Otona no Otoko ( Middle-aged bachelors / Three grown men ) 1997-07-06 to 1997-09-28 (TBS) |
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| Cast: Koji Yakusho: Daijiro Mizumachi Masahiko Nishimura: Nonomiya Danta Yasunori: Naruse Akiko Matsumoto: Miyuki Kyoko Kagawa: Ayako Naruse Kimiko Yo: Yoko Maiko Kawakami: Hinako |
| Synopsis: Daijiro Mizumachi (39) works for a big advertisement agency in Tokyo. He is very efficient at work and is relied upon by the staff. However, he has got a problem in his private lif: he cannot get a steady girlfriend! This seems due to his secret psychological fear that he does not want to get hurt by falling in love with a girl. In his office, there are two other men of the same age as Daijiro who are still bachelors: Naruse (Yasunori Danta) and Nonomiya (Masahiko Nishimura). Naruse does not feel it necessary to get married because he lives with his gentle mother and Nonomiya is a playboy. One day, however, these three grown-up men (otona no otoko) find their routine lives start changing due to some unexpected incidents. 1) Mizumachi gets surprised to find Miyuki, his former girlfriend has come back to his office to work again. Miyuki tells her collegues that she finally got divorced from a troublesome husband: she used to be in love with Mizumachi but wasn't sure of his love and got married to her high school classmate ten years before. Mizumachi felt that he had lost love when he heard about Miyuki's sudden wedding news. (2 ) Nonomiya feels attracted by a beautiful physician, called Yoko, when he visits her hospital clinic after suffering a sudden pain at his stomach. (3) Naruse has come to do "omiai"( an arranged date) with Hinako, the only daughter of a big beer company president. One of the superb points about this comedy is that the relationships between Mizumachi and Miyuki, Nonomiya and Yoko, and Naruse and Hinako change from episode to episode. At one time, we see a couple such as Mizumachi & Hinako, Nonomiya & Miyuki and Naruse & Yoko. These men's partners go round and round and at the end of the drama the couples we see are the ones such as Mizumachi & Miyuki, Nonomiya & Hinako, and Naruse & Yoko. Do you suppose that each " otona no otoko" bachelor gets happily married at the end of the drama ? Well, sorry to say, but the answer is no. Even at the age of 40, they still remain single! |
| "Otona No Otoko" started on July 6, 1997, as the first of the 12 episodes. Yakusho's role as Mizumachi amused Yakusho fans: Mizumachi is a 39 year-old company worker, who cannot get married for the reason that he is hesitant in falling in love with a girl. "Lost Paradise" started showing in May in the same year, so the difference between Kuki, the hero of "Lost Paradise" and timid Mizumachi in this TV drama made us giggle. Of course, Yakusho's portrayal of Mizumachi was perfect, and we used to have a happy time from 9 to 10 on Sunday evenings, while this drama was on. |
| This serial drama was written by Shizuka Oishi, who is well-known as a good quality comedy writer. Theme song: "Daijoubu" by Furuuchi Tohko |
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| The three bachelors often talk about women at a sauna bath after work. |
| Yoko(Kimiko Yo) and Mizumachi (Yakusho) |
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