The Quest for the Ultimate Stars Rating

We follow the adventures of the arrogant but extremely talented Obana Natsuki, an influential French Cuisine head chef obsessed with obtaining a three Michelin stars award. He has been trying to accomplish this for all of his career and has managed to get granted an award of two with his French restaurant Escofille, when suddenly, three years before the events portrayed in the show, a disastrous diplomatic incident during an important lunch at his restaurant destroys his career. Due to this, it’s now impossible for him to get employed in any eatery, as he’s now dubbed the "Shame of Japan”. At the beginning of the show, however, while trying to get employed at a renowned restaurant in Paris, he meets Hayami Rinko (played by Suzuki Kyoka https://mydramalist.com/people/2025-suzuki-kyoka), a talented and vibrant French cuisine chef who is trying to get employed there as well, in order to achieve the three stars rating, but is having a hard time due to her limited prior experience. Sadly, they are both discarded by the owner of the French restaurant. With nowhere else to go, Obana decides to help Hayami in her quest for the ultimate stars rating, by opening a restaurant in Japan with her. They will have to find a way to hire Obana’s previous co-workers at Escofille, who are now working for different venues in Japan, or there will be no hope of success. Due to his incredibly negative fame, though, it won’t be easy.
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What, in my opinion, particularly shines in this show is how the various characters are portrayed. Firstly, even though they are all supposed to be famous chefs, they are written in a way where you can easily sympathize with them and understand their reasoning and emotions even if you know almost nothing about high-class cuisine. For example, Obana starts as an arrogant character, who does whatever he wants and ignores how others are feeling, thinking nothing can beat his cooking, but as the show goes on, you can understand that this is just a facade, and in reality, he does care about people, he just doesn’t show it well. He will also realize that if he wants to be awarded three stars, he has to adapt and change. We can all imagine that it can be quite hard to change your way of thinking if you are already a renowned chef.

Read the rest at https://blisscast.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/my-journal-page-27-24-november-2022-exceptional-cuisine-that-is-worth-a-special-journey-grand-maison-tokyo/

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You won't regret watching it!

As a fan of the manga, it's true that this movie changed a few details, but it manages to catch the atmosphere of the manga. I'm not entirely sure about the actor chosen for Light, although he definitely got better through the movie. I get why he was chosen. L's actor did a great job making me envious of his food XD, and was the one that most resembled the original character. I'm still trying to guess why Misa has black hair now, but I guess they wanted to be more natural looking. Please Misa, give me your recipes :) ! Also, Ryuk looked a bit fake, but who cares about that.
I know I'm funnily describing all the issues, but don't worry, they don't affect the enjoyment of the story. It's a pretty witty movie, it will twist what you see and deceive you all the time. And even when you rewatch it, you'll be amazed at how it all actually happens. Seriously though, who wrote this story has quite a twisted mind XD. I wonder if the second movie (which ends the manga storyline) will be just as good.

Long story short, this movie doesn't disappoint both new and old fans, so do watch it!

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Brilliant and amusing

This drama is brilliant in many different ways.
First of all, the characters are what make this series exceptionally great. Komikado-sensei, the attorney that never lost a single trial, surprises you with his witty and fast speech, and even if sometimes he comes across as incredibly rude, what he says often ends up being wholly or partially true. I definitely agree with his opinion about the countryside, to be honest. That's just an opinion, though. His mannerism is also hilarious and makes him unique and entertaining to watch. What surprises the most is the character's backstory. I do not intend to spoil it.
Mayuzumi-sensei, the Asadora Heroine as Komikado-sensei calls her, is truly a heroine. [From Wikipedia: Renzoku Terebi Shōsetsu (連続テレビ小説, "serial TV novel"), also known as asadora (朝ドラ, "Morning Drama"), is a serialized Japanese television drama program series broadcast in the mornings by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Virtually all of the storylines center on the life of a female heroine who faces challenges while working to achieve her dreams.] She is always trying to put justice above everything else, and it's primarily thanks to her that the customers are happy in the end. She is also as stubborn as Komikado. This fact makes them continuously clash in amusing ways. It was interesting seeing her growth as an attorney and as a person during the series. I think she's the one that delivered the most profound values in the show. She is also incredibly sweet, which is the exact contrary of Komikado, who can be extremely mean.
The main antagonist, the Miki Law Firm, is a particular one. The mannerism of the people in it makes it feel like an exclusive club, which you belong to only if you stay successful. What makes the audience laugh is how defeat is handled, as it's common for the firm's lawyers, because they're against that one attorney that is never going to lose. The boss, Miki-sensei, is always trying to beat Komikado with his own employees, and is also always acting exaggeratedly angrily when he loses. His secretary Sawachi is probably the most mysterious character in the show. She is often shown massaging Miki-sensei in order to calm him, and with her calm attitude she was probably put at Miki-sensei's side in order to counter his negative traits, like Mayuzumi for Komikado.
Secondly, the single storylines are amusing and you can never guess how they will end, even if the point of the show is supposed to be Komikado-sensei never failing to win. They become more unexpected as the show progresses. It's never so easy to win.
Lastly, the ost is a good one, especially the phrase "Legal High!" that is used in the most glorious moments of the show and at the end of the episode. I can't really describe how, but its rock feel really fits the tone of the show.

There would be a lot more things to talk about, but long story short, watch this. It won't disappoint you.

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The most adorable love story or a detective drama?

I found this series thanks to the recommendations here on MyDramaList. Therefore I haven't read the novel it originates from or the manga. At first, what made me continue to watch the series was the fun atmosphere and the witty mystery solving. However, as the series went on, an incredibly adorable "love story" began. I won't say to what extent it went. You will find it out by watching the series (please note the " " ;) ). I can tell you that the best thing about this series, at least in my opinion, is acting, especially of the main characters. They indeed welcomed you to a wonderful adventure. Thus, I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves both detective and romantic series.

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This review contains spoilers for episode 2 towards the end.

After seeing episode one:
"Sometimes the best teachers are the ones who appear strict or have unusual obsessions, but have something important to teach. This is what I've understood by watching this episode. It might be different for the other people, but this is what caught my eye the most. Looking forward to the next episode and another life lesson."

After viewing the final episode, I can add that a teacher should also help you to acknowledge your mistakes, to stand up and start again. It is the duty of a teacher, and many forget that.
The characters were portrayed in a way that made the viewer relate with them, which is crucial in a movie that wants to be didactic.
This show is worth watching, because of the life lessons it teaches, and because it gives a good insight into the life of a Japanese future police officer.

From here, spoilers from episode 2.


I liked the idea not to fully unveil Mr Kazuma's past, as it makes him appear more mysterious, and perhaps even because it is not so important after all. It was also interesting to see that all the students we followed had some flaws, but managed to fix them in the end.

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Great just as the first one, if not better!

Now that I've watched the second movie of the series as well, I'm going to review it for you. For your information, this movie contains the ending to the original manga, so it is not mandatory to watch past this one. Even though, if you enjoyed this series, I recommend you to watch the other movies or the anime, or read the manga. First of all, I read the original manga, and there were sadly a few differences, notably the fact that an arc of the manga is missing. The story still works and it doesn't completely feel like something is missing, unless of course you've read the manga or watched the anime. Apart from this and the usual cosmetic differences found in the first movie as well, we can say that this movie was exceptionally done. It strangely looks like all the actors improved their acting during this movie, as they all seem more believable. Especially Light/Raito becomes particularly better in this one. Despite the increased length compared to the first movie, it still remains particularly easy to follow the events, and so many things happen that you'll never be bored once. Definitely worth the time! I watched this with my dad, who had never watched or read this, and he enjoyed it as well. Long story short, watch this and you won't regret it.

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