That is the Bottleneck

The story begins with a teenaged boy named Kou who came to the slums to search for Takumi, his missing big brother who ran away years ago. The brothers reunite, and it turns out that Takumi now heads the Mikuni Detective Agency. Kou wants to bring Takumi back, but he doesn't want go back home himself. So, he starts working at the agency, doing odds and ends.

After his power-tripping boss broke his spirit and his health, Momose leaves his job for a new job in sales at an advertising agency. However, on the very first day of his new job, Momose is unable to move due to a stomachache caused by his past traumas. "What should I do if my new boss also abuses his power?" That's when his new boss, Shirosaki, takes him out to see clients. Just what exactly is Shirosaki going to do...?!

Hotori Arashiyama loves mysteries, but there's one she just can't solve: why does the solution to one problem inevitably seem to lead to another? Like how when Hotori has to start working at the Seaside Maid Cafe after school to pay off a debt and her friend Toshiko fortunately knows exactly how a Maid Cafe should be run. Which is fortunate since Hotori has no clue. Except that, unfortunately, Toshiko has no interest in working at the cafe - until she discovers that Hotori's childhood friend Hiroyuki is a regular. Which SEEMS fortunate. Except that Hotori doesn't know that, while Toshiko likes Hiroyuki, Hiroyuki secretly likes Hotori, while Hotori secretly has a crush on... No, no more spoilers! But if that's not enough drama, there's work, angst with a certain math teacher, table tennis between her classmates, her younger brother versus the school's bad girl... And yet, even though everything seems like it's going to crash at any moment, somehow Hotori's life keeps going hilariously forward.

Mitsuki Ikuta works for the Houchiku Corporation, making movies. To all who know her, she is perceived as being a very infantile woman, still wearing childish fashions. A fan of the detective movie genre, she suddenly finds herself chosen to be the main producer of a new film - but it's a "hero movie" (a genre generally considered childish). Determined to succeed, regardless, she takes on the job.