Ninja ni Kekkon wa Muzukashii

Although the Nanao action comedy “Ninja ni Kekkon wa Muzukashii” was pretty high on my list of “Want to Watch” dramas from the past season,  now that they’re finally getting around to subbing it, I must confess it hasn’t really been wowing me.

I know they were going for a “Lupin No Musume” vibe, with all the secret identity action going on, but in execution it struck me more like the recent Mitsuki Takahata vampire Comedy, which you may recall I felt very slapdash in its take, as if it were a high school production rather than a professionally produced drama. But that’s just my feel.

Nanano plays Hotaru Kusakari, a pharmacist struggling with her marriage to her husband Goro (Nobuyuki Suzuki), a Postal Worker, who never seems to understand her feelings and what she wants.

Their differences have made the two even consider divorce, but what neither of them know is that their significant others are BOTH part of clashing Ninja Clans, and when they’re not bickering at home about housework , they’re covertly duking it out on the battlefield!

Their differences have made the two even consider divorce, but what neither of them know is that their significant others are BOTH part of clashing Ninja Clans, and when they’re not bickering at home about housework , they’re covertly duking it out on the battlefield!

I was expecting  action-packed laugh out loud comedy, but so far I feel it's been a fairly mundane affair. As you can see, it wasn't even enough for me to bother screencapping! Too bad because I love most of the actors and actresses in this, including Maika Yamamoto, Rie Tomosaka and even Alice Hirose as Nanano's point-man!  Seriously, this cast is almost TAILOR MADE for me!

Ya know with the talent involved, I'll be sticking around....Guess we’ll see how this one goes!

Nao Is Back in “First Penguin”

 Nao is Nodoka Iwasaki, a single mother who arrives in a dying fishing village with young son Susumu in tow, looking for work! She’s there to begin work as a waitress in a hotel restaurant, but lets everyone know that she’s willing to do any number of things to make some money!

By chance she catches the eye of  an earnest fisherman named Hiroshi Kataoka (Shinichi Tsutsumi) who is reminded of a woman named Midori who was a positive force in keeping the town lively and buzzing.

When he hears she is up for promotional work and such, he immediately decides to hire her as the person to come up with a plan to save the fishing village from dying out!

This takes Nodoka for a loop, as she knows nothing about such things, but thanks to the passion of the fishermen and the amazing taste of the fresh fish, she decides to accept the job and make a go of it!

Using her marketing moxie, as well as the help of friends in town like Yusuke Kotohira (Daichi Watanabe), she tries to come up with ways to revitalize the town and bring in revenue for the ailing community.

She is tenacious and smart, but she will find that working against  a village set in their old ways, with greedy elders and boat workers who scoff at her radical ideas, may make things harder than she thought!

Awww, I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed Nao over the past few months, and First penguin is a great one to bring her back with! Nodoka Iwasaki is a great character, fun and goofy,thoughtful and kind, the kind of role Nao is perfect in!!! Should be a good one!

Oh, and Wakana Matsumoto is in it, too!! How great is that!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Waru: Hataraku no ga Kakko Warui Nante Dare ga Itta おわり

 And a fine time was had by all!

Really enjoyed Mio Imada’s first starring outing as the starry-eyed super-employee Maririn Tanaka in the business comedy drama “Waru: Hataraku no ga Kakko Warui Nante Dare ga Itta?" as she goes about using her unstoppable positive energy to help and heal workers who are being crushed by the daily struggles of work!

Watching her spazzilly stumble her way up through promotion through promotion (and facing new adversaries along each step!) made you want to cheer her on and made it such a joy whenever her sincere sensibilities persevered and won the day!

 

Above all, I loved the friendships Maririn builds over the course of the series, her sweet heart creating bonds that will help and guide her throughout all the highs and lows of the job- especially when it comes time to hunkering down and getting SERIOUS about bringing the goodness back to the company!

I admit I had reservations about svelte beauty Mio Imada taking on such a wacky and zany role (I just could not shake the feeling she was imitating Fuka Koshiba for those first few episodes, NGL) but of course she won me over and by the show’s latter half I was completely in her camp! 

WOW, can’t wait to see what Mio does next!!!

The Merry Side of Mio Imada in "Waru"

 
Part Shomuni, part Iihito and part Okane Ga Nai, Mio Imada channels her inner Fuka Koshiba in her first headlining role as the peppy Maririn Tanaka in “ Waru: Hataraku no ga Kakko Warui Nante Dare ga Itta?”, a girl with a gusto for work and an unshakeable positivity for life!

The company employees of online sales company OHMI don’t know what to make of the eternally sunny and SUPER SPASTIC girl newly employed in the  Equipment Management Section, but once they meet her and her exuberant attitude, they don’t soon forget her!

Everything she does makes people turn around and remember her (for better or worse!), and the scene of Maririn speaking out in the middle of the president’s speech is right out of “Doki no Sakura”!

Like dramas Shomuni and Iihito, Maririn is placed in the lowest of all sections where careers go to die, and she is expected by manager Minigishi (Noriko Eguchi) to soon lose both interest and her enthusiasm in the nether dwellings of the company, but she will soon prove her mettle!
Below: Shades of “Shomuni”

And Tanaka’s positive attitude is indeed a sorely needed thing at Ohmi, with tons of employees angry, beat and jsut plain frustrated with their job environment and life situations, all of which the innocently naive Tanaka is happy to meddle in!

Hikari ishida

Mirai Shida

Haruna Kondo

Shizuka Ishibashi

From the get go she is using her people skills to make friendly connections and slowly make her way up the chain of the company, but the company may have plans for her that she cannot foresee!

And amid all the hub-bub Maririn is looking for the mysterious T.O.(Osamu Mukai), a fellow OHMI employee who she met as a skydiving instructor who once inspired her at her lowest point…

I must admit I had a hard time getting into this show at first because it REALLY looked to me like Mio Imada was doing an ACTUAL imitation of Fuka Koshiba, specifically her role in "She was Pretty", but by the show’s halfway mark I threw in and just enjoyed the activities!

Fro someone who’s  known for playing glamorous characters, it’s funny that Mio’s first starring role is the wacky Maririn Tanaka… Actresses like the aforementioned Fuka Koshiba, Mitsuki Takahata, Mei Nagano and Minami hamabe all started out playing these kind of bokke characters, guess Mio knew it was a great way to start! in any case, I’m really enjoying it!

EDIT: Just found out this is a remake of the 1992 drama Waru starring none other than Hikari Ishida herself in the titular role of Maririn! Whaaaaat!!!!

What a wonderful easter egg to have her appearing in this 2022 drama as well!

This reminds me of when they remade Itazura na Kiss (with Ryoko Kobayashi as the lead) and original lead Aiko Sato made a cameo in it, and looks like I wasn't the only one as someone named Onya posted this wonderful pic:

"Double Kotoko & Double Maririn"! LOLOL