Though I was a huge fan of Morning Musume back in the day, I wasn’t too familiar with Hello Projects later ventures too much, and so my first real introduction to Erina Mano was as the adorable super-powered psychic Satori Hotsu in the eclectic KEIZOKU.
I’d heard much of Erina’s, or rather, as her fans call her, “Manoeri’s” popularity and legendary cuteness but it wasn’t until I saw her in this role that I truly “got” it! This was one adorable girl!
I’d thought that I’d see her in many more cute roles, but somehow with the next two roles I saw her in, as Yui Aragaki’s best friend Yasue Tanaka in “Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu”...
...and as Kasumi Kirinaka in “Kono Yo ni Tayasui Shigoto wa Nai”, though still pretty, it seemed like she’d given up the cutesy roles and moved on to more serious, world weary characters!
WELL! Having just sat downto watch Eri’s latest offering with “Kareshi wo Loan de Kaimashita”, I can assure you that the cute and FUN Erina Mano we all love is still here and GOING STRONG!
Tae Ukishima (Mano) is a beautiful young girl working as a receptionist for a huge firm along with her two colleagues Yume Iiyama (Ikumi Hisamatsu) and Hiyori Ando (Yuriko Ono).
These are girls whose ultimate dream is to snag a successful man from the company, marry him and become a professional housewife! Tae even has accomplished step one by hooking dream catch Shunpei Shiraishi (Yasushi Fuchikami) and it looks like marriage is on its way!
That evening a strange thing happens- Tae is enjoying a beer and some grilled meat when a strange young man runs into the restaurant, plops down and pretends to be her guest. She doesn’t know what to make of him, protesting as he eats her meat, when some thugs come and drag the guy away!
Now what was THAT all about? Little does Tae know she will be crossing paths with the young lad once again very soon....
The next day she is at a local superette shopping for groceries, where she is stunned to see the saleslady working there as Reika Namba. Reika Namba!!
Reika and her cohorts were legendary receptionists in the old days whom newbie girls like Tae worship as they got the best men, married and had families, just like THEY wish to do.
But this disgruntled, surly and unkempt woman is living no dream life, and after bonding with her, reveals to Tae that once she got pregnant, the magic wore off the marriage and after a bitter divorce is now single and raising a child on her own.
“Girls get the man when they act like cute kittens,” says Reika, "but once they see the true side of you, they lose interest". Tae says she won’t let that happen- she’ll act cutesy always! “So you’re going to act like a cute Kittycat and be cheerful all the time, living a lie?” Reika asks.
If it will lead to a happy life, Tae says she will gladly hide her true self. “I will live forever like a happy Kitty! Meow, meow!”
But Tae’s dreams hit a snag the next day when she happens upon boyfriend Shunpei on the street…with another girl on his arm!!!
Tae is further shocked when he introduces Tae merely as “a girl who works at my company”, but when he texts her later to say that the girl was his sister, she turns a blind eye and convinces herself that he is telling the truth.
The next day Tae happens to see Reika in the park with her child and presumably her young boyfriend. She is introduced to the guy and Tae is shocked to see that Reika treats the guy like slave, ordering him around and even making him dive into the canal to retrieve a ball.
Tae can’t understand why she should treat a man like that, when Reika confides in her: he’s a boyfriend she BOUGHT off the black market!!!
Seems there are these hapless guys who get in over their heads with debt and the debt collectors put them up for “auction”…with a click, you can play off the guy’s debt…and OWN him!!
Stunned at such a discovery, Tae is further stunned when she recognizes one of the boys as the guy who invited himself to her table the other night!
Reika tells Tae the benefits of hiring a boyfriend- He’ll do whatever she wants! He'll make no demands! And most importantly of all, she can be her TRUE SELF around him!!
Enticing as it may seem, nonetheless, Tae wants to stick it out with her somewhat questionable boyfriend and hopefully make it work. Reika calls her a hopeless case!
Tae is firm in her belief and has the support of her two receptionist friends, who agree that hiding your true self is a must to maintain a smooth relationship.
But when she catches her boyfriend Shunpei once AGAIN strolling about town with ANOTHER girl, Tae’s trust in Shunpei is REALLY put to the test!
When he later explains that the girl is “an older sister”, Tae struggles to accept it. She knows he is lying to her. Sighing with defeat, she wants to forget all of the BS and kicks back a few beers to soothe her nerves.
Feeling sorry for herself, she logs onto the sordid auction site Reika introduced her to the other day, and wrinkles her nose at that boy who crashed her dinner the other week. “What a weirdo!” she thinks, as she drinks herself to oblivion.
The next morning, she is awoken to someone ringing her doorbell. With a thumping headache she struggles to get up.
She thinks it’s deliveries from her mom, but it turns out to be a delivery guy with a form to sign.Eh? Whatever could it be?
But when she sees a huge box rocking back and forth on the truckbed with someone clearly ALIVE inside it, her memory comes all crashing back to her: In her drunken stupor last night, she had logged onto the auction site and BOUGHT THE GUY!!!
She tries to get out of it, but the deliveryman is gruff and only wants to drop off her ‘package” and be off. in a panic, Tae calls Reika who tells her she’ll be there right away.
When she arrives, she looks over the contract Tae unwittingly signed and it seems she’s made an agreement to pay off the guy’s debt in installments: she has just gotten herself a Boyfriend on LOAN!!
When Reika tells Tae that she'd better release the boy before he runs out of oxygen, she stumbles over and unwraps the box. Out POPS the guy, introducing himself as Jun Setsuna and WOW is he lucky to get such a BABE for a girlfriend!!!
Shy Tae is flabbergasted beyond words, but steely Reika’s been down this road before and knows ya gotta CONDITION these guys before they run all over you! Reika advises that to keep her new rental boyfriend in check, she should show him who’s boss by SOCKING him a GOOD one! Gentle and kind Tae is uncomfortable with the situation but when Jun scoffs and says that someone so trusting and sweet could never hit him, something snaps in her.
All the abuse she’s been getting by trusting people comes to mind, and she is sick and tired of everyone taking advantage of her sweetness and trust. Suddenly enraged, before she knows it, she’s knocked Jun on his butt!
In disbelief, Jun turns down his arrogant swagger and with Tae now firmly in control, Reika leaves. "You've got this under control!"
Standing over the cowering Jun, Tae stands over him and gives her first order: she says her stomach hurts and orders him to get “it.” He thinks she’s hungry and wants food...
... but then she drops the bomb: she wants him to go to the store...and buy TAMPONS!!!!
Stunned, the meek Jun agrees to get her napkins, terrified of the scary look on Tae's face.
But when he leaves...the harsh features on Tae melt into happiness!!!!!
With a cheer she shouts “This is the BEST 39,800 yen I’ve ever spent in my life!!!”
She's going to have SO MUCH FUN with her rental boyfriend!
And with that, the story is set in motion!
Awww MAN, gotta say how absolutely SMITTEN I am with Erina Mano in this drama! She is so darn CUDDLY CUTE you just want to hug her to pieces and she shows her great talent in fun and slapstick roles!!
I might also add how much I love Kyoko Hasegawa's character of Reika. She is tough and true, just the kind of kick-butt person you want as a friend. In the past Kyoko has always played such unlikeable characters, but I really love her here.
OK, Can't wait to get BACK to it!!!
The story of a girl named Sonomi (Araki) who finds a couple of stranded aliens in her house sounds like something fun...
But boy, the interaction between the live stars and the CGI is so wonky that it would give Jonathan Lipnikci's dead stares at Stuart Little a run for his money...
Not that it matters anyway, because just like the Girl Who Leapt Through Time, it soon puts the sci-fi concept in the background so the drama can focus on ROMANCE problems that girls are having instead! 
Ah well, that main thing is that Yuko is as sweet and darling as could be, and of COURSE I watched the WHOLE thing!
Heck, I'm even considering trying to watch Cheer Dan again, the Tao Tsuchiya drama which Hamanosilence recommended but I just couldn't get into. I only watched the first couple of episodes and I sure don't remember Yuko in it, but maybe it's time to revisit that one!
Or, maybe pick up one of her Calendars!!! Saw pics from her last few years and Whoooo damn they were NICE!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
