We Married as a Job (2016– ) User Reviews

A series about "home" economics ... and other things

[gee-15 · 9/10 · 7 June 2022]

Hiramasa, a shy computer engineer in his thirties hires Mikuri, a pretty young twenty-something with a master's degree in psychology to be his "wife." Mikuri jumps at the chance as she has struggled with her self-esteem after being let go from her temporary job. Hiramasa is just glad to have someone to do the cooking and cleaning. Their relationship brings Mikuri's hard-working 49 year old "spinster" aunt, Yuri, into the orbit of Hiramasa's thirtyish co-worker, the purposefully unromantic Kazami who become drinking buddies. While bringing these disparate individuals together, this series explores the themes of work, identity, age and gender roles in society. The narrative is punctuated by Mikuri's flights of fancy which cause her to interpret the events in her life as participation in news programs, Japanese game shows and sports events (and I think you have to be Japanese to fully appreciate these parts).

Despite having some very specific themes, the series never loses sight of these characters as people. The reserved Hiramasa slowly begins opening up to Mikuri's persistent attempts to get closer to him by slowly disclosing more and more about himself to her. One nice moment is when Mikuri gets depressed and shuts Hiramasa out and he uses Mikuri's methods to get HER to open up, knowing how she has helped him do the same. Another moment marks a turning point in Yuri and Kazami's relationship. Yuri has been distrustful of Kazami because he's so good-looking and one evening does something that hurts his feelings. His stunned reaction forces her to reevaluate and start treating him as a human being not a "hot guy." The series is full of funny, tender, human moments like these. It's probably the best "fake marriage" series I've seen.

Yui Aragaki

[daisukereds · 8/10 · 25 June 2022]

As a drama, it covers the basic premise of romance developments, while also discussing more pairs and several topics that pertain to Japanese people. Specifically "de facto marriage" relationship (living together but not actually married), same-gender relationships, and other more general subjects. But the core is the main couple, and the evolution of their complicated arrangement.

I actually quite enjoyed it, but mostly because the drama revolves more around the character of "Mikuri". A very cute and approachable young lady, with a logical approach to things, while still being emotionally pushy. Certainly a journey to get to know her, and one I'm glad I went through. Aragaki-san is one of my favorite actresses , and is beyond delightful for her to do such a role! Mikuri's side of the family is just as appealing.

Gen Hoshino is definitely a talented singer and does well in his role as the cherry-boy, but his character is far from likeable a lot of the time. But, is this contrast that allowed the character of Mikuri to develop the way it does. Some other characters are well defined, but equally awkward. Still, everyone delivers with ample charisma and help build a world you'd be happy to be a part of.

Series has good production and very energetic segments that contrast well with the seriousness at times. And while not completely predictable, it rarely goes anywhere unexpected. But it keeps a joyful atmosphere and I laughed quite a bit. Would definitely recommend, because it is well written.. and the execution couldn't be better!! There's a movie, for anyone interested.. one that is even more serious still, and deals with the Pandemic and it's problems. As the series itself, all interesting content, educational and a different point of view to consider.

Charming and funny

[tenshi_ippikiookami · 7/10 · 14 January 2017]

"Nigeru wa haji daga, yaku ni tatsu" is a very entertaining series that will keep the viewer's attention throughout its short 11-episode run, with lots of funny and charming moments, interesting characters and a different view about family and housework.

Mikuri is a young woman of 25 who cannot find a stable job. She starts a part-time cleaning Tsuzaki's house. Both seem happy with the arrangement, but then she offers him an outlandish plan: they will live together, she will take care of everything: cooking, cleaning, shopping... and he will pay her a salary. And so society accepts it, they will tell everyone they are married. Will they fall in love?

You can tell the story of "Nigeru wa haji daga, yaku ni tatsu" from minute one. It has a couple of nice twists, but in general it plays it safe as they come. We have a romance here, let's enjoy it. Luckily for the viewer, things are kept fresh, with lots of rhythm, and the acting helps, Aragaki being her most charming ever and Hoshino doing a great job as the lonely man who just works and believes he has left the chance of love and a relationship behind. The fact that they live together but cannot tell anyone that they are not married does for some very funny moments. The show also delivers in its more intimate situations, and we will learn to care for the characters and their stories. It is also interesting that a show offers some views about the importance of labor, especially housework, which is normally done for free (made free job), what normally makes it be seen as 'less' or 'worthless'. The TV series has its heart in the right place and challenges the viewer's opinions on a couple of topics.

On a down note, it could be said that the show cannot overcome some traditional views about people: we need to have a partner in life and live in a relationship. Everyone seems to be in need of a partner, as if being single (or some other arrangement) cannot be enough. Another point is that the love story between Mikuri and Tsuzaki is a little bit difficult to believe. What do they find in each other that attracts them? The show does an average job (or poor sometimes) in making us believe that they may be made for each other, and it leaves us with the feeling that it may be that just contact (as in living together) with another person is enough to end together.

Intriguing

[tando23 · 10/10 · 30 May 2021]

Presenting various perspectives on the traditional marriage or relationships in a romantic comedy drama. Funny and sometimes moving. Might be a little difficult to understand for non-Japanese cultural people because of the often appearing written Japanese words and parodies (Japanese TV shows and election) . Enjoyable with the good presentation, organization, tempo, humors and very satisfying happy ending.

Great series with very talented actors

[ngalianos · 10/10 · 13 March 2023]

I've watched a lot of series, and can tell you this one is awesome!

For the purpose of keeping this review spoiler free, I will only comment on the gems -- what I think made this series as good as it is!

Each one of the actors are sooo good at playing their roles, the plot is interesting and has a great pace, and the scenes look great; action-packed (without any boring pauses or flashbacks), colorful, meaningful, and sweet.

Honestly I could go on and on.. but to summarize I totally recommend this series as both funny and interesting.

Big congratz to the cast, producers, and directors for this amazing series!

Looking forward to seeing more from y'all!

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 8/10 · 18 February 2019]

Nigeru wa haji daga, yaku ni tatsu is a comedy with a sweet romance. Actually, I didn't expect to like it that much. But the couple was adorable and cute, although the romance was a bit slow, the conclusion was satisfying. Plus, the side stories were just okay and there to fill the gaps between the pauses from the main story. Fortunately, the drama focused more on the love story of the main characters. In addition, there was a character development for the leading character. Finally, the performances were really good from every actor and actress, and there were some funny moments as well.

A delightful and light hearted romantic comedy and a must watch in the contract marriage genre

[leahcubed · 9/10 · 18 April 2023]

9.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2016 Japanese romantic comedy drama with 11 episodes in season 1 ranging 45-58 minutes run time and 1 spcial in season 2 running 121 minutes. It is based on a popular manga originally titled "Running away is shameful, but useful" after a Hungarian proverb.

First I provide a synopsis then review

Synopsis Moriyama Mikuri (Yui Aragaki) graduated and has only been able to secure part time work. Dreading being back out in the job market, her father secures her a house keeping position with a former work associate, Tsuzaki Hiramasa (Gen Hoshino). For the first time Mikuri feels supported and appreciated by her employer so when her father decides to retire to the country Mikuri comes up with a wild plan. Hiramasa at first rejects the idea but then runs all the scenarios and determines if Mikuri became a contract wife as she proposed, they could continue their mutually beneficial arrangement while keeping up social appearances. Knowing their friends and family would not approve of their arrangement, hilarity ensues as they struggle to make their marriage seem outwardly real. Soon they discover there may be more than just a contract drawing them together.

Review

I have not watched many Japanese dramas as I found they were either way too sexualized for me or didn't make the manga to live action transition well. This one was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed the marriage of convenience premise and that they fell in love very naturally. There were some breaks in the 4th wall moments but they were not obnoxious. It is overall a well paced and heart warming romance with many comedic moments. Highly recommend to anyone that is a fan of marriage contract and just heart warming rom coms with straight forward plots. The 2nd season special episode was actually a nice wrap up to the story. It was as well written as the main story and did not seem like an afterthought as some do.

Spoilers* Hiramasa is very robotic in the beginning and it can be frustrating knowing how he really feels about something and watching him struggle to express it. These are big, complicated emotions for an engineer. It is enjoyable to observe his character development and they do a great job bringing the viewer in on that journey. Mikuri herself can be a little ridiculous about her emotions. I felt there were several times she misread a situation and got all spun up about it when she should have known he did not mean it the way she was taking it. But that is love which can cloud rationality. It took on some social issues like the traditional male and female roles. Japan is on a different path than the US and it is hard to watch them making some errors that US made that I think have caused problems. Mikuri wants to be equal with equal responsibilities and winds up putting a lot of pressure on Hiramasa. He learns and I think their relationship is better for it but it seems they are able to make it with one partner working and the next level is people not being able to make it and the state raises the child. They also tackle unequal treatment in the workplace, age gaps and homosexuality. To me it was interesting that the age gap was too large between the aunt and Hiramasa's work colleague at 17 years but between the gay couple the age gap was not even mentioned. 17 years is a large gap but I don't think, since they were both fully adults that is the only consideration. In their cases she was 50s but had a young bright personality that resulted in her fitting in with the younger crowd better than those her age. Her younger love interest, in his mud 30s, was so selective about partners that it seemed he would never select anyone his agenor close. The very things he did not like were attributes of his generation or younger. They were very compatible personality wise and it seemed if they weren't together both would remain single. The special was also a reflection of early to mid COVID pandemic when we all though asymptomatic transmission was a thing, children were at high risk, and social distancing, masks and sanitizers were going to save us. It was heartbreaking their young family was apart but was an accurate reflection of the world at that time.

Deep Spoiler* Their chemistry in this is very real as the main couple married in real life. Gen Hishino is most famous as a singer and you can see a lot of his music videos.

#FullTimeWifeEscapist #YuiAragaki #GenHishino #MarriageofConvenience.

Cute and Innocent Love Story

[PalmBeachG · 7/10 · 20 February 2023]

Called "Full Time Wife Escapist" on Netflix, this is a cute and definitely innocent love story about a real geeky guy, who is so geeky he would never be able to even want nor find a wife and a girl who has a master's degree but can't find employment other than a housewife that has been contracted for house chores - a scheme she concocted and convinced the geeky guy to take. A cute comedy especially in the beginning when his co-workers at first are suspecting that there is something fishy when he puts his "wife" on the work insurance policy but no one has ever met her. They decide to go over to his house because they suspect it is a meta verse wife as he is so geeky there is no way it could be a real woman. They also suspect maybe he is gay. They snoop and find he has a twin bed which only gives them more suspicions. All in all, an innocent romance that is a Japanese drama with a bit of humor.

Quiete heartwarming in the genre

[manuel-nascimento · 8/10 · 24 October 2023]

Writing this, and having watched some other shows in the genre, I feel like this one is not spectacularly better than the best I've seen, but by the end of it I realize I was very invested and entertained that I just had the best time with this show.

Like any other dorama or anime show, the premise starts heavy within the trope-space allotted to these by kami-sama (or so it seems, for many a show follow this path). Then it's up to you to evaluate whether the build-up for the setting and the main characters are worth your time.

I'm happy to say this one has risen over the top for me. I will not spoil the stuff but let's just this is far from my first rodeo in this genre, whether it is anime or live-action - still this show had me genuinely going all the way. It also features a very interesting but down to live female main character together with a very interesting stricter male character, from which the main energy of the show stems from, and lots of events ensue.

If you are not looking for those over the top once in a lifetime hero-characters, but rather the sweet "what if?" in stuff akin to your real life - this is another great show for you. Even the intro and outro are sweet without being over the top performance-wise.

Quite a decent heartwarming that doesn't suck all your time to watch it but rather it provides the time for an interesting crossing of the main characters.

Cheers.

Rename it The Dickless Wonder

[choateart · 6/10 · 16 December 2023]

I love the actress who plays Mikuri, but the guy who plays Tsuzaki doesn't do much with his role. It's actually very frustrating to watch a guy who has no game when his love interest practically throws herself at him. The guy is a dickless wonder.

The episodes are pretty much rehashed and it would have made a better two hour movie than a series. It's the epitome of a water downed story. It's worth watching just because the women featured on the show are so good looking and can act quite well. Most of the guys on the show aren't funny at all and will make you cringe. If you've seen one episode then you've seen them all.

Life Affirming

[jimparkercoogee · 10/10 · 30 September 2023]

In an increasingly depressing world, this life-affirming celebration of love and our common humanity (a big hit in Japan in 2016 and now on Netflix) is a recommended tonic for any jaded soul. Ostensibly a light-weight manga-inspired rom-com, the 11-part 'Full-Time Wife Escapist' is in fact a profound reflection on relationships, particularly the need to renegotiate them as our lives evolve and needs change.

The set-up: Hiramasa, a nerdy 35-year-old live-alone (and vaguely autistic) software engineer advertises for a housekeeper. Taking the job is the bubbly, creative, funny and adorable Mikuri, a 25-year-old unemployed woman with a Master's degree in psychology. Hiramasa has high standards when it comes to cleanliness, but Mikuri, wanting the work and affirmation that goes with it, meets them easily. When Mikuri's parents suddenly decide to retire and quit town, leaving her homeless, she suggests to Hiramasa a 'contract marriage'. Enjoying finally feeling valuable, she offers to cook for Hiramasa and clean his apartment as a job, while he goes out to work. It is a purely platonic, economic and pragmatic arrangement. He works long hours and has someone to mind house. She gets to feel useful and earns a wage.

Having announced their 'betrothal', the couple have to convince both their families and his co-workers that what is a contracted economic arrangement job of is really a legitimate marriage. It's out of these misunderstandings that the comedy, and, ultimately, the romance arise. Mikuri soon develops feelings for Hiramasa, but he continually pushes her away - not because he doesn't like her in return (he does) - but because he is totally inexperienced in relationships, has poor communications skills, and feels this is strictly an employer-employee arrangement. As they move on, the relationship is gradually renegotiated, including a decision to start playing as romantic partners by having a hug each Tuesday. You can guess where this leads.

Add to this central story are a number of other characters, including Mikuri's youthful-looking 49-year-old aunt Yuri, a career woman who has never married, and Hiramasa's 32-year-old office friend Kazami, a handsome bachelor and ladies' man who after swearing off intimacy is gradually drawn to the soulful depth of Yuri.

The series has important things to say about gender roles, marriage, domestic labour, office work and ageing in the context of a patriarchal (though changing) Japanese society. Most of all - using humour and fantasy - it carries the universal message thatsuccessful lifelong relationships are built on a readiness of both partners to constantly renegotiate terms. Hiramasa and Mikuri effectively, through trial and many errors, do 'marriage in reverse' - starting with the original idea of it as an economic partnership and then adding love and intimacy later. All the way, there is open communication about what each needs from the other. Mikuri is clearly the more empathetic one and does all the emotional heavy lifting in the early stages. But having been brought out of his self-imposed isolation, Hiramasa starts to understand what shared vulnerability, affection and intimacy can add to life so that when Mikuri herself loses hope, he is able to rally her back. As she eventually takes an outside job just as he is retrenched, their domestic roles reverse, in what is a challenge to the male-centric Japanese culture.

This is a beautiful program, full of sometimes funny, and often incredibly moving, insights about life and love. Bring a hanky, or three. And be sure to watch the full-length movie offshoot (filmed four years after the original series) which uses the pandemic to reflect on its impact on work and relationships and parenting within the context of strict Japanese culture and mores..

A final note: Having been charmed by the chemistry between the two central characters throughout, it was not a surprise to learn that they - musician/actor Gen Hoshino and model/actress Yui Aragaki - married in real life after the program was shot. Aragaki is almost Audrey Hepburn-like in this role, not only in her incandescent beauty and charm, but also in her comedic timing. She steals every scene she is in without seeking to over-shadow her co-stars. But for the language barrier, she would be a HUGE international star.

To top it all off each episode ends with a brilliantly choreographed routine involving all the characters dancing to a super catchy tune written by Hoshino himself. The dance routine is pure joy and is a perfect way to end a program that as a mood-lifter is hard to beat. Overall, 'The Full-Time Wife Escapist' is a 10-out-of-10 and this is coming from someone whose tastes usually don't stray in this direction.

Enjoyable, but...

[divemabini · 6/10 · 27 March 2023]

...no matter how hard the writers try to spin it, imply it, or simply come out and say it, truth is...the dysfunction in this relationship is all one-sided. The writers attempts to make it seem like Mikuri is also to blame is laughable at best.

The male lead (Hira) is clearly on the autistic spectrum, and his "self-esteem" issues are not normal upbringing. Now, there is nothing wrong with autism, it is a serious disorder. But to try and sell the series as a "we both need to improve to make things work" is truly a flimsy position to take. 100% of the issues in this relationship are of his doing.

And trying to make Mikuri seem like she has character flaws she needs to fix (for instance, having flashbacks where she criticizes herself for chastising a boyfriend for abusing a waitress is pretty low if you ask me, any of us would have smacked him) thus forcing this deep emotional self-review on her part is just filler.

I half wanted them to break up and for her to find someone who appreciated her for more than the 1's and 0's (which by the end, I am still not sure her husband does). Which is funny when you realize the two leads are now married in real life.

SIX stars for Mikuri and Yuri, who carry this show. Zero stars for the Hiramasa scenes, which become so cringingly one-dimensional they stop being funny. Not a good take on mental illness.

It started as a cute love story...

[nicodemisfinch · 5/10 · 28 February 2023]

...then it became centered on feminism. It was disappointing for several reasons. First, the cute love story stalls. That was the best part of the show. It was beautiful. Have tissues handy. Second, the female lead character suddenly starts having these bizarre over-reactions to things related the the male lead. They are primarily Japanese feminist gripes. The look at Japanese culture is interesting, but her behavior comes out of nowhere. She herself describes her condition as "muddle-headed" and can barely understand her reactions herself. There's a secondary character who was already carrying the feminist flag. I wish they would have left the lovers alone. Third, she went from madly in love to disgruntled instantly. Her erratic behavior continues and it's unpleasant. The mood throughout the show becomes darker. I thought maybe she suffered from depression or was bi-polar. She has bizzare daydreams, so I thought mental illness might fit. Nope. You also can't help but feel sorry for the guy, but he's an awkward, isolated, loner who's happy to have any woman in his life at all. It's a shame. There's just enough cute love story residue to carry you through the end of the season. I'd still recommend it I guess, but not strongly.

A feel good drama

[kmhlbeavis · 8/10 · 6 July 2023]

It starts out with the female lead having just finished graduate studies and finding it difficult to land a job. After being let go from a previous employment her father gets her a job cleaning the male leads apartment. When her parents decide to move away she convinces the man to have a contractual marriage so that she can stay there as she did not want to move with her parents. He is very shy and closed off but she manages to get him to open up little by little. He became this way due to his past during his childhood. They eventually have a child and he starts to fall in love with her. She was already in love with him but was ready to give up when he wouldn't open up. Eventually he did. They rode out the pandemic together and in the end he tells her that he wants another child to correct his mistakes from when his first child was born. This is a must watch. At the end of each episode the female lead and the others do their dancing. She's sexy when she dances also the actress that plays her aunt. That was my favorite the ending of each episode. Eventually the male and female lead got married in real life. Now that's a happy ending.

Aragaki-san is too cute

[keikoyoshikawa · 8/10 · 1 July 2023]

"Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu", also known as "The Full-Time Wife Escapist" or "We Married as a Job" is a one of the best josei manga out there, and it was brilliantly adapted into a TV series version some years back.

The casting is simply perfect. The lead, Aragaki Yui, is perfect for the role of Moriyama Mikuri, an over-qualified professional unlucky to be born a woman in modern-day Japan - i.e. No good job or career prospects. She's maybe down, but she's not out.

The supporting characters are equally well-cast. The plot is interesting and entertaining. And the dialogues are generally good. But Aragaki Yui stands out the most for me - she's so cute, sincere, and head-strong as Mikuri that she practically steals every scene.

The story line is so apt for today. Declining birthrates, sexless marriages, too many singles, etc. Then there's the cultural/societal limitations on women with respect to work and career. Add to that the usual marital infidelity, challenges of dating, etc.

Everything hits home with this series.

lovely tv show!

[daisyreviews · 10/10 · 9 July 2023]

I loved this TV show even though in the beginning I thought it is a bit awkward. After the first 30-40 minutes, I really got into it and binge watched it in 2 days. I loved the maib characters, their development, their friends, and how the story evolved. I LOVED how many important issues were brought up and discussed, this made me realize how rarely it's being brought in foreign dramas. The little dances at the end of each episode made everything ever better :) P. S. make sure to watch the New Years special, it was a great one. It also mentioned Covid, as the story took place at the beginning of 2020.

Surprisingly Fun to Watch

[xmasinswiss · 9/10 · 10 September 2023]

Enjoyed this simple, unpretentious (inner joke!) comedy more than I thought I would.

All the actors did a wonderful job - well done, team!

The plot is straightforward and fun. Nothing unexpected would happen here, you know exactly what to expect. A few nice side-stories add variety.

I don't really have any criticism to offer, the show sets the expectations clearly and delivers on them. I loved that it doesn't take itself seriously and has some funny day-dreaming sequences.

The only thing is, it's "very Japanese" in terms of actors play style. A bit more exaggerated in intonations and gestures. I don't mind this, but to some audiences this may seem "artificial."

It also helps that the clear Japanese they speak helps keep my language skills up! Picked up a few fun phrases from the dialogues for my own use :)

Be done before.

[geewhiz46 · 3/10 · 25 February 2023]

Yet another fake marriage outing. The FL feels that people view her as pretentious? This word does not apply to her in the least and Asians often get the meaning of it wrong. She is passed over at work and after searching unsuccessfully for another position she finally ends up in a job found for her by her father - as a housekeeper for a shy 35 year old man. (She is 25). He is a virgin who has never even kissed a woman. They decide to have a contract marriage - which is really just a business arrangement. They take us through the whole debate of housewives working more hours for less pay - the merits of being single or divorced. They go the PC route of having a gay character who can't keep his nose out of other people's business.

The ML was very slight in stature and often looked overwhelmed by the FL. It seemed odd that after being unemployable for most of the show the FL was suddenly an article writer for a local newspaper and had some kind of job with the local market.

A sub romance which is not interesting at all. It is dragged out interminably and the significant age difference between two gay males is yet another inclusivity at all costs ploy. The ending is never in doubt.

The entire series features a bizarre dance routine by the major players and some strange interview type inserts that only served to drag out the mainly featureless plot.

There is a series two - I won't be watching it.