Grade: B-
Category
Urban Japanese workplace drama
What it’s about
A Steve Jobs–style tech billionaire has his world turned
upside down by two people—his longtime business partner and his company’s
hardworking new intern.
First impression
This brisk, breezy romance is just what I’ve come to expect
from Japanese dramas: it’s got quirky characters to spare, and thanks to its
fast-paced plot and streamlined storytelling, it makes most Kdramas feel
painfully clunky and self-indulgent in comparison. So far, though, Rich Man,
Poor Woman is lacking the emotional depth
of Nobuta wo Produce, my favorite
Jdrama to date. We’ll see how things go—this is the first Japanese love story
I’ve watched, so maybe it will just take a while to get going.
Final verdict
It turns out that what actually took a while was my
realization that Rich Man, Poor Woman was
not what I wanted it to be: a swoony Kdrama romance. In spite of its cheesy
title, this is actually a workplace drama about the value of connection and
appreciating the people around us. And while there was a romance between its
two leads, their love story felt peripheral—instead, the show’s most compelling
relationship was the conflicted bromance between prickly genius Hyuga Toru and
his right-hand man, Asahina Kosuke. Rich Man, Poor Woman’s plot revolves largely around the corporate
intrigue created when envy finally gets the better of Asahina, who spent most
of his long history with Hyuga trapped in the other man’s boy-wonder shadow.
Their brotherly love is this show’s true heart, and it was agonizing to watch
their friendship waver.
And speaking of agonizing, it’s been a while since I last
wanted to leap through the television screen to throttle someone as much as I
did during this show’s speedy 11-episode run. Again and again, the leads
refused to communicate and instead did idiot things that prevented them from
being together. As far as I’m concerned, spineless characters who never try to
get what they want are more tiresome and frustrating than fun.
Rich Man, Poor Woman was
an easy, amusing watch, but it lacked the homefront-minded charm and obsession
with love that keeps me coming back to Korean drama.
Random thoughts
• Episode 1.
Dear Japan:
Would you please stop making it so frigging hard for
international viewers watch your dramas? I would literally pay you for easy
access to this show—I spent 45 minutes trying to watch part 1 of the first
episode last night. All the streaming sites kept freezing or throwing me out.
It got old very, very quickly.
Your frustrated friend,
Amanda
• Episode 1. Ye
Gods...as if job interviews aren’t terrible enough to begin with, I can’t
imagine having to be one of twenty interviewees. I’ve been interviewed by
multiple people at once, but never had the competition sitting right next to
me, looking cuter and more competent. (And it’s a good thing, or I’d be
chronically unemployed.)
• Episode 3. How
interesting to see a chaebol type who actually works. Most Kdramas with similar
plots star princelings with no mission in life beyond being nasty to commoners.
Not that this show’s male lead isn’t plenty nasty—but at least he has some sort
of personal merit. Or so we’re told.
• Episode 6. I’m glad
this show’s female lead is brainy, but couldn’t they have made her smart in a
less stupid way? She can memorize incredible amounts of information in no time,
but she’s still more starry-eyed and naive than any human being over the age of
5 should be.
• Episode 6. This is
definitely more information than you need to know, but while watching this
episode I got a huge nosebleed. This clearly means one of three things: (1) I
am dying of cancer; (2) I just watched 2 episodes in a row of Boys
over Flowers, and my brain, liquefied by
their stupidity, is leaking out; or (3) it’s allergy season. Hmmm...I wonder
which it could be?
• Episode 7. This
show is well done, but I could use a little more bedroom and a lot less board
room. Has Korean drama ruined me for shows that exist for reasons other than
fan service in the form of broody shower scenes and over-the-top confessions of
love?
• Episode 9. Although
Asian dramas are renowned in the West for their serious communication problems,
it’s been a while since I’ve seen something as frustrating as this episode.
Just explain yourself, you stupid
drama bot. Human beings aren’t psychic—if you let him draw his own conclusions
instead of telling the truth, it’s your own fault if he misinterprets what is a
fundamentally innocent event. Speak, damnit!
Watch it
You might also be interested in
Pasta, for its
similarly workplace-centric plot (added bonus: its lead couple are way more
interesting and have exponentially better chemistry)
