Nigakute Amai (Bittersweet)

Movie: Bittersweet
Romaji: Nigakute Amai
Japanese: にがくてあまい
Director: Shogo Kusano
Writer: Yumio Kobayashi (manga), Tomohiro Otoshi
Producer: Yoshihisa Yamashita, Yuichi Shibahara
Cinematographer: Takashi Komatsu
Release Date: September 10, 2016
Runtime: 96 min.
Genre: Romantic-Comedy / Based on a Comic / Food
Distributor: Elephant House
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot
Maki Eda (Haruna Kawaguchi) works for an advertising agency at a large company. She is a single and doesn't have good luck with men. She also isn't very good at cooking and likes eating junk food. One day, she meets Nagisa Katayama (Kento Hayashi). He is an art teacher and a vegetarian. Unlike Maki, Nagisa cooks very well. The two people then happen to live together. Maki realizes that she is in love with Nagisa, but Nagisa is gay. Through his cooking, they solve their own problems and become important to each other.

Cast
Haruna Kawaguchi
Kento Hayashi
Yasushi Fuchikami
Hiyori Sakurada
Mackenyu
SU
Hideo Nakano
Mako Ishino

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Chef ~Mitsuboshi no Kyushoku~

Title: Chef

Tagline: 三ツ星の給食 / Mitsuboshi no Kyushoku

Format: Renzoku

Genre: Food

Episodes: 10

Viewership ratings: 7.02%

Broadcast network: Fuji TV

Broadcast period: 2016-Oct-13 to 2016-Dec-15

Air time: Thursday 22:00

Theme song: Smile for Me by Matsutoya Yumi

Synopsis

Hoshino Mitsuko is the talented three-star chef of famous French restaurant, La Cuisine de La reine, in Ginza, Tokyo. She has drawn attention not just from Japan but also the world for the new recipes she continuously conceives with her delicate palate and unrivalled creativity. Gourmands around the world visit the restaurant for her cuisine and there is a three-year wait for reservations. Mitsuko has absolute confidence that there is no one in this world who will not finish her food. But one day, trouble occurs between Mitsuko and the restaurant owner Shinoda Shogo and she is fired. She has difficulty finding a new restaurant due to Shinoda’s interference and her over-inflated pride, and ends up creating school lunches for a popular variety program by the hotshot producer Yaguchi Saki. It was believed to be something easy for Mitsuko, but she meets many obstacles and keeps failing. Moreover, this is aired on TV and made known to the world. Even so, Mitsuko does not give up and starts to create school lunches in order to hear children say her food is delicious and also regain her lost stars. 

Cast

Amami Yuki as Hoshino Mitsuko

Koizumi Kotaro as Shinoda Shogo

Kawaguchi Haruna as Takayama Haruko

Tomochika as Yaguchi Saki

Endo Kenichi as Araki Heisuke

Mitsuba Elementary School

Arakawa Yoshiyoshi as Komatsu Minoru

Ikeda Narushi as Hidaka Masataka

Ichikawa Shinpei (市川しんぺー) as Baba Shouichi

Ito Shuko (伊藤修子) as Inohara Toshiko

La Cuisine de La reine

Toyohara Kosuke as Okudera Kenji

Kikuchi Kinya as Naganuma Seiichi

Others

Harukaze Hitomi as Bandou Tamae

Horiguchi Hikaru (堀口ひかる) as Ogata Satomi

Uebayashi Takahisa (上林尊久) as Sudo Atsushi

Ichihara Karen as Uehara Nozomi

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Otoko Meshi

Title: 侠飯～おとこめし～
Title (romaji): Otoko Meshi
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Drama, food
Viewership ratings: 2.45%
Episodes: 10
Broadcast network: TV Tokyo
Broadcast period: 2016-Jul-15 to 2016-Sep-23
Air time: Friday 24:12

Synopsis
University student Wakamizu Ryota (Emoto Tokio), who is the middle of job hunting, gets caught up in a sudden gang dispute. Ryota’s life is saved by Yanagiba Ryuichi (Namase Katsuhisa), the boss of Yanagiba-gumi, and Ryota for some reason ends up harbouring Yanagiba in his own home. Ignoring Ryota who wants him to leave immediately, Yanagiba uses the leftover food in the fridge and starts to prepare a meal without asking. However, the meal is surprisingly delicious despite the leftovers that did not seem possible to combine. This is the beginning of a bizarre communal life connected by meals for a gangster and a university student. -MyDramaList-

Cast
Namase Katsuhisa as Yanagiba Ryuichi
Emoto Tokio as Wakamizu Ryota
Uchida Rio as Yuki Haruna
Takahata Yuta (高畑裕太) as Yonekura Shinya (ep1-5)
Tozuka Junki as Shionoya Yosuke
Kinoshita Takayuki (木下隆行) as Ushio
Kimoto Takehiro (木本武宏) as Toriyama
Miura Masaki as Hino Joji

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Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san

Title: ラーメン大好き小泉さん
Title (romaji): Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san
Also known as: Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Information drama, food
Episodes: 4
Broadcast network: Fuji TV
Broadcast period: 2015-Jun-27 to 2015-Jul-18
Air time: Saturday 23:40
Theme song: Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta by Kobushi Factory

Synopsis
Koizumi, a cool, beautiful university student of few words, is in fact a ramen expert who seeks and tries out delicious ramen with gusto every day. -- Jdrama Weblog

Cast
Hayami Akari as Koizumi
Miyama Karen as Osawa Yu
Furuhata Seika as Nakamura Misa
Ono Yutaka (小野ゆたか)
Tanaka Hideki (田中英樹)
Muramatsu Toshifumi

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Tenno no Ryoriban

Drama: The Emperor's Cook
Romaji: Tenno no Ryoriban
Japanese: 天皇の料理番
Director: Yuichiro Hirakawa, Shingo Okamoto
Writer: Hisahide Sugimori (novel), Yoshiko Morishita
Network: TBS
Episodes: 10
Release Date: April 26, 2015 --
Runtime: Sundays 21:00
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Plot
Tokuzo Akiyama (Takeru Sato) is a young man living in a rural area. One day, he eats cutlet. That experience leads him to become a cook for western style food. He first goes to Tokyo and then Paris, France to learn about the culinary arts. Fighting against discrimination and prejudice, he becomes a chef at the Hotel Ritz in Paris, France. At the age of 26, he becomes the chef for the Emperor of Japan.

Cast
Takeru Sato
Haru Kuroki
Kenta Kiritani
Tasuku Emoto
Sei Ashina
Ryu Morioka
Kazuta Sato
Ryohei Suzuki
Tetsuya Takeda
Hideaki Ito

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Nobunaga no Chef 2

Title: 信長のシェフ
Title (romaji): Nobunaga no Shefu 2
Title (English): A Chef of Nobunaga 2
Format: Renzoku
Broadcast network: TV Asahi

Synopsis
French chef Ken, who went back in time to the Sengoku period and became the personal chef of Oda Nobunaga, has regained a part of his lost memory. He learnt the way to return to the present with the help of Akechi Mitsuhide but did not go back and chose to live as Nobunaga’s chef. Nobunaga’s biggest and strongest enemy, the warlord Takeda Shingen and Nobunaga’s official wife Nouhime appears, heralding ups and downs in the relationship of trust between Nobunaga and Ken. And will Mitsuhide cause the Honnoji Incident? --jdramas wordpress--

Cast
Tamamori Yuta as Ken
Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Oda Nobunaga
Shida Mirai as Natsu
Kashii Yu as Nazo no Onna
Gori as Kinoshita Tokichiro Hideyoshi
Ashina Sei as Kaede
Ukaji Takashi as Mori Yoshinari
Cunning Takeyama as Tokugawa Ieyasu
Masana Bokuzo as Ashikaga Yoshiaki
Inagaki Goro as Akechi Mitsuhide
Nagase Ren as Mori Ranmaru
Kitaro as Head Chef Inoue
Kaku Kento as Takeda Katsuyori
Sasaki Nozomi as Karen (ep 1)

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Mi wo Tsukushi Ryoricho 2014

Title: みをつくし料理帖
Title (romaji): Mi wo Tsukushi Ryoricho
Also known as: Devoted Cookbook
Format: Tanpatsu
Genre: Food, Jidaigeki
Broadcast network: TV Asahi
Broadcast date: 2014-Jun-08
Air time: Sunday 21:00

Synopsis

It is the Spring of 1814. The restaurant "Tsuru-ka" is gaining much popularity after its chef, Mio, won the prestigious cooking competition. One day, the owner of "Tsuru-ka", Taneichi, employed young Fuki to be the attendant for customers' shoes. Mio could fully empathize with young Fuki, who was an orphan and yet was courageous enough to survive on her own. Around the same time, the famous novelist Seiemon started coming to "Tsuru-ka". Even though Seiemon criticized Mio's cooking each time, he always returned to the restaurant daily. Remembering the words spoken by the samurais that had last seen Komatsubara, "Tokei no Ma", Mio was very tempted to ask Seiemon the meaning of the words!
Meantime, "Tsuru-ka"'s rival restaurant, "Toryuro" was always serving food that was similar to Mio's latest creation. Even before Mio had a chance to offer them on "Tsuru-ka"'s menu. It happened repeatedly, which left Mio puzzled and troubled by it all. To add to her worries, Mio heard from Mataji that her dear childhood friend, Noe, who is one of the top oiran (prostitutes) in Yoshiwara (red-light district of Edo), was injured while trying to protect another prostitute from being slashed by a patron. Mio's despair at not having been able to help Noe escape her fate at Yoshiwara all those years ago, threatened to overwhelm her completely. Especially since her fellow housemate, O-Ryo's son was strickened by the life-threatening measles at the same time...

Cast

Kitagawa Keiko as Mio
Harada Mieko as Yoshi
Kanjiya Shihori as Tayuo / Noe
Hiraoka Yuta as Nagata Kenchi
Takahashi Issei as Mataji
Muroi Shigeru as O-Ryo
Kataoka Tsurutaro as Seiemon
Osugi Ren as Taneichi
Matsuoka Masahiro as Komatsubara
Ishii Momoka as Fuki

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Nobunaga no Chef

(3 DVD)

Title: 信長のシェフ
Title (romaji): Nobunaga no Shefu
Title (English): A Chef of Nobunaga
Format: Renzoku
Episodes: 9
Viewership rating: 10.8
Broadcast network: TV Asahi
Broadcast period: 2013-Jan-11 to Mar-15
Air time: Friday 23:15
Subtitles : English
Theme song: My Resistance - Tashikana Mono by Kis-My-Ft2

Synopsis

Based on the manga by Nishimura Mitsuru and Kajikawa Takuro, this drama is about time travel. A chef by the name of Ken, somehow manages to go back in time to the Sengoku period. However, he loses his memory in the process. He is thought to be a spy, and in his haste to escape capture, he dives into the river. He is saved by Natsu, a swordsmith. He doesn't remember his own past, or the fact that he came from the future, but he remembers cooking well. He is soon recruited by Oda Nobunaga to be his Head Chef. --TV Asahi

Cast

Tamamori Yuta as Ken
Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Oda Nobunaga
Shida Mirai as Natsu
Kashii Yu as Nazo no Onna
Gori as Kinoshita Tokichiro Hideyoshi
Ashina Sei as Kaede
Ukaji Takashi as Mori Yoshinari
Cunning Takeyama as Tokugawa Ieyasu
Masana Bokuzo as Ashikaga Yoshiaki
Inagaki Goro as Akechi Mitsuhide
Nagase Ren as Mori Ranmaru
Kitaro as Head Chef Inoue

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Mi wo Tsukushi Ryoricho

(1 DVD)

Title: みをつくし料理帖
Title (romaji): Mi wo Tsukushi Ryoricho
Also known as: Devoted Cookbook
Format: Tanpatsu
Genre: Food, jidaigeki
Viewership rating: 12.6%
Broadcast network: TV Asahi
Broadcast date: 2012-Sep-22
Air time: Saturday 21:00

Synopsis

Mio, a girl without any relatives, who crosses over from Osaka to Edo, and grows to adulthood as a cook and as a person while overcoming various difficulties. - Kitagawa Keiko's blog

Cast

Kitagawa Keiko as Mio
Matsuoka Masahiro
Hiraoka Yuta
Kanjiya Shihori
Osugi Ren
Harada Mieko
Muroi Shigeru
Kobayashi Seiran
Tani Kanon

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Hungry!

3 DVD

Title: Hungry!
Also Known As: ハングリー！ / Hungry! / Hangurii!
Genre: Food, Romance, Drama
Network: Fuji TV
Episodes: 11
Release Date: 10 January 2012 start
Air time (JST): Tuesday 22:00
Subtitles: English

Synopsis
Mukai is taking on the role of Eisuke, a former bassist of a rock band who gave up his music dreams to carry on the tradition of his family’s French restaurant. The show will involve a love triangle as Kuninaka and Takimoto play rivals for Eisuke’s heart.

Kuninaka has been cast as Eisuke’s older girlfriend Maria, who works at a bank. She is shocked to learn that Mukai has abandoned his music to devote himself to the restaurant, leading her to uncertainty about their relationship. Takimoto’s character is a 20-year-old college student named Chie who comes from a farming family. Although she initially had a bad impression of Eisuke, she begins to develop feelings for him after tasting his cooking.

SMAP’s Inagaki will play Tokio, the owner of a competing French restaurant. In the past, he was fond of the restaurant that Eisuke’s mother ran, but after she passed away, he deceived Eisuke’s father and bought out the restaurant’s chefs and staff. Knowing of Eisuke’s ability as a chef, Tokio views him as a rival.

Eisuke’s friends, who were part of his band ROCKHEAD, are being played by Tsukamoto (guitarist) and Miura (vocalist). Both of them help Eisuke with his restaurant.

Cast
Mukai Osamu as Yamate Eisuke
Takimoto Miori as Okusu Chie
Kuninaka Ryoko as Tachibana Maria
Tsukamoto Takashi as Sumiyoshi Kenta
Miura Shohei as Hiratsuka Taku
Kawabata Kaname (川畑要) as Fujisawa Tsuyoshi
Sato Shori (佐藤勝利) as Okusu Sasuke
Inagaki Goro as Aso Tokio
Suzuki Sawa as Shirayama Yuki
Katagiri Hairi as Ebina Chikako
Miyaji Mao as Izumi Kana
Ishiguro Hideo as Kashiwagi Ippei
Tayama Ryosei as Higashi Norio
Hayashi Tantan as Totsuka An
Yamashita Rio as Takagi Nana
Hashimoto Jun as Okusu Yoshiaki
Katahira Nagisa as Yamate Hanako
Osugi Ren as Yamate Taro

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Koukousei Restaurant

(9EPISODE, 2DVD)

Title: Koukousei Restaurant
Also Known As: 高校生レストラン / High School Restaurant
Genre: Drama
Network: NTV
Episodes: 9
Release Date: May 7, 2011
Air time (JST): Saturdays 21:00-21:54
Language: Japanese
Subtitles: English

Synopsis
Muraki Shingo of Itamae, a top Ginza restaurant, becomes a substitute teacher at Aikawa High School in his hometown of Mie Prefecture at the request of his childhood friend, Kishino Hiroshi, a town hall employee. Kishino intends to open a “High School Restaurant” to revitalise the town, and has asked Shingo to teach cooking. There are about 30 people in the culinary club. Among them are Sakamoto Yosuke, a third-year student who is respected by the club’s members and whose family runs a restaurant that sells set menus, and Yonemoto Mai, second-year student who adores him. When Shingo visits the kitchen, the members are making hamburgers and crepes as they please. However, the floor is dirty and ingredients are being used wastefully, as if it were a school festival. Seeing that, Shingo barely offers a greeting as he first points out that Yosuke’s tempura is no good. He also scolds the members harshly. “First, we’ll clean up. Those who find it a turnoff can leave, but in that case, you don’t have to come from tomorrow.” Students start to walk out in the face of Shingo’s attitude, and only 18 remain, including Yosuke and Mai. After the cleaning, Yosuke asks Shingo for the reason why his tempura is not good. Shingo’s answer is a surprise. “You’re left-handed. Get accustomed to using both the kitchen knife and cooking chopsticks with your right hand.” “I don’t know, but that teacher is genuine.” Yosuke reflects and decides to follow Shingo. They are to hold a rehearsal for the opening on one Saturday. The menu that Shingo has set is a grated yam rice bowl using Ise yam, a local specialty. Yosuke is ordered to prepare the stock according to Shingo’s instructions. Then, the day of the rehearsal comes. An incident occurs which causes a definite rift between Shingo and the members!

Cast
Masahiro Matsuoka - Shingo Muraki
Kazue Fukiishi - Haruka Muraki
Ryunosuke Kamiki - Yosuke Sakamoto
Umika Kawashima - Mai Yonemoto
Yuka Itaya - Ayaka Yoshizaki
Hideaki Ito - Hiroshi Kishino
Yoshio Harada - Sadamu Muraki

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