Shinya Shokudo - Tokyo Stories (2016)

This series has quickly become one of my all time favorites, for forever and ever. Kobayashi Kaoru is the absolute perfect man for the role of Master in this series; his voice, his personality and unique traits, and his wonderful talents are mesmerizing to watch!! I've never fallen in love with a series, let alone a show or movie or book, as quickly as I have with the entire "Shinya Shokudo" series.

Everyone's personal stories were so genuine and full of honest, relatable, real humanity, respect, and unique stories I've never seen on screen(s) or read about before. I laughed or cried of worried or got angry with each character of each episode. This show is full of chaos and calm, love and heartbreak, happiness and depression, anger and kindness, respect and fear, understanding and knowledge, but most of all this show has so much honest to goodness love, kindness, respect, light, and relatable humanity! If you have the time to watch this series from beginning to end, I sincerely suggest and hope that you do!!

Leia Mais

An underrated gem hidden from the international viewers indeed. Though to be positive, it must be somehow popular in Japan to the point it could renew for 5 seasons. If you want a break from the dramas that are plot heavy, this drama I suggest you to watch.

This drama is like Nichijou (an anime), where the show focuses more on characterization rather than plot. The issues the character have is realistic and almost always makes me sympathize with them as a character. I loved the Master's character as this calm and sympathetic person.

This drama is like an unscripted variety show, where you truly feel like you're one of the bar patrons listening to others' frustrations and gossiping with them as well. The actors did an excellent job of preserving that vibe throughout the whole season.

The characters also have natural looks, meaning not everyone is eye candy like what kdramas usually cast. The fact that the characters look average makes this drama even more real to me.

If you haven't watched this drama, please watch it! This is truly an underrated gem that deserves more international attention.

Leia Mais

Return to form, better stories with higher stakes.

In Midnight Diner Tokyo stories, we continue to watch Master and how he interacts with the patrons of his diner while serving them delicious food, as they go through their lives. This season is better than Season 3 of Midnight Diner, as they seem to have ramped up the plot and stakes, storytelling wise.

We get to take a look at possible adultery, adult films (with fan favorite Mr. "Erect" Oki!!), government redevelopment for the Olympics, cross country romance, career slumps and how 2 characters deal with them differently and hope with sweaters. Even with the feel good fantastically tasty looking food factor to comfort us, some of these were hard on the heart.

Not going to lie, the sweater episode destroyed me a little inside, because there ARE people who will pour their hearts into crafts that are then given away to others who don't appreciate the craft (or the person). It kills a piece of you when that happens. I'm glad this was explored in the episode, and this episode alone justifies the 8.5 rating. It's not perfect, but it's a series worth watching.

Leia Mais

An Excellent Side Dish, After the Main Course

MIDNIGHT DINER: TOKYO STORIES was an excellent Japanese side series about the many assorted stories of the eccentric cast of characters who visit a small diner which opens from midnight to seven a.m. in the morning. The diner is visited by all sorts of interesting, bizarre and sometimes even shady characters, all with their own backstories, reasons for visiting the diner, along with special memories associated with their choice of dish. Some are Yakuza, some gay / trans night club workers, some are struggling dancers, but all have stories to share.

Along with the many character's stories that are gradually revealed as the show progresses, this series also features cooking and many different Japanese recipes, making this a unique experience for food enthusiasts, as well as culture aficionados alike. It's a great side series, full of many new stories, if you can't get enough of the original.

This is a very mellow and simplistic series, but one that has a very quiet, heartfelt and thoughtful atmosphere to it. I really enjoyed this and can thoroughly recommend. I must say however, that this show is for adults only as there is some light nudity present and the content can sometimes be risque and emotionally heavy. Overall, this series is a gem and I will be looking forward to watching other related series as well.

Leia Mais