Turns out it’s not the first time she’s used her charm to deal with an embarrassing live-to-air blunder.

No matter where you are in the world, there’s something about an unexpected onscreen blooper that immediately catches the eye. Part of the appeal is wondering what will happen next in the unscripted moment, as the person dealing with the gaffe is forced to think on their feet, giving us a brief glimpse at life behind the professional veil.

For Japanese weather presenter Ayaka Matsuyuki, thinking on her feet is a skill she’s perfected over the years, given that she’s had to deal with at least two unplanned events during live broadcasts. The 26-year-old presenter, who goes by the cute moniker “Ayachi“, is currently earning a legion of fans following her most recent blunder, which was shared by Twitter user @ryukoofficial online.

https://twitter.com/ryukoofficial/status/1006745486496133120

The clip was originally broadcast on the SOLiVE24 Internet weather information programme (now known as WeatherNewsLiVE) on 19 February. After being shared on Twitter a few days ago, the gaffe has since gone international, with people from around the world heaping praise on the quick-thinking weather presenter.

▼ The first sign that something might be about to go wrong comes at the 10-second mark in the above clip, when Ayachi is faced with a blank screen.

Immediately springing to action, the presenter puts on the charm, giggling while saying, “Is it just me who can’t see anything? The icons must’ve accidentally gone see-through.”

When the icons do appear, they’re in the foreground, instead of the background, covering Ayachi’s face, which gives her the idea to crouch down beside the map of Japan.

Taking it one step further, she walks behind the map to show the effect, saying “If I do this, I’m behind it!” Before politely saying, “Please wait a little longer” to the viewer. When it appears that the icons aren’t going away, she mentions it will be cloudy in western Japan, stepping behind the map again to show the area she’s talking about.

The blooper immediately captured the hearts of viewers online, and one Twitter user reminded everyone that the newscaster had to deal with another mishap a couple of years ago. At the time, guest mascot Gachapin was in the studio with Ayachi when he disappeared after matching the colour of the green screen, causing a commotion as the producers tried different effects to make the character visible again.

▼ “Gachapin? Where did you go?”

Ayachi handled the blunder with aplomb, laughing throughout and apologising to Gachapin for changing his colour, before telling him he still looked cute in blue. While keeping a handle on the situation, she also managed to deliver the weather report, in case any viewers were more interested about the state of the skies instead of the state of Gachapin.

Given the overwhelming support for Ayachi, the forecast for her weather-presenting future looks bright, so now’s the time to join her folllowing on Twitter or Instagram. Who knows – one day, she might even follow in the footsteps of X Japan’s Yoshiki, whose international fame gave him a spot presenting the weather on French television.

Source: Hachima Kiko
Featured image: Twitter/@ryukoofficial