Released in 1998, Shomuni was a surprise winner of the ratings war for drama serials aired in Japan between April and June, despite being projected to finish a lowly thirteenth in a survey conducted by a major TV station.

The stories revolve around the office ladies (OL) of General Administration Section 2 (Shomu ni, or GA-2) in a large multinational company called Manpan Corporation.

Jobs include replacing used toilet rolls, changing light bulbs, organizing company outings, and other menial tasks.

The purpose of GA-2 is to convince these errant – or simply useless – employees to quit (and typically people last three days at most) due to the monotonous and meaningless nature of the job, just so that the company, headed by sex-crazed executives and a Personnel Section willing to stoop to any means, will save on the costs of firing them.

Save for caring for a female tabby cat, he is an old man who appears to be only interested in waiting for his retirement age while idling in the GA-2 office.