Midnight Diner (2009)
深夜食堂
aka Shinya Shokudō · 심야식당 · Shinya Shokudo · Ночной ресторан
Set in a small restaurant in the corner of a shopping district. The unusual eatery is only open after midnight, and its standard menu consists of just a single choice. However, the customers still come for the amusing chatter and the proprietor's willingness to cook any dish that they request. This drama depicts the lives of the restaurant's patrons, including a yakuza, an unsuccessful actor, a group of office ladies, a newspaper delivery boy, and a stripper.
Cast
Episodes
Summary
The stern-faced master of this diner only wields his knife from midnight to 7 am. The yakuza Ryu has been a regular since he tasted the “red wieners”.
Summary
Struggling singer Miyuki orders her favorite “nekomamma”. Master recalls another regular who is a lyricist. He later writes her a song as a gift.
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Miki, Rumi and Kana meet at the diner to eat “ochazuke” (hot tea over rice) and gab about men. Master secretly calls them the “ochazuke sisters.”
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Master starts each night by making potato and macaroni salad. A recent regular and charismatic porn star has become a fan of his potato salad.
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Komichi brings food critic Toyama to the diner, who kills the mood. Goro comes for his usual butter rice which turns Toyama into a weekly patron.
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Boxer Kacchan always eats katsudon (pork cutlet over rice) after a win. He falls in love with another regular Akemi. A big match suddenly comes up.
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Hopeful star Risa meets struggling student and newspaper delivery boy Nakajima at the diner. They share an egg sandwich together. Could this be love?
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Ex-idol Rinko visits the diner. Her former fan club members get excited when they hear she ate a plate of pan-fried noodles topped with a fried egg.
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Yachiyo, an older lady, visits the diner two days in a row. She becomes friends with Marilyn the stripper and they go out clubbing together.
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Gen, who usually comes with his “big bro” Ryu, is alone tonight when he orders ramen. He then stabs the leader of an opposing gang and disappears.
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Ryu the local gangster boss, Noguchi is a detective both coming from the same high school. A colleague from their past forces the two to set aside differences at least for the time being.
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An overworked young woman name keeps falling asleep at the diner. Master makes her a special drink. Her brother and another regular customer helped her to get rid of her abusive and parasitic boyfriend.
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A middle aged martial arts teacher and his elderly mother seem to constantly bicker and fight, but a traffic accident reveals the depth of her maternal relationship.
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A struggling food truck owner gets unexpected help from a young lady. They grow close, but her real profession could interfere with their plans.
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A group of young film makers producing a movie about a suicide at the same site bumps into a mysterious young woman, and can't shake the feeling she may be some ghostly reincarnation of the victim.
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An author with some writers block issue decides to solicit an escort for stress relief, but the chance meeting with her might be more than he bargained for.
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A young screenwriter has to live through a scandal after her affair with her producer is revealed.
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A bowl of cold noodles reminds a soon to retire detective of a fugitive that had eluded him his entire career. Could he possibly capture this elusive thief before they both retire?
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A hardworking young lady delivers a singing birthday telegram at the diner and winds up falling in love with one of the regular patrons. Could this really lead to a true romance?
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Katagiri, a lonely philosopher has shared history with the master in their past lives. A chance encounter with a gyoza delivery lady renews his desire for a brighter future.
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Widowed singer Misao Kashima makes a rare visit to eat minced meat cutlets. Misao has been unable to perform on stage ever since she lost her husband.
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Comic editor Uno brings up-and-coming award-winning artist Hashimoto to eat Master’s pork-wrapped tomatoes. He lives with a woman and writes comics.
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Private detectives Kei and Mamoru are drawn to the aroma of Master’s simmered taro and squid. They spend the night together after leaving the diner.
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Regular Komichi falls for Kasumi, whose past is unknown. She asks Master to make pickled ginger tempura, a taste familiar to people from Osaka.
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Miho and Sayuri, in charge of their elementary school reunion, order vermicelli salad. The two recall their old schoolmate who loved the dish.
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The weather is getting cooler so Master prepares extra stuffed cabbage to the regular customers’ delight. Only the stripper Marilyn feels differently.
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On Saturday mornings, Yoshio and wife Mizue come to eat clam soup. People refer to them as a close couple. Yoshio is actually Mizue’s third husband.
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”Do you have sautéed burdock?” asks stately Chizuru Ichikawa as she enters the diner. She is Gen’s former high school teacher, club adviser, and crush.
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Detectives Noguchi and Izumi always disagree. He wants “liver and chives”, she wants “chives and liver”. She tells Master she wants a new partner.
Summary
It’s New Year’s Eve. The regulars all come by to ring in the new year with Master’s soba noodles. The diner is always a special place for them.