Nao Matsushita: "Hayako Sensei, Kekkon Surutte Honto Desu Ka?" drama episode two recap

  Air Dates and info: April 14 to June 16, 2016 on Fuji-TV, Thursdays at 10:00 pm

 Average rating: 5.58%.... also known as 'The Single Teacher Miss Hayako'

Main Cast:

Nao Matsushita as Hayako Tatsuki.... 34 year old single elementary schoolteacher

Keiko Matsuzaka as Naoko Tatsuki.... Hayako's mother

Isao Bito as Tatsushi Tatsuki.... Hayako's father and owner of a tofu shop

Rina Kawaei as Fuko (Tatsuki) Moriyama.... Hayako's younger married sister

Shihori Kanjiya as Mika Kugayama.... schoolteacher and possibly Hayako's best friend

Hitomi Sato as Umeko Narimasu.... teacher at Hayako's school

Mimi Maihane as Mai Hamura.... friend of Mika's

Norito Yashima as Rentaro Sendagi.... school administrator

Shotaro Mamiya as Sosuke Minato.... schoolteacher

Fuka Koshiba as Riri Akigawa.... school nurse

 This drama is a little slow for me, very little plot to date, zero action and yet after two episodes I've found myself enjoying it for some unknown reason. Though it is a bit too slow for my tastes both shows have zoomed right by, nothing exciting has happened but then again there's no filler or at least not too much. Do have a feeling the pace will pick up soon but what's keeping me interested is that I came in cold about this show so have no clue what's going to happen next or how it's going to end.
 Hayako is a 34 year old elementary schoolteacher, once again none of the scenes at school took place in her classroom. That's thirty four and still single, in this episode Hayako said what I thought might be the case which is that she's had no serious relationships so far in her life. In the first show we saw a brief scene of Hayako at an omiai her mother had arranged, it went into more detail in this show.
 Hayako's prospective suitor is a man named Tsukishima, he's kind of a stuck up guy yet also a bit daffy. Their omiai went so-so but he called up Hayako a few days later saying he was still interested in getting to know her better. The pair met up in a park, seemed as though Tsukishima wanted to confess something to Hayako, perhaps his love already?

 As you can see in the first pic this drama is taking place in Tachikawa. Just looked it up and it's in the extreme western part of Tokyo, does look like a suburb in the show. We don't really know what Tsukishima wanted to confess to Hayako as she abruptly cut him off and suggested they go for a walk instead of talking. The couple have to cross a short bridge but it was something that Tsukishima said he couldn't do, he was very afraid of bridges and broke down sobbing after taking two steps on it.
 He told Hayako he could understand her not wanting to be with him because of that problem and they parted. A few nights later though Hayako was strolling through the same park when she saw Tsukishima crossing the same bridge, his 'problem' was nothing but a lie to get rid of Hayako. On the bridge he met another woman, Hayako's feeling about the incident are in that bottom screenshot.
 As I said the drama doesn't drag at all and did kind of zoom by even though very little happened. The other major scene happened at Hayako's residence where an impromptu Go-kon occurred with her friend Mika. Mika is sort of Hayako's friend or at least the closest thing she has to one. Hayako had intended to go to the Go-kon and even purchased a new dress for the occasion but backed out at the last moment.

 The Go-kon was a picnic which is a rarity as they usually take place in a pub or restaurant. The picnic was being held just a few blocks from where Hayako lived with her parents. During the Go-kon it started to pour so the group quickly dashed to Hayako's place. Also in the group was another of teacher at Hayako's school, Umeko, plus a friend of Mika's who was Mai. Quick note, Mai is played by Mimi Maihane who is really a cutie in this show, will be checking her out and hopefully there will be some things to post about her.
 Things went well enough at the Go-kon for Mai, Mika and Umeko but not so much for Hayako who once again wasn't asked out for a date. Hayako is an attractive woman but can't get along well with men, she's not too shy but perhaps a bit embarrassed because she's 34 with little romantic experience. Later on in the show Hayako confessed to her married younger sister she does want to get married, however she wouldn't get married just because others want her do but because she's truly in love with someone.
 Her parents overheard the conversation, they had been worried about Hayako staying single forever but what they overheard made them quite happy and they can understand much better why she's still single. One last event in this episode happened near the end and will continue in the next show. There's a new club the four gals have started called 'The Matchmaking Alliance', they're going to help each other find the right mate. Also in that club will be another person from the school but is an older male named Sendagi who is having a problem finding a mate too. There also may be another male member named Sosuke who is a younger teacher but seems to have no problem getting dates.

 These recaps are going to end up being much shorter than the usual ones for dramas. Really not as much happens in these kinds of 'romantic' shows, can't think of any other genre to call it. But it's not a bad thing being a bit slow or it hasn't yet as the characters are all likable and both episodes have seemed to fly right by.
 This series has a total of nine episodes so that doesn't leave Hayako and her club much time to find a partner and so far there's zero possibilities for any of them. Too early to recommend this series but for some strange reason think it's going to turn out all right even though I'm not a fan of these kinds of dramas.  Does help the Nao has the lead in this show as I've really liked her over the years, probably not many fans here though.
 May not be too tough of a role for her as in real life she's about to turn 32, is still single and as far as I know hasn't been serious with anyone which means I may have to get my number to her somehow. Should be back this weekend with the next recap and plenty of screenshots here to help you follow the story a bit better.

Nao Matsushita: "Hayako Sensei, Kekkon Surutte Honto Desu Ka?" drama episode one recap

  Air Dates and info: April 14 to June 16, 2016 on Fuji-TV, Thursdays at 10:00 pm

 Average rating: 5.58%.... also known as 'The Single Teacher Miss Hayako'

Main Cast:

Nao Matsushita as Hayako Tatsuki.... 34 year old single elementary schoolteacher

Keiko Matsuzaka as Naoko Tatsuki.... Hayako's mother

Isao Bito as Tatsushi Tatsuki.... Hayako's father and owner of a tofu shop

Rina Kawaei as Fuko (Tatsuki) Moriyama.... Hayako's younger married sister

Shihori Kanjiya as Mika Kugayama.... schoolteacher and possibly Hayako's best friend

Hitomi Sato as Umeko Narimasu.... teacher at Hayako's school

Mimi Maihane as Mai Hamura.... friend of Mika's

Norito Yashima as Rentaro Sendagi.... school administrator

Shotaro Mamiya as Sosuke Minato.... schoolteacher

Fuka Koshiba as Riri Akigawa.... school nurse

 Been ages since the last Nao post here, for a long time she was one of my huge faves. It's not that she's faded as it s my own fault for not watching enough of her shows and for getting too much into Idols. What I really have enjoyed about Nao over the years is that she's kind of an 'anti-Idol' which I find so refreshing, have to admit I like woman like her much more than most J-Poppers(just hope Nogi members aren't reading this).
 There's two current dramas that I'm viewing but the subbing has been slow on them so was looking for another one from this year to watch. Didn't know much about this show and haven't read any reviews on it but bet they aren't any. When I saw Nao had the lead role in it decided to give this drama a shot, helps that Rina as her sister also has a good sized role in this series.
 Not sure what genre this drama has, so far it's not a romance show nor a comedy, there's no action so for now we'll call it a non-genre series. Nao plays Hayako who is a teacher at an elementary school, it wasn't mentioned but think her class is comprised of second graders. Hayako is 34 years old, single and still lives at home with her parents behind her father's tofu shop. Hayako has never been married and it appears she's never had a serious relationship either, her parents aren't pushing her to get married but that's on the outside as they really wish she would tie the knot soon.

 Hayako prefers sitting around at home, drinking a lot of beer and watching silly comedies. She wouldn't mind getting married but is doing zero to meet any men, Hayako refuses an omiai early on in the show that her mother set up. All of the scenes at school take place in the teacher's office, she sits next to Mika who is a friend and seems like her only one. Mika is also single but would truly wants to get married, often she attends Go-kons and other things like that to meet men, Hayako has always turned down her offers to join her at one of them.
 There's another teacher at the school named Umeko, she's also single and joins Mika on occasion at a Go-kon but she's sort of an unattractive woman so she doesn't get any dating offers. One day Hayako returns home after work to learn that her father is in the hospital but upon visiting him she learns it was nothing serious. But it does get her thinking a bit more about her future and what's going to happen when her parents are no longer around though they appear to be just in their mid fifties. Hayako enjoys her 'freedom' for a few days as her mother stays with her father at the hospital, her 'freedom' is drinking as many beers as possible at home and walking around naked!
 That didn't last too long as Hayako's younger sister from Nagoya visits the house, the drama seems to be set in a sparsely populated section of Tokyo. Fuko is about ten years younger than Hayako, also about seven inches shorter and they look nothing like sisters. Fuko is living in Nagoya as she had gotten married a year before and relocated there with her husband. Though she's ten years younger Fuko seems to be much more responsible and mature.

 Hayako's sister reveals a secret that her parents had told her at Fuko's wedding. Which is that their father wouldn't retire until Hayako gets married, with her current situation he may be working at his tofu shop until the day he dies. Hayako tells Fuko she has nothing against marriage but the years have flown by and she's rather comfortable with her life, their father could retire as Hayako earns enough to support her parents.
 Marriage talk is the majority of the conversations in this show or at least the lack of marriage prospects that Hayako and her two fellow teachers face. Hayako does relent once and does go to a Go-kon with Mika but ends up consuming too much beer and no man asks for her number or a date. What eventually happens is that the trio meet up with Mika's friend Mai, looks like they're going to create a 'Marriage Hunt' club and that Mai is certainly a head turner.
 That happened near the end of the episode so don't know if the club will get off the ground or what the four of them will be doing if it does get started. The final scene had Hayako accepting her mother's omiai request and she met with a very elite man. He was a bit full of himself and Hayako thought that too as that date went nowhere, at the conclusion of this first show Hayako is no closer to finding a a man then she was at the beginning.

 These kinds of dramas aren't complicated in the least which does make these recaps much easier, I deserve a few more like this one. This first episode was passable, nothing special in the least but good enough where I'll end up watching all nine episodes. May be more of a female show but as mentioned went in cold on this series and that approach usually works for me.
 Ratings for this drama were a bit low as it just averaged 5.58%, don't think Fuji-TV dramas outside of Mondays get high ratings. Nao is popular though and this show started off well so perhaps the competition was tough. Will try to do a regular solo post for her soon as I really do like her, she's a very accomplished piano player but don't know if she still releases albums or does concerts.
 Will also do another Rina post soon, she really looks superb in this show but then again she always does to me. The advantage of waiting for a drama to finish is that you have all of the subs which I do so will be back soon with the episode two recap but will try to space those posts out, plenty of screenshots to end off with. Perhaps one reason for the low ratings is that there were no promo videos for the drama, searched high and low but couldn't find any for you to view.