#makanai

[tacilustra]

kiyo needs to reach her friend

[stuff-diary]

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House

TV Shows/Dramas watched in 2023

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (2023, Japan)

Directors: Hirokazu Kore-eda, Hiroshi Okuyama, Takuma Sato & Megumi Tsuno

Writers: Hirokazu Kore-eda, Takuma Sato, Megumi Tsuno & Mami Sunada

Mini-review:

I love Hirokazu Kore-eda's style, and you can feel his hand throughout the nine episodes, even if he worked with more people. This show is such a lovely, soothing and relaxing experience. Nothing much happens (it's a classic slice of life story), but if you enjoy its vibes, it never gets boring. Sure, maybe it could have used a doses or two of drama, but at the same time I feel like that would have shattered the peaceful atmosphere it carefully builds from the first episode. I do wish the show would have delved into the many controversies and problems that surround the maiko/geiko industry, specially considering Kore-eda has strongly supported the #MeToo movement within the Japanese film world, but, once again, I get that something like that would have gone against the whole point of the show.

Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling here. The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House is quite lovely and as well acted and sensitively written/directed as one could expect from Hirokazu Kore-eda. Also, make sure to watch it on a full stomach, cause there's a lot of delicious-looking food here that will certainly make you go hungry.

[redsamuraiii]

The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House (Ep2)

Sometimes when you fail at achieving your dreams, life is telling you that you are meant to achieve greatness elsewhere.

[iblamethenubbins]

My mum: been watching this Japanese show on Netflix about some Geisha students where nothing much happens, they just cook and talk about food all the time, it's very slow not sure if you'd like it

Me: sign me the fuck up

[forestal-ramblings]

I was in a bored slump , kinda a period where nothing interested me , but now I've discovered makanai and I'm loving it.

Everything is so pretty, the young maikos, kiyo and sumire's friendship.

The passing of the seasons and the absolutely delicious looking food.

The perfect show to watch and relax.

[kaiyonohime]

Me: I finished watching this series and have a great idea for a fic! I wonder what else has been written in the fandom.

Me checks ao3

Ao3: there is a single fanfiction written in this fandom

Me: oh no. Oh no! I need to correct this immediately. And write enough to get this fandom a tag!

So yeah, I like the sweet Makanai show from Netflix. It's cute. And sets itself up for some fanfiction quite well.

So I need to write it.

[missmyloko]

Review: The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House - Episode 1

I’ve been getting a TON of asks for me to review Maiko San Chi No Makanai San’s new live action adaptation, so now that I’ve had some time to finally sit down and watch it I can do just that! Episode 1: Change The show starts out in Aomori where Kiyo and Sumire are departing for Kyoto and are seen off by Kiyo’s grandmother and Kenta, their friend from school. This happens in the manga and the anime as well, but the show adds a line about Sumire’s parents not showing up because her father didn’t approve of her becoming a maiko. I honestly never questioned why Sumire’s parents were never at the station before, but that line actually makes the whole thing make sense now! Next we’re whisked off to Kyoto where, upon arriving in Gion Kobu, Kiyo and Sumire almost immediately run into maiko, who are played by none other than Mameaya of Ninben and Mami of Minoyae! On their way to their destination they spot even more maiko, who are Nanoha, Mameju, and Yuzuha of Tama! I really enjoyed the cameos and I bet the real maiko enjoyed playing themselves too. From there they meet the two okasan of the Saku yakata (the show uses the term yakata instead of okiya, so I’m also going to use the term yakata from now on), Azusa and Chiyo. This is a slight deviation from the manga and anime where there was only one okasan and they all just called her “okasan” instead of giving her an actual name. The girls then go to settle into their new digs when they’re confronted by one of the other girls who lives there, Ryoko, who quite rudely tells them that they’re not cut out for this and that they’ll quit soon enough (what a bitch :O!). It then skips ahead three months to the day where the yakata is changing out the sliding doors for summer, and the local otokoshi have come to help out. It’s here that we first get to meet the makanai of the Saku yakata, Sachiko. She’s a middle aged woman who’s brought ingredients to make everyone in the house some fresh somen noodles to cool everyone off on a hot day. It’s here that we’re first introduced to what a makanai is and Sachiko’s physical problems that ail her. After the lunch is over Kiyo tries to help massage Sachiko’s back, but things go awry when Sachiko ends up putting her back out when she tries to get up off the floor of the yakata. This spells the end of Sachiko’s time as the makanai for the Saku yakata. We then cut to lessons at the Nyokoba, where Kiyo isn’t exactly a master of flower arranging (her arrangement seems to just flop over), then to drum lessons where Kiyo can’t hold a beat to save her life, and then onto dance lessons where Kiyo just can’t keep up, to the point where she’s told to go sit off to the side by the dance teacher as she’s interrupting the lesson. Poor Kiyo is even reprimanded after the lesson and is made to question whether she should keep pursuing the career of a maiko or not. However, all Kiyo can think about during the exchange with the dance teacher is the teacher’s udon noodles (I’m guessing that they did this to show a pattern between Kiyo and food, but it did feel slightly odd). Sumire and Kiyo then walk home together and Sumire is clearly worried for her friend, but Kiyo just shrugs it off like the meeting with the dance teacher meant nothing at all.  Back at the yakata the maiko of the house are getting dressed and some explanation is given as to what they wear for certain months of the year. Kiyo’s clumsiness leads to Sumire taking over to help the otokoshi get the maiko dressed and following after the otokoshi to go help them dress a geiko called Momoko. In the manga and the anime Momoko is (spoiler) the onesan of Sumire once she debuts as a maiko, but we never actually meet her. Here she shows up in episode one, so we know that she’s meant to play an integral part in the show somehow going forward. Sumire follows Momoko around for the night like shikomi often do and is at one point rewarded by asking if she’d like to watch an ozashiki that Momoko will be performing at. It’s here that we can see Sumire’s passion for the profession as she watches Momoko dance and you just know that Sumire wants to dance like Momoko someday.    The next day, Kiyo goes to visit Sachiko in her apartment and cooks tomato curry for her, while Sachiko explains the secret to being a makanai: that you have to be able to cook something that will satisfy everyone’s taste buds since the residents of the yakata come from all over Japan and have grown up with different seasonings. Kiyo takes this to heart and returns to the yakata, where at night a mysterious phone call is answered by Chiyo and the episode ends.   So far I’ve really liked the show and while it’s taken some deviations from the manga and anime, it’s likely to explain them in the future, so I look forward to checking out the rest of the series ^^!    

[jdramablr]