This review may contain spoilers
How to ruin a good drama in the last two episodes
Review
Rating: 6.5/10
The first three-quarters of this drama are genuinely cute and comforting. The workplace chaos is funny, the found-family energy is warm, and the central message—that it’s okay to accept help and stop trying to do everything alone—is lovely and actually meaningful. I was having a perfectly nice time.
Then the final stretch happens and everything I liked about the show collapses. The turn it takes felt so wrong to me that I couldn’t properly watch the last two episodes—I’d already looked up the ending because I had a horrible suspicion where it was going, got confirmed, and then I just skimmed the rest to see how bad the damage was. The drop-off in enjoyment was brutal. Because of that ending, I can’t recommend the drama and I have zero desire to ever rewatch it. What a waste of a promising setup.
SPOILERS
I’m usually against big age gaps in romance, but there are a handful of shows that sold me on one because the chemistry was electric, the life experiences lined up in an interesting way, and it really felt like these two people would be lonely forever without each other.
This drama did the exact opposite of that.
Mei (28) has not one but two attractive, successful, age-appropriate guys who clearly like her and get along great with her. And yet, the second, her 50-year-old housekeeper Nagisa says he might leave, she panics and decides the solution is… marriage. Not because she’s in love. Because she’s terrified of losing the guy who does her laundry and cooks for her. That is not romantic. That’s separation anxiety and codependency dressed up as a happy ending.
You don’t marry someone so they’ll keep cleaning your apartment. Hire another housekeeper (he’s basically a magical unicorn, but they exist) and go to therapy for the attachment issues. Problem solved, no lifelong regrettable marriage required. It’s honestly depressing to watch. It feels like watching Mei self-destruct and drag a perfectly nice man into a relationship that’s wrong for both of them. Imagine them ten years down the line when people assume he’s her dad. Or worse, when she wakes up one day and realizes she married her Mary-Poppins-housekeeper out of pure panic. And yes, I get that older-man/younger-woman pairings are more normalized in some Japanese media, but this drama was clearly marketed to an international audience on streaming platforms. In most of the world a sudden 22-year age-gap romance with zero romantic buildup is not going to land as sweet or aspirational—it lands as uncomfortable and unrealistic. To me it was cringy. They built the relationship up as some kind of found mentor/family type relationship. Maybe that charming older uncle type. And then turned it into some kind of indentured servitude type romance. Mutual I guess. He gets a young troubled wife and she gets a live in domestic engineer and life coach.
The only thing that still gets full points is the mental-health message about not trying to “do it all” and learning to accept help. That part was great. Everything else about the romance destroyed the show for me.
Final score: 6.5/10, carried almost entirely by how pleasant the first 7–8 episodes were. Skip it or drop it before the train wreck—your future self will thank you.
Synopsis
In the bustling world of pharmaceutical sales, the ever-diligent Mei Aihara juggles high-stakes deals by day while her apartment descends into complete chaos by night. On her 28th birthday, enter the enigmatic Nagisa Shigino, an impeccably poised housekeeper with a knack for turning disorder into domestic harmony—and perhaps stirring deeper emotions. As Mei's life gets an unexpected upgrade from this unlikely ally, sparks fly when she crosses paths with the suave Yuta Tadokoro, a competitor whose charm threatens to upend her carefully ordered existence. Blending quirky humor, tender revelations, and the quiet magic of found family, this series explores how a spotless home can sometimes lead to a fuller hear
Air Year: 2020
Number of Episodes: 9
Runtime per Episode: Approximately 57 minutes
Major Characters
*Aihara Mei (Tabe Mikako): A dedicated and efficient pharmaceutical sales rep whose professional prowess starkly contrasts with her messy personal life and social awkwardness.
*Shigino Nagisa (Omori Nao): An eccentric, highly competent male housekeeper who mysteriously appears to overhaul Mei's home, bringing order, wisdom, and subtle emotional support.
*Tadokoro Yuta (Seto Koji): A charismatic and persistent rival sales rep from a competing company, whose flirtatious pursuit of Mei adds romance and rivalry to her routine.
*Suyama Kaoru (Takahashi Maryjun): Mei's loyal best friend and colleague at work, offering comic relief and steadfast encouragement through thick and thin.
*Segawa Haruto (Maeda Gordon): A fresh-faced new hire at Mei's company, eager and optimistic, often providing youthful energy to the team dynamics.
*Matsudaira Shinya (Hirayama Yusuke): Mei's stern yet fair boss, who pushes the sales team hard while navigating his own professional pressures.
Rating: 6.5/10
The first three-quarters of this drama are genuinely cute and comforting. The workplace chaos is funny, the found-family energy is warm, and the central message—that it’s okay to accept help and stop trying to do everything alone—is lovely and actually meaningful. I was having a perfectly nice time.
Then the final stretch happens and everything I liked about the show collapses. The turn it takes felt so wrong to me that I couldn’t properly watch the last two episodes—I’d already looked up the ending because I had a horrible suspicion where it was going, got confirmed, and then I just skimmed the rest to see how bad the damage was. The drop-off in enjoyment was brutal. Because of that ending, I can’t recommend the drama and I have zero desire to ever rewatch it. What a waste of a promising setup.
SPOILERS
I’m usually against big age gaps in romance, but there are a handful of shows that sold me on one because the chemistry was electric, the life experiences lined up in an interesting way, and it really felt like these two people would be lonely forever without each other.
This drama did the exact opposite of that.
Mei (28) has not one but two attractive, successful, age-appropriate guys who clearly like her and get along great with her. And yet, the second, her 50-year-old housekeeper Nagisa says he might leave, she panics and decides the solution is… marriage. Not because she’s in love. Because she’s terrified of losing the guy who does her laundry and cooks for her. That is not romantic. That’s separation anxiety and codependency dressed up as a happy ending.
You don’t marry someone so they’ll keep cleaning your apartment. Hire another housekeeper (he’s basically a magical unicorn, but they exist) and go to therapy for the attachment issues. Problem solved, no lifelong regrettable marriage required. It’s honestly depressing to watch. It feels like watching Mei self-destruct and drag a perfectly nice man into a relationship that’s wrong for both of them. Imagine them ten years down the line when people assume he’s her dad. Or worse, when she wakes up one day and realizes she married her Mary-Poppins-housekeeper out of pure panic. And yes, I get that older-man/younger-woman pairings are more normalized in some Japanese media, but this drama was clearly marketed to an international audience on streaming platforms. In most of the world a sudden 22-year age-gap romance with zero romantic buildup is not going to land as sweet or aspirational—it lands as uncomfortable and unrealistic. To me it was cringy. They built the relationship up as some kind of found mentor/family type relationship. Maybe that charming older uncle type. And then turned it into some kind of indentured servitude type romance. Mutual I guess. He gets a young troubled wife and she gets a live in domestic engineer and life coach.
The only thing that still gets full points is the mental-health message about not trying to “do it all” and learning to accept help. That part was great. Everything else about the romance destroyed the show for me.
Final score: 6.5/10, carried almost entirely by how pleasant the first 7–8 episodes were. Skip it or drop it before the train wreck—your future self will thank you.
Synopsis
In the bustling world of pharmaceutical sales, the ever-diligent Mei Aihara juggles high-stakes deals by day while her apartment descends into complete chaos by night. On her 28th birthday, enter the enigmatic Nagisa Shigino, an impeccably poised housekeeper with a knack for turning disorder into domestic harmony—and perhaps stirring deeper emotions. As Mei's life gets an unexpected upgrade from this unlikely ally, sparks fly when she crosses paths with the suave Yuta Tadokoro, a competitor whose charm threatens to upend her carefully ordered existence. Blending quirky humor, tender revelations, and the quiet magic of found family, this series explores how a spotless home can sometimes lead to a fuller hear
Air Year: 2020
Number of Episodes: 9
Runtime per Episode: Approximately 57 minutes
Major Characters
*Aihara Mei (Tabe Mikako): A dedicated and efficient pharmaceutical sales rep whose professional prowess starkly contrasts with her messy personal life and social awkwardness.
*Shigino Nagisa (Omori Nao): An eccentric, highly competent male housekeeper who mysteriously appears to overhaul Mei's home, bringing order, wisdom, and subtle emotional support.
*Tadokoro Yuta (Seto Koji): A charismatic and persistent rival sales rep from a competing company, whose flirtatious pursuit of Mei adds romance and rivalry to her routine.
*Suyama Kaoru (Takahashi Maryjun): Mei's loyal best friend and colleague at work, offering comic relief and steadfast encouragement through thick and thin.
*Segawa Haruto (Maeda Gordon): A fresh-faced new hire at Mei's company, eager and optimistic, often providing youthful energy to the team dynamics.
*Matsudaira Shinya (Hirayama Yusuke): Mei's stern yet fair boss, who pushes the sales team hard while navigating his own professional pressures.
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