Izakaya Bottakuri (2018)

M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E !!!

If you, like me, are big fans of the typically Japanese "iyashikei" genre, chances are you'll totally *love* this "Izakaya Bottakuri", just as I did!
I must confess having become a bit tired of the whole "food drama" subgenre, as it has an unfortunate tendency to be terribly repetitive (in a nutshell: you show some food, the main characters stuff their faces with it, rinse&repeat), of course bar a few exceptions. But what we have here is much, much more than just a food drama! Sure, there's that aspect as well, but masterfully mixed with an incredible amount of humaneness, a relaxing atmosphere, beautifully written characters, some lovely music and a perfect "packaging". Fabulously written, directed, acted (they're all very good, but let me just name Katayama Moemi who's the very definition of "gorgeous" here!)...a true gem, highly recommended, folks!
Just to give you an idea of how much I've liked this: from now on, I'll have to add this small izakaya to the short list of fictional soothing places I'd really love to visit, alongside the adorable "Café Alpha" from "Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou" and the whole "Neo Venezia" from Amano Kozue's "Aqua/Aria" masterpiece! ^___-

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Not engaging enough.

Wanted a bit of wholesome feels from a j-drama but sadly this failed to capture my interest. Though centred on food and gives us enough shots of it, there must be something in the production or the lack of story that made me stop. I thought the acting wasn’t that great as well. For a short episode it felt too dragged and I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I guess one can watch it if they have nothing else to watch, but despite this feeling I wasn’t able to continue. The premise seems interesting enough, but something about it was just not engaging. Maybe it’s the pace, or the characters. Anyway, if you like food dramas, this one will probably make you feel good — there’s enough focus on it with the recipes being shared at the end.

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