Centred around a humble izakaya and its cast of eccentric characters, this Netflix show makes for the perfect pandemic watch by finding moments of joy in the prosaic
For those who frequent Netflix's food-oriented offerings, Japanese TV series Midnight Diner is a familiar franchise, and for good reason: its unique format of a tight-lipped izakaya proprietor who welcomes roving, melancholic souls into his nocturnal establishment has become an unlikely hit, with five seasons, two feature films, and Korean and Chinese remakes completed to date.
Seeking to replicate this success is Izakaya Bottakuri, aired in 2018 by Japanese broadcaster BS12 and only recently made available on Netflix within Southeast Asia. There are many similarities with Midnight Diner: based on a manga of the same name, the show centres around a homely izakaya where a regular host of characters from the neighbourhood stop by for dinner and a dose of community—cue the requisite hijinks, tantalising shots of Japanese cuisine, and comically exaggerated proclamations of 'oishii!' Yet at the same time, Izakaya Bottakuri (which literally translates to 'rip-off izakaya') avoids becoming a mere facsimile of Midnight Diner with its own subtle flourishes, making it a welcome addition to the Japanese tradition of capturing the mundanity of modern city life and transforming it into delightful, healing television.
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The premise is simple: two sisters run an izakaya with an 'unsettling name' in a suburban Tokyo neighbourhood that they inherited from their late parents (though their deaths are never touched upon in great detail). As elder sister Mine (played by Japanese 'idol' Moemi Katayama) explains, the izakaya is named as such because the food they serve can easily be made at home, hence the 'rip-off' in charging money for these dishes. However, as we have all personally discovered this past year, it's often not the food that brings people into restaurants, but the promise of lively conversation and good service, and the magic that happens when the right mix of people come together to be nourished in more ways than one.
Those who frequent this establishment are a cross-section of characters who might be found inhabiting any Japanese suburb: a pharmacist with an encyclopaedic knowledge of sake, a hot-blooded air-conditioner repairman, a wizened former geisha, and a mix of salarymen and women, all of whom shoot banter back and forth. The plot of each of the 11 episodes is equally quotidian. In one, Mine tries to create a dish to win over the tomato-averse son of a customer; in another, a visit from a doctor causes the sisters to reconsider the health implications of their cooking. The calm centre around which the show revolves is Mine, the proprietress of the izakaya whose mature demeanour belies her young age. Little sister Kaoru (Sara Takatsuki) helps out with serving customers, her bubbly and optimistic personality adding a jolt of liveliness to each episode.
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