Into The World of Manga with Haru Kuroki in "Juhan Shuttai!"

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!!!

With her athletic background, one would assume she’d be placed in the sports department of the magazine, however the employees are shocked when she is placed right in the section she's been dreaming of getting into- the MANGA Department of VIBES Magazine!!!

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)

"Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!!"

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...

...and even when problems come up for Kokoro and Iokibe (such as dealing with doubts felt by a senior manga creator, played by Fumiyo Kohinata), Kokoro’s unorthodox insights are sometimes the very thing that can help snap out of it and get both the manga and creative team back on track!

 

Finding inspiration in the strangest palces!

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!!!!!!

Mondai Bukken: Problem Property!

Rio Uchida and Takaya Kamikawa in Mondai Bukken

A young woman realtor in sales suddenly put in charge of problem housing, a young man obsessed with psychic phenomena, and a mysterious man with decidedly dog-like capabilities. Put them all together and you've got  “Mondai Bukken-“Problem Property”! Our story:

Emiko Wakamiya (Rio Uchida) is a young woman working for Oshima Real Estate who gets transferred to a small subdivision of the business called the Sales Exception Office, located not in the building but in a luxurious mansion in town!

There Emiko meets the young head of the department Masahiro Oshima (Ryubi Miyase) and his trusty dog Inuta.  A sudden transfer, she has no idea what this department does...or what they have in store for her!

She soon learns through the intermediary Katayama (Chikara Honda) that Emiko’s new job will be checking out troubled properties that the company owns, and thanks for Oshima’s geeky obsession with the macabre, the problems ALL seem to be of a ghostly and supernatural kind!

The first job she is given is to check up on a property which has had FIVE suicides within it and is considered “CURSED! "Cursed????! EEEK!" thinks Emiko!

As a real "scaredy cat” which she attributes to some kind of childhood trauma, Emiko totally balks at this new job prospect, but she is reminded that she was a mediocre worker in the company before, and if she expects to keep her job, she must apply herself here and get results!

Nervous and unsure of herself, Emiko finally sums up her courage and makes her way down to the cursed apartment. She doesn’t have a clue how to start this case, but she is met at the apartment by a strange, dashing man who seems to have a grip on the situation and a gift for sniffing out the facts!

? ? ? ? ? ? 

The name’s name is Kotaro Inugashima (Takaya Kamikawa), and he informs Emiko that he has been sent by the company to assist her, and has been briefed on the situation of the cursed property...and immediately takes control of the investigation!

Besides the very dog-like name, this “Inugashima” has many attributes that remind Emiko of a dog as well- heightened sense of both hearing and smell and able to run at high speeds, all of which help with the investigation but keep Emiko flustered throughout!

Together they work through the clues: the witnesses, the possible suspects who might set up such a scene ,etc, etc, and they even have the help of former police detective Jiro Arimura  (Kento Hamano) to help them on the case! 

By the episode's end, the crackerjack team has uncovered the truth about the supernatural goings-on at the supposedly cursed apartment, and the case is considered closed!  The tenants are free to resume their residence there, relieved of any ghostly apparitions or doomsday curses!

Back at the office the next day, Emiko gushes that she really couldn’t have done it without the help of Inugashima-and is SHOCKED to find that no one has heard of this person and that no one at the company has sent any agent to help her! 

EHHHH??? This leaves Emiko to wonder just WHO that Inugashima IS…and is it just her imagination, or does Oshima’s dog look strangely reminiscent of Inugashima himself….? 

It can’t be! Or...CAN it? 

LOLOL!

As you all know I love Rio Uchida and her role as the addled Emiko Wakamiya charms throughout and it's a kind of fun set-up, so we’ll see where this one goes!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com