Prologue
So far this year I’ve been watching a lot of Jdramas. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of stories about writing. Like, A LOT alot. Now maybe it has more to do with the types of stories I’m generally drawn to, or maybe I just like books 😅
Whatever it is, I thought I’d share a few of my favourite Japanese literary dramas. These are all of the magical unicorn variety of Jdramas that are all available legally subbed 🎉
Pretty Proofreader
If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, you will have heard Jessie talk about how great this drama is. I finally got around to watching it this year and boy was she right! (I did not doubt her at all, I wish I had got to it sooner than this) Pretty Proofreader is a sort of reverse Ugly Betty story about a fashion forward girl who dreams of being an editor at her favourite fashion magazine. She gets hired to their publishing house, but instead of working in fashion she is stuck proofreading novels in a dreary basement office.
The main character’s attention to detail and bubbly personality work unexpectedly well in this proofreading world. She dares to do things that others in her office would never imagine to do. That daring pays off in a myriad of ways, enriching both the company at large and the people she works with individually. I feel like I learned a lot about the world of proofreading and book editing. I don’t know how much of it was true, but it was all very interesting.
Pretty Proofreader is a lovely slice of life style office drama about a person finding their place in the work world. The characters and relationships are all worth watching. There is a nice sprinkling of romance throughout, but the focus is definitely more on finding career satisfaction than finding love. Highly recommended by at least two of the Noonas 😉
Million Yen Women
This is a wildly intense drama. Another with a full count of full length episodes. You might want to set some time aside to binge this one because once you get on the roller coaster you won’t want to stop.
Million Yen Women tells the story of a lonely and underappreciated novelist. One day five very different women show up at his door to move in. They all claim to be answering an ad that the author never posted. Each woman agrees to pay 1 million Yen for room and board. The perplexed author allows them all to move in and his life changes forever.
Million Yen Women is dark and scary and funny and sexy. Please, PLEASE ignore Google and Wikipedia when they try to tell you this is a romcom. It is NOT! The way the story unfolds is slow and shocking and had me on the edge of my seat many times. I cried with sadness, and relief, and happiness at different times throughout. I can’t tell you more than that for fear of spoiling the experience for the uninitiated. Suffice it to say, 10/10 highly recommend
Bungaku Shojo
Also known as A Virgin Woman of Literature or Literary Virgin, this drama tells a lighter tale of a young woman who becomes an editor. She is assigned to a sexy older male author who’s greatest work was a love story never officially published. He’s never wrote another romance and his more recent works have lacked the heart of that first story.
Not exactly a romcom, this story is definitely more of a romance than the previously mentioned dramas. The romance is the point of the story rather than a sidenote. Like with Pretty Proofreader, there is a look at the relationship between editors and their writers as well as a focus on someone learning the ins and outs of a new job. Unlike Pretty Proofreader, Bungaku Shojo centralize the way that romance also changes the main characters and the effect it has on their jobs.
One of the things I really enjoyed about this story is the way that I couldn’t completely predict where it would end. Part of that is the story itself, and part of that is the unpredictability you get in Jdramas that isn’t often seen in other Asian dramas. I like a love triangle where I’m not certain which guy the girl will end up with. It’s more interesting to watch and honestly, if it’s not going to be a believable triangle why even bother adding one in? 8/10
Nee Sensai, Shiranai no?
Last but definitely not least is my darling comfort watch, Nee Sensei. This is the story of a manga writer who’s been so focused on writing romance that she has never had time for a romance of her own. I’ve watched this drama 3 times and not just because we’ve done podcast episodes on it 😅
This is the lightest and fluffiest of the dramas listed here. A true romcom where the relationship is the central focus and the Happily Ever After is obviously guaranteed right from the start. The drama tells the sweet story of an awkward manga artist and an outgoing hairdresser who loves her.
While the publishing side of things isn’t as much of a focus in this drama as it is in the others, a lot of the story revolves around the way careers effect relationships. The female lead has never had a boyfriend because she was too busy with her writing and art. That focus doesn’t change for her after finding a boyfriend. If you want to hear more of my thoughts on it, we have an entire episode of the podcast devoted to this drama here. 10/10 highly recommend
Postscript
Watching these dramas has given me the feeling that Japan might have a different relationship with the written word than some other countries do. Novelists seem to almost be rockstars of sorts. Of course that could simply be the hyper focus on the literary world combined with the exaggeration of dramaland. I’ve watched kdramas about writers too and they definitely had a different feel to me, but that might have more to do with the difference in drama styles.
If you’re like me and you like dramas and reading, you’ll probably enjoy at least one of the dramas mentioned here today. If you’d like some other literary drama recommendations, please check out my Literary Love list on MyDramaList.com. Hope you find something that suits your fancy!
Natalia