months especially as it is the very first morning drama which I managed to complete in real time. Be prepared for more Manpuku-related posts in the days to come especially my review of this drama!

- Manpuku started airing from 1 October 2018 and ended its run on 30 March 2019 with 151 episodes.

- The average rating for the Kanto region was 21.4% while it was 19.5% in the Kansai region. Compared to the drama preceding it i.e. Hanbun Aoi which got an average of 21.1% in the Kanto region, Manpuku did better.

- The first episode registered a rating of 23.8% and 20.4% in the Kanto and Kansai regions respectively. This was the highest debut episode rating so far in the asadora history.

- The last episode got an average rating of 22.1% and 22.4% in the Kanto and Kansai regions respectively. Figures of the Kanto region for the last week were 22.7% -> 22.0% -> 21.8% -> 20.6% -> 21.3% -> 22.1%.

- The highest single episode rating for the Kanto region was the first episode while for the Kansai region, it was the last episode.

- Here are the average ratings for the five dramas preceding Manpuku (first figure is for Kanto while the second figure is for Kansai):
"Hanbun, Aoi" - 21.1% / 19.3%
"Warotenka" - 20.1% /  19.6%
"Hiyokko" - 20.4% / 20.3%
"Beppin-san" - 20.3% / 20.2%
"Toto Nee-chan" - 22.8% /  20.4%

- Ever since "Asa ga kita" in 2015, this is the 7th consecutive asadora which has registered an average rating of above 20%. Manpuku's average rating was higher than the 6 dramas preceding it, with the sole exceptions being "Toto Nee-chan" (22.8%) and "Asa ga kita" (23.5%).

- The ratings trend: Manpuku started off very well in its first episode and maintained an average rating of above 20% up till the 13th week before the New Year break. The only episodes when it went below 20% was on 4th and 5th January i.e. straight after the New Year break. It returned to the 20s region from the 15th week all the way to the end of its run.

Sources: Oricon / Sponichi

Saturday, March 02, 2019

Winners of the Confidence Award Drama Prize - Annual Awards 2018

Best Drama: Ossans Love

Best Leading Actor: Yamada Takayuki & Suda Masaki (dele)

Best Leading Actress: Ishihara Satomi (Unnatural)

Best Supporting Actor: Sato Takeru (Hanbun, Aoi / Gibo to Musume no Blues)

Best Supporting Actress: Tanaka Yuko (anone)

Best Newcomer: Kiyohara Kaya (Toumei na Yurikago)

Best Script: Nogi Akiko (Unnatural)

Source: Oricon

Sunday, November 18, 2018

The 98th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2018) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Gibo to Musume no Blues
2) Hanbun, Aoi
3) dele

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Good Doctor
2) Zero - Ikkaku Senkin Game
3) Tokyo Alien Brothers
4) Gibo to Musume no Blues
5) dele

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Gibo to Musume no Blues
2) Hanbun, Aoi
3) dele
4) Good Doctor
5) Takane no Hana

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Hanbun, Aoi
2) Gibo to Musume no Blues
3) Kono sekai no katasumi ni
4) dele
5) Toumei na Yurikago

Source: The Television

The 98th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2018) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Nagano Mei - Hanbun, Aoi
2) Ayase Haruka - Gibo to Musume no Blues
3) Ishihara Satomi - Takane no Hana

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Ayase Haruka - Gibo to Musume no Blues
2) Nagano Mei - Hanbun, Aoi
3) Ishihara Satomi - Takane no Hana
4) Haru - Survival Wedding
5) Matsumoto Honoka - Kono sekai no katasumi ni

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Ayase Haruka - Gibo to Musume no Blues
2) Nagano Mei - Hanbun, Aoi
3) Ishihara Satomi - Takane no Hana
4) Matsumoto Honoka - Kono sekai no katasumi ni
5) Haru - Survival Wedding

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nagano Mei - Hanbun, Aoi
2) Ayase Haruka - Gibo to Musume no Blues
3) Matsumoto Honoka - Kono sekai no katasumi ni
4) Ishihara Satomi - Takane no Hana
5) Kiyohara Kaya - Toumei na Yurikago

Source: The Television

The 98th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2018) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Sato Takeru - Hanbun, Aoi
2) Toyokawa Etsushi - Hanbun, Aoi
3) Takenouchi Yutaka - Gibo to Musume no Blues

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Sato Takeru - Hanbun, Aoi
2) Totsuka Shota - Tokyo Alien Brothers
3) Fujiki Naohito - Good Doctor
4) Mamiya Shotaro - Zero - Ikkaku Senkin Game -
5) Sato Ryuga - Zero - Ikkaku Senkin Game -

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Sato Takeru - Hanbun, Aoi
2) Takenouchi Yutaka - Gibo to Musume no Blues
3) Toyokawa Etsushi - Hanbun, Aoi
4) Seto Koji - Toumei na Yurikago / Mineta Kazunobu - Takane no Hana / Katsuji Ryo - Himomen / Sato Takeru - Gibo to Musume no Blues

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Toyokawa Etsushi - Hanbun, Aoi
2) Sato Takeru - Hanbun, Aoi
3) Mineta Kazunobu - Takane no Hana
4) Yoshida Kotaro - Keiji Shichinin / Takenouchi Yutaka - Gibo to Musume no Blues / Iura Arata - Kenkou de bunkateki na saiteigendo no seikatsu

Source: The Televison

The 98th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2018) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Ueno Juri - Good Doctor
2) Yokomizo Naho - Gibo to Musume no Blues
3) Kamishiraishi Moka - Gibo to Musume no Blues

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Ueno Juri - Good Doctor
2) Koike Eiko - Zero - Ikkaku Senkin Game -
3) Sawajiri Erika - Hagetaka / Yoshine Kyoko - Takane no Hana
5) Matsuyuki Yasuko - Hanbun, Aoi

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Kamishiraishi Moka - Gibo to Musume no Blues
2) Seino Nana - Hanbun, Aoi
3) Yokomizo Naho - Gibo to Musume no Blues / Ueno Juri - Good Doctor
5) Asou Kumiko - dele

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Matsuyuki Yasuko - Hanbun, Aoi / Harada Tomoyo - Hanbun, Aoi
3) Yokomizo Naho - Gibo to Musume no Blues / Ueno Juri - Good Doctor
5) Sawajiri Erika - Hagetaka

Source: The Televison

Friday, November 16, 2018

The 98th Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2018) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Idea - Hoshino Gen (Hanbun, Aoi)
2) Ai no katachi feat. HIDE (GReeeeN) - MISIA (Gibo to Musume no Blues)
3) Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley (Takane no Hana)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) COSMIC HUMAN - Hey! Say! Jump (Tokyo Alien Brothers)
2) Ikiro - NEWS (Zero - Ikkaku Senkin Game -)
3) Idea - Hoshino Gen (Hanbun, Aoi)
4) Hibiwareta sekai - majiko (Genkai Danchi)
5) Ai no katachi feat. HIDE (GReeeeN) - MISIA (Gibo to Musume no Blues)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Ai no katachi feat. HIDE (GReeeeN) - MISIA (Gibo to Musume no Blues)
2) Idea - Hoshino Gen (Hanbun, Aoi)
3) Hikari - androp (Good Doctor)
4) Moshi kimi wo yurusetara - Ieiri Leo (Zettai Reido ~ Mizen Hanzai Sennyuu Sousa ~)
5) Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley (Takane no Hana)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Idea - Hoshino Gen (Hanbun, Aoi)
2) Love Me Tender - Elvis Presley (Takane no Hana)
3) SINGLES - Mr.Children (Hagetaka)
4) Ikiro - NEWS (Zero - Ikkaku Senkin Game -)
5) Hibiwareta sekai - majiko (Genkai Danchi)

Source: The Televison

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Winners of the 13th Confidence Award Drama Prize (Summer 2018)

Here are the winners of the 13th Confidence Award Drama Prize for the Summer 2018 season:

Best Drama: Gibo to Musume no Blues

Best Leading Actor: Yamada Takayuki & Suda Masaki (dele)

Best Leading Actress: Nagano Mei (Hanbun, Aoi)

Best Supporting Actor: Sato Takeru (Hanbun, Aoi)

Best Supporting Actress: Yoshine Kyoko (Takane no Hana)

Best Script: Adachi Naoko (Toumei na Yurikago)

Best Newcomer: Kiyohara Kaya (Toumei na Yurikago)

Source: Confidence Award Drama Prize

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Winners of Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix (Summer 2018)

There were 894 valid votes for this round of voting between 13th and 20th Sep where the top 5 for each category in each season would then be eligible as nominees for the annual awards.The numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama and/or actor/actress.

Note: This season's voting numbers were much lower than usual which could probably be due to the fact that Japan was hit with a number of natural disasters this summer:

Best Drama
1) Hanbun, Aoi (133)
2) Gibo to Musume no Blues (132)
3) Segodon (111)
4) Good Doctor (79)
5) Hagetaka (56)

Best Leading Actor
1) Suzuki Ryohei - Segodon (178)
2) Yamazaki Kento - Good Doctor / Sawamura Ikki - Zettai Reido 3 ~ Mizen Hanzai Sennyuu Sousa ~ (145)
4) Ayano Go - Hagetaka (86)
5) Yamada Takayuki - dele (58)

Best Leading Actress
1) Ayase Haruka - Gibo to Musume no Blues (247)
2) Nagano Mei - Hanbun, Aoi (217)
3) Tsuchiya Tao - Chia Dan (102)
4) Ishihara Satomi - Takane no Hana (91)
5) Yoshioka Riho - Kenkou de bunkateki na saiteigendo no seikatsu (58)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Sato Takeru - Hanbun, Aoi (164)
2) Eita - Segodon (68)
3) Sato Takeru - Gibo to Musume no Blues (58)
4) Takenouchi Yutaka - Gibo to Musume no Blues (48)
5) Mineta Kazunobu - Takane no Hana (39)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Matsuyuki Yasuko - Hanbun, Aoi (111)
2) Kuroki Haru - Segodon (84)
3) Ueno Juri - Good Doctor (68)
4) Kamishiraishi Moka - Gibo to Musume no Blues / Honda Tsubasa - Zettai Reido 3 ~ Mizen Hanzai Sennyuu Sousa ~ (55)

Source: Nikkansports

Friday, July 06, 2018

Winners of Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix (Spring 2018)

There were 4,021 valid votes for this round of voting between 19th and 26th June where the top 5 for each category in each season would then be eligible as nominees for the annual awards.The numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama and/or actor/actress:

Monday, April 02, 2018

Screening event of new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi"

The screening event of new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" was held at the TV station's HQ in Tokyo on 9 March which was attended by the scriptwriter Kitagawa Eriko and cast members Nagano Mei, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Takito Kenichi and child actor Yazaki Yusa. The drama begins its run from 2 April in the Mondays to Saturdays 8pm timeslot. Nagano plays the heroine Suzume while Takito and Matsuyuki play her parents. Yazaki plays the childhood version of Suzume at 9 years old. The heroine Nireno Suzume (Nagano Mei) lost hearing in her left ear due an illness she had when she was a child and the drama describes her turbulent life and the process of building an electrical appliances manufacturing company over half a century from 1971 to the present era which will be set in Gifu, her birthplace, and Tokyo.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Handover ceremony for NHK morning dramas "Warotenka" and "Hanbun, Aoi"

The handover ceremony for NHK morning dramas "Warotenka" and "Hanbun, Aoi" was held on 15 March at its HQ in Shibuya, Tokyo, which was attended by the dramas' leads Aoi Wakana and Nagano Mei. "Warotenka" will end its run on 31 March while "Hanbun, Aoi" starts from 2 April.

Thursday, March 08, 2018

Preview of "Hanbun, Aoi" (NHK morning drama)

Title: Hanbun, Aoi 半分、青い (Half Blue)
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 2 April 2018
Timeslot: Mondays to Saturdays 8am
Broadcast by: NHK
Total number of episodes: 156
Scriptwriter: Kitagawa Eriko
Theme Song: "Idea" by Hoshino Gen
Cast: Nagano Mei, Sato Takeru, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Takito Kenichi, Harada Tomoyo, Tanihara Shosuke, Fubuki Jun, Nakamura Masatoshi, Yo Kimiko, Kamimura Kaisei, Nao, Takagi Wataru, Iketani Nobue, Yamoto Yuuma, Rokkaku Seiji, Hirooka Yuriko, Toyokawa Etsushi, Igawa Haruka, Seino Nana, Shison Jun, Nakamura Tomoya, Furuhata Seika etc.

Hoshino Gen to sing the theme song for new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi"

Hoshino Gen will be singing the theme song for the new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" which will begin its run from 2 April at 8am from Mondays to Saturdays. The up-tempo song titled "Idea" was written by Hoshino specially for this drama which is in line with the story that describes how the heroine Suzume comes up with a great invention after suffering a setback in her initial dream of becoming a manga artist. This will be his first theme song for a NHK drama. Hoshino revealed that he was very excited when he got the offer and hoped that his song will be able to support everyone's morning together with the heroine who will show her strong energy and positiveness in the drama.

Sources: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi

NHK to release official photobook for new morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi"

In conjunction with the impending launch of its new morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" from 2 April, NHK will be releasing the drama's official photobook titled "Nagano Mei in Hanbun, Aoi" which features the lead actress on the same day. The content will focus on photos of Nagano taken on set since filming began in November last year at places such as eastern Gifu Prefecture and Tokyo. In addition, there will be interviews of staff members, a guide to the storyline and characters, highlights of the art and costumes used in the drama. As a bonus, there will be a Nagano Mei calendar and special postcard set included with the photobook.

Source: Oricon

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

New supporting cast announcement for upcoming NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi"

The new announcement for the supporting cast of upcoming NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" had been made. The drama which is based on Kitagawa Eriko's original script, features the heroine Nireno Suzume (Nagano Mei) who lost hearing in her left ear due an illness she had when she was a child and describes her turbulent life and the process of building an electrical appliances manufacturing company over half a century from 1971 to the present era which will be set in Gifu, her birthplace, and Tokyo. It will begin its run from 2 April in the Mondays to Fridays 8am timeslot. The characters announced in this round are those who Suzume meets in Tokyo as she aims to become a shoujo manga artist.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Supporting cast line-up of new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" announced

The supporting cast line-up of new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" starring Nagano Mei was announced during a press conference held at NHK's HQ in Tokyo on 22 August which was attended by Nagano, Sato Takeru, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Takito Kenichi, Harada Tomoyo, Tanihara Shosuke, Fubuki Jun, Nakamura Masatoshi and Yo Kimiko. The drama which is the 98th production to date, will be shown from 2 April 2018 to 29 September 2018 and consists of 156 episodes.

The drama which is based on Kitagawa Eriko's original script, features the heroine Nireno Suzume (Nagano) who lost hearing in her left ear due an illness she had when she was a child and describes her turbulent life and the process of building an electrical appliances manufacturing company over half a century from 1971 to the present era which will be set in Gifu, her birthplace, and Tokyo.

Sato will be playing Suzume's childhood friend Hagio Ritsu who was born on the same day as her. Although Suzume is an idealistic person with daring ideas, Ritsu is serious, emphasizes on logic and has difficulty socialising with others. Although the two of them are like soulmates to each other, they get married to other people and only get back together after a long time when they become partners to work on developing electrical fans.

Sato commented that as this is the first time he is acting in a morning drama, he is concerned about the long filming period but he will try his best to support Nagano who will have the heaviest burden among all of them. As for the relationship between Ritsu and Suzume, he described it as rather ambiguous so it's quite difficult for him to portray the fine distance between them because there is more to love between the two of them. However, he thinks that the biggest challenge is their 11-year age difference because the story's setting is that Ritsu and Suzume were supposed to be born on the same day and the story begins from senior high school all the way to their 40s so he's concerned about whether they will look like the same age as the story progresses. Actually, Nagano and Sato had worked together before in the 2012 movie "Rurouni Kenshin" but she was only a primary school student at that time. Even so, Sato remembered her for being very charimastic and pretty and that she hasn't changed much since then.

In addition, Matsuyuki Yasuko will be playing Haru who is Suzume's mother and Takito Kenichi will be playing Utaro who is Suzume's father. Fubuki will be playing Suzume's grandmother Yasuko and taking on the role of the narrator while Nakamura will be playing Suzume's grandmother Senkichi. On the other hand, Ritsu's mother Wako will be played by Harada while Ritsu's father Yoichi will be played by Tanihara. Yo will be playing the doctor Okada Kimika who delivered Suzume and Ritsu at Okada Hospital.

Other co-stars who were not at the press conference included Suzume's classmates played by Yamoto Yuma who acts as Saionji Ryunosuke and Nao who acts as Kidahara Nao. Kamimura Kaisei will be playing Suzume's younger brother.

Sources: Oricon 1 / Nikkansports / Oricon 2 / Eiga.com

Friday, June 30, 2017

Nagano Mei to be the heroine for new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi."


Nagano Mei was revealed to be the heroine for the 98th morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi." during a press conference held at NHK's HQ in Shibuya on 20 June. The drama which consists of 156 episodes, will be shown from 2 April to 29 September 2018 on Mondays to Saturdays at 8am. Filming will begin in autumn this year.

The drama which is based on Kitagawa Eriko's original script, features the heroine Nireno Suzume who lost hearing in her left ear due an illness she had when she was a child and describes her turbulent life and the process of building an electrical appliances manufacturing company over half a century from 1971 to the present era which will be set in Gifu, her birthplace, and Tokyo. Kitagawa revealed that she wrote the story with the feeling of reliving her life once more (she is also deaf in her left ear) and that she was born in the same year as the morning dramas began in 1961. In addition, she was the one who approached NHK with the story's proposal.


Nagano made her debut in a movie in 2009 and took on her first heroine role in the 2015 movie "Oremonogatari!!" and her first leading role in a TV drama series through the 2016 drama "Koe Koi". This year, she has appeared in various movies such as "Hirunaka no Ryuusei", "Teiichi no Kuni", "Peach Girl", "PARKS" and "Mix". Nagano was selected for the heroine's role in the morning drama through an audition involving 2,366 applicants.

Nagano commented that her character's never-say-die attitude is what she identifies with since she was in junior high and she doesn't think that it is a negative thing to play a hearing-impaired heroine. In addition, the optimistic and cheerful sides of Suzume resemble her own character traits so she is confident of playing this character. As for landing this huge role, she expressed joy at being able to appear in a morning drama which is watched by many people every day including her grandfather.

Sources: Sponichi / Oricon / Sanspo / Nikkansports

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Kitagawa Eriko to write the script for new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi."

Kitagawa Eriko will be writing the script for the new NHK morning drama "Hanbun, Aoi" (Half Blue) which will be shown in the first half of 2018 at 8am from Mondays to Saturdays. The title of the drama represents the state of the sky after the rain has stopped.

The drama which is based on Kitagawa's original script, features the heroine Suzume who lost hearing in her left hear and describes her turbulent life and the process of building an electrical appliances manufacturing company over half a century from 1971 to the present era which will be set in Gifu and Tokyo. Kitagawa revealed that she wrote the story with the feel of reliving her life once more (she is also deaf in her left ear) and that she was born in the same year as the morning dramas began in 1961. In addition, she was the one who approached NHK with the story and hopes that everyone can watch the drama when it airs.

Although it may be imprudent to think this way, Kitagawa commented that when she lost her hearing, she actually was spurred on to work even harder and got the inspiration to write. As she is known for her love stories, she hopes to describe in this story how a man and a woman keep missing the timing to get together despite loving each other. As for the actress to play the heroine, the selection will be done via an audition.

"Hanbun, Aoi." which is the 98th morning drama to date and consists of 156 episodes, will begin its run from 2 April 2018 and end on 29 September. Filming begins in autumn this year.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi