Notes on "Muchaburi!: Watashi ga Shachou ni Naru Nante"

 Hinako Takanashi (Mitsuki Takahata) is the harried yet highly efficient assistant to a company president named Hiroto Asami (Shota Matsuda) who keeps her busy following his eccentric directives! 

While she is regarded by the employees as Asami’s “yes man” who seems to kiss up to him and lick his boots, in reality she is laid back and realistic girl who spends her evenings chilling with a beer in hand playing video-games while she rants to herself about how the President is driving her CRAZY with his demands, forcing her to clash with employees and even walking his pets!!

Takanashi already knows to expect curveballs when dealing with the flighty Company boss, even she isn’t prepared when one day he announces that one of her submissions (made early in her career when she still had a zest for it) has been chosen- a new foray into the world of restauranting…and he has chosen HER as its new PRESIDENT!

Takanashi is naturally flabbergasted to hear the announcement and constantly tries to beg off the offer. But the President seems to believe in her (though he may have some ulterior motives, he’s acting very fishy) and wants to see what she can do!

If Takanashi is surprised, it’s nothing compared to fellow company man Ryo Taiga (Jun Shison) who submitted what he (and others) feel is the superior proposal and is stunned by the President’s choice in installing this obvious novice into the rank of Leader!

Even more insulting as that he is transferred into being part of Takanashi’s new team, along with Miyauchi (Yoshiyoshi Arakawa),Tanabe (Shugo Oshinari) and Miyama (Maho Yamada) who are all gathered to make her new project go through!

But it will be an uphill battle, for Takanashi has neither the knowledge or the authoritative voice to solve problems when they clash with the former restaurant chef and staff, and at one point it seems all will be lost. But between it all, her sincerity comes through, and if she can just believe in herself, maybe she can get others to follow her lead as well!

When the drama began, I thought it was going to be like the Hugh Grant/Sandra Bullock movie “Two Weeks Notice”, following the hijinks of a eccentric boss and his eternally set-upon assistant, but the thing about taking over the restaurant was a 180 degree turn and I realized it was gonna be more Grand Maison Tokyo...
NOTES:
I know I’ve said this before, but Mitsuki Takahata is such a great actress. While watching this, I thought to myself, “it’s been awhile since I saw her in anything,” before remembering I had JUST watched her in “Iribito”- that’s how much I believed her character in that show. Dark and brooding, it was like a COMPLETELY different actress!

Guess that dude  Sho Kasamatsu from "Eroi Kareshi ga Watashi wo Madowasu" is going to be some love interest or rival or something, as he's introduced and a big deal is made of their meeting...

Also pretty funny to see Jun  Shison here as the uptight and brooding restaurant concept man- the last time I saw him was as the uber-incompetent in “Heaven Gokurau Restaurant, would have been something to see what one character woulda thought of the other!!!
Oh, and in another “Deja-Vu” sighting, that office garden that Takanashi always goes up to (where she clashes with Ryo Taiga)...

Is the same one used in the drama Kaseifu no Nagisa San with Mikako Tabe and Maryjun Takahashi!

Gosh, look at the grass in Nagisa san! Hmm, comparing the two, I see that the garden, which was at first so green, is in dire need of some watering! Or maybe it's just winter....