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| Haru Kuroki as the Perpetually Perky Kokoro in "Juhan Shuttai!" |
Despite how much I love actress Haru Kuroki, somehow her drama JUHAN SHUTTAI! from 2016 completely slipped under my radar, so I was excited to see it up for grabs at the J-drama forums! Wonderfully winsome and sweetly sincere, Juhan tells the story of Kokoro Kurosawa (Kuroki), an energetic and spritely young girl who never lets the negative side of life get her down and always aims for the positive!
A one-time Olympic Judo contender, when a devastating injury takes her out of the game, she looks into herself to see what she can contribute to the world now that she has been sidelined, and, remembering how the world of manga was the original inspiration for her love of Judo, wishes to be involved in those that made those stories a reality!
Friends Sara (Rina Takeda) and Tsukasa (Emiko Tomiyama)
Always looking at life from the perspective of sports, she tackles the job interview for a magazine publishing company she wants to join with the same outlook: observing the opponent, predicting what they will do, and choosing the right time to make moves!
Surprising the interviewers with her energetic outlook and smart answers to their queries, she seems a shoe-in for employment...
...until she makes the mistake of applying the world of Judo to the interview too literally and accidentally judo flips an elderly janitor…who just happens to be the company PRESIDENT!!!
Anyone else would surely have NO CHANCE of getting employed after that, and even Kokoro figures she's blown it... but Kokoro’s friends remind her she has this thing called “weird luck”, and she is to find that rather than being insulted by the judo maneuver, the Company President sees much potential in her and she actually gets HIRED!!!
Kokoro is all smiles as she meets the team-
Senior Editor Iokibe (Joe Odagiri) and Section Chief Wada (Matsushige Yutaka)
Kikuchi (Nagaoka Tasuku) , Yasui (Yasuda Ken), and Mibu (Arakawa Yoshiyoshi)
The employees of the Manga department don’t quite know what to make of this naive, chatty and eternally bubbly young girl, but she is eager and determined to learn all she can and do her best! And as she learns the ropes of the manga department bit by bit, she will prove to all her naysayers that she has the moxie to get the job done!
helping outside sales agent Koizumi (Sakaguchi Kentaro) promote works with bookstore clerks...
Awww man, like I mentioned, I’ve always loved Haru Kuroki ever since “Mi Wo Tsukushi Ryoricho”, (as well as others like Nagi no Oitoma, Ichikei no Karasu and Boku no Neechan) and her role as the super sunshiney Kokoro has immediately become another BIG favorite of mine!!!!
As I already mentioned, this drama came out in 2016, and it makes me sad that I don't remember anyone talking about it when it was actually airing. Like I said, even I hadn't heard of this drama til recently! Such a great little show with tender moments and a LOT of heart, and worthy of viewers!
As for me, I'm gonna really enjoy this one!!!!!!
