An Analysis of Japanese Audience Response to TV Drama : Does the Love Story Work For or Against Entertainment Education?

In the era of diversity, the idea of entertainment education (E-E) is worth considering inthe context of the promotion of multicultural values such as tolerance for diversity inJapan, and impediments in inculcating these values must be identified and overcome.This study aims to provide a basis for the future development of E-E in Japan byinvestigating the audience response to a Japanese TV serial. The analysis of messagesposted on the online bulletin board of a serial confirmed viewers’ selective attention andlimited educational experience by excessive entertainment. However, it was alsorevealed that the younger generation achieved a good combination of entertainmentwith learning. It suggests that an optimal balance of entertainment and educationrequires the theme of drama not to be too realistic for a targeted audience; they cannotfind entertainment in it when a drama is too realistic. This result contributes as a onecase study demonstrating the orientation of responses by a Japanese audience