Tatakau! Shoten Girl (2015)

Misleading synopsis with "run-of-the-mill" characters

• Overall: For me the synopsis reads like the show is about a "small business", a bookstore to be exact, and two of it's employees. I'm a sucker for these shows, especially if they're more about the characters than the business itself. Tokyo Bandwagon, one of the two recommended shows on the site, is a very good example of what I mean by that. From that perspective the show was a real letdown, because it's actually about a chain store of a big company and their employees with mostly interchangable characters. Their most unique feature is probably that, even though it's a chain store in a shopping mall, they really love books and are not just working there because it's the only company they were accepted at. Almost all of their other character traits are the usual run-of-the-mill never give up sort of things. It gets a 6 from me because it's not bad for what it actually is, but it's nothing I'd recommend to other people, either.

• Story: On the surface it's mainly about the two main characters and their efforts in keeping a bookstore alive. But for me, more than anything else, the front and center of the story is about power harassment and misogyny. At least it's the base of almost all of the problems the characters fight. So if you're not a fan of these two topics, you should probably avoid watching, otherwise it'll result in a lot of skipping and fast forwarding every time some kind of big shot starts badmouthing and undermining the characters because they're women and/or working class shop clerks. The most evident example of what I'm talking about was probably how the people in charge of this bookstore chain, that exists for more than 20 years, proudly announced that "she's the first female manager in their company". It took them 20 years, I don't think they should be proud of that. Especially because of all the circumstances surrounding that announcement. I know it's the unfortunate reality in the Japanese business world, but rather than criticizing it, the story shows that companies can just work their way around the problem and basically stay the same.

• Acting: It was good. Nothing outstanding because, as mentioned before, the characters are mostly run-of-the-mill people with a lot of motivation because they love what they do. Probably my favorite character was the one played by Daito Shunsuke. I always like male characters who are not afraid to take a step back in order to support a female in Asian dramas and, in my opinion, he played that role really well and believable.

• Music: Nothing that stands out. Which, for me, is a good thing in a show that wants to be character driven. Oftentimes when it stands out and I really notice the music it's because it's bad, absolutely not my taste or simply annoying.

• Rewatch value: I very rarely rewatch something. If I do it's for 9 or higher rated shows/movies or because of nostalgia. So basically every other show's a 1 for me in that regard.

Read More