Haken no Hinkaku

[animefan22]

Hana Yori Dango 2 maybe the talk of this season, but to me, the dark horse is Haken no Hinkaku. 

This show is a joy to watch, especially with the talented Shinohara Ryoko as the almost robotic, 'super-haken' Oomae Haruko, who never works overtime and who dances flamenco during her off hours.(in a clever pun of the informal term 'omae', which she uses cleverly to disarm one of the mindless full-timers)

The show tackles the issue of haken, or temporary workers, which number in the millions in Japan due to the recession and who remain a critical labor source due to the affordability of their wages.  This show taps into the 'pride of the haken' as the title would suggest, and talks about how haken can be just as qualified and good at what they do as any other worker.  This element is probably one of the major factors behind the show's continued and consistent success in the ratings.  Its remained well within the 18-20% bracket, easily qualifying it as a hit and one of the highest rated drama's this season, probably only behind Kimura Takuya's Karei Naru Ichizoku, and Hana Yori Dango 2.  I was never a huge fan of Shinohara before, but it is ultimately satisfying and amusing to see her take down the snobby and arrogant full-time workers with her seemingly endless repertoire of skills and talents.  They talk down to her but she never bats an eye and always saves the day for her fellow haken, or for her department's chief.

The character of Haruko is also one of the coolest and eccentric drama characters in recent memory.  She lives for her work and gives it her all, but at the same time, she refuses to be contacted during off hours, and/or to work overtime.  She has very strict working conditions, leaves precisely when her hours are up, and after her three month working period disappears to Spain and lives with wandering peoples in the middle of nowhere. 

There also seems to be a romantic element however, and there is also the budding, bumbling but disgustingly cute newcomer played by Kato Ai, who looks to Haruko for guidance.  Or the excessively kind and eager to please marketing department chief played by the former Prime Minister Koizumi's son, who seems to take an interest in Haruko and her past, and apparently it is through him we will see a softer side of her. 

What this show has at its disposal  are razor sharp dialogue, and a smart script.  It's one of the best shows this season and a great way to start off this year's drama cycle.

It is the fascinating characterization, social commentary, and clever script that set this drama apart from recent workplace drama's such as Sapuri with Kamenashi Kazuya and Itoh Misaki, which failed to pull in viewers likely because of the blandness of the characters/script and also similarities to former workplace drama's such as Anego, which was written by Haken no Hinkaku's scriptwriter. 

Anyone else watching? 

[Kaze Kiri FX]

I enjoyed the first episode when I watched it. Unfortunately, due to a sudden bout of TV drama disinterest I had early in January, I ended up being a return viewer of only Hana Yori Dango 2 and Kirakira Kenshuui (just because I love Konishi Manami). Haken no Hinkaku was 3rd on my list, and I really intended to keep watching it, but I guess I must have thought I had something better to do on the night the 2nd episode aired, and I just decided to free up some more of my personal time rather than continue watching it every week.

But, yeah, you're absolutely right. I think it's a great idea to make a drama about hakens. Rather than being just another bland workplace drama like Supli (that bored the hell out of me), this one actually seems a bit subversive, by actually confronting the differences and issues behind different types of workers in the Japanese workplace environment.

Also, there are a lot of haken workers in my workplace right now, so I do think about the issue of hakens and their situation a lot. I think one of the things that repeled me about this drama is how it hits home about the realities of the Japanese work environment - and since at the time I was really in a negative mood about my own job and my work environment, I just didn't want to be reminded of it on my own personal time at home.

However, after reading your post, animefan22, I think I'm going to try to get back into watching this one. As luck would have it, the sixth episode airs tonight.