Muno no Taka (2024)

Rien faire c'est déjà beaucoup

Souvent, quand j'observe ma classe, j'ai l'impression de me trouver dans une véritable volière. Il y a des petits coqs qui veulent toute l'attention, des petits poulets qui caquettent, des paons qui pavanent et un aigle un peu simplet, puisqu'il a choisi ce métier, mais qui veille d'un œil perçant à ce qu'aucun oisillons ne se vole dans les plumes. Dans le monde des adultes et en particulier celui des Open Space et autre Office Center, rien n'a vraiment changé. C'est en tout cas ce que doit penser l'héroïne soi-disant sotte de Munou no Taka.

Difficile d'appréhender de manière apaisée le pitch de cette série, en 2024. Après des années de "me too", présenter L'héroïne comme une plante verte rêvant de revêtir les habits d'une office lady, pour l'uniforme, tout juste bonne à faire des photocopies, me fait mal à mon "quoi". Elle le réclame haut et fort, "je suis une idiote, je ne sais rien faire et je n'y peux rien". Pourtant, avec subtilité et talent d'écriture, la série prend vite le parti de l'égalité des sexes et cherche à poser le doigt là où ça fait encore mal. Le paternalisme insupportable de la gent masculine au Japon. Alors bien sûr, on targuera la série de Wok, après l'avoir soupçonnée de faire l'apologie des vieux clichés. Il est cependant important de repasser régulièrement une couche dessus et celle-ci n'épargne personne. De la génération Z au baby boomer. Nanao qui par sa candeur déconcerte tout le monde, n'est que le catalyseur de l'incompétence de tout un système basé sur le faux-respect de la hiérarchie, de l'âge et du client. Mais d'une critique acerbe du système qui a fait le succès et la faillite du pays, on arrive rapidement à une comédie pleine de bons sentiments et surtout de feel good vibes, bien nécessaires pour tout Salary Man et Office Lady en besoin de détente après une journée passé à subir le Pawa-Hara systémique de l'entreprise.

L'humour est omniprésent, sans jamais de méchanceté sur le niveau intellectuel présumé de chacun. Comprendrons qui veut, à quel point le travail forcé du samourai moderne manque d'efficacité à cause du système, et cela, malgré le temps passé au bureau. Des blagues de bureau, justement, parfois lunaire, à la vie simple des urbains d'aujourd'hui, la série respire la normalité et le bien-être. Même si les clichés, homme incompétents et médiocres, contre femme manipulatrice ont la vie dure dans cette série aussi, malgré toute la bienveillance qu'elle dégage. Heureusement, personne n'est vraiment vil. Le système qui broille l'humanité en nous est dénoncé et Munou se mue en ange gardien pour tous ces collègues. promouvant l'entraide plutôt que la compétitivité, la promotion de chacun en trouvant toujours de l'aide ou du réconfort de la part du plus incompétent de ses collègues.

Pour peu que la vie de bureau vous intéresse, vous trouverez votre compte dans cette volerie, même si ce monde semble trop rose bonbon, N'ayez pas peur d'y laissé des plumes, d'autruche, évidement.

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We all have that one co-worker

No doubt about it. "No Good Takano" is as dumb as a sack of doorknobs and not half as useful. It's a miracle that she remembers to breathe. She's not a savant or a secret genius. She is a serendipity magnet whose vexing idiocy is misunderstood in absurd or creative ways. Yes, it's over the top. But the OTT is what is funny as long as you can accept it for what it is and don't try to read into it intentions that aren't there.

The producers cast a very competent ensemble of actors for both ordinary and silly characters. I liked how they took Nanao, who is an icon of glamour and often plays one, and let her go through a whole show without her looks being noted or having any meaning. Nanao herself seems to be having fun playing a deadpan character who makes lame platitudes and blank stares appear profound and wise.

I thought that neither the story nor the characters needed piles of development. They get the correct amount to keep them a bit interesting without asking the audience to identify or invest. The writing added enough depth to keep any characters from being one-dimensional. The ending, however, was a bit weak. It's not out of character for the series but I'd have hoped for something more satisfying. On that note, don't expect too much in the romance department.

The upbeat soundtrack is hardly my cup of tea as music goes but I found it appropriate and sensibly put together.

Should you watch it? I don't know. Takano offers the sort of detached amusement that helps me wind down and have a chuckle before bedtime. These things are hard to find for me so that may have earned it an extra point in my rating. YMMV but you can count on it being consistent. So if you didn't like episode 1 you will not like the rest and should watch something else. If episode 1 works for you you should keep going. That simple.

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Not talentless at all.

I think this drama has a lot to say about corporate culture and the differences between generations.

Our lead, Takano, may be branded as “talentless” by her co-workers because she doesn’t know, well, anything but this doesn’t mean she is useless and integral for the well-being of the team.

In contrast, her peer Hiwada is incredibly competent but often overlooked by his appearance and demeanour. Not to mention he suffers from diarrhoea induced by anxiety, mostly because he is trying to fit in the corporate world like all past generations.

It’s when these two start working together that someone sees the importance in Takano’s presence and the competence of Hiwada’s work. And they do it in their Gen Z style, not the other way around.

Takano’s personality and speeches are usually misunderstood as genius in the the most absurd and hilarious ways. The viewers know better, creating a complicity between Hiwada, her and us.

The rest of their co-workers are mostly Gen X and Boomers, with their own dynamics and issues. They can’t figure out the enigma Takano is to them. On the other hand, Milennials are represented as quirky types, exiled to a basement office so they don’t have to deal with others and viceversa. All of the characters are good people but very set in their ways and it’s fun to see their interactions.

The script follows the typical formulaic approach of most Japanese dramas, with a new problem in each episode that by the end it’s resolved, leaving the characters with a new life lesson to learn if they wish to.

The cast was perfectly chosen for each role, particularly Nanao as Takano. Her part could have easily be written off as stupid and make fun at her expenses but she brings such a easy going and earnest energy to the character, it’s impossible to do so.

I think what the drama it’s trying to say under the disguise of a light hearted comedy it’s that, at the end of the day, some people are not meant to change but to change you and how you view the world. So, don’t get too comfortable in your ways. Don’t stop growing, take risks. Always try to be the better version of yourself and move forward.

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How did I end up here? I dunno.

I picked up this show on a whim because of Nanao. I randomly saw her in Jigoku no hanazono and was like: "she seems cool."

How can I talk about this show. Honestly not much really happens. However all sorts of misunderstandings make this show fun to watch. I mean would you have expected their to be giant A.I controlled robots solving war by the end of this show?

I would have not either.

The main positives is Nanao true to her aura is fantastic as the ever so ditzy Takano. She perfectly plays the airhead with good heart. Sometimes she comes off way too dumb but it usually smooths out with the scenario playing out. I found it great that in the end Takano had such an impact on everyone. If they didn't resolve her whereabouts at the end I would of assumed she was secretly a guardian angel sent down to help everyone when they needed it. It's true you mainly get fixated on her the entire show but I came to like most of the characters.

Hatoyama was a really nice manager. I enjoyed his fatherly attributes to the other staff and how he was controlled. Ukai's compulsiveness to document and ascertain all knowledge at first seem to be confrontational. But then it kinda just turned into a neurotic quark. Kijitani had a great arc I thought. He became someone who didn't care to someone who realizes the impact everyone has on him and his responsibilities. Suzaku had a pretty good arc too despite it being so short. I really enjoyed the development team, especially Yumi. She had the overall best kill me now faces. There was an interesting dynamic as well between each group of work buddies. How each group approached the same problem was a nice look into the mindset of different age classes at a large company.

Now if you are wondering why I didn't mention Hiwada, that's because I felt he was the weakest main character. Honestly he barely had growth. Even when presented with big moments of him growing as a person, he reverts next moment into the same type of person. I also felt his character was somewhat annoying with just how wak they made him look. Him and Karasumori had really unlikable characters. I never felt like i was rooting for Hiwada but for everyone else I was. I also think they didn't even spend enough time to explain him. The other characters became more focused to wrap up story arcs which made his weaker overall. I assume this was due to the short run time of the series. If he was a little more interesting the score would be a little higher.

I suppose this mirrors the status of a new worker vs established workers. Where seniors take center stage and the newbies get drowned out.

One aspect I like about this story was how their were little moments of hope between all the companies. I enjoyed the fact that so many of the business people had epiphanies about how they viewed their employees and goals. I thought that was cute. It was cliche but cute. It kinda made each episode feel like a hallmark christmas movie. I think that's the best way to describe it.

A few small things to round this out. Opening theme is very interesting as it's in French. I liked the unique style intro. It felt kind of like a high fashion photos hoot parody. The ending theme was typical of this sort of drama. I didn't find the type of melody didn't suit the idea of the show. Ending themes really set the mood of a jdrama's impact and I found this one not be the right feeling. I wanted upbeat but more mellow of a flow. It was a song that felt like their were many hardships in the show but their really isn't lol. A good example would be Hope by Tota from the new Anne Shirley anime.

The show also randomly did interesting shots every now and then which were surprising in the moment. The under walk shot of Suzaku and tomato cam come to mind.

Overall the series ends with a sweet note. I half expected it to happen so it wasn't surprising. I bet they were snickering to themselves with the end shot being like a bird flying away from them.

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