The secret to attracting new viewers is the “dual structure of political strife and melodrama,” in the style of Korean dramas.

The average rating for the first episode of “Hikaru Kimi e” was 12.7%, the lowest in the history of NHK’s historical historical drama series. When the production of this drama was announced, many fans of historical drama did not have high expectations for the drama.

Most historical dramas are historical dramas. Most historical dramas are historical dramas, and fans especially like the turbulent times and “battles. Therefore, dramas depicting the Warring States period and the end of the Tokugawa shogunate have all earned high viewer ratings. There were not a few people who said that a drama about the Heian period, which does not have a turbulent image, and a female poet as the main character, would not get good ratings.

(TV magazine writer) However, six months have passed since the broadcast, and the drama itself has not received bad reviews. In fact, the viewer ratings have been steadily rising with each episode. The reason for this is explained by the aforementioned writer,

The reason for this is that the drama is a new drama with a different taste from previous Taiga dramas, and many viewers found themselves being drawn into the drama.

This indicates that the drama has succeeded in attracting new viewers who have not watched the Taiga before,” he analyzes.

Even though the story takes place in the Heian Period, various “uprisings” have broken out since the early days of the drama’s broadcast. The story depicts disturbing events such as the smallpox epidemic in the capital and the Chotoku Incident, which was caused by a dispute among aristocrats. Furthermore, the intrigues and power struggles that were taking place within the government at the time are dramatically depicted in “Hikaru:” making it more than just a biographical drama, but a suspense drama as well.

That’s not all. Another major difference from previous Taiga dramas is that the characters, especially the women, are portrayed romantically, with many love scenes. As a result, the drama is attracting not only existing Taiga fans but also an increasing number of young female viewers. There was even a report that the number of female viewers exploded when the main character, Mahiro, a.k.a. Murasaki Shikibu, kisses a woman.

It’s like watching a Korean drama.

It’s like watching a Korean drama,” said an entertainment reporter who is a Korean drama watcher.

The most popular Korean dramas are not only contemporary dramas, but also period dramas. In terms of historical dramas set in the imperial court, “Dae Jang Geum’s Oath,” came to mind immediately.

Dae Jang Geum, Oath of a Courtesan” was broadcast on MBC in 2003 and received daily viewer ratings of 50%. It was also broadcast in Japan and gained popularity.

The daughter of a courtesan who was caught up in a conspiracy within the court and killed, becomes a courtesan herself and rises to the court to avenge her mother’s death, but she is also caught up in the same conspiracy and is once reduced to a servant. However, she eventually became a doctor’s daughter and returned to the court. The story is a success story in which she becomes the king’s doctor in the end.

The story is full of conflict between female court ladies, power struggles within the imperial court, and romance between the main characters, which kept me on the edge of my seat every episode. There was also an element of mystery in the search for the murderer, as there were scenes of poisonings and the like. Hikaru” has plenty of similar elements of suspense,” said an entertainment reporter.

Even within NHK, expectations for viewer ratings were not so high at first, but now, “The new laws of hit TV dramas are being applied to the series,” said an entertainment reporter,

“We have a new formula for a hit TV drama.

(Entertainment Reporter) NHK’s internal expectations were not so high in terms of viewer ratings at the beginning.

With suspense, violence, and love romance, “Hikaru Kimi he” has all the prerequisites for high viewer ratings. It’s getting more and more difficult to miss it.