Shades of SMAP Bistro with Kimura Takuya in "Grand Maison Tokyo"

(Rinko) Hayami is Dining With the Chef

Kimura Takuya’s new drama “Grand Maison Tokyo” reminds me an awful lot of his previous drama “BG~Personal Bodyguard". In that drama, he played a Bodyguard who is at the top of his game and the best at what he does…until, because of an accident out of his control, his client is harmed and he is ousted from the business in disgrace. It is only years later where he begins walking the path of his profession once again, beginning all over with a small company which he intends to make his way back up the the top....

In  “La Grand Maison Tokyo”, Kimura plays Natsuki Obana, a top-of-the-line 3 Michelin Star Chef in an upscale french restaurant in Paris. He is arrogant and bull-headed about things, but always produces spectacular results...

That is, until he is to head a summit meeting meal and the dignitary he serves gets food poisoning. While not responsible first-hand, as head chef he takes responsibility and is soon disgraced as the "Food Poisoning Chef". No matter what he does, he cannot get back in under his own name.

 

Enter Rinko Hayami (Kyoka Suzuki), a driven and dedicated chef who, though full of passion, just doesn’t have the skills to head a Michelin Star restaurant. 

Recognizing her skills (as well as her money which Obana is severely lacking), he proposes they work together to build an establishment that will dazzle the critics and get them the highest ratings.

 Hayami is wary at first but is won over by his culinary skills which are beyond reproach. 

Throwing in with Obana, it’s now a mater of organizing the perfect team to fuel the business…and that means getting back the entire crew that Kimura had once worked with and (at the time) had treated so gruffly and coldly.

It will take all his dedication to win back those he once slighted, but with his determination to succeed and the passion of Hayami, they intend to get the team they need to create the restaurant of their dreams!

Kimura and Suzuki lead a cast including like Ikki Sawamura, 

Mitsuhiro Oikawa,

Kikunosuke Onoe

Ai Tominaga

and (WHOO!) even pretty Anne Nakamura as food journalist Kanna Kuzumi!

 

Among the younger cast we have Yuta Tamamori (last seen by me in Reverse),

Kanichiro,

Aki Asakura

 

and Ayako Yoshitani as the scene-stealing spazzy pastry chef Moe Matsui!

So far seems like a pretty solid show, though it reminds me of a musical in the sense where you are getting into the story and then the cast breaks into song- well here, the show is constantly interrupted by long, detailed descriptions of the foods they are preparing. Half the time I’m like, “Okay, okay, I get it, can we get back to the story now, please?” LOL

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Hidarikiki No Eren~"Eren the Left-Handed”

“Hikdarikiki No Eren~Eren the Left-Handed” tells the story of two young artists from complete opposite sides of the medium-

Koichi Asakura (Kamio Fuju) is a struggling art designer for an advertising firm who knows his skills are limited but has expressed a desire to make a name for himself in art since he was a student. Though he shows promise, his successes are largely overlooked or stolen by his colleagues, and he spends his evenings frustrated over his seeming lack of advancement.

Across the world in New York is an enigmatic graffiti artist named Eren Yamagishi (Elaiza Ikeda) who is taking the art world by storm. 

Unlike the affable and wide-eyed Koichi, however, Eren is a surly, antisocial and entirely jaded artist who sees the art world as a two-faced cesspool of posers and wannabes. As a youth she saw her father consumed by the art business and has since looked upon it as something to be avoided entirely. Her art, however, is on another level and despite her distaste for it, success is beating a path to her door.

Koichi and Eren first cross paths when they are still in High School. At the time Koichi has dreams of making it big in the design world, boasting to his best friend Sayuri (Yurika Nakamura) that he's going to be a big shot someday.

Just then he sees a young woman attacking the posh Art Institute, crossing out the flashy paintings with a black srpay can and creating a splattering statement of her own.

 A stunned Koichi looks on as he witnesses for the first time what REAl genius is- this girl's raw, nihilistic graffiti makes perfectly clear  her utter contempt of the snobby art critics, and if there is any doubt, she signs the piece with a huge black SUCK at the end.

Completely enraptured by the mysterious girl, Koichi hopes to lure her out by making a statement of his own, a mural which Sayuri happily helps. But when Eren finally sees the unremarkable mural, she chides him over his lack of substance and tells him to give up.

But the big hearted Koichi fires back that if everyone just gave up, where would we be?
He assures her that he has every intention of continuing and improving.

And with that, a seed is planted in Eren. From that point on there is always a part of her just WAITING for Koichi to rise up to her level and inspire her- though miles away and without a word spoken between them, the two become the one thing in the world that inspires each other through the drudgery of the business.

I don’t know what’s with all the appearances of actress Elaiza Ikeda in the dramas I’ve been seeing lately, but it’s a welcome one to be sure! Loved her in Ito Kun A to E and the travel show Tourist, and am currently watching her in Boku No Mari No Naka (which also stars her Eren No Hidarikiki co-star Yurika Nakamura)…It must just be her time to shine!

POS: Tried to watch Elaiza in all her Bra-and Panties glory in the movie "The Virgin Psychics" (along with babealicious Erina Mano among others), but after downloading the whopping 24GB movie, it ended up being a BDMV file which for some reason I just CAN'T play on my Mac! Boo.

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com