An astronomy-obsessed security guard is hired to be the body guard for a high profile Korean actress coming to Japan to make a series. He is contracted to be her bodyguard for 99 days (the last day falling on Christmas Eve...can you say "romantic foreshadowing"). He finds his job complicated by the fact that the actress is determinedly looking for a young man she knows to be in Japan and runs away frequently. To add even more madness, his flighty sister dumps her three unruly children on him while she goes off with a new boyfriend. Add to the mix the following: an actor on the series who is romantically obsessed with the Korean star and comes to see the bodyguard as a rival, the young man in question who seems to be involved in some highly questionable activities, a malevolent journalist determined to get dirt on the actress, and a bizarre landlady with romantic interest in the bodyguard.
I guess that's why each episode is an hour long and, frankly, they're a bit of a slog as they move from one crazy situation to another. Hidetoshi Nishijima who plays the bodyguard really anchors the show though. His character is impatient, loud, unruly but loyal, dedicated and determined to do the right thing (and he runs everywhere. Boy! Does he run! He must have lost 30 pounds when he made the film from running alone.) The shifting of his relationship with the actress is probably the most subtle thing in the series. Ta-Hee Kim is certainly beautiful and appealing but not quite as good an actor as Nishijima. Her emoting on the "soap opera" she is making is the same as the "real" emoting she does in response to things that happen. And she seems too nice to carry off the "spoiled actress" persona she is supposed to assume at times with her bodyguard (maybe that's the point).
The series is a little ragged around the edges. The performances are uneven (except with the principal actor). The kids are cute and unsentimental (thankfully). The comedy is slapstick and the drama is over the top. But it's still enjoyable.
