A bit of a rant

[dangermousie]

Sapuri.

Is about officework.

BORING?

Yes.

Why do I keep trying to watch those 'workaholic misunderstood career women' things?

They do NOT work for me.

a. I am not tall (not even by Japanese standards)
b. Am not single and putting off men with my ginormous brain/career. Hopefully I have both but I married my college boyfriend, the first guy I was ever in love with, and how much more 'mainstream' can you get?
c. Have not encountered discrimination at work because of my gender
d. I would be described as hyper and cheerful rather than efficient and reserved

In other words, I am closer to Chae-Gyung with education (and hopefully more brains) than I am to a typical jdrama heroine.

My husband is younger than me. By a measly year. And definitely not shorter or worse educated.

I have never had a desire to:
a. make out with a temp hired by the office
b. make out with a much younger man in order to prevent self from succumbing to temptation of making out with a married co-worker
c. kept a human as a pet (Yeah, I like KwP but the heroine makes me go wtf, still)
d. had my fiance dump me and realize my career was over because of my age thus inflict my crankiness on some poor pianist much younger than self.

P.S. Moreover, to be shorter than me, the boy would have to be a dwarf. And I don't drink.

See? See? I am not cut out for these.

I know I am ranting, but come on! I am sure these dramas are neat and controversial and what not. In Japan. For people in similar circumstances (in Japan or elsewhere) they must strike quite a chord. But I've never ever been in anything similar and you might say, right, you've never fallen in love with your dying half-sibling either, but you forget that the latter has a great potential for angst and drama. Not to mention running, crying artistically, or holding your dying (but still immaculately made up) love in your arms.

The rest? Has water coolers.

I am so going to regret posting this.

And Kame is still hot.

And I am still going to watch this. Maybe it will get better. It's just I think I oded on these lately. I started it and went 'OMG, another unlikeable-but-not older more powerful workaholic woman finding love with a younger shorter less empowered man. In an office. Where gender issues arise. Blah.'

Comments

[kitsune714.livejournal.com]

Mousie, I know exactly where you are coming from. For reasons that I still don't quite understand, I don't have a very high tolerance for office romance genre jdrama. winterspel and nihongofrancais love Sapuri to pieces, but I haven't seen more than the first episode. It just never really grabbed me right away, and so I ended up shelving it and watching My Boss My Hero instead (which is awesome, amazing, cracktastic, and did I say awesome already? Because it was). I mean, I'll finish Sapuri eventually, I'm sure, but...

Yes, you will have to let me know how this goes, as you and I share scarily similar drama tastes.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly! I mean, the excitedment of 'OMG! Will I get the promotion! OMG! Papercut!' isn't really up there with 'your true love will go blind unless you donate your eyeballs and she will die of cancer anyway.'

I'll give Sapuri a few eps.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Just seconding MBMH...I got embarassed watching Makky a few times, but the OTP is beyond adorable...the the big bad ladies man yakuza heir scared about talking to the 17 year old who he views as a fairy princess sent to scold him and make him study more and teach him about being a teen.

[smartylibrarian.livejournal.com]

Wow! I identified way too much with the heroine from KWP. I did encounter quite a bit of gender discrimination in my previous profession (audio engineering); I am too tall; and men seem to find me off-putting. My boyfriend has a few Momo-like qualities, which is maybe why we get along so well.

What other dramas feature cold career women finding true love?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

a few Momo-like qualities

As long as you don't refer to him as a pet, I think you are OK :)

Others:

Anego (haven't seen. calixa liked it and posted a summary. Made me want to run to the hills because I don't like the genre but sounded very good if you like office stories). Sapuri (see above). Long Vacation isn't really like that (the one with the pianist). I am sure there are more, but I am not really the person to ask, because it's a genre I tend to steer clear of. (Oddly enough, I adore Forbidden Love which is about student/teacher relationship, but the woman in that one isn't cold-hearted, but very warm and trapped).

There is also Boku Dake No Madonna which has younger man-older woman dynamic but it's not job related and she is more wheedling than cold.

I kinda love having a guy who is really capable and able to take care of you (in fiction and in rl). It doesn't mean he will need to, in fact I hope he lets me do my thing, but it's nice to know you can rely on someone for support, including financial if time comes. Yeah, I know. Very retro :)

Btw, MatsuJun icon=yum. He is going to star in a new drama where he is going to play a Chef.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

EEEE! I could have been called workaholic once (before I met marvelous Mr.Alexander) , but I don't usually enjoy workaholic power women on screen at all. :D

I will see if you warm up to Sapuri, but up to this point nothing really calls me there. Some young part-time worker without direction in life? I don't find them attractive, though I like pianists. :D And even this is where my main problem lies with "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi" ** gasp and confession ** : though I think Kame does a great job , I am not attracted to the type he represents there, as you once called him fittingly "quiet and depressive". I was thinking about this, but I just don't seem to get involved with some characters so much, I just want to give them a shake even though I understand that they are sometimes in no-win situation. ** end of confession **

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

"quiet and depressive".

I don't mind that about Tattakoi (I like the drama actually) mainly because he feels so much and you get every bit of it. I do wonder though, because I know you love A Love to Kill, don't you think Bokgu is rather similar, with no direction in life (in fact, he is bona fide self-destructive).

But yeah, I'll see about Sapuri...

I HEAR YOU, MOUSIE.

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way. I just can't take anymore.

I don't care, shag whoever you want.

Most of it is catered specifically for the OL audience who dream of falling for the hot office temp. Anego narrowly avoided this by being ruthlessly realistic, so I love it, but I'm not watching anymore after I finish Chae Rim's "Dal Ja's Spring" which is korean and very entertaining and I have started it so I will finish it so help me God but nevertheless no more after that!

*is resolute*

I think maybe I should just take a break from dramas for a couple of weeks, because I am seriously feeling oversaturated. Maybe I should do my homework every once in a while. Pft.

Re: I HEAR YOU, MOUSIE.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What is Dal Ja's Spring about?

Most of it is catered specifically for the OL audience who dream of falling for the hot office temp.

ROFL.

Maybe you should watch Mars? *nudge nudge* No age disparity at all :)

or yeah, homework is good too.

[ficchica.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't advise watching Anego. It starts off ok but then gets really bogged down with bedhopping, drinking, adultery, psycho jealous wives and the main relationship is never resolved at all. It just really irritated me, nothing got resolved. The main character was completely lacking in ambition for a career woman and just seemed to lurch from one personal crisis to the other. I only finished it because that guy was pretty and I thought maybe this will get tied up in the end.

Sapuri on the other had is a nice bit of fluff with a resolved ending.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry. I am staying far far away from Anego.

[ginzarhapsody.livejournal.com]

The main character was completely lacking in ambition for a career woman...

I just have to say something on this because Anego was never a career woman. That was never the path she set out toward, unlike both leads from Kimi wa Petto and Sapuri. Anego wanted to be an OL in a good company and eventually (read: before 25) get married to a good guy, but those things never came to her, so she just kind of continued in her role because it was comfortable and she was good at it. I do agree that Anego does tend to be passive in the way she lets things just hit her, rather than change her life, but that's kind of the point of her character as well.

[ilanala]

I'm neither married nor hyper and cheerful, but I still don't relate to those kind of heroines at all, and they seem to be everywhere in jdramas. I guess it's a cultural thing, but I don't tend to find the angst of the working woman all that interesting. I did like Sapuri well enough, but more because Kame's character is adorable and has an interesting plotline, if you like the sort of coming-of-age stories. I don't really remember much about the main female character, so obviously I wasn't all that interested in her.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but see, I sort of came of age already so the Kame part doesn't sound like my thing.

I much prefer kdrama and twdrama heroines.

My faves being the 'argumentative couple' stories or the 'hyper girl reserved guy' because...projecting.

I like the jdrama heroines which are 'warm' and in touch with their emotions and it's not that many.

[ginzarhapsody.livejournal.com]

*giggle* I loved this post because it really does give the other perspective on my FAVORITE genre of Japanese dramas. But the reasons I love it are for the fact that I can relate personality-wise to the characters (I do tend to inhibit those traits, but certainly not all the time) and also because I tend to come at the dramas from a much more observant, sometimes research-geared view; my field is Japanese Studies, after all. :) I love seeing gender dynamics explored in dramas, and there's nothing like a good office drama (whether romantic or not - the current Haken no Hinkaku is not romantic, but an office drama with a female lead) which will do just that.

For Sapuri, I already know that I'm one of the few who actually love it. When it was airing, a lot of people disliked it or primarily enjoyed it for Kamenashi's Yuuya. A lot of people hate Minami; I don't. That's all I'm going to say about the lead, because I can ramble on that topic. *grin* But there are other things that are really nice about the drama, I thought. The music and the vibrant colors that they choose to shoot in give it a very modern, trendy feel; which of course it appropriate because it is a trendy drama. :) So, if you hate it, no hard feelings. *giggle*

Anego, Kimi wa Petto and Sapuri are all manga based and all from the same vein. So one should expect similarities. And also, all three make it onto my favorite Japanese dramas list. I gravitate toward marginalized female leads.

Also, while I do like angst and drama, I tend to steer clear of the kind provided in Korean and Taiwanese dramas. I can suspend disbelief happily for three hours when it comes to Bollywood (again, with Bollywood, I also connect culturally, so it's not a stretch), but I can't do it for twenty episodes or longer. There comes a point for me. :)

[forgottenpolish.livejournal.com]

I totally adored Sapuri to and is one of my absolute favorites.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Also, while I do like angst and drama, I tend to steer clear of the kind provided in Korean and Taiwanese dramas.

It's interesting. I've actually noticed a trend in the drama watching (admittedly limited observation of my flist). There are people who prefer jdramas and like the most realistic ones of them the best. And then there are people like me who are in it for the melodrama. (Even the nonmelodrama ones I like, like Gokusen, are highly cracktastic). It's interesting because I came to dramas from a Bollywood background only my reaction was quite different. It was 'OMG! It's like Bollywood only 20 hours long! I am in heaven!' A lot of people on my friendslist who got interested in dramas after my raves also came from the Bollylover side, and they also seem to enjoy the emo angst. So this is really interesting.

I think for me, in order to really love the drama, it has to have a certain duality, which I refer to as awakening my inner teen. If my outer 20something old is giggling a little at the silly/emo/cheese/whatever but my inner 14 year old is swooning? Chances are I've found a drama for me.

But even in dramas that have cheese to a minimum, I still prefer the ones with strong emotions, hightened tension situations. It's true for me in most forms of fiction though. If I look at my Top 5 dramas list, it does have a funny one on the list (My Girl, but even that is very madcap and then turns angsty so both the funny and the sad are intense).

I've actually been having a little problem with jdramas as compared to other dramas. Overall, as a genre, I am a lot more likely to enjoy a random tw or kdrama than a jdrama. When they hit the right notes for me, they work tremendously, but when they don't, they are the ones I tend to fastforward through the most.

In some ways, I do think it's a reflection of my personality: I have been described as eccentric or quirky or goofy or hyper or what not. I can usually find something in common with most kdrama or twdrama heroines, or even if not, I can see their headspace. Just as I tend to go for 'hyper girl-reserved guy' or 'equally bickering' type stories because this is something I can identify with. Significantly, all the jdramas I've loved had very strongly dramatic stories: Pride, Majo No Jouken, Hanadan, Kurosagi, God Give Me More Time (which winterspel disliked and I thought was the best thing since sliced bread since my inner 14 year old and my outer 28 year old both got quite a work out). Even something like Gokusen.

Tattakoi is the closest I came to a 'reserved, quietly nuanced story.' Mainly because of Kame's excellent performance of quiet desperation. And it's still far from kitchen-sink level of realism a la Sapuri.

I gravitate toward marginalized female leads.

But are they really marginalized? This seems to be a common theme in jdramas so it makes me think they are more of a rule than an exception. I just haven't seen that many dramas where the heroines are traditionally sweet and submissive (some might be traditional a la Aki in Pride but far from submissive pushovers).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*raises hand as another who liked Minami*

I actually liked her before I liked Yuuya(not that I DIDN'T like Yuuya at first, just...you know...)

[janlake83.livejournal.com]

yeah sapuri is kinda the typical japanese office drama with older woman and younger guy. it's an okay drama and the ending was decent. although it was better than the drama i just finished, only you, it was soooo slow and then i kept watching cause i wanted to know how it ends..

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

What was Only You about?

[forgottenpolish.livejournal.com]

I really really loved Sapuri. It's my favorite dorama. (ties with Meteor Garden) For me it wasn't so much OMG she finds someone younger as she finds someone who is different from her because he just sorta driffts along in life. To me the dorama is more about growing up and finding what you want and taking control of your life. And I think about every character finds that. I don't think she is freaked out because he is younger then she is as much as he is so carefree and doesn't value work they way she does, as she puts her work first before anything and everything.

I find her as a shy person who uses her work to not deal with relationships. I personaly adore her and understand alot of where she is coming from. Kame's character is amazing.

I can ramble much much more but I don't want to spoil it so much for you, but if you do indeed want to hear more of my thoughts I will talk your ear off about it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Wow. Sapuri and Meteor Garden are totally different :)

he is younger then she is as much as he is so carefree and doesn't value work they way she does, as she puts her work first before anything and everything.


But I guess that type of guy and girl don't really appeal to me. If it was reveres, maybe. I know it's gender biased but that is what I liked. But I will certainly give it a try. I like Kame.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

actually, i rather think Sapuri is the opposite of some of the things you mentioned. While the lead girl(I forget her name) is almost annoyingly career orientated and a bit offputting, both Kame and Eita like her because of that, and aside from a faier bit of fear on Kame's part at first, most of the men don't seem to view her as weird or a freak(except when she and Kame are bouncing and singing in the office...)

For the most part, all her coworkers seem to like and respect her, and to want to be closer to her than she'll let, and they don't mind that she's rather sought after by clients, or often gets the best work.

That said, on the surface, the office DOES seem to be reminiscent of the office in Kimi, but I think it stood out a lot less to me because I had about 2+ months inbetween watching the two.

And just to(kinda) join in on the "younger man" bit(because this is something that amuses me), my sister-in-law is a year older than my brother. She's 5'5"-5'6", and he's 5'11 1/2"(he's taller than our father, and very mildly selfconscious about it...then our mother is 5'4" and I'm 5'1") Her father is about 6'2", and her brother barely shorter, so, even though I stare at my brother's shoulder blades if I stand behind him, she thinks he isn't tall and hopes Jackson will be taller than his dad. Not that this has anything to do with anything, just been on my mind since Jen and I talked about that yesterday.

Uhm...yeah...nothing to see after the first half of the reply...

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Uhm...yeah...nothing to see after the first half of the reply...
LOL. I found it rather amusing :)

Btw! I've been wanting to ask since you seem to be the manga guru ^^;; I'm up to volume 7 of Fruits Basket.. and hello... WHERE IS THE OTP??? I want OTP!!! Or is it wrong to ask for such thing in mangas? I am shipping for Yuki and Tohru so bad, but why is it taking so long for them to warm up to each other? And what is is with Kyo? Does he like Tohru aswell?? Come on OTP... SURFACE QUICK!!!! >_>

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

OMG, another unlikeable-but-not older more powerful workaholic woman finding love with a younger shorter less empowered man. In an office. Where gender issues arise. Blah.
LOL. I must see this for myself :D I can't say I identify with this type of dramas either, but your post made me curious.

Oh, and I have yet to watch Kame looking beautiful ~ he was just 'OK' for me in Nobuta :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am sorry, my coherent thoughts flew out of the window after seeing the beautiful Kimura icon.

*is dead*

I thought Kame was gorgeous in Tattakoi. Though maybe I just fell for his character.

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

i'm really upset that the comment i wrote before this was wiped out by lj

kept a human as a pet (Yeah, I like KwP but the heroine makes me go wtf, still) As much as I loved KWP it is very much WTF is going on.

But I've never ever been in anything similar and you might say, right, you've never fallen in love with your dying half-sibling either, but you forget that the latter has a great potential for angst and drama. Not to mention running, crying artistically, or holding your dying (but still immaculately made up) love in your arms. LMAO, thank you so much for this really made me laugh. I really love your rants :)

I can't identify with these types of office romance dramas either. Off topic: I just want to *squee* that new Hanadan episode is out tomorrow!! I can't believe how much I look forward to it all week. I don't know what I'm going to do when this series end...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yup, haven't gotten used to KwP at all.

and HANADAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tatterpunk.livejournal.com]

Hmmmm.

Not that I would perscribe yet another office romance dorama to fix an OD'ing of office romance, doramas, but when you're less... officed-out, you might enjoy Brand. (If you haven't seen it, that is. Because if you have I will feel very silly.)

I can't find it easily, so I don't think as many people enjoy it as much as the usual hapy romances. I do. A lot. (Though I haven't finished it, in my ADD-way.)

It sounds like the antidote to what you're describing. And it's just. Really good.

In this drama, Midori (the token older career woman) isn't struggling to establish herself as a woman in her career -- though I'm sure it helps that she works in fashion. She's very good at what she does, she has an established reputation, she loves her work deeply... but she feels like something is missing. She's being pursued by Kazuhito, an extremely handsome colleague and former lover (she broke it off with him), who's says, "Marriage and kids -- with ME! That's what's missing!" But she's like, no, that doesn't sound quite right...

It's a bit more existential, this drama. Midori is trying to figure out what her purpose in life is, if she was meant to do something specific. It's a deliberate contrast with the life of Koichiro (played by Ichikawa Somegoro of Pride, so how can this be not worth watching?!), a much younger man and the destined heir of a famous teahouse family who is trying to escape what life has laid out for him by working in business for a year.

This drama also solves your "I want my men manly!" complaint. ;) There's no height issue, and Koichiro doggedly pursues Midori (who is at first all, "What? Oh, no way, you're like, twelve... or okay, twenty-five, but still. I have vintage that's older than you.") and fights off Kazuhito at the same time.

And lots of lovely angst. The age thing (they're ten years apart) is really played up in terms of society's disapproval, then then there's specific disapproval from Koichiro's family, who's all "the middle-aged whore is trying to corrupt our son from his respectable destiny and acceptable arranged marriage!" And I've heard it doesn't end well. (Of course it doesn't. This is a Japanese drama, and from the same people who gave us the ever-upbeat Summer Snow.) This, of course, after breaking your heart by showing you how cute the OTP is, once they get a chance. Sigh. I need to rewatch this...

I can't seem to find it on Jdramas or Silent Regrets, but I'm sure with your superior dorama-finding ninja skills you'd be able to ferret out a copy... if not, I have it on CD, I'll lend them to you when I come home. If you like, I mean.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Brand sounds amazing. And no just because Tomo from Pride is the male lead *dies*

Yeah, I know where I can get a copy. Must really get it soon!!!!

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have watched past the 1st episode of Sapuri if Kame hadn't been in it. But I ended up really enjoying the show. Now so much for the romance, which has the typical non-kisses, but for the character development. Kame's character is interesting because he ends up teaching so much to everyone else around him as well as finally finding a reason/motivation to grow up himself. The boss guy (don't remember his name) ends up growing up quite a bit himself in relation to his dating relationship & his relationship with his daughter. The whole sideish plot with the married office lady & the young guy I thought was kinda stupid but I could live with it intermittently mixed with the rest of the plot. There were also some downright funny moments - especially in the episode when they are trying to make a commercial using some anime guy's work.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I'll try it again sometime later than. Snow Queen for now though!