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sunako_yueMikuri Moriyama (Yui Aragaki) is 25 years old. She doesn't have a boyfriend and doesn't have a job even though she holds a graduate degree. Everyday, Mikuri Moriyama has a feeling that she is not needed. Her father, unable to see her suffering anymore, arranges for her to work as a housekeeper. Her employer is 36 year old Hiramasa Tsuzaki. He is single and works for a company. A series of events leads them to marry as a working condition. (asiawiki-2016)
I'll always look at this dorama with nostalgia. It was broadcasted when I visited Japan in October, and pictures of the show + Hoshino Gen's album were everywhere ^_^
This was such a nice, heartwarming dorama. I am not sure it is one of my favorites, but I honestly cannot say anything bad about it. 11 episodes just flew by.
Cast. I loved Hiramasa-san, he is the epitome of what I consider Japanese men to be. Quiet, well educated, cold-looking, awkward, hardworking, no interest in woman or having a relationship. Main interest is living a quiet, comfortable life. All of these changes once he makes a marriage contract with Mikuri-san. I like how their relationship evolved. We may not have seen much skinship and lovey-dovey things between them, but that was precisely the charm. Mikuri has to do all the work but with patience. A man like Hiramasa-san would be scared off otherwise, ha! I like how she came up with little things (like Tuesday's hugs) to be closer to each other. And just when you thought this Hiramasa was just too slow and wouldn't do anything to take things further, he surprises us with a kiss! (ok, I was not surprised since I was spoiled on Tumblr... and because when that kiss happened, the kiss in YOI also happened. Ha!)
I am not really a super fan of Gakki, but she had a wonderful character in this dorama. It was impossible not to cheer for her, not to root for her. It was lovely how she falls for this little guy (this is not a lie... Hoshino Gen is truly little!). I love her imagination and how the dorama shows us how her mind works! The little scenes of her imagination were always funny to watch.
The other characters were all likeable. In the past, I used to be not a fan of relationship between a much older woman and a much younger man. But in this case, it wasn't possible to not root for Yuri-san and the Ikemen-guy. Yuri-san is such a beautiful woman! I couldn't believe she was 49 years old, so I had to look it up. I am surprised to say that she is 47! She looks like 40 or less, even if you can see her wrinkles, which makes her even more pretty, because she is all natural! The age gap is not that much in real life (it is 11 instead of 17 years), and Kazami was a lucky guy to have her at the end. I love her point of view regarding marriage and being single, and I teared up a little bit the time she cried.
Story. As mentioned before, I was very interested in this story because Hiramasa-san represents male youth nowadays. But it is not only that, the dorama also focuses on work and being a housewife, and being a new-mother who has a husband who has an affair (and prefers divorce instead of accepting said affair... as far as I know, because of what I have read, Japanese women prefer to ignore the affairs of their husbands), and there is also romantic relationship between an older woman with a younger man, and a bit about homosexuality and the pressure of a Japanese person to come back to Japan after having lived outside for so long. I mean, although this was a romantic comedy (more comedy than romantic, and to emphasize this, I have to say I laughed out loud in almost every episode), there were also many serious and contemporary issues. The main issue may be entirely Japanese (main male character is an herbivorous guy) but the other issues are worldwide. The only, let's say "twist", that wasn't too much of my liking was the one at the end with Numata-san. And that's because he is like 60 years old and the boy is like 20. Ew.
Music. The OST was top-notch. So fine, the OP isn't "OMG, I LOVE IT!", but it is cute and with a nice mood and fits the dorama perfectly. The soundtrack that goes along the dorama was soo good. Like Italian-like, and it was almost in every laid-back scene. And of course, the ED "KOI" is so catchy! I thought I wouldn't be part of the fandom, but I was wrong! The dance is cute, Hoshino Gen certainly can sing on live, and it will always be part of the best months of the year of me. One, because I visited Japan, and two, because YOI was also broadcasted at the same time. So from now on, every time I listen to this song it will be a natsukasshii! feeling for me XD
For me, story was 10/10. Cast 10/10. Music 10/10. I would totally rewatch this, no doubt. And would I recommend it? Heck yes! This may not -yet- be one of my favorite dorama (I can't say WHY exactly), but I can say that anyone who wants to watch a light but realistic dorama, to give this a try. There are no silly misunderstandings, no overreacting, no stupid tears, so soap-opera-ish scenes... totally recommended.
**My rating: 10/10**
I'll always look at this dorama with nostalgia. It was broadcasted when I visited Japan in October, and pictures of the show + Hoshino Gen's album were everywhere ^_^
This was such a nice, heartwarming dorama. I am not sure it is one of my favorites, but I honestly cannot say anything bad about it. 11 episodes just flew by.
Cast. I loved Hiramasa-san, he is the epitome of what I consider Japanese men to be. Quiet, well educated, cold-looking, awkward, hardworking, no interest in woman or having a relationship. Main interest is living a quiet, comfortable life. All of these changes once he makes a marriage contract with Mikuri-san. I like how their relationship evolved. We may not have seen much skinship and lovey-dovey things between them, but that was precisely the charm. Mikuri has to do all the work but with patience. A man like Hiramasa-san would be scared off otherwise, ha! I like how she came up with little things (like Tuesday's hugs) to be closer to each other. And just when you thought this Hiramasa was just too slow and wouldn't do anything to take things further, he surprises us with a kiss! (ok, I was not surprised since I was spoiled on Tumblr... and because when that kiss happened, the kiss in YOI also happened. Ha!)
I am not really a super fan of Gakki, but she had a wonderful character in this dorama. It was impossible not to cheer for her, not to root for her. It was lovely how she falls for this little guy (this is not a lie... Hoshino Gen is truly little!). I love her imagination and how the dorama shows us how her mind works! The little scenes of her imagination were always funny to watch.
The other characters were all likeable. In the past, I used to be not a fan of relationship between a much older woman and a much younger man. But in this case, it wasn't possible to not root for Yuri-san and the Ikemen-guy. Yuri-san is such a beautiful woman! I couldn't believe she was 49 years old, so I had to look it up. I am surprised to say that she is 47! She looks like 40 or less, even if you can see her wrinkles, which makes her even more pretty, because she is all natural! The age gap is not that much in real life (it is 11 instead of 17 years), and Kazami was a lucky guy to have her at the end. I love her point of view regarding marriage and being single, and I teared up a little bit the time she cried.
Story. As mentioned before, I was very interested in this story because Hiramasa-san represents male youth nowadays. But it is not only that, the dorama also focuses on work and being a housewife, and being a new-mother who has a husband who has an affair (and prefers divorce instead of accepting said affair... as far as I know, because of what I have read, Japanese women prefer to ignore the affairs of their husbands), and there is also romantic relationship between an older woman with a younger man, and a bit about homosexuality and the pressure of a Japanese person to come back to Japan after having lived outside for so long. I mean, although this was a romantic comedy (more comedy than romantic, and to emphasize this, I have to say I laughed out loud in almost every episode), there were also many serious and contemporary issues. The main issue may be entirely Japanese (main male character is an herbivorous guy) but the other issues are worldwide. The only, let's say "twist", that wasn't too much of my liking was the one at the end with Numata-san. And that's because he is like 60 years old and the boy is like 20. Ew.
Music. The OST was top-notch. So fine, the OP isn't "OMG, I LOVE IT!", but it is cute and with a nice mood and fits the dorama perfectly. The soundtrack that goes along the dorama was soo good. Like Italian-like, and it was almost in every laid-back scene. And of course, the ED "KOI" is so catchy! I thought I wouldn't be part of the fandom, but I was wrong! The dance is cute, Hoshino Gen certainly can sing on live, and it will always be part of the best months of the year of me. One, because I visited Japan, and two, because YOI was also broadcasted at the same time. So from now on, every time I listen to this song it will be a natsukasshii! feeling for me XD
For me, story was 10/10. Cast 10/10. Music 10/10. I would totally rewatch this, no doubt. And would I recommend it? Heck yes! This may not -yet- be one of my favorite dorama (I can't say WHY exactly), but I can say that anyone who wants to watch a light but realistic dorama, to give this a try. There are no silly misunderstandings, no overreacting, no stupid tears, so soap-opera-ish scenes... totally recommended.
**My rating: 10/10**
