Manpuku


Manpuku, sometimes romanized as Mampuku, is a Japanese television drama series and the 99th Asadora series, following Hanbun, Aoi. It premiered on 1 October 2018, and concluded on 30 March 2019. The series is based on the lives of Momofuku Andō, who invented instant ramen, and his wife Masako. Sakura Ando was selected to play the lead and is the first actress to play an Asadora heroine who is herself a mother.

Plot

Fukuko Imai graduates from high school in 1938 and is about to begin work at a high-class hotel in Osaka. Her oldest sister Saki is about to get married, so Fukuko arranges for an inventor, Manpei Tachibana, to do a show at the ceremony using his new slide projectors. A few years later, when Japan is at war, they meet again and start dating, but Fukuko's mother Suzu wants her to marry the man she selects. Manpei tries to help by finding a good hospital when Saki is diagnosed with tuberculosis, but Saki's death only makes Suzu object to him even more. Things become even worse when Manpei is arrested by the Kenpeitai for supposedly illegally selling military goods. Manpei withstands the daily brutal interrogations as Fukuko's hard efforts eventually unearth the truth that Manpei's partner was the culprit. Fukuko nurses him back to health and Suzu finally consents to their marriage.

Cast

Imai family