Drama Review: Rich Man, Poor Woman

So how does an ordinary young woman focusing on the boring and repetitive statistics get into a top creative company? The tagline for Rich Man, Poor Woman describes it as a Cinderella story, but I think it's more than just a Cinderella story. It's a drama about having perseverance in one's principles and work attitude that resulted in a Cinderella ending.
The woman's name is Sawaki Chihiro (played by Ishihara Satomi) and it's the only (well not really) reason that Hyuga Toru (played by Oguri Shun) hires her. Except her name is not really Chihiro and she's using it to get Toru's attention. Just what is their relationship? It becomes more clear in the middle of the series, but that's not the main point. Toru is bent on making his project "Personal File" become a reality pointing out that in Japan, the problem is that the personal file interface is hard to use making it difficult for others to search for people. His motivation for the project is that he wants to find his birth mother in which he only remembers by her name, Sawaki Chihiro. Nothing on the web could get back information on Sawaki Chihiro and that's where Chihiro, the young woman out of college looking for a job, comes in. Chihiro and Toru get into a lot of problems working together because Toru can't stand the rigidness and commonality of her thinking. Mainly it because Chihiro majors in science, can memorize huge chunks of data in a short amount of time, and is very logical. Pretty much the opposite of Toru who is rash, but highly creative.

I loved this drama because even though it does have a happy ending, it is very realistic. I think it appeals to a lot of new grads around the world who struggle to find a job in any field because they lack "originality" to make themselves distinct. The character of Makoto, who we perviously knowas Chihiro, is a personification of this situation in which she is publicly humiliated as a robot by Toru. However like many hopeful graduates out there, Makoto stands up for own beliefs rather than shying away. Even though she is nervous, she pulls through. Toru's partner, Asahina Kousuke (played by Iura Arata), is very logical and appreciates a lot of Makoto's work as opposed to Toru and is also very considerate. However his personality takes a great turn in the middle of the drama and betrays Toru. I thought that was highly unexpected and it didn't fit too much with Asahina's character. It felt a little forced in my opinion, but I liked his character a lot. Even after the betrayal happened, Asahina is still appreciative of Makoto and still has some compassion for his sister, Yoko, who he hurt. With each episode, you can see how Chihiro slowly changes the way Toru thinks.

The story is a romance wrapped in a realistic dilemma. If you think about it, it's like a fairy tale that Makoto, a grad student, and Toru, the CEO of Next Innovation, would fall in love, but it also somewhat of a realistic dream. As a grad student, you want to enter your field with hopes of achieving success. As with Toru who already achieved his success, he was looking for something money couldn't buy. Makoto never admits her attraction as romantic early on though it is hinted that it becomes romantic when she becomes embarrassed around Toru and does things just for Toru and the company. It's just like how some relationships begin as mutual attraction and evolve into something more. Even Makoto in the end changes to pursue her field with a more intense passion. It is a good message to viewers, whether you are a student out of college or not, to pursue your goals more bravely.