Koi no chikara

...well, I loved this. And, okay, I admit, I find myself easily addicted to romantic renzoku and shoujo manga in general. So I'm a big girl's blouse, I can deal with that.

But hey, this is a fun show, set in the world of advertising as a small, eccentric agency try to compete with their corporate ex-employers.

Motomiya Toko (Fukatsu) was demoted from the creative department to general affairs, so she's surprised when star designer Nukui Kotaro (Tsutsumi) head-hunts her for the new, independent agency he's formed with up-and-coming ad-man Kimura Sogo (Sakaguchi). However, they mistook her for someone else entirely....

Add in creative tantrums, love rivals, alcohol-fuelled stupidity and some genuinely fun and interesting ad campaigns, and you've got a show which is just the right combination of funny and sweet.

One thing this has, even above most of the romantic renzoku I've become addicted to, is a killer cast, headed by Fukatsu Eri (who recently played Tripitaka in the Saiyuuki series and movie), who is both lovely and hilarious, and the stern-faced Tsutsumi Shin'ichi (star of Sabu's Postman Blues), who gets to show his goofy side as Nukui-san. The rest of the cast is also excellent, especially Sakaguchi Kenji and Nishimura Masahiko as the other members of Nukui & Co.

The romance is as stylized as Japanese romances usually are, but the characters and the players really sell it for maximum effect. The ending is surprisingly moving, successfully bringing out the believable aspects of the characters which underly even the silliest comedy moments.