Japanese title: 社内マリッジハニー
Other title: Shanai Marriage Honey
7 episodes
Aired on MBS from 2020 November to December
Main cast:
- Itagaki Mizuki as Miura Manatsu
- Matsui Airi as Haruta Ami
- Wada Hayate as Matsushita Kazuya
- Oshida Gaku as Yamagata Yuki
- Miyata Tappei as Hori Ryuhei
- Nakamura Riho as Sakaguchi Sumika
- Asami Himeka as Miwa An
- Tateishi Toshiki as Mochizuki Kaimi
- Hyodo Katsumi as Nishitani Kentaro
- Kijima Asuka as Shinkawa Marina
Production credits:
- Original work: Manga by Fujiwara Emi
- Screenwriter: Uchihira Mio, Shimo Ayumi
- Director: Morita Ryo, Shingu Ryohei
Notes:
- So I watched this drama right after Coffee and vanilla, and they share a lot of similarities but I actually finished watching this one for reasons I will explain. It's also 7 episodes of 20 minutes so not that time-consuming.
- I also watch this one on Viki, with comments, and I didn't read the manga it's based on.
- Again, warning: no explicit content but every aspect of marriage is covered if you know what I mean.
Review: -/+
Title: Two strangers get married on the day they met for... reasons. And then they realised that they work at the same company. Hence the title.
Girl: She's bubbly, outspoken and an accountant. Also "cunning". Be prepared to read this word (or the equivalent depending on subtitles) a lot. If you make it a drinking game, you would get very drunk.
Boy: He works at sales. He acts aloof but he's actually very cute.
Plot/ relationship: So there is no plot, because there are almost no conflict, and whatever conflict there is, it's resolved quicky and without too much angst. Which is refreshing in a way. Healthy communication in a drama is very rare. In this one, they have a problem or a misunderstanding, they just talk and it's resolved. On the downside, the main conflict is based on a motivation that doesn't make much sense and I feel like their reasons to get married with a stranger, which is the premise of the drama, aren't strong enough.
Other characters: They all have paper thin characterisations, and almost all of them are coworkers.
Funny? Yes. Usually Girl embarassing herself and Boy teasing. Also some expressions and reactions.
Cliches : People falling in love after marrying for other reasons. Borderline insta-love.
Music: Fine.
Bottom line: Like Coffee and vanilla, this drama is plagued with insta-love, no plot, underdeveloped character and universe. I hesitated between a - or a -/+, especially because the intimacy depicted sometimes made me uncomfortable, like 'uh, should I be here?" but, compared to Coffee and vanilla, it has more comedy, the dynamic between the couple is more interesting and I want to commend the communication between them. So -/+ it is.