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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