Zíza

I love the way this writer can hit the mark. Almost as if by accident, her characters directly and indirectly criticize the setting of society. At the same time, it doesn't go into some drama, it's just the characters going through their lives and the environment affecting them at various stages. Anyway, for me, a cool sequel to NigeHaji that also reflected the craziness of 2020 in its second half. It was even more of a closer theme for me, having lived through something similar myself. In some ways worse, in some ways better. So for me it was highly personal to watch, truthful, and I could totally relate to everyone. Not to mention that COVID, a thing that affected all of our lives, starts in the second part and isn't presented in a particularly draconian way in the special. No madness. Just sort of an intervention in ordinary life. I found the subject matter very sensitively presented. Just like that; for me it was almost like I was partly watching my own experiences, so I'm adding an extra star; if I were to rate it "objectively" it would be a 4. After all, it's still a good Nogi Akiko, a quality cast, fitting music, and a story that has an idea.

Takahashi Issei in a decent role as the gifted mangaka Kishibe Rohan from the world of JoJo. Three enjoyable episodes, unpretentious but full of Takahashi and his interesting acting. I liked the character of Rohan very much because he was very human. He had his quirks and supernatural power to read people like in the book, but at the same time his character had depth. He wasn't just a cold genius suddenly possessed by a savior complex. No, he wasn't at all. It was always stirring inside him – childish curiosity, elderly awareness, adult reasoning. Yes, and the boy was very entertaining. It's nothing groundbreaking but it certainly has the potential to entertain, amuse, and satiate.

It took me half a year, maybe nine months, to finish this series. It's not bad in the basics, not to mention Kimura's perfect acting (she’s just got it down pat), but the story didn't grab me enough to make me want to finish it right away and quickly. Or to see how it turns out. Because I didn't really care. I didn't care about the characters. I mean, each one was different, and the actors really tried, but it left me emotionally cold, maybe even hungry. Yes, there were about two moments that I liked and that somehow moved me, but that was it. I didn't care how they turned out. Plus, this food was completely foreign to me, I didn't find it tasty, aesthetically pleasing at most. It also sticks to the classic cliché, the good guy badass and genius in the lead role, then the omnivorous enemies who will undermine the Grand Maison Tókyo restaurant, all thankfully totally devoid of romance. That would have made the oddly tense story unbearable. If you like French cuisine... check it out. Ditto for liking Kimura Takuji. But other than that, there are better competitive series from a work (kitchen) environment.