Imadoki no Wakai Mon wa (2022)

Give it a try, guys, it might surprise you!

As soon as I found out about this "Imadoki no Wakai Mon wa", it came totally natural to me to compare it, on the one hand, to the famous UK/US show "The Office" (both being comedies set in an office environment), and on the other hand to another dorama also airing right this season, "Shoujiki Fudousan" (both having Fukuhara Haruka as the FL - and "OL").

Regarding "The Office", we could say that the two series are at opposite ends: that one portrayed the typical Western office in all its idiocy, obtaining a comedic effect by exaggerating some characteristics and aspects which, albeit to a less inflated degree, do actually exist in such working environment (I speak out of personal experience); on the contrary, this J-drama portrays a kind of idealized Japanese office where the (light) comedic effect isn't done at the characters' expenses (we're not made to laugh AT them, but rather to smile WITH them) and where the office environment isn't depicted AS IS, but rather AS IT SHOULD BE. The result is a delicately humane story filled with nice characters that we'd all love to have as colleagues and/or bosses (and even one like me who's normally pretty wary of office-themed shows can find this really likable - as I did!).

As for the comparison with "Shoujiki Fudousan" (of which I've watched over half the episodes so far), that one as well portrays things as they should be, rather than as they are (I mean, an honest realtor...ehm...'nuff said! ^__^;...) but in my humble opinion this show wins hands down, due to a more original, wittier script, and a more talented male cast (ok, I know, Yamashita's fans will jump at my throat...but sorry, guys, I tell it as I see it, and I personally find Sorimachi to be a much better actor - peace!).

(BTW, now that I'm thinking about it, another comparison came to mind, and that is to "Futari Monologue": once again for having Fukuhara as the FL, but also for the constant presence of the "voice over" technique ^___-)

The music, meant both as credits song and as commentary, is a pretty nice touch too; and although the production value might not be anything really worth calling home about *per se*, it's still absolutely ok, so it's all good, as far as I'm concerned.

All in all, a little gem of dorama that might end up being unfortunately overlooked by many.
My humble suggestion therefore is: give it a try, guys, it might surprise you! ^___-

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