Captures the lifestyle dysfunction suffered by so many working adult millennials (so, the opposite of escapism)

In brief: Hiroko is a working woman in a modern Japanese office - she's a journalist & editor for a major magazine, whose desire to always put forth her best efforts makes her life outside of work slowly deteriorate. On the one hand, she can't see any alternative that she likes: being like one of the slothful men at the office (which is very much an Old Boys Club, and so they don't NEED to put in effort to remain hired) is both repugnant and likely to get her fired, but continuing as she has been guarantees that she'll be spending the rest of her twenties and thirties prioritizing work over family, friends and lovers. Not to mention, she risks joining Japan's frightful statistics pool of those dead from overwork. Can she make a choice she can live with?

***Spoilers in the following review for the entirety of the show.***

Oooohhhh, this was not even slightly relaxing to watch. It feels very realistic, but definitely falls on the side of "this is a crapsack world, and nobody gets out alive". Hiroko has to put up with a ton of nonsense, from society as a whole and from the men (and women - the show edges up on Women Be Competing for much of an episode before relenting and allowing them to be allies in the perpetual war of the sexes that the show demonstrates is the status quo), in every episode. She does more work, for less recognition, than the men in the office. Since she's not able to conform to feminine stereotypes, the men in the office don't do her favors like they do for the "cute" one, or bend over backward to please her like they do for the "ladylike" one. The show title is itself sexist; the highest compliment any man at the office can think to give her is to call her a hardworking MAN... because clearly, if she were more traditionally feminine, she would not be a hard worker.

She doesn't get any relief outside of work. Her boyfriend, also being too invested in his job, but crucially not sharing her mindset of putting in the best effort possible (he's much more like the younger men in her office, who coast around knowing they won't be fired - although he gets a little character development when he realizes that he's that kind of guy), fails to empathize with her, and can't even take her seriously when she calls him frightened after barely escaping a mugging. Yes, this is a belated warning that female reporters have to worry about retaliation in the form of assault when they publish stories. Anyway, by the end of the show, they realize that they don't spend any time together anymore, and he breaks it off first. I can think of two guys she knows from work (one at the office and one from a book publishing company) who would be much better boyfriend options for her, based on their chemistry and understanding of each other's drive, but the show ends with her doubling down on work instead.

Lest you think she's just the one the narrative dumps on, oh no, no one is allowed happiness for very long unless it's kept entirely off screen. For example, the masseuse that Hiroko goes to on the regular for relief from shoulder pain gets her own highlight episode, in which she decides to break free from the timekeeping and service restrictions of her current employer, only to find out that the new job misled her in the interview and she's going to be doing rapid-fire mini massages instead of using her true relaxation methods. In another example, the fourth woman at the magazine office, the "kouhai" to Hiroko, busts her ass trying to get her favorite author a spot in the magazine, only to have the liaison duties & credit taken away from her and given to another editor. Also, Hiroko's soon-to-be-ex boyfriend finally gets used to his job as the construction foreman and takes pride in his new rapport with the workers he's responsible for, only to be moved laterally into the sales department, which he couldn't care less about.

I spent much of the time watching this thinking, "well, this is why the population of Japan, and other ultra-capitalist countries, is decreasing". Across the world, the younger generations have to choose between working - and therefore money, food, shelter - and starting a family, and they just can't afford the latter without the former, and don't have the time & energy to go out dating. I know that the Boomers might find this anime to be an exaggeration of the difficulties of being an employed adult, but I promise, it's just a cynical take on the facts. All that said, it's well done, so if you like shows that adhere closely to the real world (and don't skimp on its problems) I recommend giving this anime a try.