Title: Kinou nani tabeta Season 1 / きのう何食べた？
Rating: 8 / 10
Recommended for:
Those who like slice-of-life stories featuring lots of cooking and eating scenes and a more down-to-earth and realistic take on gay couples
Liked:
- Given that food and cooking feature prominently in the title and story, it was not surprising to see a lot of effort and time put into these scenes when Shiro (Nishijima Hidetoshi) whipped up so many delicious-looking meals for his live-in partner Kenji (Uchino Seiyou) and the latter enjoying these with so much delish. Not only did the cooking scenes feel like an intimate cooking lesson with Nishijima's nice-sounding narration, the cinematography really made simple and/or day-to-day fare look so much more appetising. Of course, Uchino's ability to convey the tastiness of the food to viewers through his acting also deserves special mention since we can only imagine the taste across the screen.
- While many Japanese dramas and movies about LGBT couples these days tend to be a bit exaggerated, fantastical and feature comparatively younger pairings e.g. "Ossans Love", this drama's down-to-earth approach showing the reality and issues facing a middle-aged gay couple could be a lot more palatable to those including myself who don't like the sensational fluff and stuff meant to make viewers squeal or giggle. I think there was also a deliberate attempt to tone down on the skinship or intimate scenes featuring these couples or perhaps that was how the original manga was designed to be.
The gay couples featured in this drama face similar problems like aging, healthcare, money issues and planning for the future just other couples but because of the legal limitations in areas such as marriage and the bias they face, the path surely isn't what many people can imagine or empathise. Although there are a few scenes which can be a bit funny when Kenji gets into his otome mode, I think the vibe on the whole is pretty subdued and tries to convey the messages in an as-a-matter-of-fact manner while not getting too bogged down by the negativity and bleakness in reality.
One part that was quite memorable for me was seeing Shiro's parents' reaction to their son's sexual orientation. Usually, stories featuring people "coming out" about this to their families can get rather emotionally-charged especially with parents expressing disbelief or attempting to "correct things" and make the child "normal" again. However, given that Shiro was already 45 years old and his parents probably had a fair bit of time to come to terms with this topic (while not entirely understanding or accepting it deep down), I thought that was a pretty realistic take on how the real-life situation for many might look like. In particular, I really liked Shiro's mother for telling him off about not admitting that he was gay at the workplace because it felt like she didn't want him to continue lying and should live in a more carefree manner. However, given his occupation and the preset prejudice that people may have about certain vocations, this revelation might make it difficult for him to work like he does now. And besides, his colleagues didn't really need to know about his sexual orientation. Usually, a lot of such stories feature the social circle knowing about this but the family doesn't know so it was pretty unusual to see the reverse for Shiro's case.
- The great acting and chemistry of Nishijima and Uchino definitely is a key reason for the success of this drama. While Nishijima is no stranger to playing elites or professionals wearing suits, I think those roles gave him a bit of an aloof and cool feel compared to Shiro who had a lot more emotions and worries that could be seen by the viewers. In this sense, he made Shiro a lot more relatable and endearing. On the other hand, Uchino has no lack of macho or strong male characters in his career but the somewhat softer, emotional and otome Kenji really made me see him in a different light and showed off his versatility as an actor.
Do keep a lookout for Yamamoto Koji and Isomura Hayato as well because this couple really made me chuckle many times whenever they appeared.
- Since the episodes were no more than 30 minutes each, the drama didn't feel draggy even though there were as many as 12 episodes. While I liked the relaxed pace and could get through each episode with relative ease, those who crave a bit more "action" or a faster development might find this a tad slow and boring in some of the episodes.
Disliked:
- Although this couldn't be helped, there was a change in the cast for the role of Shiro's father from Shiga Kotaro to Tayama Ryosei as Shiga had to quit halfway due to illness. It would have been good if the beginning of episode 11 had mentioned this change because it was so abrupt to see Tayama appear just like that. Given that I already read the news back then when this happened, it only took me by surprise for a brief moment before I remembered this. However, those who didn't know would feel puzzled and wonder what was going on. And since both actors had very different appearances and vibes, you can't deny that this non-knowledge of what happened and the sudden change would get in the way.
