Shomuni

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Shomuni (ショムニ) is a comedic TV drama serial based on the Japanese manga of the same name by Gumi Yasuda (安田弘之 Yasuda Gumi), though much of the details (all besides the company name and the characters) have departed from the comic. Released in 1998, Shomuni was a surprise winner of the ratings war for drama serials aired in Japan between April to June, despite being projected to finish a lowly thirteenth in a survey conducted by a major TV station[1].

The stories revolve around the office ladies (OL) of General Affairs department 2 (Shomu ni, or GA-2) in a large multinational company called Manpan Corporation.

GA-2 is called "the graveyard for female office ladies", simply because it is the place where female employees are dumped should they mess up big time elsewhere. Rarely is anyone ever allowed to leave for other more purposeful departments. Jobs include replacing used toilet rolls, changing light-bulbs, organizing company outings among other menial stuff. As an added incentive, their department is located in the nether regions of the company - in the basement, and is in fact a disused store room.

This is done in the hope these errant - or simply useless - employees will quit (and typically people last three days at most) due to the monotonous and meaningless nature of the job tasks, just so that the company, headed by sex-crazed executives and a Personnel Department willing to stoop to any means, will save on the costs of firing them.

Unfortunately, though, the employees posted to GA-2 exhibit, to the chagrin of the Personnel Department Chief Torao Terasaki (寺崎寅男 Terasako Torao) and his assistant Nonomura (野々村), the people at Shomuni are far too happy with their menial jobs, as this gives them more than enough time to pursue their other interests during office hours.

As the drama serial progresses, it is evident that these seemingly lowly employees have their own pride despite them being the most despised of female employees, and in every episode, they end up saving the company from a potential catastrophe, inadvertently or otherwise, and usually to back up their own selfish agenda.

Aside from the friendly and affable GA-2 Section Chief Kōji Inoue (井上洸二 Inoue Kōji), whose role can at best be described as nominal. Save for caring for a female tabby cat, he is an old man who appears to be only interested in waiting for his retirement age while idling in the GA-2 office.

GA-2 comprised of four women from the start of the first episode, and is seen first through the eyes of Tsukahara Sawako (the fifth woman to join GA-2).

1. Chinatsu Tsuboi (坪井千夏, Tsuboi Chinatsu) is the tallest person in GA-2 and is also often their leader. She is responsible for carrying the ladder which GA-2 uses for fixing light-bulbs. Before she entered Manpan Corporation, she used to work as a nightclub hostess (episode 1). The de jure leader of GA-2.

2. Kana Miyashita (宮下佳奈 Miyashita Kana) has a past which few people know about. She is often not seen having lunch with her fellow GA-2 colleagues in the company canteen, for she spends lunch hour with different male high-ranking executives of the company on most occasions.

3. Azusa Tokunaga (徳永あずさ Tokunaga Azusa) is the second oldest employee in GA-2, after Section Chief Inoue. Nobody in GA-2 seems to remember how she ended up in GA-2. She is responsible for making announcements as well as drawing up the daily company routines of GA-2. Highly interested in stock investments.

4. Rie Himukai (日向リエ Himukai Rie) is the quirkiest of the GA-2 members. Her mother sells antiques and her father has a photocopy store. She has a night job as a fortune teller at night after work at GA-2 - and her predictions are never wrong. Often does her foresight spark an entire episode, depending on GA-2's interpretation on her prediction.

5. Sawako Tsukahara (塚原佐和子 Tsukuhara Sawako) is the youngest (at age 21) employee in GA-2, and is very incompetent at getting the job done correctly. After knocking down the president of Manpan Corporation in an elevator lobby (as the result of a fight between her and a woman in an elevator) in full view of many company employees, she was posted to GA-2.

6. Ume Maruhashi (丸橋梅 Maruhashi Ume) At the end of the third episode, she became the sixth member of GA-2. She used to know Tsuboi from childhood, and much to her delight knows some of Tsuboi's embarrassing past. Highly ambitious, she is learning several languages (such as Arabic) and aims to leave GA-2 as soon as she can. She specializes in acquiring information.

Each of the twelve episodes usually focuses on the developments of one character of Shomuni. Each episode is independent of another, except for the season's finale.

Two sequels to Shomuni were made, as well as three Special movie editions. Shomuni was followed up by two TV movies: Shomuni Special 1 (aired on 7th October 1998), Shomuni Special 2 (aired on 2nd January 2000), and two sequel drama serials: Shomuni 2 (aired from 12th April 2000 to 28th June 2000) and the other was Shomuni Final (3rd July 2002 - 18th September 2002). A third TV movie, Shomuni Forever, was aired on January 1st, 2003 to round off the drama series.[2] In the end, each individual leave GA-2 2 months apart of one another. Tsukahara is last.