The young and the old, both in transition, makes up the story of "Atelier" a 2015 miniseries from Japan.
Adorable Mirei Kiritani stars as Mayuko, a young woman who comes to work at the Emotion salon in the Ginza section of Tokyo. Her boss Mayumi (Mao Daichi), made up to look like Anna Wintour, is tough but fair. The lingerie is hand-made and exquisite, and Mayuko falls in love with the whole industry, to the point where she wants to create something herself.
Mayuko and Mayumi learn more from one another than either one thought possible, as Mayuko works to find out who she is and Mayumi realizes she needs to invent herself.
Lots goes on in these 13 episodes: designs stolen, a theme for a fashion show stolen, a child who is estranged from his mother who appears, going into mass marketing, and lots else.
I have never been to Tokyo - it looks so beautiful on this show - it's like watching Manhattan, where I have lived, on Suits or White Collar. At the end someone is out on the sidewalk and you can really see that the streets are crowded like New York in midtown.
Learning a little of the culture was amazing also - lots of bowing, not a huge amount of touching, people seem to treat one another with respect. It's a more formal culture.
Someone on this board said the show reminded them of anime because some of the younger women had plastic surgery. I was wondering during 13 episodes why some of the women seemed to be a mix of American and Japanese.
Mirei Kiritani is so pretty and played the part of a naive girl who wants to learn everything very well. Mao Daichi, who seems like Japan's answer to Joan Collins, is perfect in her role of an elegant, somewhat imperious woman who hides her vulnerability underneath. She wears an Anna Wintour wig -- I'm not sure if I saw her in something else if I would know her. I believe at one point the character is said to be 50, or maybe I misheard - Daichi is 60, and I could have believed she was late forties.
The other actors were all wonderful, including Mayuko Kawakita, Ken Kaito, and Wakana Sakai.
Highly recommended - and for those concerned about language and nudity - this is cleaner than a Disney film.
