Takunomi. – 09

I never thought I’d see a young Shidare Hotaru cameo in Takunomi, but I shouldn’t be surprised, as this week is all about dagashi, or junk food. In Japanese dagashi means “futile snacks”, as in it’s futile for Michiru to try to shed those Winter pounds when there’s dagashi around, courtesy of Nao.

Of course, since this is a show about booze, Nao presents the best alky for pigging out on cheap snacks: a Sapporo Otoko Ume Sour drink, a pre-mixed canned drink based on “Manly Pickled Plums.” Pouring it into a mug with ice, a salted rim, and some real pickled plums compounds the effect.

From there, Michiru (and Kae, who is drawn in) give in to the all-too-easy-to-consume empty calories, which fill the various holes in their souls. As Michiru looks on in pity, Nao and Kae salute the fact that while they may not have men, at least they have manly plums in their life!

Takunomi. – 08

From slice-of-office-life, history and life lessons, to the usual drink and food pairings, Takunomi. has a little bit of everything this week, which made me inclined to offer my first “recommended” score after seven straight “watchables.”

We dive a little deeper into Michiru’s office experience as she’s chosen to head up a client presentation the same day she dreams about it. Things don’t go as smoothly as she imagined, but she wins the client over, netting her her first work victory.

It’s a special occasion, which necessitates a special beverage: the venerable Suntory Kabukin (亀, tortoise) Whisky. Around since the 30s, it’s the first whisky by Japanese for Japanese, and still going strong. While it says Kabukin nowhere on the bottle, it’s always been called that because of its tortoise-shell bottle design.

The whisky goes perfectly in a 4:1 highball, though I might want to try it neat or on the rocks. It’s also the perfect drink to go with freshly fried chicken karaage.

But with Michiru’s work victory come a slew of new responsibilities, and in an attempt to keep up with the breakneck pace, she simply overworks herself—not a tenable strategy if one wants to live a long life.

After showing up late for a meeting, Michiru works right up to the time of the after-work office celebration meant to celebrate her. She’d have worked through it to, were it not for her 5-year veteran co-worker Hanamori, who has her back, doing the remaining work for her at hare-speed.

She also has advice for Michiru at the pub: young workers should expect to keep up with the hustle and bustle, they have to be more like tortoises, focused on getting it done, period, without worrying too much about how fast they can get it done. It’s what their boss said to Hanamori when she started out.

Michiru takes to that mentality, pulling her coat over her head to show her boss she knows what he was talking about, and takes care of business. The speed will come in time.

Takunomi. – 07

Aside from one extra-brief cameo from Nao, it’s a Michiru-and-Makoto episode this week, as Michiru tries to act like a cool Tokyoite by doing work in a Starbucks…only to scurry away when a barista approaches her!

Fortunately, the barista is Makoto, who just wanted to say Hi. But Michiru notices something off with Makoto, blames herself for bothering her at work, and makes up for it by preparing a little “home cafe” roleplay with donuts and coffee rum to unwind.

Turns out it’s “typical work stuff” bothering Makoto—not Michiru’s presence at the cafe—but that won’t stop her from having a coffee rum latte and trying out a few of the easy-drinking mixers one can make with Kahlua, which was actually the first alcohol I bought as a teenager! (The second was a King Cobra 40. My tastes were diverse!)

Once Michiru has unwittingly “greased the hinges”, Makoto opens up about what’s got her off her game: while on a job interview, someone said she had a fake smile. She asks how Michiru smiles, leading both into a very self-conscious mirror-viewing session, with no positive results in real smile development. Meanwhile, Nao’s drunken cat smile is a bit too real.

The next day, having unwound from coffee rum and sweets, Michiru greets her next customer with a perfectly warm, easy, genuine smile—and that customer happens to be Michiru again! Michiru tells her not to let a one-time comment in another environment get her discouraged about her face, and whenever she does, well, that’s when you break out the Kahlua!