The Outsourcing Wife

Sakura wakes up next to Haruto, and it’s calm and peaceful; a million miles away from her suffocating relationship with Takuya.

The workers eventually share a breakfast of ramen, while Takuya continues to rage over Sakura’s absence. Unfortunately, he takes his anger out on one of the workers, forcing them to swallow an entire bottle of alcohol in order to stock more of that brand.

As the poor guy begins downing the alcohol, sputtering and coughing, Takuya walks away uninterested, scoffing that he can’t believe the guy took him seriously.

Sakura and Haruto have been seeing each other for a little over a month now, and things are going well. They’ve been spending time together at the apartment block, and even helping out around the shop. However, there are rumors that they’re also having an extra-marital affair. Some of the women in the building are starting to whisper about it, but Sakura and Haruto don’t care. They’re happy just being together.

Takuya starts going through Sakura’s phone to see if there are any pictures of her with the goldfish.

Meanwhile, Yuka is given extra responsibilities at work. However, this is a direct contrast to her personal life, where her husband Minoru seems disinterested in her. He won’t have sex with her and worse, he shoots down the idea of having children too, claiming they should go slow. However, as fate would have it she receives a message from Jun, her ex-boyfriend. ..

Yuka and Jun go out for dinner and drinks, where Yuka tells Jun she’s been married or 2 years after dating. Jun is pretty forward, even guessing correctly that Yuka is not having sex. However, when he tries kissing her outside, she initially rejects him… and then stops.

Now, given he doesn’t exactly have consent, the music is unusually whimsical while Jun grabs her and encourages Yuka to join him while they take a “short break.” She refuses though, and hurries home. The thing is, she’s actually ovulating and tries to be sexy with Minoru when she heads home but he brushes it aside, telling her he has work in the morning. ..

The shaman tells Yuka that “once two bodies touch, they don’t want to separate again.” This is a direct reference to Jun and their kiss outside. Lusting for that warm embrace from someone who actually takes an interest in her, Yuka gives in to temptation and meets Jun. ..

While this is going on, fireworks explode overhead. It looks beautiful in the reflection of the goldfish tank, which is what Haruto and Sakura end up watching, while Takuya is completely nonchalant to the fireworks while he sits in his apartment alone.

Yuka arrives at the goldfish shop early in the morning, remembering what the shaman said about Feng Shui before. On her way in, she sees Sakura and they talk on the roof. ..

Yuka comments on how bright she looks now, but is caged and reserved about what happened to make her feel that way. However, Yuka opens up and talks to her about Jun. Yuka makes a bold decision and decides to delete his number. Only… he shows up before her, taking the goldfish and naming it Yuka. Why? Well, it’s named after the woman he loves. It’s enough for a smile to cross her face as he takes Yuka’s hand and the pair leave together. ..

Meanwhile, at Takuya’s workplace, a worker named Sakura shows up demanding to know where her friend Haruto is. The worker doesn’t give her up though, but a scuffle between the two sees Haruto get hurt. After, Sakura decides to name her goldfish Haru, because Haru and Sakura go well together. ..

The Episode Review

This show is focused on Yuka and her current boyfriend Minoru, as well as her ex-boyfriend Jun. Their ties work well in the context of the themes around extra-marital affairs, while the continued trials and tribulations of Haruto and Sakura remains the focal point of the show.

The series has a nice flow to it, although some of the pacing is a bit slow at points. Still, it’s not too much of a deterrent and the idea of having a different wife included in a subplot spiraling around this main couple is a nice touch. However, I’m sure the quality of these episodes will be dependent on what story it chooses to focus on next.

Fishbowl Wives is a show that has been around for a while and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the characters. ..