Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

The show brings about a serene calm when you watch it. The delicate theme mixed with the intricately flavoured characters, makes it a bowl you just can't keep down.

50 years. Best gentle teaching of things Japanese EVER!

Ultimately, this is about important moments in our lives and the foods we often associate with them.

The stories are set at the Midnight Diner, a small and comfortable hole-in- the-wall sitdown you wish you could call your own.

Open from midnight until seven in the morning, it attracts an array of regular and casual denizens. The proprietor will make whatever is ordered, so long as he's got the ingredients.

Often what's ordered are comfort foods that remind the patron of the home of their youth, of a parent or someone close, or of a memorable or important life event. Sometimes it's all of the above.

Many of the tales are peculiar, and even if you suspect a direction the story will take, it likely won't.

Everything about the show is simple and unassuming, which of course is akin to most of our comfort foods.

This won't resemble anything you've ever seen. We laughed out loud throughout and shed several tears. Every last second of it is beautiful, thoughtful, and unexpected.

I was hooked half-way through the first episode. I saw the word "kind" in another review here and, while it's not a word one usually associates with a TV series, kindness is one of the over-arching themes of the series. Kaoru Kobayashi, the main character (everyone calls him Master) has the kind of kindness that comes from inner strength, compassion, and wisdom. The revolving ensemble of characters is wonderful. Great casting! Sometimes the show seems to be a comedy, other times a drama, or a melancholy tale of unrequited. Food, the sharing of, and the making of, is a important part of the show, as well. He cooks simple food, but every dish looks delicious! I see the series was rebooted in 2019. I hope it, too, shows up on Netflix.

While not every episode hit the spot, most were small delights. A series of vignettes to savour.