-7.3 C
New York
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Advertisement

Samurai Gourmet Season One (TheaterByte TV Series Review)

Kasumi Takeshi (Naoto Takenaka) is a retired sixty-year old Japanese man who lives with his very attractive, younger wife Shizuko (Suzuki Honami). With 30 years of corporate work under his belt, Takeshi is now looking for some purpose to his “new” life. One morning, he begins to understand that the rules of the business world no longer apply to him. Next, he acquires an alter ego, the Samurai (Tamayama Tetsuji) who makes subsequent appearances in Kasumi’s dining establishments where the sets and costumes are briefly transformed into those of ancient Japan as the warrior “rights the wrongs” of the moment. Beginning with “Mid-day beer at the restaurant,” Takeshi realizes that he can drink any time of day that he damn well pleases. As he orders his first retirement meal with beer, his inner-Samurai is released, and a new day dawns for the old retiree.

Takeshi’s imaginary Samurai opens up the pleasures of gourmet dining and takes actions that the prim ex-businessman would never dare to do himself. His next adventure finds the old man in a ramen noodle restaurant run by a striking and scary older Chinese woman,” Madam Devil,” that he eventually flees for the comfort and safety of his own home.

[envira-album id=”99107″]

Other “adventures” include an awkward generation-gap dinner with his young niece who, against her father’s wishes, is considering a career as a pop musician. Next, Kasumi gets a  gig as a film extra but his catered bento lunch gets an interminable wait as the shoot keeps getting delayed due to the obstinacy of a self-centered actress. A subsequent visit to a bookstore sends the elderly man to an old-fashioned coffee shop where he reads and reminisces over a plate of noodles. A particularly humorous episode finds an out-of-place Kasumi contending with the menu and manners of a high-end Italian restaurant. As the series proceeds, the Samurai continues to show up (usually to resolve a conflict) and Kasumi continues his frequent journeys down memory lane that are usually occasioned by the food and restaurants that he seeks out.

In a similar vein to Midnight Diner, another manga-based Japanese series, Samurai Gourmet is centered on dining experiences. The central character is “cooked” to perfection by veteran comic actor Takenaka who, with his eyes often closed in delight, savors every morsel of food and sip of sake and utters “umai” or “oishi,” both terms for “delicious.” Samurai Gourmet places extensive visual emphasis on the preparation of an endless array of traditional Japanese dishes that include pig’s lung and beef cartilage. Of interest to American viewers will be this show’s portrayal of contemporary married life in Japan. Rather than conveying the image of the shy, retiring housewife of the yesterday, Shizuko is self-reliant, outspoken, and stands on equal grounds with her husband.

Samurai Gourmet is a well-scripted and smartly directed 12-episode series that is anchored by the strong performances of its principals. Food Network fans should really enjoy this series even though the Samurai dramatic device may wear a bit thin for some viewers.

All 12 episodes of Samurai Gourmet are currently available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.

4 / 5 TheaterByte Rating
{{ reviewsOverall }} / 5 User Rating (0 votes)
Kusumi MasayukiShow Creator
17 Mar. 2017Original Release Date
NetflixNetwork/Streaming Service
20 Mins.Ep. Run Time
12No. Eps.
NetflixStudio/Distributor
TV-PGRating Certificate
The Creative Content
Summary
A delightful series of vignettes involving traditional Japanese cuisine and an endearing principal character with an interesting alter ego.
What people say... Login to rate
Order by:

Be the first to leave a review.

User Avatar User Avatar
Verified
{{{ review.rating_title }}}
{{{review.rating_comment | nl2br}}}

This review has no replies yet.

Avatar
Show more
Show more
{{ pageNumber+1 }}
Advertisement

Related Articles

2 COMMENTS

    • Sorry you did not like this one. Like many series, this one may take more than one episode to warm up to. But, we are all entitled to our own tastes and points of view. Japanese manga-based series, like this one, have a very large following and, if given a chance, most viewers will come away with a smile and heightened curiosity in Japanese cuisine.

Join the Discussion on TheaterByte!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stay Connected

301FansLike
0FollowersFollow
184FollowersFollow
1,907FollowersFollow
- Advertisement -

Notice of Compliance with FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 255

In accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR part 255 guidelines, this website hereby states that it receives free discs and other theatrical or home entertainment "screeners" and access to screening links from studios and/or PR firms, and is provided with consumer electronics devices on loan from hardware manufacturers and/or PR firms respectively for the purposes of evaluating the products and its content for editorial reviews. We receive no compensation from these companies for our opinions or for the writing of reviews or editorials.
Permission is sometimes granted to companies to quote our work and editorial reviews free of charge. Our website may contain affiliate marketing links, which means we may get paid commission on sales of those products or the services we write about. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers or affiliate partnerships. This disclosure is provided in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR § 255.5: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Latest Articles