Atelier (TV series) explained

is a Japanese drama television series developed by Fuji Television for Netflix.^[1] ^[2] ^[3] It is a coming of age drama set in a small high-class lingerie design house called Emotion, which is based in Tokyo's Ginza district. The drama centres around Mayuko Tokita, a new employee, and her struggle to find her place at Emotion.^[4] ^[5]

Central to that struggle is her relationship with Mayumi Nanjo the creator and owner of Emotion, who has been compared to Anna Wintour, an editor of American Vogue.^[6]

Cast and characters

The main cast includes:^[7]

Mirei Kiritani as a "fabric geek" who joins Emotion in the first episode.
Mao Daichi as, the founder and president of Emotion. She eschews mass production in favour of one-off and limited production.
Mayuko Kawakita as, best friend of Mayuko who works for a wedding dress company and started work the same day as Mayuko.
Wakana Sakai as, a senior lingerie designer at Emotion. She originally left Emotion to start her own brand but later returns to the company.
(海東健 Kaitō Ken) as, the office manager. Cool on the outside, he joined Emotion because he was passionate about the way Nanjo did business.
Maiko as Fumika Iida, a senior lingerie designer at Emotion, who leaves the company to join one of their competitors.
(千葉雅子 Chiba Masako) as, Nanjo's most trusted employee, who also takes Mayuko under her wing when she first arrives at the company.
Dori Sakurada as, assistant to Jin. He later resigns from Emotion to save the company from bankruptcy and pursue his own career.
(石田ニコル Ishida Nikoru) as, a down on her luck model, who Mayuko befriends. Later in the series, Machida finds success as a supermodel.
Toshi Takeuchi as Naomichi Kaji, a young man who later joined Emotion as a part-timer. He develops a crush on Mayuko.
Hisahiro Ogura as Mr. Yamazaki, the manager of Shikishima Coffee, where Mayuko and Yuri occasionally hang out. He and Nanjo knew each other back in high school.
Megumi Sato as Rin Nakatani, a manager of a Carolina Herrera store who does some business with Emotion.

Notes and References

Racked.com Jan 15, 2016, Claire Carusillo This Show About a Japanese Underwear Store Is the Best Series on Netflix "While most of the English-speaking world rang in the new year with Making a Murderer, I had already moved on to another Netflix show. This isn't me boasting about how quickly I take in TV or trying to impress anyone with my cutting edge viewing tendencies. Quite the opposite. Atelier, the show developed by Netflix and Japanese company Fuji TV and premiering in the US on December 1st of 2015, took me weeks to finish. Despite its PG treatment of mildly racy subject matter (bras), its plotlines were sappier than most of the Disney shows I watch in marathon chunks every few weeks. I loved it."
2015 Web site: Mirei Kiritani Stars in Netflix Japan & Fuji TV's "Underwear". Crunchyroll.
Web site: 桐谷美玲主演ドラマ世界配信へ、Netflix×フジで下着業界の裏側描.
Web site: Netflix to Deliver Fuji TV Original Content. 18 June 2015 . Japan Today.
Web site: Mirei Kiritani Stars in Netflix Japan & Fuji TV's "Underwear".
Web site: Netflix Japan's Original Series 'Underwear' is 'The Devil Wears Prada' of Lingerie Design. 13 November 2015 .
Web site: Underwear. Model Press. 8 February 2016. 8 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160208223248/http://mdpr.jp/underwear. dead.