Underwear

I was surfing Netflix for something new and started watching Atelier out of curiosity. I'm not sure when it happened, but at some point I was drawn in and couldn't let go. I'll save you the trouble of looking it up: Atelier is a French word for an artist's workshop. The plot is a fairly predictable Cinderella story (even referred to in one episode): Young country girl just out of school goes to work in the big city. The store is a high-end custom lingerie shop. High-end meaning all hand made for an exclusive set of clients, and costing $500-$1000. Mayu is a fabric expert, not a designer. I think what kept me watching was that the show doesn't focus exclusively on young Mayu. There is strong character development of the whole cast as the series progresses. The obsessed and perfectionist owner, the assistant designers, the business manager, etc. I enjoyed watching how the story developed for many of the peripheral characters we see early on. We get to see how they are really integral to the story, and how they progress and influence things much later. My wife asked me why I was watching a chick flick and my only response was that I found it interesting even though I had to see the whole thing in subtitles. Kudos to the translator for bringing out a lot of subtleties, double entendre, and depth. I have heard the Japanese language is nothing but such things. The meaning is well-conveyed by the acting which was excellent across the board. The only weakness in the cast was that of Mirei Kiritani, the lead actress who plays Mayuko. In many scenes she just comes across as a stereotyped young Japanese girl, the kind we see portrayed too often. (Maybe that really is how they act? I don't know) My only other annoyance with the series was the strange time jumps that would sometimes occur without warning. They seemed to cut past some important developments or just jump too far ahead too fast. All in all I felt like Atelier was much like anything created by BBC -- It's better than 90% of any American commercial crap.

This starts out with a girl who just graduated and she and her friend go to Tokyo to find work. The girl Mayu eventually finds a job at a high end lingerie shop called emotion. There she starts to learn and also implement some of her ideas as well as get on the owners nerves from time to time. She reminded the owner of herself when she was younger. As the time goes by the business gets better and starts to grow. Mayu eventually finds out that Nanjo the owner was planning on retiring and possibly leaving the shop to her. So she tells nanjo that she is not going to feature her line as it is hers and not emotions and that she is going independent. She did this so that Nanjo wouldn't retire. Nanjo eventually gave her the sewing machine that she first used when she found out where mayu was. Mayu returned to the store to visit and also visit Nanjo. There she starts to cry and Nanjo assures her that she is not going anywhere. Nanjo realized that Mayu sacrificed herself to keep her from retiring. The loose ends that I am referring to is what happened to Mayu's mother. I kind of suspect that maybe Nanjo might have had her out of wedlock which led to the divorce from her husband and in the end what was the result of Mayu going independent? They only show her sewing a cloth and nothing else. That's why I rated it an 8. I would still recommend it though. It seems like the japanese dramas have more control over how to do a series and not let Netflix interfere which makes me happy.

I found this to be unexpectedly interesting, and was seduced into almost binge watching it on Netflix. Who knew lingerie was a secret affirmation of a woman's essence. Well maybe you did, but I didn't. Many little esoteric philosophical droppings along the way in this otherwise enchanting little story about a girl in a high end lingerie shop. I was quite willing to forgive the lapses into sentimentality. The acting was uniformly excellent although the lead girl was perhaps provided with a somewhat banal and underwritten script. For a westerner it was a nice contrast to see the thought patterns of the Japanese, whose politeness seemed interwoven with surprising directness and honesty. No slang, clichés, double entendres, sleaziness even among the nasty corporate brutes encountered along the way. For me a refreshing change of pace. Highly recommended.

This show (also named Atelier on Netflix) was recommended to me as I'm slowly improving my Japanese. The topic (fashion) seemed interesting to me so I started watching it and ended up falling in love with it. The characters are all pretty interesting. The story is well-written and delivered. And as a bonus, the type of conversations as well as the delivery is great for someone that's trying to learn the language like me. Highly recommend it!

The young and the old, both in transition, makes up the story of "Atelier" a 2015 miniseries from Japan.

Adorable Mirei Kiritani stars as Mayuko, a young woman who comes to work at the Emotion salon in the Ginza section of Tokyo. Her boss Mayumi (Mao Daichi), made up to look like Anna Wintour, is tough but fair. The lingerie is hand-made and exquisite, and Mayuko falls in love with the whole industry, to the point where she wants to create something herself.

Mayuko and Mayumi learn more from one another than either one thought possible, as Mayuko works to find out who she is and Mayumi realizes she needs to invent herself.

Lots goes on in these 13 episodes: designs stolen, a theme for a fashion show stolen, a child who is estranged from his mother who appears, going into mass marketing, and lots else.

I have never been to Tokyo - it looks so beautiful on this show - it's like watching Manhattan, where I have lived, on Suits or White Collar. At the end someone is out on the sidewalk and you can really see that the streets are crowded like New York in midtown.

Learning a little of the culture was amazing also - lots of bowing, not a huge amount of touching, people seem to treat one another with respect. It's a more formal culture.

Someone on this board said the show reminded them of anime because some of the younger women had plastic surgery. I was wondering during 13 episodes why some of the women seemed to be a mix of American and Japanese.

Mirei Kiritani is so pretty and played the part of a naive girl who wants to learn everything very well. Mao Daichi, who seems like Japan's answer to Joan Collins, is perfect in her role of an elegant, somewhat imperious woman who hides her vulnerability underneath. She wears an Anna Wintour wig -- I'm not sure if I saw her in something else if I would know her. I believe at one point the character is said to be 50, or maybe I misheard - Daichi is 60, and I could have believed she was late forties.

The other actors were all wonderful, including Mayuko Kawakita, Ken Kaito, and Wakana Sakai.

Highly recommended - and for those concerned about language and nudity - this is cleaner than a Disney film.