1) Otto no Kanojo - 3.8% (TBS / Autumn 2013)
Starring Kawaguchi Haruna
HEAT - 3.8% (FujiTV / Summer 2015)
Starring AKIRA
3) Kazoku no Uta - 3.9% (FujiTV / Spring 2012)
Starring Odagiri Jo
4) Message - 4.4% (NTV / Winter 2003)
Starring Mannaka Hitomi
5) Kazoku no Urajijo - 4.5% (FujiTV / Autumn 2013)
Starring Zaizen Naomi
6) Lion Sensei - 4.7% (NTV / Autumn 2003)
Starring Takenaka Naoto
Tatakau! Shoten Girl - 4.7% (FujiTV / Spring 2015)
Starring Watanabe Mayu & Inamori Izumi
8) Risk no Kamisama - 5.1% (FujiTV / Summer 2015)
Starring Tsutsumi Shinichi
Asunaro Sansannanabyoshi - 5.1% (FujiTV / Summer 2014)
Starring Yanagiba Toshiro
10) Keiji Ichiro - 5.2% (TBS / Winter 2013)
Starring Kato Haruhiko
11) Regatta Kimi to ita eien - 5.5% (TV Asahi / Summer 2006)
Starring Hayami Mokomichi
12) Hito Natsu no Papa e - 5.6% (TBS / Summer 2003)
Starring Ueto Aya
13) Ranpo R - 5.7% (NTV / Winter 2004)
Starring Fujii Takashi
14) Masshiro - 5.8% (TBS / Winter 2015)
Starring Horikita Maki
15) Omotesando Koukou Gasshobu - 5.9% (TBS / Summer 2015)
Starring Yoshine Kyoko
Based on the results above, here are some trends I would like to highlight:
- 10 out the 15 dramas come from the last 5 years i.e. 2010 to 2015. This coincides with the general view that drama ratings have been really low in recent years.
- The number of dramas from each of the Big 4 private networks in ascending order: TV Asahi = 1 / NTV = 3 / TBS = 5 / FujiTV = 6 i.e. TBS and FujiTV are in the race for the most number of low-ratings dramas. Surprisingly, TV Asahi's only entry was Regatta in 2006 which had hogged the No.1 title for a long time before "Kazoku no Uta" came along to be referred to as a textbook example of a lowly-rated flop in the drama world. Now, this undesirable title belongs to "Otto no Kanojo" and "HEAT". This also means that TV Asahi has been doing so well in the ratings game at least in the last 10 years or so even though it was lagging behind the other three for a long time.
- Big and small names alike are not spared the low ratings curse. Apparently, it was rumoured that Odagiri was so sick of being under the ratings pressure brought about by "Kazoku no Uta" that he has reportedly vowed to stick to late-night or WOWOW dramas from now on.
- In terms of the season which has the most worst performers -> Winter = 4 / Spring = 2 / Summer = 6 / Autumn = 3. This seems to coincide with the general observation that summer dramas tend to do badly because people are outside enjoying the summer holidays.
- Being bad at the ratings game doesn't necessarily mean that it is a critical flop too. The most recent example was "Omotesando Koukou Gasshobu" which did rather badly in ratings but its female lead who is a newbie Yoshine Kyoko actually won the Best Leading Actress award in the Drama Academy Award. Baffles me how it happened but she must have won over those who watched the drama and voted for her.
Just an ending note, out of these 15 dramas, I've only watched the first episode of "Risk no Kamisama" which really spooked me so much that I didn't want to continue. It's not that I consciously shy away from these dramas because of ratings but I guess there must be something about them which turns me away.
How many of these dramas have you watched? And do you think they are really as bad as the ratings reflect?
