“Mass-Produced Riko: A Plastic Model Girl’s Life-Assembly Notes"!
EXTREMELY cute drama about a cheerful and earnest girl named Riko Komukai (Yuki Yoda) working for an Event Planning company FUNFUN Create who, though bright and full of ideas, is told by her peers that she is a “mass production” consumer, meaning someone who is “average” and goes for all the “basic” things in life without fanfare or flair.
She is told by her friend Kyoko Nagano (Karen Fujii) not to worry about it as there is nothing wrong with being average, but her boss asks her if there has ever been something in her life that made her so excited that she got a nosebleed (lol), but Riko has to admit she hasn’t.
When asked about hobbies or interests, Riko sasy that the only thing that ever made her heart flutter was back when she was a kid going to the toy store. Alas, that kind of excitement is a thing of the past…or is it?
That evening, Riko is walking home when she comes upon a curious looking toy shoppe that she had never seen before. Instantly mesmerized by the toys and model kits, she ventures into the store, where she is met by the eccentric owner Yajima (Yoji Tanaka) and his friendly assistant Chiemi (Erika Ishikawa). 
Her eyes fall upon a model kit of a character from Mobile Suit Gundam, one called Zaku. She is told that this character is of the “mass Production” type, basically generic soldiers with no defining characteristics, however, collectors love them for genuine feeling of ordinary soldiers fighting in the wars.
Riko immediately connects with the Zaku model and the kind Shopkeepers tell her she can begin building it right there! She is taken upstairs where she is given her very first lesson in model building, from snipping all the parts out of their frames…
…painstakingly glueing all the pieces together and assembling the parts...
...and then, using the box as a guide, panting her finished figure! She's worried about making a mistake, but is assured that she should color it whichEVER way she feels, to make it her own, unique creation!
As she paints, the voices of the shop owners melts away, and for the first time, Riko finds herself in “the zone” where can only focus on the joy of what she is doing!
Once she is done, the owners applaud Riko for her efforts, and as she takes in her very first model project, she feels the tug in her heart for the hobby! She knows this is just the beginning and will happily be going back for more!
The next day, Riko has an extra spring in her step, and as she takes in the challenges of the new day, her humble Zaku figure built by her own hands sits proudly at her desk!
AHHHH, this is such a sweet show, watching Riko building her model took me back to my OWN childhood, and the excitement of putting together a kit for the very first time In my case, it was Sports Car kits not Anime figures, but the magic was the same and I TOTALLY was on board with the feelings Riko was going thru!!!This drama reminded me not just a little of the excellent Fuka Koshiba drama “Tokusatsu Ga-Ga-Ga”, with its quirky young lead finding passion and strength from her decidedly otaku obsessions, additionally, like ga-Ga-ga, the show pulls HEAVILY on nostalgia and I spend my time reminiscing back to my childhood….EDIT: Oooh, looks like Riko’s gonna build a Sports Car in the very next episode! Nostalgia, here I come!!!Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
