Matsushima Nanako's stoic housekeeper role in Nihon Television's �'Kaseifu no Mita' has been garnering a lot of attention.

The anticipated final episode aired on December 21st, and managed to draw in a whopping figure� of 40% in viewership ratings within the Kanto region. It also received an average of 36.4% in the Kansai region and 34.6% in the Nagoya region, making it the first time in nearly 12 years that a drama has surpassed the 40% mark.

With these ratings, 'Kaseifu no Mita' is tied for 3rd as the drama with the highest ratings of all time. The top three dramas in this regard are 'Tsumikikuzushi Oya to Ko no 200-nichi Senso'�(TBS 1983) with 45.3%,'Beautiful Life' (TBS 2000) with 41.3%, and 'Netchu Jidai' (1979 NihonTV) with 40.0%. 'Kaseifu no Mita' has tied with third place, surpassing the TBS drama '3 nen B gumi Kinpachi Sensei' (39.9%).

According to media research, this is the first time since 2000 that a drama has exceeded the 40% viewership rating. The last time a drama achieved this rating was when TBS aired the final episode of 'Beautiful Life' back in March of 2000.

To get an idea of how far 'Kaseifu no Mita' has come, the series began with an average first episode rating of 19.5%. It continued to improve as the series progressed, leading up to the final episode.

Although the final episode received an average of 40%, the final scene gained the highest viewership rating, with 42.8% in the Kanto region, 39.0% in the Kansai region, and 36.7% in the Nagoya region. This was during the final moments of the drama where Mita, played by Matsushima, bids farewell to the family that she served.

As a whole, the drama received an impressive average rating of 25.17%.

Despite being in an era where people are watching less television, the drama turned out to be a blockbuster hit. Nowadays, a drama with 15% or more viewership ratings is considered to a hit, and a drama exceeding 20% is considered to be a huge hit.

Currently there are no plans for a sequel or a movie adaptation, but fans are already pleading for more Mita-san.�For those that can't get enough of 'Kaseifu no Mita', the DVD and Blu-ray box sets are scheduled to be released on April 18, 2012.

Source + Photo: Sanspo &�Oricon