Around 40

I love the shows that focus on older women or men still looking for love. And this was another good one. So good I think that I watched the entire season over only two days.

Characters:
Ogata Sakoto: The main character is a woman who is 39, a psychiatrist and still single. It's shameful to say that it took 9 episodes for me to realize that I had seen her before -- in Queen's Classroom. She's quite head strong and enjoys doing things by herself, but realizes that she would like to have children someday and has not given up on the possibility that she will be married -- despite her dropping market value. Her declining stock was described in a funny scene when she goes to a "marriage bureau" (kind of like a dating service but with marriage being the end goal -- like a face-to-face eharmony?) There was even a graph showing how steep the drop-off is after 35 and past 40 it was almost like you should just get yourself a single apt. in an old folks home.

Okamura Keitaro: The main guy I recognized right off from his role in Proposal Daisakusen as the love rival. He looks much older and sophisticated in that show. Here he looks young and really much less cute, except for the episode when he wears a suit. :yummy: He is really strange in this show - a bit overly fixated on conservation (turns off lights, brings his own chopsticks, rides his bike even in the rain, etc.) This rigidity of his causes conflict between him and many other people in his life - including his many ex-girlfriends. He is introduced to the show b/c he joins Satoko's staff as a psychologist. While psychologists in the US are trained doctors, it seems that in Japan it's a less prestigous position, perhaps a bit more akin to a social worker.

Synopsis:
The story focuses on the budding relationship between Satoko and Keitaro (Okamura-san). It starts off purely professional with some conflict around his methods for healing -- moves into a friendship as they realize they share the same taste in comedy shows -- and then culminates with the difficulties of navigating a relationship where the woman makes more money and is more prestigious. The ending is really quite sweet and believable. They are two characters with very strong personalities and you want them to succeed without sacrificing who they are -- and that happens.

Unlike many other dramas that I've seen there are two fairly well developed sub-plots in this show.
a) The second plot surrounds Satoko's high school friend - who is the exact opposite of Satoko. Mizue was married early, has a child in his teens and her life revolves around her family and domestic duties. As the show progresses she realizes that she has lost her identity along the way and tries to figure out how to balance her family responsibilities while creating a life of her own as well.
b) The third plot is around a younger friend (unclear how they know her) who is an up and coming magazine editor. After she is passed over for a chief editor job she decides to change her anti-marriage position and marry a famous/wealthy many who has been after her. Not surprisingly this was not the best move for her to make and she spends the show pretending to be happy to others while trying to figure out how to make the best out of a bad situation. - I could actually empathize with her character. If work is all that you have and that begins to not go your way, it seems like it's natural to want to find another way to define yourself. Wife/mother is not a bad way to do that, if it that is an option.

Overall: I liked this show. I learned about male-female social dynamics in Japan - and that it's not terribly different from what happens here in the states when the woman is more successful than the man. Definitely a nice peaceful story, probably more attractive to older female viewers.