Hataraki-man, popular new anime in Japan?

[Njr Scrawl]

I've heard of a popular new anime or manga cartoon in Japan about a woman who is both a hard businesswoman but is also a sweetie. A friend read about it in The Times (UK) newspaper, but can't remember the title. Is there such an anime or manga, or just his overworked imagination.

[Lego]

Manga cartoon huh?

Moo (http://www.hataraki-anime.com/)

[BluWacky]

As Lego says, the article was about Hataraki Man. It was in the business section on Monday - I cut the article out but I haven't scanned it or anything.

The article features some commentary from Moyoco Anno, the mangaka, about women "manning up" to compete in Japanese work culture, and the apparent laziness of the Japanese in general - she's quoted as saying


The traditional virtue of Japan was that people took everything very seriously. As those traditions have been eroded, the quality of Japanese work has been downgraded."

The anime and live-action adaptations are briefly mentioned.

[Njr Scrawl]

Manga cartoon huh?

Moo (http://www.hataraki-anime.com/)

Thanks guys, found the ANN page (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=6688)

Tanaka Rie as lead seiyuu huh? Should get some interest then. Its a show I'd buy if licensed. Only 11 episodes :(

Character design reminds me of Peach Girl, though the designer is not PG's.

Sooo, has anyone watched this yet?

[Roujin0308]

Wrath of the Njr asked:
Sooo, has anyone watched this yet?

Yes; I bought the R2/Jp dvds.

Also, the current issue (#93) of Protoculture Addicts devotes 3 pages to the show.

[Lego]

Yep, it aired a couple seasons ago. It was a pretty good show was you had a female character complaining about not getting sex enough because she had to work late all the time. The great thing was that your main character is a strong willed working woman who is trying to balance work, life, and her boyfriend all at the same time. If you like slice of life as I do, you'll love it.

[2old2care]

Never heard of it.

:P

[GanChan]

The anime is good, and I will probably buy it if we ever get it here. I haven't read the manga.

[Quarkboy]

Translated it.

Anyway, it's a good show, and there's a live action show currently airing which is a slightly more light-hearted version of the manga as well (plus the episodes are 50 minutes which gives it a lot of time to flesh out the stories).

The anime ends on a kind of happy/sad note in the middle of the story (the manga is ongoing), so I hope it gets a second season sometime (although I doubt it).

Moyoco Anno's stuff (Yes, she's the wife of THAT Anno) is always pretty topical on Japanese society from a woman's perspective, which for anime is a rare thing to see.

[Lego]

Moyoco Anno's stuff (Yes, she's the wife of THAT Anno) is always pretty topical on Japanese society from a woman's perspective, which for anime is a rare thing to see.

That kid is going to be incredibly talented or batshit crazy

[mandisaw]

Anyway, it's a good show, and there's a live action show currently airing which is a slightly more light-hearted version of the manga as well (plus the episodes are 50 minutes which gives it a lot of time to flesh out the stories).
There's a live drama version? (Goes to check...)

So does anyone know if the live version will go farther into the story than the anime version did? I really loved the anime, but like a lot of other shows, it seemed like they stopped just as things were getting good.

[KomoriKiri]

Moyoco Anno's stuff (Yes, she's the wife of THAT Anno) is always pretty topical on Japanese society from a woman's perspective, which for anime is a rare thing to see.

That kid is going to be incredibly talented or batshit crazy

What do you mean, "or"?

Wraith
"There is no great genius without some touch of madness."
-- Seneca

[Quarkboy]

I'm pretty sure there has been no official announcement of how many episodes the hataraki dorama will be, but looking at the number of blank spaces on the website http://www.ntv.co.jp/hatarakiman/ondo/index.html

it seems to be slated for 11 episodes only. Which means they'll be covering about as much as the anime did, I guess... That's too bad, but it might be wrong.

[Darkseid]

Really liked the show. Watched several episodes and was hooked.

[mandisaw]

I'm pretty sure there has been no official announcement of how many episodes the hataraki dorama will be, but looking at the number of blank spaces on the website http://www.ntv.co.jp/hatarakiman/ondo/index.html

it seems to be slated for 11 episodes only. Which means they'll be covering about as much as the anime did, I guess... That's too bad, but it might be wrong.
Thanks for the info. Could be that in a one-hour format they'll cover more story in the same number of episodes, but we'll see, I s'pose.

[Sheena]

Loved the anime for sure and hoping for a second season too once more manga material allows it.

It's interesting how popular it is in japan and went virtually unnoticed here. Maybe it just resonates a lot with the older working audience there talking about situations they face daily.