We Married as a Job

Called "Full Time Wife Escapist" on Netflix, this is a cute and definitely innocent love story about a real geeky guy, who is so geeky he would never be able to even want nor find a wife and a girl who has a master's degree but can't find employment other than a housewife that has been contracted for house chores - a scheme she concocted and convinced the geeky guy to take. A cute comedy especially in the beginning when his co-workers at first are suspecting that there is something fishy when he puts his "wife" on the work insurance policy but no one has ever met her. They decide to go over to his house because they suspect it is a meta verse wife as he is so geeky there is no way it could be a real woman. They also suspect maybe he is gay. They snoop and find he has a twin bed which only gives them more suspicions. All in all, an innocent romance that is a Japanese drama with a bit of humor.

"Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu", also known as "The Full-Time Wife Escapist" or "We Married as a Job" is a one of the best josei manga out there, and it was brilliantly adapted into a TV series version some years back.

The casting is simply perfect. The lead, Aragaki Yui, is perfect for the role of Moriyama Mikuri, an over-qualified professional unlucky to be born a woman in modern-day Japan - i.e. No good job or career prospects. She's maybe down, but she's not out.

The supporting characters are equally well-cast. The plot is interesting and entertaining. And the dialogues are generally good. But Aragaki Yui stands out the most for me - she's so cute, sincere, and head-strong as Mikuri that she practically steals every scene.

The story line is so apt for today. Declining birthrates, sexless marriages, too many singles, etc. Then there's the cultural/societal limitations on women with respect to work and career. Add to that the usual marital infidelity, challenges of dating, etc.

Everything hits home with this series.

Enjoyed this simple, unpretentious (inner joke!) comedy more than I thought I would.

All the actors did a wonderful job - well done, team!

The plot is straightforward and fun. Nothing unexpected would happen here, you know exactly what to expect. A few nice side-stories add variety.

I don't really have any criticism to offer, the show sets the expectations clearly and delivers on them. I loved that it doesn't take itself seriously and has some funny day-dreaming sequences.

The only thing is, it's "very Japanese" in terms of actors play style. A bit more exaggerated in intonations and gestures. I don't mind this, but to some audiences this may seem "artificial."

It also helps that the clear Japanese they speak helps keep my language skills up! Picked up a few fun phrases from the dialogues for my own use :)

I've watched a lot of series, and can tell you this one is awesome!

For the purpose of keeping this review spoiler free, I will only comment on the gems -- what I think made this series as good as it is!

Each one of the actors are sooo good at playing their roles, the plot is interesting and has a great pace, and the scenes look great; action-packed (without any boring pauses or flashbacks), colorful, meaningful, and sweet.

Honestly I could go on and on.. but to summarize I totally recommend this series as both funny and interesting.

Big congratz to the cast, producers, and directors for this amazing series!

Looking forward to seeing more from y'all!

Presenting various perspectives on the traditional marriage or relationships in a romantic comedy drama. Funny and sometimes moving. Might be a little difficult to understand for non-Japanese cultural people because of the often appearing written Japanese words and parodies (Japanese TV shows and election) . Enjoyable with the good presentation, organization, tempo, humors and very satisfying happy ending.