"Tokyo Hotel" is the only Japanese drama I have watched in recent years. It is really good to watch. There are 11 episodes in total, each episode is about an hour. When I watched it, it was basically five episodes a day. It's the happiest drama I've ever watched. I'm still not sa

The pastry chef Moe-chan is really cute.

" Tokyo Grand Hotel " is the only Japanese drama I have watched in recent years. It is really good to watch. There are 11 episodes in total, each episode is about an hour. When I watched it myself, it was basically five episodes a day, which is my most recent TV series. It's the most enjoyable drama I've watched in years. I'm still not satisfied with it after watching it. I really hope it gets another two seasons. It's really good.

Imagine that you are curled up on the sofa and watching a drama comfortably on a gloomy day off. "Tokyo Hotel" is such an excellent choice. It is the kind of movie that you will not feel uncomfortable even if you watch it all day long. It is a tired drama, it is very simple, and it allows the audience to have no burden. It can even make people temporarily forget about the trivialities and worries of life, and enjoy the happiness brought to you by the food and human kindness in the drama. The whole drama has a relaxed and happy rhythm, full of positive energy, which is both touching and exciting. Even the conspiracy plot is just like a bitter taste of chocolate. It will definitely make you enjoy "Tokyo Grand Hotel" as a solitary pastime to spend your rest days. Have a nice and comfortable weekend. For me, it is more than that. It brings me a lot of feelings, and it reminds me of the innocent touch I had in my childhood after a long absence.

Appetizer-Sea Urchin French Bread

For a very strange reason, I have been avoiding Japanese cultural works these years. In my heart, I feel that Japanese cultural works are full of the kind of dark and oppressive gloom and no lower limit. I don’t want to get in touch with it. I can’t remember the reason. Maybe I watched a certain work. It’s a bit unbelievable when I think about it now, but life is sometimes full of these nonsensical prejudices and obsessions. Until last year, starting from "Shoplifters", I began to pick up the beauty of Japanese cultural works again, to Satoshi Kon's "Red Hot Chili Pepper", Dazai Osamu 's "Disqualified" and Kon Yi Aya's "Ghost", and then to "Tokyo Hotel" made me fall in love with Japanese cultural works again, and I fell into the warm embrace of Japanese culture. Compared with Western culture, the emotions of Eastern culture are more deeply rooted in my bones. "Tokyo Hotel" moved me more than "Westworld", the first drama in recent years, because it brought me not just cold reflection, but a kind of living warmth. The two works are more like rationality and A representative of sensibility, and this sensibility is unique to us Orientals.

Stuffed fish and white meat cold plate

Braised long-arm shrimp soup

Veal thyme couscous salad

Pork blood sausage tart

"Tokyo Grand Hotel" is a very traditional hot-blooded drama, and it is more like a gathering of us The collection of traditional advantages of familiar Japanese animation or film and television works will make me think "ah, it's still a familiar formula", but it makes good use of these familiar old routines or elements, "the ingredients are still the same." A few ingredients, but really delicious." At the same time, it made me feel that there is a sentiment of the times in it. Both the character setting and the plot are Japanese routines that are good at it. Unlike Hollywood, it conveys the "heart" to the audience very well, rather than the technical products produced by Western industrial production lines, which have different appearances but the central idea and story structure The sameness may just be because I am personally tired of the "special effects industry". However, I can responsibly say that "Tokyo Grand Hotel" is the most interesting of all the food-related works I have seen that mention Michelin (except for documentaries).

"Tokyo Hotel" is full of emotions from beginning to end, interspersed with many clever and natural laughs from time to time. It looks more like an animation work. When I watch it, I always have the illusion of watching Japanese animation. This is not a derogatory meaning, but the happiness of seeing excellent animation works, the surging emotions of being involved in them, but it also has sufficient rationality and logic. This sublimates it and allows "Tokyo Hotel" to use so many traditional elements (blood, bonds, dreams, etc.) while also being based on reality to a certain extent.

The so-called chef has to talk about cooking.

As a food drama, it certainly has the fine tradition of "nothing can't be solved by eating", but it is not as fantastic and exaggerated as "The Little Master of China". The protagonist Ohana "goes her own way" and gambles many times with cooking, but there is almost nothing unconvincing about it, because all the characters involved in the play, from the legendary game hunter to the revengeful female sommelier, are basically "Insiders", this entire story line takes place within their own circle, which allows many points that should be contradictory to be justified and eliminates the bloody and irrelevant plots that are prone to appear in such works. , making transitions and turnings smoother. This has always been one of the biggest taboos in live-action dramas. There is often only a little twist and foreshadowing between the bloody and the good. If the bloody is a right-angled line, then it will stand up A tasteful plot is an arc.

The play uses a lot of ink to pave the way for these characters, all of whom are passionate about cooking. Among them, the plot of the female sommelier is the most clever. It not only focuses on wine as a guest, but also sets off the relationship between sommeliers and wine. The status of French cuisine also resolves the contradiction in "human relations". Even if there are some exceptions for some characters, they are very close to the "insiders", and the emotions conveyed in the dishes can definitely be felt through the eyes and ears.

Main dish - Grilled Grouper

The character setting in the drama is traditional and somewhat cliched. The stubborn and tough-tongued protagonist has many quirks (gnawing leaves, never saying it's delicious but raising his head, crossing his chest with his hands). Under the arm, all of them cleverly and space-savingly shape the personality of the protagonist), the rational and considerate second male lead, the opponent who is like a "cooking idiot" with superb alternative skills, the enthusiastic newcomer who is as mentally retarded, etc. They are all settings we are familiar with, but they still exude the vitality of life in this era. The quality and importance of the script are often reflected from these places. In fact, this combined model, in which each character has different abilities, is known to old viewers and is generally good. Whether it is "Seven Samurai", "Seven Samurai" or the most classic "Ocean's Eleven", this routine is , it is often easier and smoother to advance the plot in this mode, and it is also easier to shape the bond between characters and convey emotions to the audience.

You look down on people who talk about their ideals seriously, and I don’t want you in my kitchen.

The traditional setting can be dynamic because of the contributions of the actors. Compared with Ohana played by Kimura Takuza, Renko played by Suzuki Kyoka made my eyes shine even more. The pursuit of this fifty-year-old girl-like aunt The dream story moved me deeply. The play begins with an interview where Renzi gives a passionate speech. In fact, this part is quite embarrassing, but Suzuki Kyoka's wonderful and emotional performance makes her seem so harmonious that she doesn't feel nauseous at all, and even convinced me to believe her. Dreams, pursue dreams with her, this kind of appeal is a rare strength of an actor. Later, when she ate the dishes made by Ohana under the backlight of dusk and cried, I knew she would cry but was still moved by her. She was not only because of the delicious food, but also because of her love for food, because of herself and the master. Because of the sadness of my past efforts, all these emotions were mixed into this dish and passed on to the audience when they took the first bite. This is absolutely different from the thin plot of crying just to show the deliciousness. Although on different levels, every time after she ate delicious food and was so happy that she almost cried, her performance was so natural and sincere. This is my first time watching Suzuki Kyoka's play, but I really want to say that she is a good actor and her performance is so wonderful. I think this is one of the important reasons for the success of "Tokyo Hotel". The actors it configures are all very good.

Alternate main course - instant grilled tuna

"Tokyo Grand Hotel" is technically not very rigorous and professional. There are not many theories mentioned and it is relatively simple. However, each dish will give a list of ingredients. In the miso soup A slice of lemon, a little grapefruit zest in the meat and vegetable aromatic rice, similar "little tricks" very cleverly give the food a flavor that can be perceived by the audience, but I don't know French food myself, so I can't go there. This review is based on my experience as a part-time Japanese chef. In addition, the postures of the actors when cooking are quite standard and beautiful, especially the movements with the knife, which are quite beautiful and have a sense of power with the knife. It is indeed a pleasure to watch the characters cooking.

However, in food dramas, the most important thing is the presentation of the food through the camera. I personally feel that the overall handling of the food scenes in "Tokyo Grand Hotel" is not very eye-catching. I think the most exciting part is when eating. The few seconds of super close-up shots, the moment when the knife and fork fall on the food are very dynamic, and there is also a time-lapse shot of the cooking process. The dynamic beauty of the food maturation process is really incomparable. It can be seen that The food is all shot in kind, and a lot of effort has been put into it. No matter how advanced the special effects are, it cannot replace the simplicity and weight of the real thing. Coupled with the bright but not overdone colors, the food in "Tokyo Grand Hotel" has a sense of authenticity. It has vitality and exudes a sense of edible reality, which can make the audience believe that these dishes are not exhibits. They are not as academic as in "A Bite of China", nor are they overly fancy as in "The Battle of the God of Cookery". Vain.

The calm waiter greets the guests with a moderate sense of distance, leads them to their seats, and then captures the guests' hearts with surprise appetizers and chilled champagne, allowing them to put aside the busy world and enjoy the various dishes created by the chef. The appetizers are paired with the red wine selected by the sommelier to make a fierce attack, then the seafood dishes make the guests forgetful, and the main courses that condense their efforts are used to attack their psychological defenses, and then the desserts make the guests dreamlike. At the end, the chef will ask "How does it taste?" and enjoy the moment with the guests.

I really feel this process. I don’t know if it’s due to the actors’ excellent and smooth performances, or to the purposeful and clever setting of each dish. While watching the show, I really felt the hard work put into these dishes and the emotions poured into them by the chefs. , although I didn’t eat these dishes and don’t know how delicious they are, but the feelings were truly conveyed to me. This is the first time I have felt the “hard work” of others in a cooking work other than documentaries. Taste, this cannot be achieved by appearance alone. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I love "Tokyo Hotel" so much. It truly combines the cuisine (that is, the theme) and the show itself into one.

Turtle Dove Half Crispy Pie

Although "Tokyo Grand Hotel" is a story about winning Michelin stars with the theme of French food, it actually reflects Japanese culture everywhere. This is what I admire about Japanese cultural works. They can always combine We absorb other cultures and integrate them into our own cultural elements, whether it is "Dragon Ball" or "Batman Ninja". This is also the most worthy of our own learning. It can be said that "Tokyo Grand Hotel" is a Japanese-style "hot-blooded adventure" story based on French food, but the adventures of the characters are not in the physical sense, but the continuous exploration and advancement in this world of food, and at the same time Gain growth in yourself and others.

The possibilities are endless with French cuisine.

Everyone in the restaurant goes all out to create French food, but all the food that appears in life is basically a variety of Japanese food, which is also a major attraction. French food presents high-end and elegance. Japanese food gives the audience simplicity and intimacy. It gives the audience room to adjust in terms of plot, emotion, and visuals. It complements each other without overpowering the guest. This kind of seamless switching without any flaws is really amazing. It gets rid of the food movie or blindly smashing it. In the end, it is a situation where all kinds of flavors are overwhelming. In fact, food movies are a subject that needs more balance. It is very false to only highlight "beauty" instead of "food". Although the Japanese food does not occupy as much space as the protagonist's French food, it seems to be more attractive to me. I don't know if this is a small thought of the director and screenwriter.

Of course I want to eat Japanese food now that I’m back in Japan.

After Ohana and her team returned to Japan, they took advantage of the trend and used excellent local ingredients in Japan to create creations. Various markets and ingredients, intentionally or unintentionally, showed the audience Japanese culture and customs. Ohana’s dream is to bring the world to the world Excellent ingredients are integrated into French food. It is said to be French food, but the cultural inclusiveness reflected is indeed worthy of our thinking, especially in the field of cultural works. Only by absorbing others while maintaining our own position can we have a chance. Seeing a hundred flowers blooming, I am not trying to reach a higher level. I just want to see more works from different cultures. It is too boring to have only one cultural form popular. Just like Aizawa's localization of French food when he returned to Japan as a food podcaster, "Tokyo Grand Hotel" was indeed very successful. Ohana shouted that "Japan's fish and seafood are the best in the world", although A bit bragging, this kind of cultural confidence is very contagious and admirable, and people have to be attracted to it.

Dessert - Anjou Protein Cream Cake

I can't help but think, apart from excellent creativity, what is it about Japanese cultural works that attracts us and makes me have such a high enthusiasm to watch this Japanese film with French cuisine? I don't have a definite answer to whether it's just their attitude toward things or their very different lifestyles.

It can be said that our two generations grew up watching Japanese animation and being impacted by Japanese culture. In my childhood, I had "Inuyasha", "Pokemon", "Digimon", "Dragon Ball", and "" "Ultraman ", "Saint Seiya" and other countless excellent animation and special photography works, and "Fullmetal Alchemist" and "EVA" were only exposed to me when I grew up. Until now, I think "Fullmetal Alchemist" and "EVA" "Fullmetal Alchemist" is the world's most outstanding animation work. Most of the games we play are also from Japanese manufacturers or producers. Japanese cultural works undoubtedly have a profound influence on us, but unlike the impact of American culture on us, Japan Food has not been as deeply integrated into our lives as American fast food. The impact of Japanese culture on us seems to be more emotional. Their way of thinking is strange. A company like Nintendo will never find another one. .

Although I can't clearly describe what Japanese culture is, I can always clearly remember the emotional impact and touch, the innocence and simplicity of dreaming, and the rush to move forward in order to achieve the goal, no matter how many times I was beaten to death. The passion of never giving up, the determination to protect friends and lovers at all costs, and the laughter and fun that can only be created by those unique brain circuits.The earliest works that made me feel these are "Inuyasha" and "Digimon". "Inuyasha" can even be said to be my love enlightenment. I believe that many people will still be moved even if they hear the familiar BGM of "Digimon". , these emotional impacts leave a mark on a period of our lives, but as we grow up, these emotions become "middle-level", some are difficult and unreasonable, and we can experience them just like we did in childhood. We have very few embarrassing sincere emotions left, which is why I said at the beginning that "Tokyo Hotel" touched me as if I had traveled back to my childhood. It managed to transform these precious emotions into something more realistic and less "secondary". "The performance is performed in a way that gives the audience a sense of adult emotion. This emotion has the power to awaken our passion for life and dreams.

Compared with those French meals, this simple breakfast explained by Ohana herself is more attractive to me.

I think people who have watched it will understand that this breakfast scene is enough to describe the charm of Japanese cultural works. The characters' daily life and various Japanese meals are presented to compete with French meals. There is more intimacy. This intimacy is not mine, it is conveyed to me by the characters. In addition, I recommend that all viewers who have finished the game go back and watch the first episode again, especially the scene where Renzi eats Ohana's food at sunset, which will have a different taste.