Movie: Genkai in a Black Company
Romaji: Black Gaisha ni Tsutometerundaga, Mou Ore wa Genkai Kamoshirenai
Japanese: ブラック会社に勤めてるんだが、もう俺は限界かもしれない
Director: Yuichi Sato
Writer: Yuichi Sato (Screenplay) Kuroi Hayato (Original Story)
Producer: Hideki Inada
Cinematographer Akihiro Kawamura
Release Date: November 21, 2009
Runtime: 104 Min
Studio:
Distribution: Asmik Ace
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot

On a hot steamy day in Yurakupo, a man falls down ont the asphalt. Salarymen and OL’s walk by him, before he gets himself up. The 26 year old man’s name is Masao Oneta (Teppei Koike).

When Masao arrives home he turns on the computer and logs onto the internet. He inputs his nickname MAO and writes that his job is a programmer and warns others of the dangers of working at his company. A reply is left for Masao asking why his company is dangerous. He then starts to write his story and what pushed him to the limit.

Masao was bullied in high school so he dropped out of school and did not leave his room for 8 years. His mother died and Masao decided to get a programmer’s certificate. The economy was bad and it wasn’t easy to find a job, but Masao found a job at a small IT company six months ago – ‘Kuroishi Systems Corporation’.

The company was a black company (Japanese slang for companies that overwork their employees). From his first day at the company Masao was placed in an unimaginable work environment and overworked. His boss Michihiro Abe (Hiroshi Shinagawa) acted as if he had no responsibilities, co-worker Tetsuya Ide (Tetsuhiro Ikeda) always seemed to be up to suspicious things, another co-worker Takumi Fujita Seiichi Tanabe) seemed like a nice guy but acted as if he was hiding a secret, while the company president Sakushi Kuroi (Leo Morimoto) seemed to have his own secrets. The workers often shouted at each other & sometimes fought with each other. The workload was so heavy that they sometimes didn’t have time to sleep or rest.

Masao eventually gets promoted to project leader and the company hires two new employees. The two new employees are beautiful Ayako Nakanishi (Maiko) & the ambitious Shota Kimura (Kei Tanaka). With the addition of these two new employees the moral of the office improves temporarily. But then Masao gets the worst news. He starts to tear up and shouts at the workers in the office. Mao then runs out of the office. Is it possible for the workers to meet the project deadline?
Notes

Story is based on a popular forum thread on the Japanese website 2chan – the same website where the story for “Densha Otoko” first originated.
The term “black company” (burakku gaisha) is a Japanese slang referring to companies which overwork their employees beyond the legal limits and exploit people who cant find a better jobs.
“Genkai in a Black Company” was also adapted to a best-selling novel in 2008.

Cast

Teppei Koike – Masao Oneta (Mao)
Maiko – Ayako Nakanishi
Kei Tanaka – Shota Kimura
Hiroshi Shinagawa – Michihiro Abe
Tetsuhiro Ikeda – Tetsuya Ide
Yasuhi Nakamura – Manabu Uehara
Masako Chiba – Sadako Seko
Takamasa Suga – Shibata
Mayumi Asaka – Keiko Oneta
Toshiyuki Kitami – Shinji Ohneta
Leo Morimoto – Sakushi Kuroi
Seiichi Tanabe – Takumi Fujita

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