Runboard.com
Слава Україні!

CJKDramas.com

Discussing CJK 中日韓 Dramas Available in California


CJKDramas.com   |   Runboard       註冊 / 登録 / Register (learn about it) | Sign in (lost password?)

Page:  1  2  3  4 

 
Hiroshi66 Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Admin

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Porter Ranch, California
Posts: 13779
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


<EPISODE 3>

I don't really have much to say about this episode. It was nice and very well-done, but the plots are really getting quite similar. The specific scenarios are different, but everything generally has the same type of 'feel' to it. I know there was also a third season of this, so I can't imagine the writer running out of ideas yet. I wish they would focus on exploring the lives of the characters who are enigmas (Master and Joe O, for instance) instead of random characters of the day.

Still, though, I can't complain. The plot involving the single mother and her son was beautiful, and you could tell how much the son loved his mom. Nothing she did would upset him, although he did worry about her health. As for the mom, he was truly the apple of his eye. I had my doubts about whether the nurse would get along with the MIL after it was revealed that the son finally got a girlfriend, but apparently they broke up, so that was the end of that.

I'm glad she became sober by the end of the episode. I've noticed alcoholism is rarely referred to in J-drama - characters are simply said to "drink too much." Drinking alcohol nightly with colleagues or friends in bars or pubs (much like Master's) is a tradition in Japan, so perhaps the alcoholism is defined quite differently from what we consider it to be. When the mother was hospitalized, I was wondering if it was so she could be weaned off alcohol? All's well that ends well.

How surprising to see Joe O back at the end! He has moved on from rearranging peanut shells to egg shells? So bizarre. I am more interested in finding out about his background than I am about Master's!

The first 2 minutes (with the resident perverts flirting with the dancer) were totally random and out of place. When that scene ended, I remember thinking to myself...what was the point of that!? Are they so desperate to insert 'eye candy' into every episode? Bleh.

Beautiful story of a mother and son. Episode 4 airs next week!
7/20/2016, 2:33 pm Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
Hiroshi66 Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Admin

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Porter Ranch, California
Posts: 13779
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


<EPISODE 4>

I liked this episode, although it felt like we had seen something similar to it (plot-wise) before. The happy ending, with the couple moving to the country to take over the guy's mother's diner, was really nice. If only all these stories could end so happily and positively!

The guy was very sweet, and I really respected the fact that he didn't react to the news about the woman being a prostitute by wanting to have nothing to do with her. He never even brought it up or gossiped about it with anyone else at the diner. it also showed us what a great man of integrity Master is. He stayed mum about the woman's profession - not wanting to put her down or overstep his boundaries by speaking about her.

What a clever way for the woman to tell the guy what she was celebrating at the end of the episode. When he asked her, she said that she was "celebrating her breakup." This was a breakup for the woman, in many ways. She was finally able to pay off all her family's debts and could escape the world which was tying her down.

Hearing that the woman had to resort to prostitution to pay off her family's debts reminded me a lot of Oshin, where Oshin's father wanted to send her off to work as a prostitute so she could send money home. Though Japan (and the world) has come a long way since that time, it is still sad that it is still going on.

Well, a nice happy ending. Episode 5 airs next week!
7/23/2016, 5:05 pm Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
nchristi Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Moderator


Registered: 03-2004
Location: Hotel California
Posts: 13017
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


Even these 'happily ever after' stories are bittersweet to me. My comments parallel yours pretty much, Hiroshi.

Sometimes timing is everything, it seems. It is disturbing to think of how many people in this world are marginalized because of the debased and greedy environment into which they find themselves immersed and imprisoned. But that seems to be the demographic "Midnight Diner" gives voice to.

The good side of this drama is that it is an eyeopener for many to see and understand the circumstances of other people—individuals that mainstream society can casually dismiss as unworthy of our attention or consideration.

What I found dignified and respectable was the young man's ability (at Master's behest) to intellectually reason on his choice: to either make a big issue out of the woman's life circumstance, or to wipe the slate clean. It was a relief that he chose to overlook her recent past, moving on to a new and positive life together as a respectable couple in their own eyes, and those of their new family and community.
7/23/2016, 6:08 pm Link to this post Send Email to nchristi   Send PM to nchristi AIM
 
Hiroshi66 Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Admin

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Porter Ranch, California
Posts: 13779
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


Yes, I think the diner attracts the type of people who felt ostracized and shut out by the societal norms. Master, through his diner, unites both men and women from all walks of life who might never cross paths during the daytime, in their normal lives. They can all be themselves inside the safe diner. The customers might have their individual tiffs, but none of them seem ashamed and can all be themselves in front of Master - who never judges and always offers everyone his support.

The young man seemed awfully familiar. I thought we had seen him in another episode either this season or last season, but maybe I'm confusing him with another "character of the day."

I also thought it was cute that the young man and the woman named their restaurant "Midnight Diner: Branch location" as a tribute to Master's place - where they first met. I wonder if they are sending Master commission since they are using his name? emoticon Even if they don't, I'm sure Master enjoys the periodic postcards and updates he receives from the new couple.
7/24/2016, 12:43 pm Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
hanzotoponta Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Member

Registered: 06-2004
Posts: 69
Quote
Re:


Very insightful comments Hiroshi.

By the way, the actress who said that women like forceful men sure looked and sounded like Hirosue Ryoko. She's had some wonderful roles over many years in both dorama and film (including the Oscar winning "Departures"). It attests to the regard actors must have for this series that some pretty big names "drop in" for such small roles.
7/24/2016, 4:25 pm Link to this post Send Email to hanzotoponta   Send PM to hanzotoponta
 
Hiroshi66 Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Admin

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Porter Ranch, California
Posts: 13779
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


Yes, and since the drama was already popular by Season 2, we might see more popular actors dropping by for a cameo. It still amazes me how the great Joe Ogadiri decided to do this drama - despite having such a small and mysterious role!

It must be more difficult to practice arranging peanut and egg shells than to memorize lines, though. LOL!
7/25/2016, 8:45 am Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
Hiroshi66 Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Admin

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Porter Ranch, California
Posts: 13779
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


<EPISODE 5>

I never know what we're going to get with this drama, so some days I find myself dreading it, and other days I find myself in a more positive mood and looking forward to it. This week, I didn't feel like watching, but when I finally got around to doing so, I was pleasantly surprised! What a fun episode.

The whole "ghost" plot was perfectly done. Wouldn't it have been fun if 'Ms. Ghost' was really a ghost? In a sense, though, the story about the college student who came back to haunt the professor she had an affair with 40 years before did help her to change her life. She was almost going to find herself in the same situation, but hearing about the 'ghost' from the two film students helped her realize that she was quickly going down the same path.

I'm glad she was able to turn her life around.

I hadn't realized that "Dole" canned pineapples were so unusual nowadays. Come to think of it, I don't see people eating them as much as before. Maybe this is even more pronounced in Japan.

Master plays much more of a peripheral role this season than in the last one. I'm just glad the annoying characters from last season are more scarce these days - I'd much rather have characters of the day than the "3 sisters" and the other motley crew. I just want more Joe O! LOL.

Episode 6 airs Friday.
8/1/2016, 8:38 am Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
nchristi Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Moderator


Registered: 03-2004
Location: Hotel California
Posts: 13017
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


Tonight's episode was quite predictable from the moment the writer left the diner, while a young woman comes in from the other direction. I knew she would be his daughter, but I didn't at first pick up what her occupation was that night. So, Dad's regular "girl" couldn't come and who shows up as her replacement for the evening? Naturally, it is his long-unseen daughter.

I guess the ending of this one was happy for all—the writer resumes his writing, the daughter is reunited with her dad, and even the wife shows up and is still interested in the disappearing husband who has totally neglected his family for the past 10 yrs. Will wonders never cease....
8/6/2016, 11:53 pm Link to this post Send Email to nchristi   Send PM to nchristi AIM
 
Hiroshi66 Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Admin

Registered: 02-2004
Location: Porter Ranch, California
Posts: 13779
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


<EPISODE 6>

This episode was another predictable one, but I kept watching because I knew it would be over in 30 minutes. LOL! I feel bad saying this, but I'm not sure if I will miss Midnight Diner - some stories are memorable, but all the plots seem to have the same feel to them now. (Now as for Partners, that is definitely one of the dramas I will miss...)

I know, as soon as the young woman walked in, I knew it was the daughter, too! I also was pretty sure they would reconcile at the end and finish the episode by eating cream stew together. The only surprise was the daughter walking into her father's apartment, only to discover that her next "client" was none other than her own father. Talk about an awkward reunion!

Yes, the mother casually walking into the restaurant at the end was entertaining, too. Even the daughter seemed surprised that her mother had arrived. All is well that ends well - yet again.

I got a kick out of Master smirking and walking away after serving cream stew to the newly reunited family. It was as if he thought to himself, Another problem solved!

What in the world is Joe O doing? Cracking eggs and pouring sake into the shells? Is he some kind of deep-thinking spiritual guru? Or, is he just drunk? LOL! I hope the "Joe O mystery" is solved by the end of the season.

Episode 7 airs next week.
8/7/2016, 10:57 am Link to this post Send Email to Hiroshi66   Send PM to Hiroshi66 AIM
 
nchristi Profile
Live feed
Blog
Friends
Miscellaneous info

Moderator


Registered: 03-2004
Location: Hotel California
Posts: 13017
Quote
Re: J-Drama: 深夜食堂 2 (The Late Night Diner 2)


Maybe Joe O has a thing for shells...
8/8/2016, 2:37 am Link to this post Send Email to nchristi   Send PM to nchristi AIM
 


Reply with smilies

Page:  1  2  3  4 





You are not logged in (login)