Quick Review #91: Grand Maison Tokyo Special (Drama SP)

Title: Grand Maison Tokyo Special / グランメゾン東京スペシャル

Rating: 7 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are fans of the drama series and want to know what happened after the drama's ending and before the movie version starts but don't mind the lack of new and major developments / are fans of the original cast members plus new additions like Kubota Masataka and Kitamura Kazuki

Liked:

- While most drama SPs especially those meant to connect the end of the drama series with the movie version tend to be no more than a rehash of old material with minimal new scenes, it was obvious that there was still quite a fair bit of effort (and budget) put into this drama SP. In terms of set design, the cooking and food scenes, the same standard as seen in the drama series was maintained which was honestly a bit surprising because I was honestly expecting TBS to cut some corners here and there. In addition, the original cast were mostly back in force even though some only had a couple of scenes. Last but not least, there were even new additions i.e. Kubota Masataka and Kitamura Kazuki who definitely made quite a fair bit of impact here despite being late to the game. As such, for those who are in a nostalgic mood for the original series should be pretty satisfied with this SP along with some new elements to refresh the concept.

- At the beginning of the SP, there was a message dedicated to those in the dining/restaurant industry who had gone through severe challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. I thought this was a very nice gesture and encouragement for all of us even though we may not work in this industry but have similar experiences of going through those tough days. As the SP showed how the characters navigated the crisis in their own ways, it added a sense of reality to the story rather than just make it look like another feel-good fairytale where everything will go well as long as you work hard. Although the drama series had a rag-to-riches kind of vibe (creating the restaurant from scratch to getting the Michelin stars), the drama SP went down the path of showing how people rise up again after dropping from a lifetime high point (losing all the Michelin stars and suffering poor reviews from critics and customers to regaining lost ground) which I thought was comparatively more difficult to deal with in life. I kind of liked how the story was trying to say that there are more ways than one to deal with problems and that it is ok to admit defeat at times and bounce back from zero from there.

- Surprisingly or not, this drama SP was not so heavy on Kimura Takuya as the lead - I had the impression that the name Obana kept popping up but his actual airtime seemed quite limited in comparison. I think it had to do with the message that the story was trying to convey i.e. success does not lie with just one person and that at times, other people can step up to take the lead if need be. And so, it didn't feel odd that he wasn't seen as much as the lead of the story while the other characters especially Shohei (Tamamori Yuuta) showed a lot more development and growth as if to represent the fact that they are ready to take over the reins from their seniors.

Disliked: 

- Ultimately, this SP's role was still being the connector between the drama series and the movie version so other than filling in the gaps, there wasn't anything "groundbreaking" that happened. As such, it may feel a tad underwhelming especially in the first hour or so if you are looking for more excitement.

- As pointed out before in my review of the drama series, one bugbear I had with this was the fleeting scenes introducing the dishes. Before I could even read the ingredients list, the images kept moving quickly so it felt really rushed and it was hard to "savour" the aesthetics aspect of the dishes on screen. I thought that this was a huge pity because those beautifully-crafted dishes deserve to be admired a bit more.