18 September 2012

リッチマン、プアウーマン Rich Man, Poor Woman


Title: リッチマン、プアウーマン Ritchi Man, Puaū Man (Rich Man, Poor Woman)
English Title: Rich Man, Poor Woman
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2012
Episode: 11
Cast:
  • 小栗旬 Oguri Shun
  • 石原さとみ Ishihara Satomi
  • 相武紗季 Aibu Saki
  • 浅利陽介 Asari Yosuke
  • 中原丈雄 Nakahara Takeo
  • 中村靖日 Nakamura Yasuhi
  • 古川雄輝 Furukawa Yuki
  • 野村麻純 Nomura Masumi
  • 八木のぞみ Yagi Nozomi
  • 舞川あいく Maikawa Aiku
  • 植木紀世彦 Ueki Kiyohiko
  • 丸山智己 Maruyama Tomomi
  • 佐野史郎 Sano Shiro
  • 井浦新 Iura Arata



SYNOPSIS
miwa - ヒカリへ [To Hikari]
Hyuga Toru is one of the richest men in the world. Although he only graduated from middle school, he has built his IT company and his fortune through his natural acumen for business. Toru is seemingly perfect on paper but he has a despicable personality.

Natsui Makoto has worked hard all her life in studying and she is hoping all her hard work leads her to a bright future. Although she is soon graduating from the prestigious Tokyo University, she does not have any employment offers.

Makoto ends up working for Toru by sheer chance and he knows her as Sawaki Chihiro, a false name she gave him when they first met.



REVIEW
Rich Man, Poor Woman is a drama about two people who are polar opposites. Based from the title, they are complete opposites in their station in life or social class. They are also quite different based on their outlook in life; with one being a realist and the other an idealist, and with one being a pessimist and the other an optimist.

Hyuga Toru and his company seem to be loosely patterned from either Google and its founders or Facebook and its founders. I have a lot of respect for people who work in information technology because I'm quite clueless when it comes to computer programming and more elaborate applications. I think working in IT is very stressful because there's a lot of focus in the industry to continually evolve and constantly develop newer and better things.

Hyuga Toru: What amazed people yesterday leaves them listless today. What was rare yesterday is taken for granted today.

Natsui Makoto seems to be a person slated for success if you consider her characteristics and educational background. She's having a hard time getting companies to hire her, simply because it seems that there are other people who are better qualified. I wonder, if some people are actually better than you are, can that fact actually be considered as one of your faults?

Hyuga Toru: I see. We live in an era where graduates from illustrious universities are not rewarded. Do you have any fundamental flaw? (to everyone) Those who haven't had any job offers, please go. This session is set according to such criterion. You've been scrutinized by various companies for eight months so at this point, those who have passed through that tedious selection process by other companies are suitable for our company. Only those who have been accepted by more than two companies will be considered to join our company... She is the living example of the failure of the Japanese educational system. Or rather, a victim. She has been studying as she was told yet she's become a redundant person.
Natsui Makoto: ... Before coming here, I studied your company in every detail because I sincerely want to join your company. You're right, no one hired me. But just because other companies did not select me does not mean that I am also useless to your company. You think 'excellence' is in interesting application forms? Or that someone who looks good in group discussions has skills? Of course, communication skills are indispensable but do you want to only be surrounded by people with those characteristics?... You should look at each person carefully even if there are thousands of applicants.
Hyuga Toru: But even if I look at thousands of people, the result will be I will still pick the same people that have passed the selection process of other companies.
-- E01



Related:
リッチマン、プアウーマン Rich Man, Poor Woman (2013)


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リッチマン、プアウーマン Rich Man, Poor Woman