Amemiya Hotaru is a diligent office assistant. Cheerful, polite, and conscientious one would never think she is a himono-onna. But her shameful secret is discovered one day when her boss, Takano Seiichi walks into her house and sees her sleeping underneath some newspapers. Turns out her boss is the son of the man whose house she is essentially squatting in. Recently separated from his wife, he's come back to his parents' house to do some soul-searching, only to find his employee squatting there. Neither of them is willing to leave the house so in the best rom-com tradition they decide to live together (while keeping it a secret from their co-workers). The term himono-onna refers to a woman who's very put together at the office but is a slob at home with no interest in dating. Hotaru is such a woman. Her motto is 'lazing around rather than fooling around'. But this changes when she meets hunky Teshima Makoto, a new colleague.
Hotaru no Hikari is mostly a romantic comedy in the Eliza Doolittle vein, where an unsophisticated girl gets schooled in the ways of womanhood by a man. For some viewers it may be hard to understand just what is so objectionable about Hotaru. She's a gorgeous woman, who prefers to sit at home in sweatpants with a beer rather than going out. Nevertheless, in the world of this drama, she must never let anyone know this shameful secret of hers.
Ayame Haruka is fantastic as Hotaru. She's gorgeous, but is incredibly believable as a childish slob, and has awesome comedic timing. The drama's manga origins are very obvious in her character's manic expressions. Ayame does a great job of conveying the enthusiasm found in mangas while still keeping Hotaru believable. As her boss Takano, Fujiki Naohito is a bit stiff. He has lately been cast as boring, nice guys and the role of neat-freak Takano is a nice variation. But there are times when you can see he doesn't fully commit to the more exaggerated aspects of his role, but otherwise he is very good. He and Ayame have good chemistry. Kato Kazuki is a bit weak as Hotaru's love interest, but he's still cute. As is the cast with Japanese dramas, the supporting cast is strong.
There are multiple love triangles among the co-workers sprinkled throughout the series. But these are all resolved quickly. Hotaru's immaturity becomes a bit annoying during some parts but the drama never feels draggy. The script keeps the tone comedic and the pace brisk. The rest of the series isn't as laugh-out-loud funny as the first episode, but even for those going through Asian drama fatigue, as I was, Hotaru no Hikari is very enjoyable.
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