Live-Action TV
Description
Four young men navigate daily life while grappling with a shared but secret trait: beneath their stylish and unapproachable exteriors lies a profoundly clumsy nature. These apparently cool individuals repeatedly find themselves in awkward, embarrassing situations, from forgetting their wallets and blasting music without headphones to using the wrong end of a bendy straw or walking outside carrying a shoehorn instead of an umbrella.

The story unfolds across the interconnected lives of five main characters. Hayate Ichikura is a 20-year-old university student who becomes acutely embarrassed by his blunders and tries to cover them up, all while feeling uncertain about his future. Shun Futami is a 17-year-old high school athlete who takes a different approach, stubbornly pretending his mistakes were intentional to maintain his cool facade. Takayuki Mima is a 27-year-old office worker who is completely oblivious to his own dojikko moments, making him an accidental source of healing for his stressed colleagues. Soma Shiki, a 19-year-old design student, rounds out the initial group with his positive, cheerful reaction to failure, often laughing at his own slip-ups. Later in the series, they are joined by Motoharu Igarashi, a 27-year-old novelist and childhood friend of Mima, whose social skills and genius-level persona occasionally give way to his own brand of clumsy behavior.

The central setting for their growing friendship is the Mawarimichi Cafe, a cozy Tokyo establishment run by Shun's supportive older sister, Asami. Hayate and Soma both find part-time work here, turning the cafe into a hub where the group naturally gathers, shares meals, and supports one another through their daily mishaps. The series follows the rhythm of their ordinary lives, presenting small, self-contained stories that highlight a specific clumsy moment or a new challenge, such as Hayate struggling to socialize at a university party, Shun balancing handball practice with his studies, and Mima looking after his young niece.

As the narrative progresses, the focus expands beyond simple comedy to explore deeper personal arcs. Hayate confronts his anxieties about his future and his desire to stand out, a journey that eventually leads him to visit his family and gain a new perspective on his path. Soma works on a design project for a friend and grapples with self-doubt about his creative abilities. The friendship between Mima and Motoharu is explored through flashbacks, revealing the past events that shaped Motoharu's career as a writer who must understand people to write about them. By the end of the series, the once-disconnected group of clumsy strangers has become a close-knit circle of friends who have found acceptance and a sense of belonging at their favorite cafe, celebrating birthdays and supporting each other's growth without judgment.
Information
Play it Cool, Guys
クールドジ男子
Type: Live-Action TV
Date: 04/14/2023
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Cast
  • Takayuki Mima
    Dōri Sakurada
  • Sōma Shiki
    Takumi Kawanishi
  • Sōta Shiki
    Kazuma Sano
  • Asami Futami
    Ryō Satō
  • Shun Futami
    Maito Fujioka
  • Hayate Ichikura
    Yūta Nakamoto
Comment(s)
Staff
  • Director
    Akina Yanagi
    Hiroaki Yuasa
    Yūka Eda
  • Original creator
  • Script
    Hiroyuki Komine
  • Producer
    Daiki Sugawara
    Hiroshi Sakurai
    Mitsunori Murata
    Yuzuru Yoshiike
Production
  • Planning Production
    Avex Pictures
  • Production
    TV Tokyo
    Robot
  • Broadcaster
    TV Tokyo