Last year, a Japanese daytime TV show went viral when it released a survey asking marriage-minded women what they considered to be a “normal” man. According to the results, the prototypical bachelor should have an elite university education, a generously paid job, impeccable grooming and look like fresh-faced pop star Gen Hoshino.
Add a pair of glasses and it could have been a description of Norio (Kou Maehara), the protagonist of Tatsuya Yamanishi’s “Mari and Mari.” The 30-year-old seems to have it all: a successful job at a casting agency, a suitably bohemian apartment and a lovey-dovey relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Mari (the single-named Nao).
“You’ve been together for ages, but you act like it’s a first date,” comments an envious co-worker, and it’s true. In a nauseating touch, the couple even have their own song about how much better their lives are together.