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Takagi (Karasawa) is the president of a corporation who has a younger sister who left home and is trying to find her. The corporation he works for is very huge and extravagant but unlike his associates with cold hearts, he has a heart of gold and takes a liking towards Yukiko...but is it because he likes her or because she reminds him of his younger sister. Will Yukiko have her dreams come true and find love in the city or will she learn a lesson that not all dreams come true. "Imouto Yo", a drama worth watching. [From first episode synopsis / by Jackie Cheng]: Show starts with scenes of Yukiko leaving her apartment & at work (a factory that processes & ships food) with her speaking in the background. She speaks of her hopes & believes that being in Tokyo will bring her happiness. She gets a phone call from her brother Kikuo who’s at the train station. Meet at the north exit she says… At the same time, same train station, Takagi Masashi is on the phone saying "I’m here already but don’t see him…navy jacket & gray pants? Yes, I see him…" hangs up & walks over to Kikuo who happens to be dressed in a navy jacket & gray pants. Masashi thrusts his briefcase at him & says "Let’s go." As Yukiko leaves the office to meet her brother, it starts to rain. She goes back in & comes out with a red umbrella. It’s a little dented on one side. At the front of the station, Masashi apologizes for having mistaken Kikuo for being his chauffeur. As they speak, Yukiko arrives. Masashi greets her "You must be his sister"…"Yes" she replies & Masashi says "I also have a sister about your age". As Yukiko leaves with her brother, she turns back, looks at Masashi & runs back to give him her red umbrella. She then goes off sharing her Kikuo’s. Masashi arrives at a hotel for a meeting. His colleague Miura Shinji is there to greet him, informing him that the people were looking forward to meeting the new director/manager. Meanwhile, Yukiko & Kikuo arrive back at Yukiko’s apartment. They talk…she asks about their father while Kikuo spots a pair of colorful underpants hanging outside the window. He starts getting the wrong idea but Yukiko tells him that a colleague gave her that to hang outside, reason being a girl living alone is not safe etc. (the brother & sister relationship is quite funny to watch, the way they banter with each other is nice) Meeting over, Masashi reaches for the red umbrella at the umbrella stand at the front of the hotel. Miura asks him "where on earth did you get that old umbrella?" "It was given to me" Masashi replies. "Oh please" Miura says as he takes it & hands it to the chauffeur Sasaki & instructs him to "throw it away." In the next scene, Kikuo tells Yukiko about his girlfriend Reiko, a high-school classmate, now an air stewardess. She’s been invited for dinner so he tells Yukiko to make reservations at a posh restaurant. At the office, Masashi & Miura are talking about the dinner function the company is going to host. Miura hands Masashi an invitation card with the handwritten words "looking forward to seeing you at the dinner – Masashi". It’s meant for Masashi to invite Kanzaki Hatsue the daughter of another prominent businessman. Masashi’s clearly not interested. At the French restaurant, Kikuo & Yukiko freak out over the prices in the menu. Yukiko says she’s got 50,000 yen, Kikuo says he’s only got 10,000 yen. Yukiko decides leave so she gives her brother the money & in a fluster tells him which cutlery is meant for what. (the two of them are really comical together). Masashi comes by & the chauffeur Sasaki asks him about dinner. He looks up & says "up front there’s a restaurant I often go to" looking at the French restaurant & sees Yukiko standing outside looking into her purse. Yukiko walks over to the hotdog stand across the road, orders a hotdog & starts eating. Masashi walks up & orders one too. Yukiko sees him & is surprised. He tells her that he saw her outside the French restaurant & Yukiko lets him think that she goes there often. They speak a bit & then he says "Ah, I threw it away" "Huh?" "The umbrella, I didn’t think I’d see you again so I threw it away". Yukiko’s a little disappointed but smiles & says "It’s ok, it was damaged anyway". Masashi then offers her a ride home. In the car, Masashi tells Yukiko that she reminds him of his sister. She left 3 years ago & they’ve tried but haven’t been able to locate her. Masashi seems upset over this. They stop at a corner & Yukiko gets off, saying her place is just nearby. There’s a huge signboard which says Tokyo Cinderella Story on it. As she’s leaving she suddenly turns around & tells Masashi, "I lied about the restaurant, it was my first time there tonight" Masashi says "It doesn’t matter" & she explains "It’s because I didn’t think that despite Tokyo being so big that I would meet you again. So I think that you will find your sister one day." As she’s going off, Masashi reaches into his coat & pulls out the invitation card that Miura had given him earlier. He hands it to Yukiko & tells her it’s for her & her brother. "See you at the dinner" At home, Kikuo calls home to ask if his girlfriend Reiko called. Yukiko says no but encourages him on. He waits until the restaurant closes but she never shows up. The next morning, he spins some story to Yukiko that he proposed to his Reiko & how touched she was etc. Yukiko then gives him the invitation for him to take his girlfriend. He rejects it saying he hasn’t got formal wear to attend such functions. Masashi’s at his father’s house & is told that a friend of his sister Hitomi called asking for money. He also forbids Masashi to have anything to do with her in future. Yukiko finds out at work that her colleague Nakamura is pregnant. At the office, Masashi hands photos of his sister Hitomi to Sasaki, telling him to discreetly find his sister’s whereabouts. On the way home from work, Yukiko stops by a boutique & buys a tux for her brother. When she arrives home, she finds Reiko at the door. Reiko asks Yukiko to tell her brother not to bother her anymore. She tells Yukiko that at the last gathering friends were teasing the both of them & Kikuo has taken it for real. Kikuo in the meantime walking down a street full of pubs, gets dragged into a nightclub by Kenji, who just happens to be Hitomi’s boyfriend. Hitomi works as a hostess & Kenji asks her to go entertain Kikuo. At home Yukiko prepares dinner & waits for her brother. Kikuo gets drunk & gives the ring he got for Reiko to Hitomi. He doesn’t have enough money to pay for the drinks & gets beaten up. He stumbles home. The next morning Yukiko queries him. Kikuo fabricates some story about protecting the beautiful Reiko from some thugs…Yukiko says "Yes, she’s very beautiful indeed" Kikuo looks up "You saw her" Yukiko replies "Yes, she came by last night…if you want to lie at least come up with a better story". Then he asks, "what did she say?" Yukiko hmms & uhs & says that Reiko has gone to London…" It’s Kikuo’s turn to tell her "if you want to lie at least come up with a better story". He knows he’s been dumped. After Yukiko leaves, he sees the suit that Yukiko bought for him. Kikuo goes back to the pub & finds Hitomi to ask for the ring back. In the process some guys thinks she’s being harassed & beat up Kikuo. But I guess she feels sorry for him & she returns it saying "if it’s so precious don’t just give it away like that". He pawns the ring. Yukiko comes home & finds Kikuo all dressed up. He greets her "If you don’t hurry we’re going to be late". Hanging on the cupboard is a white dress that he bought for her. After a little bantering they go to the dinner. The both of them are awed at how grand the function turns out to be. (Kishitani really plays the part of the country bumpkin well) He fumbles around & manages to bump into a waiter & causes a scene. Miura asks to see their invitation card. Yukiko gives it to him & when he sees it he says that that invitation wasn’t meant for them. He nastily tells them to leave & to clean up the mess before they do. They’re cleaning up when Masashi walks up to Yukiko & asks her "Will you dance with me?" Yukiko is speechless & he asks again "Do I have the honor of this dance?" They waltz around the ballroom & all attention is on them. The next day, Yukiko sends Kikuo off at the train station. Yukiko is still on a high from the previous evening but Kikuo advises her to just treat it as a dream, not think it real & to concentrate on working hard. Yukiko accompanies her colleague Nakamura who goes for an abortion. Later on they talk over a meal & Nakamura says that the boy gave her money & told her to leave. Yukiko says that people with no money are kinder. When she goes back home, Yukiko looks at the dress & thinks of the dinner where she danced with Masashi. With a sigh she puts the dress away. The next scene, she’s shopping at a supermarket. It’s raining & as she approaches that corner with the huge signboard, she sees someone standing in the rain under a red umbrella. That person turns around & it’s Masashi… Starring:
Wakui Emi, Karasawa Toshiaki, Kishitani
Goro, Tsuruta Mayu, Watanabe Katsumi, Nishida Naomi, Takashima Reiko,
Toyohara Kosuke, Kawauchi Momoko, Namase Katsuhisa My personal opinion of the series – I really like Wakui Emi, she’s great. I enjoyed watching her & Karasawa’s acting, & Wakui with Kishitani together as brother & sister is really nice although Kishitani’s character got a little too goofy for my liking. I didn’t care much for Tsuruta’s character/storyline either. -Jackie Cheng Copyright � 1993-2011
Japanese Dorama Database. |
