Otona Joshi (2015)

A VERY well-executed drama. Bravo Japan! Well done well done! I watched Lady Girls while it was airing, and it was my number 1 anticipated drama each and every week.

The story is so simple, but the messages are so very impactful, they hit u right in ur soul. This drama meant a great deal to me as a woman. Here you have Aki Nakahara, this beautiful successful business woman in her 40s who's judged by society because she isn't married and "behaves like she's still young." She's got two friends who are in the same boat as her. Haters to the left plz. Society judges women like them all the time. Oh, since you're over 40 that means you shouldn't have girl nights, be single and mingle, look or do anything young, or just have fun anymore. It's infuriating. But u know what, Aki Nakahara doesn't let that down, and neither do her friends. They don't have to try to be beautiful, because they already are. And they certainly don't conform to what society wants.

Nakahara, and her friends Moeko Osaki and Midori Sakata, each have their own stories. Nakahara's love life isn't that great, in fact, she goes through a lot of downs. But, she meets an author named Fumio Takayama, and by making his acquaintance she garners life lessons and their romance slowly blooms. Moeko Osaki also has some trouble in the love department. Her biggest crutch is her mother, but she's still successful in her own right. Midori Sakata is a divorcee (oh no *rolls eyes*) with three sons. I'm not going to go into all of their stories, but they're all pretty interesting and address topics I find important as a female. These are three intelligent hard-working BEAUTIFUL ladies who refuse to let their youth die.

Midori's love story was the least interesting to me, but it ended well so I didn't mind it. Plus, everything else about her story was so great and it's that which kept me captivated. Besides Nakahara, it's gotta be Moeko who I'm the most proud of. She grew a lot during this drama, was no push-over, and her resolve was fantastic. Now, I obviously enjoyed watching Nakahara the most. Her love story was the most interesting, she doesn't conform to society, and she's just so damn likable.

The acting/cast was excellent! Fantastic on all sides, especially Shinohara Ryoko. Wow, I was so excited to see her each week. Eguchi Yosuke was excellent as well! All of them were, but I already said tht lol. The music fits this drama so perfectly i can't even describe the feels I got hearing it! This drama is definitely rewatchable because it was such a good drama, but I don't really see myself doing tht tbh. And again, the story was just so well written. The ending was great, and overall it was just really well executed.

Lady Girls was a simple drama, but man oh man does this drama show you how a well executed drama should be. It has a similar feel to Last Cinderella (which also stars Shinohara Ryoko, but I absolutely hated it), but Lady Girls has got to be at least a thousand times better. More than anything, this drama was enjoyable, and I had a good time watching it. I totally recommend!

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<<< Reminder - we all will get older; not all get wiser. >>>
Why did I watch this?
Story: not new however the writing was well done offering a realistic slice of life for folks 40+. Many drama's out there attempting to tackle this subject matter + failing or limping due to overacting, wrong actors, silly writing-story-lines. This one demonstrated the lives of three different women who were not going down life's silly path - simply the path of not comfortable in one's own skin - lack of confidence to the core.
Actors: Women actors were smart, well-matched, and well acted. Male actors perfect for their supportive roles.
Music: one OST had a bit of brain worming effect, overall nothing really special NOR bothersome.
ReWatch: Low, not drama fault.
<ISO- In search of> dramas with characters who are over 40+ who are not taking the silly path or solid acting / compelling story line.

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Aki, Moeko and Midori are friends for a long time already. They keep each other updated on girls nights. While Midori is a single-mother with three sons, Moeko can't find a boyfriend because her mother keeps bothering her. And Aki is together with a younger, aspiring singer, who she does everything for. At work she is known as a career woman who might have missed her chance to get married, but she just ignores them. That is, until her boyfriend cheats on her and she finds out he used her money and kindness to focus on his music (and girls). Aki saves herself by giving it her all at work, where she has to create a romance app for women her age. And to make a good script, she is to contact Takayama, a famous screenwriter that disappeared after a few hits and now tries to write a book. We follow these three women, on their way to find what is important to them and to see how their privat life as well as career work out.

This series was fun. Mostly because Shinohra Ryouko is a lot of fun to watch. I also love Kichise Michiko. I did not like any of the male leads, except for Chiba Yuudai, but he had too little screen-time. But aside from actresses I liked, I liked the story as well! Their problems were real and I enjoyed seeing them solve some of them and struggle with others. Their decisions were good, I liked the script and the acting for a big part and I enjoyed how things got wrapped up. The only issue I have, where I deducted a star, was that I somehow felt bored with some scenes. I wanted to skip through some parts. And also: how could he get together with someone who has a cat, if he is so allergic that he has to sneeze when she just is standing near him!? That was super unrealistic and even if it was to draw laughs, they kept it running too long to make the audience forget that it was an issue.

Aside from that, I think this is a mature romance drama that everybody who is grown up can enjoy. I wouldn't say every grown-up will likes this drama, but if you think seeing three ladies looking for romance and happiness sounds good, then watch it. I think they delivered a nice moral and it's more than worth to give it a try!

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A slice-of-life drama perfect for those who are into the genre of mature romance - this drama portrays romance in a way that makes you consider where you want to be and who you want to be when you are in your late 30s/40s. The story was a little draggy and the direction in which it was heading was very obvious, nevertheless it was well-executed. The cast executed their roles perfectly - as expected of a veteran cast! There was no over-the-top acting as seen in many japanese dramas, everything was realistic and believable. However, this show lacks a nice soundtrack - I have absolutely no recollection of the OST!

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Otona Joshi translates into Lady Girls and the drama tried to present that. The main characters are three women who still feel like girls, even though everyone around them treat them like they are old. The women learn to not listen to what everyone expects from them and to follow their own heart. I actually enjoyed the leading lady's story, as she matured and moved on after her break up and business adventure. Her love story was nice as well. However, the two others weren't presented as nicely. It actually felt a bit rushed for them, as they were overshadowed by the leading lady's story. Finally, the performances were good from everyone. So, 6 out of 10.

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