Alternatively known in Japanese as “ Shinya Sokudou”, the drama first graced the small screen with screenwriter Mukai Kousuke behind the works of one of the most successful Japanese dramas of all time with numerous seasons and adaptations in other countries ( including South-Korea, China and Taiwan).

Notably everything about “ Midnight Diner” ‘s storyline should not appear inherently gripping for audiences. Whilst the “ omnibus” formula can be intriguing, there’s the evident problem which would seem to happen with “ Midnight Diner” at first by falling into a cataclysmic rabbit hole of a formulaic structure around the mysterious owner “ Master” ( Kobayashi Kaoru) accounting his interaction with a customer for the audience with little sense of breaking routine or new ground .

Yet against all odds, Mukai Kousuke presents something greatly attractive about the reoccurring and new characters within the series through a mixture of the mundane and magic realism, without crossing into the overtly supernatural or horror genre.

Whilst some individuals such as the three office women who Master dubs as the “ Ochazuke Sisters” are played for humorous gags in a similar manner to the surreal characters of the series such as the stripper
Matsushima Marilyn ( Ando Tamae) and the pornstar ( Kazama Toru), there was still something fundamentally human behind these characters rather than their labels alone. The trio of office women seem to represent the contemporary struggles of dating for older Japanese women, the pornstar hides a sad past with his mother, whilst other reoccurring characters such as the yakuza gangster Ryu Kenzaki (Yutaka Matsushige) and his odd friendship with gay cross dresser and bar owner Kosuzu ( Toshiki Ayata) as well as transgender bar owner Jun ( Genkaku Yuko) helped to present the versatile range of customers and individuals present within Japanese society.

Perhaps the one notable weakness of “ Midnight Diner” did occur at times within acting quality and line deliverance, often feeling a little discordant from the more realistic and hard-hitting themes of loneliness or individualistic stories in each episode. In addition to this as mentioned before, the formulaic styling does become a little predictable for audiences even when a new episode has shifted onto a new customer or characters. Nevertheless, “ Midnight Diner” can be seen as a surreal and transgressive journey into the bewitching life stories of Shinjuku’s night owls, with an oddly heartwarming edge even for the most unlikely of characters and friendships.