The department head's office is that impressive...? Although I usually have little interaction with Nia, it's truly a blessing that she appears in this popular series. This is because it's the most efficient and ideal way to realize a precious encounter with her.
I didn't feel any of the "lack of ideas" or "patchwork feel" that other reviews point out. On the contrary, I think this work, for better or worse, faithfully embodies the essence of the series "With That Person You Despise…".
It starts with a shot of Nia climbing the stairs from behind, so for a moment I expected a cleaning scene like in "The Secretary's Wife," but of course that wasn't there (laughs). The department chief who exploits a weakness to lay hands on his subordinate's wife is the worst, but compared to the chief played by Mayu Minami, who sexually harasses and shows off sex acts in front of the husband, this one might be a bit more tolerable. Still, the bar for comparison is undeniably low...
The department chief who approaches Nia repeats the line, "If you just endure this..." many times. In the first rape scene, these words work like a spell to weaken Nia's resistance. And Nia, struck by unexpected pleasure, likely suffered the same deep regret as Mayu Minami or Kaho Kashii in the past, even if she doesn't say, "I regret being so easily taken."
The words "If you just endure this..." are a curse the first time, but from the second time onward, they give Nia the justification of "for her husband's sake." Armed with this excuse of "for her husband," Nia gradually frees herself from the guilt of feeling pleasure. Perhaps she even starts to look forward to it. In the scene where she's molested below the waist while on the phone with a client, Nia sits on the department chief's lap with her legs spread wide, and it's depicted how her body reacts even though her heart doesn't want it. This seems like a crucial turning point where Nia's desires become clear, doesn't it?
While Nia and the department chief are getting intimate in a love hotel, it's revealed that their act is being captured by the office's surveillance cameras. It's the same ending as the version with Nami Kuroki (I think?), but I don't dislike the finale that gives the husband a choice. The story closes with Nia's monologue, "I got hooked on the department chief's sticky sex," but Nia, you can't afford to be so carefree.
Hmm... Lately, it feels like the ideas have run dry for this series, with a storyline that just seems to be a patchwork of elements from existing works. Honestly, I was disappointed. Maybe this series has reached its limit. The crucial scenes didn't excite me at all, and in the end, I couldn't even get off.