Until We Get More Midnight Diner, There’s Chef wa Meitantei

 After Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories ended and with no future seasons on the schedule, we were all clamoring for something to take its place, and though the set-up for Chef wa Meitantei  isn’t quite the same, it’s a fine drama to while away the time until Netflix announces a new Midnight Diner (or something)!

Shinobu Mifune (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is a chef at a modest French Restaurant Pas Mal (Not Bad) along with Sous-chef Yoji Shimura (Yu Kamio) and sommelier Yuki Kaneko (Anna Ishii). Besides being an excellent chef, Mifune is also a detective of sorts, able to read what is on each customer’s minds and feelings.

And so it is that when he observes customer Tomoyuki Takatsuki (Gaku Hamada), he can see right away that this gentleman is at a crossroads in life. Indeed, when he chats with the man later, he finds that Takatsuki has just left his job of the past year. 

Believing that everything happens for a reason, Mifune offers Takatsuki a job as waiter for the restaurant, and though shocked, Takatsuki accepts!

While working, he finds that Mifune is a kind person who truly cares for the well-being of his customers, and by using his powers of deduction, tries to craft the perfect meal, dessert or drink to soothe the troubled person and set them on their way!

Below: Mifune counsels customer (Ami Tomita)

A nice cast with characters who seem interesting enough to spend some time with (I love Yuki's hobby of being obsessed with haikus, LOL), this could be another winner!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Holy Heck, Momoko Tanabe Glows Up Well! A "Rikokatsu" Update

 *SLIGHT SPOILERS for RIKOKATSU EPISODE 6-7, proceed at your own risk!*

So, in the Eita/Keiko Kitagawa divorce drama “Rikokatsu”, there have always been people on both sides of couple Koichi and Saki Obara either cheering their support or vying for their breakup, and on the Koichi side, there has always been his superior Jun Ichinose (Momoko Tanabe) hoping for a separation between Obara and his wife. This is, of course, because SHE secretly is in love with him, but he sees her only as his superior.

Little by little she does things to help drive a wedge in between Koichi and Saki, from leading Saki out into the wilderness during a picnic and leaving her there, to flat out calling her out and suggesting Saki divorce Koichi because she is making him miserable.

Well, by episode 6, Saki and Koichi have indeed submitted their papers for divorce and have begun living separately.

How much influence Ichinose had in this is hard to say, but once she finds out that Obara is now single, she immediately shows up at his doorstep with food…and HOLY HELL, SHE IS SIMPLY STUNNING!!!

“Holy COW, is that ICHINOSE????” I gasped as I saw her. As some of you may remember, I always liked her character (even when she was being mean to Saki) because I knew her love for Koichi was pure. And now it looks like she might have a chance after all!

She even instantly wins over Koichi’s usually grumpy and hard-to-please Father!

Looks like Ichinose has become quite a formidable foe indeed! How will Saki deal with this new opponent??? Only time Will Tell!!!

Just For Fun: App de Koi Suru 20 no Joken

As a fan of both Maika Yamamoto AND Tsubasa Honda, it was a given that I would be grabbing the TV Special movie “App de Koi Suru 20 no Joken” and it was a fine time indeed!

"20 Conditions to Date with an App” follows a bunch of friends entering the wild-and exciting world of online dating, and though at first it seems these six characters have their own individual problems, as the story deepens, we learn that everything may be connected one way or another!

Tsubasa Honda

Shuhei Nomura

Yosuke Sugino

Maika Yamamoto

Takayuki Hamatsu

Reina Sumi

Gotta admit, I downloaded this because of my recent obsession with Maika Yamamoto (and she was as cute as can be...!)

 ...but once watching it, it was Tsubasa Honda all the way, my GOSH, she has to be one of the most FUN and VIBRANT young actresses out there!

A wonderful diversion for a cloudy weekend!

Kyoko Fukada All Year Long: May-June

 Sad to hear the news that Kyoko Fukada will be taking some time off to deal with 

some stress-related issues, but for now we will have to do with these bi-monthly calendar posts to keep her in our hearts!

PS: Seems I had the wrong month posted up all last month (insead of May-June, I had posted Sept-Oct), so you'll be seeing it again when it is posted up in its' correct slot further down the year.....

Your Monthly Keiko! June 2021

 About halfway through Keiko's new drama "Rikokatsu" and Keitan is looking as lovely as ever!

Here she is for the month of June 2021!!