Drama Recommendation: Shizuka-chan to Papa
Nigeru wa haji da ga yaku ni tatsu (aka We Married As A Job) was one of the best, if not the best, romance Jdrama in 2016.
Based on an ongoing shoujo manga with the same name, these are only some of the reasons why you should go watch it immediately:
1. The Plot
We married as a job uses the old trope of “contract relationships” but gives it a much needed, refreshing spin. The relationship between the OTP develops at a good pace and both ways. It's not the classical contract relationship were one character falls in love first while the other takes all the time in the world to reflect on their feelings and reciprocate the love. This drama’s plot is about human relationships and also about finding what you’re good at and doing what you like to do. But most of all, it is about understanding and accepting yourself with all your faults.
2. The Casting & Characters
The casting is very well done. First of all, you have Aragaki Yui who is very experienced in the genre. In addition to that, her acting is never over the top, and is instead just right. She plays the role of Mikuri, a young lady full of ideas who is pretty straightforward. Then you have Hoshino Gen as the male lead, his first main lead in a romance drama. At first, you’ll think why Hoshino Gen? He’s not that good looking, he’s not that famous as an actor and he has no experience as a main lead in romantic comedies. But let me tell you that he was born for this role. He slowly starts to grow on you until the point where you want nothing more than to meet a 'Hiramasa' (the name of his character) in real life. He gives us a very endearing Hiramasa, look forward to his character.
There’s also Ishida Yuriko as Mikuri’s aunt. Her character is the voice of reason throughout the drama. Ishida Yuriko gives us this very strong and independent woman that fights for her beliefs and her career.
Complementing the main cast there is: Furuta Arata, Ryohei Otani and Takashi Ukaji.
3. The OST
The ending song, “Koi” is by Hoshino Gen. The song is incredibly catchy and the dance the actors do during the ending credits is also very cute. Koi was one of the biggest hits by the end of 2016. The dance too became known as the “Koi Dance”, and it also was a big hit. The song was also number-one on the Billboard Japan. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the video:
4. The Twists
This drama gives you surprises here and there. It's not as formula following as other dramas. In many dramas, one can easily predict what will happen after a fight or after a misunderstanding, but with this drama you’ll find yourself surprised by the twists and resolutions that you’ll get.
5. The Trope
As I already mentioned, We Married As A Job is a “contract marriage” drama. This trope is my favorite trope and if you also love this trope, you can’t miss this drama. It has all the elements that make you love this kind of drama: cohabitation, forced skin ship, and many more. And don’t worry, as is the case for Japanese romance dramas, you won’t have to deal with troublesome second leads or ludicrous plotlines.
This is definitely one drama you should not miss from 2016! If you haven't seen it, don't waste any time and add it to your list!
