Satomi Ishihara is Back in Full Bloom with “Jimi Ni Sugoi”!!

Satomi Ishihara is BACK!

Just finished watching the first episode of the new Satomi Ishihara drama Jimi ni Sugoi~Koetsu Garu Kono Etsuko (Simpleness is Great!! Copy Editing Girl Kono Etsuko), and I already love, love, LOVE it!!!

Satomi Ishihara as Etsuko Kono

 Jimi Ni Sugoi tells the tale of a pretty young fashionable woman named Kono Etsuko who has dreamed all her life of becoming an editor for her favorite fashion magazine Lassy, unfortunately the company isn’t ever hiring new editors and it has been a solid six times since graduating that Etsuko has come in interviewing for a spot with the publishers with no luck! 

This time however, Etsuko manages to strike a chord with Shoon Takeyama, (the always fun and goofy Goro Kishitani) the head of the proofreading department, when she asks him where he got his unusual necktie pin. Such a strange girl, he thinks, but at least he'll remember her! Etsuko leaves crossing her fingers that the seventh time will be the charm!
When Etsuko gets the call from the company that evening telling her she’s been hired, she is in seventh heaven! She strides in to work the next day beaming with charisma and confidence, ready to meet the team...

A Dream Come True!

Finally at Lassy!

Here I am!

"Who IS this chick?"

...but she is rudely awakened when she finds that she HASN'T been hired for the fashion editing room at ALL...but the dour and drab dungeon of the company’s PROOFREADING department!

Etsuko finds her REAL department...

...the Proofreading Section!

Flabbergasted, she tells Takeyama that there must be SOME kind of mistake because she applied for  the FASHION section, but Takeyama reminds her that, as they said in the interview, they’re just not hiring for that department…

Takeyama (Goro Kishitani) explaining things.

But when he noticed that her name, Kouno Etsuko, sounded an awful lot like “proofreader” (Ko-etsu), Takeyama took it as a sign…and hired her for his own section! LOL!

Your name means you were MADE for this job!

Not Funny

After snickering at his own joke, Takeyama tells her that, while the Proofreading Section isn’t what she hoped for, with proper motivation she can work her way up in the company until she gets the position she really wants. Giving in, Etsuko decides to make the best of it, planning on staying there for only as long as it takes to get promoted and get out of there!
The proofreading team themselves are not impressed with Etsuko’s flashy and outspoken demeanor, and are even less impressed by her proofreading skills!

Fujiwa (Noriko Eguchi) training Etsuko

Fujiwa Rion (Noriko Eguchi) is in charge of training Etsuko but after a headache inducing first day, she tells Takeyama that she doesn't think this dizzy girl is up to the task.

Takeyama tells her the story of his necktie pin- how Etsuko pointed it out and how he saw her later that day  investigating about it in a store, and tells her to give her a chance because this is a girl who notices details and will investigate questions until she gets the correct answers. And so begins Etsuko’s career as a magazine Proofreader!

Etsuko seriously applying herself

Boss tells her she must do things her own way.

Besides having to deal with her fellow proofreaders, Etsuko must also go up against the editors of the manuscripts they are given to correct, and almost immediately she butts heads with an editor named Hachiro Kaizuka (Munetaka Aoki). She doesn’t think much of her section, but when she sees him belittling the crew and making light of their work, she finds herself defending the proofreaders and verbally assaulting the man, calling him “tako” in front of everyone! Unfortunately for her, this is a higher up whom she will be dealing with on an almost regular basis, and can make things difficult for her!

Kaizuka belittling Yoneoka (Masato Wada)

Etsuko can't Keep Quiet!

...and who is THIS girl?

Mind your manners...TAKO!

Takeyama runs in to introduce the people to each other.

She does have a couple of friends she can rely on, one is a girl named Toyoko Morio (Tsubasa Honda), a fellow employee who is an old classmate who happens to work for the very Fashion Editing Section Estuko covets....

Toyoko Morio (Tsubasa Honda)

...and Cecil Imai, a cute and naive girl working as the company’s receptionist, (played by the squeakily adorable Rika Adachi), who immediately adheres herself to Etsuko’s side as her best buddy. Such a sweetie!!!

Above and Below: Yuri (Marie Soda) and Cecil (Rika Adachi)

 Together these two become friends Etsuko can have over for drinks where she can get drunk and "let it all out", passing out by the end of the night, LOL!

Etsuko also has the utmost support from the boss of the Okazuya she’s living above,who treats her much like a father (in fact, I first thought it WAS her father, their relationship is just like Anne and Ren Osugi in Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai) as well as all the neighborhood regulars. They love and cherish her and do anything they can to help her get ahead!

Boss Oda (Hiromasa Taguchi) and the boys get Etsuko a gift!

A clearly touched Etsuko knows she is cared for.

There is also a sub-plot regarding Morio and her work- she’s tasked with looking for a new model for the company and sets her sights on a boy she saw online named Yukito Orihara (Masaki Suda).

"That's the look I've been looking for"

Orihara ( Masaki Suda): No interest in Modeling.

When she meets him, however, he has no desire to model but when he loses his job and then gets an eviction notice from his apartment, he changes his mind and agrees to work for her. The following day, he accidentally bumps into Etsuko who is literally AND figuratively knocked off her feet, it is LOVE at first sight! But as Morio seems to also show interest in this guy, I see some love triangles ahead…

One scene that really killed me and I laughed out LOUD was this scene where Etsuko is hobbling home, cheery and a bit tipsy over champagne when she spies an “Editor’s Bag” that she’s had her eyes on on sale.  She goes over and reads the details, but she is SO immersed in her job that before you know it, she’s taken out her editing pen and “proofread” the sale sign! LOLOL~!!!

 

MAN, i’m enjoying this drama so MUCH! As you all know, I’m a huge fan of Satomi Ishihara already, and her character of Etsuko Kouno is so bright, optimistic, sassy and charming, I fell in love with her before even 5 minutes had passed!!! She’s one of those quirky characters who dresses very casually at home but dresses up in five star STYLE when out on the town or at work, and the show does this very cute thing where after each scene is completed, a magazine spread pops up with Satomi as a model modelling the outfit! Not since “Hotaru No Hikari” have I seen a show care so much about the characters’ wonderful clothing, and I LOVE it!

Like shows such as “Underwear” or even “Ie Uru Onna”, the  show is very dense with actual facts and information about its business. Whereas Underwear introduced you to the world of Lingerie Designing and Ie uru Onna taught you the fundamentals about real estate, Jimi Ni Sugoi teaches you about proofreading, the procedures, the implementation and the research points of the job, and it is a thrill to see Etsuko not only learning the ropes, but finding she has a passion for it as well!

A fun, properly intriguing drama showing a dazzling Satomi Ishihara at her very best, this IS Satomi Ishihara in Full Bloom!

"The food is so yummy!"

"But who was that guy I bumped into?"

"Really, Sempai, he didn't seem that special to me."

Oh well...back to eating!!!! LOLOL

PS: An added bonus is the opening song to Jimi No Sugoi sung by a girl named CHAY which I immediately recognized as the awesome Yumi Arai (Matsutoya) song “12-gatsu No Ame” off her incredible “Misslim” Album! What a nice surprise!!! Looks like this show is off to a GREAT START and I can't wait to see MORE!!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com