You might take a jaded look at the poster and think : yeah right, cheap/predictable laughs from an old man cleaning up after a messy young woman.
Yes, an easy assumption to make though you'd be mistaken. This very interesting series has other things on its mind.
Driven, 28 yo career woman Mei ( Mikako Tabe ) works for a pharma company as a medical liaison. And while she's good at her job, she has no clues about housework & her apartment looks like a bomb went off. Her sister runs a domestic help agency, so as a birthday present, gives Mei the services of a skilled housekeeper for a while. Mr Nagisa ( Nao Omori ) might be 50, but he's very efficient, an excellent cook & wanted to be a mother when he was little. He quickly conquers her misgivings, & assorted adventures involving her parents, a handsome pharma rival and other matters ensue.
Taken from a manga, a couple of very convenient coincidences can easily be forgiven when the writers have bigger & more intriguing topics to tackle. Like the nature of relationships in the modern day, as well as the notorious workaholic culture prevalent in East Asia. I found it telling that with the loss of two experienced colleagues at Mei's work, no replacements arrive & nobody questions it; they're simply expected to work harder & longer into the night. No wonder breeding/boosting the failing birth rate is too damn bothersome due to people being too tired !
So the narrative weaves various strands together nicely and the conclusion is also well done at the end of 9 eps. I did find the double-ep "finale" ( called ep 9.5 ) rather odd : ninety percent of it is flash backs, though the flash-forward was fine. As to direction/photography, it's good & more slo-mo would've made it better. And I really liked a few small cute touches, such as Mei's phone alarm music & how the title appears in different places every ep.
Proper casting is clearly crucial for the 2 leads & full marks to both. Ms Tabe is very appealing and Mr Omori is extremely likable; his role has a bit more dramatic challenge & he manages nicely. The support players are really effective, especially Mei's co-workers & her BFF Kaoru ( Maryjun Takahashi ). Her search for a marriage partner is quite entertaining.
Yes, an easy assumption to make though you'd be mistaken. This very interesting series has other things on its mind.
Driven, 28 yo career woman Mei ( Mikako Tabe ) works for a pharma company as a medical liaison. And while she's good at her job, she has no clues about housework & her apartment looks like a bomb went off. Her sister runs a domestic help agency, so as a birthday present, gives Mei the services of a skilled housekeeper for a while. Mr Nagisa ( Nao Omori ) might be 50, but he's very efficient, an excellent cook & wanted to be a mother when he was little. He quickly conquers her misgivings, & assorted adventures involving her parents, a handsome pharma rival and other matters ensue.
Taken from a manga, a couple of very convenient coincidences can easily be forgiven when the writers have bigger & more intriguing topics to tackle. Like the nature of relationships in the modern day, as well as the notorious workaholic culture prevalent in East Asia. I found it telling that with the loss of two experienced colleagues at Mei's work, no replacements arrive & nobody questions it; they're simply expected to work harder & longer into the night. No wonder breeding/boosting the failing birth rate is too damn bothersome due to people being too tired !
So the narrative weaves various strands together nicely and the conclusion is also well done at the end of 9 eps. I did find the double-ep "finale" ( called ep 9.5 ) rather odd : ninety percent of it is flash backs, though the flash-forward was fine. As to direction/photography, it's good & more slo-mo would've made it better. And I really liked a few small cute touches, such as Mei's phone alarm music & how the title appears in different places every ep.
Proper casting is clearly crucial for the 2 leads & full marks to both. Ms Tabe is very appealing and Mr Omori is extremely likable; his role has a bit more dramatic challenge & he manages nicely. The support players are really effective, especially Mei's co-workers & her BFF Kaoru ( Maryjun Takahashi ). Her search for a marriage partner is quite entertaining.
