What to Watch: Part 4: WHAT IS THIS SHOW?

A strange Japanese show - available on Netflix.

A milieu you don’t really understand, a language you are not familiar with, featuring food you have never seen before. Moreover, the acting is substandard, production value is non-existent and the camera is JUST there. But, still there is something strangely captivating about Midnight Diner - a Japanese anthology series. It is set in a small, late night diner in Sinjuku City - a part of the Tokyo metropolitan area - where a mysterious chef, dubbed ‘Master’ will whip up any dish you want - if he has the ingredients for it.

There are a few recurring characters but most of them appear for only one story. These are almost always strange people, with strange habits. The fact that the diner only opens after midnight - means that you get an eclectic cast of characters.

This type of diner - called the Izakaya in Japan; is in the same vein as an American tavern, or an Irish pub, or a Spanish tapas bar - after-work bars with low seating capacities - and as one would expect - a bunch of regulars.

The show - with each episode less than 25 minutes long - has a fairly boring (but UNSKIPPABLE) theme song, that plays a few minutes into the run time. It ends with the principal character(s) of that story giving you short instructions on how to make the dish that featured in that episode.

The show is available on Netflix. There are also two theatrical movies called Midnight Diner and Midnight Diner 2 made by the same folks - that I am yet to see.

See you next time!