User Reviews

This show is beautiful and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The main character is very likable and relatable. This isn't a cooking show or one where they rate places, no, it's more honest than that, more intimate. I sincerely have never watched anything as pure or relaxing. It can be a little over dramatic at times, acting wise, but i feel like it adds something instead of lowering it's value. Samurai Gourmet is very immersive and it will make you hungry, i recommend watching it while you eat. And even more, I recommend you watch it!

The stories surrounding each episode aren't particularly interesting but I couldn't help but smile during every episode as this 60 year old man sat down and ate a meal.

Samurai Gourmet is the story of a 60-year-old Japanese man, newly retired, and still figuring out what to do with all the time he now has on his hands. He explores a variety of different simple, local restaurants, and at each meal he encounters some kind of moral dilemma. For example, should he intervene when a chef is being rude to two young foreign customers? He is a cautious man and tends to keep himself to himself, but daydreams of a vigorous, wandering samurai from the middle ages – what would a samurai do in these circumstances? Each short episode tends to follow this format, so becomes a little predictable, yet it has sufficient charm to still be enjoyable. The main character Takeshi Kasumi, played by Naota Takenaka, loves his food and has a great range of facial expressions whilst eating – the pure enjoyment of a good meal really comes through. There are plenty of lingering shots of the dishes being prepared and cooked, and there are some touching scenes with the Takeshi's tolerant and caring wife. This series is the very opposite of a Hollywood drama: the characters are just ordinary people, very little happens in dramatic terms, yet somehow each episode, with its little story of a small incident in a man's life, manages to be engaging and uplifting.

The show is pretty simple, and its worth is exactly the highlights it gives to ordinary stuff of life. The attention to the details, the beautiful looks on the food, and the smoothness of the story sustain this great show. Don't expect the episodes to be full of drama and extraordinary stuff. This is just a charming, sometimes comic and, above all, very light and buoyant series.

Excellent show that embellishes on Japan's food culture. It is based on a manga (comic) of a retired businessman who spends his new found time exploring different cuisines Japan has to offer. Some of his food adventures are intentional, and some are not. During his adventures, he has to summon his inner samurai (alter ego, so to say) to get him out of sticky situations. This show is purely fictional. The main character's chemistry with his very well played wife (famous Honami Suzuki from Tokyo Love Story) is so natural and genuine. Excellent directing, editing, and screenplay as well. Each episode is only about 20 minutes long, so it has a very high watchable rating. I was hooked after the first episode, and I hope they continue to make more. If you have an appreciation for good food and Japanese culture, you will enjoy this show.

In Japan, working is involving....anything else stay in second place. When the character wakes up in the day he's retired, he felt lost, walking no destination. Then he realized that there is a completely different world around him...and he like this. Tasting foods of memories he feels pleasure and a reason to life. Very good

I have really fallen in love with the series. It's not food porn at all, which what it first assumed it to be. It's the story of Takeshi Kasumi, recently retired salaryman. After 40 years of never doing anything besides work, he suddenly finds himself thrust into a world without expectations. He's lost at first. But he ventures out, meeting up with an imaginary, unnamed Ronin who gives him lessons in being free. Along the way, he eats a lot.

It's tempting to say it's all about the food, but that's not really the point at all. It's a warm look into someone discovering the simple pleasures of life - food, people, and memories. Kasumi is child-like in every way, but that just adds to his charm. And his expressions are just so over the top comical that you cannot help but be enchanted by him.

It's a slow series, with very little action. But it's so much fun to watch. It's probably not for anyone who needs a lot of action, conflict, changes of scenery, or characters, but it will appeal to those of us who have experienced that slowing the pace of life and appreciating every moment brings happiness.

These are some disjointed stories of a frustrated old man that still needs his imaginary friends to be able to deal with real life. Slow. Boring. And xenophobic. Are Japanese old men like that? Probably some are. For me the stories were pretty much like South American telenovelas: one goes rapidly past the opening. Which is really filler. Than watch a bit from the beginning of the story. Than fast forward past the inner dialogue for some dull high point. And push for the next episode as the ending is also fluff.

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

The format is similar to "Kodoku no Gurume", which is way more enjoyable to watch than this one. Instead of being a retired company man who is uncertain about his life after retirement, the lead in Kodoku no Gurume is a businessman who frequently travels around Japan to meet his clients, sometimes with an interesting side story, therefore, he has the chance to taste different local cuisine. Also episode 2 in season 1 is a bit xenophobic ...and that is where I stopped the show.

A joy to watch , in one word charming. In the days of bang, bosh, super hero , monster's , drug lords , British period drama overkill this by contrast is a relaxing oasis. I watched an episode every night on Netflix and when the series finished I was genuinely upset. Take pleasure in the subtle humour and delight in the food. The actor's excitement in the facial expressions when ordering the food left me hungry every time.

It's so nice to have a show that's relaxing and completely non-taxing to watch, even if it's all inconsequential.

I do have one problem with it, though. The lead is SO self-conscious, so worried he's putting a wrong foot forward, that (even accounting for cultural differences) it's unrealistic. I realize the samural has to play a supportive role in each episode, but it's all over the top.

I do have to wonder if all those dinners that his wife is going to with the "yoga instructors" has another, less wholesome purpose.:)

I have watched the whole first season. I really enjoyed how he found joy in the foods he remembered growing up eating and trying new things. Just in life foods can reminds us of our childhood or special moments in our life. I hope they will write another season with the same characters.

The Samurai allegory is a way to praise Japan's past against the current foreign influences (the wife cooking a good ole Japanese dinner vs. the new Chinese restaurant with the evil woman).

This is a show for people who think foreigners should stay abroad and the wife in the kitchen.

Skip it at all costs and watch Midnight Dinner instead.

Well there is no plot so nothing to be spoiled. This series is the visual equivalent of a tone poem. It goes nowhere but it is relaxing and pleasurable. For me very much so. Retirement is an adaptation process. After a lifetime of the self-discipline and regimentation of the salary man, what does one do? Travel? Volunteer? Start a new career or hobby? None of the above in this case. The food and the imaginary samurai are mcguffins. The series explores the exalted state of personal freedom to structure one's day however one wishes.

Story about a recent retire men that realize his freedom from corporate world he was living for decades to discover a new passion for simple and traditional japanese dishes from his past.

Its a delightful experience watching the enjoyment of old japanese dishes and how it is combined with past memories.

Bad thing that there is no more episodes to watch

I sincerely love this show. There's a comforting sense of pace that focuses on nostalgia and the food preparation. The music composition is brilliant and compliments the character's situations. I truly love this show and am scared that one day Netflix will remove it. I want to buy it on DVD so i have it forever in my collection. I also hope that one day netflix realise how great this show was and make season 2

Watching a story about a retired 60 year old Japanese man, eating in restaurants and have hallucinations about a Samurai Warrior is not something I would rush to watch. But, because of Midnight Diner I thought I would give it a try.

What happened next was a meeting of many small but perfect moments that left me, at some points, laughing and at others quietly nodding when I empathized with the main protagonist and his simple journey through his later years.

"Thank You for the food."

Just a simple, nice, sweet and funny little show. It's relaxing and inspiring. It will make you want to enjoy your food the way you want to, it will make you want to stand up for yourself but also be more humble. The samurai is handsome and sexy and a thrill when he appears. The 60 year old lead character is sweet and cute and almost like a very polite Japanese version of Larry David, talking to himself and realising how awkward he is in modern social situations. He tries to do the right thing but usually wimps out but it's funny when that happens because that's more realistic!

It's got a lovely setting and aesthetic and music. It's so relaxing to just watch and escape and follow his thoughts and memories and his imagination of how men or samurais or Japan used to be.

I hope there is more!

Itadakimas!!!!

Maybe the greatest 'stop and smell the roses' show in existence, best watched over a meal you're excited about. Also if you're stressed and looking for distraction this deeply relaxing show gives some perspective with a soft handed approach.

I wouldn't call myself a foodie but seeing how this lone masterless samurai enjoyed every morsel of food, and the philosophical tidbits simmered out of his culinary adventures, I may have to reconsider my position.

Incredible series - wish there 100 more!

Nice but clearly overrated Nice but clearly overrated Nice but clearly overrated Nice but clearly overrated Nice but clearly overrated Nice but clearly overrated.

It's about a man that thought his life is nothing without work but he starts to enjoy and try to do things that he have missed out.

I'm on episode 7 and I still don't see him doing stuff with his wife. If he focused on work for 30 years, he should take his wife with him.

A simple journey through the trivial activity of eating. What unfolds is an unforgettable masterpiece, its so unique in its content that it will stay with you after the series is over. Brilliant

I began Samurai Gourmet thinking it was a low-key food-related show I could have on in the background while cooking or cleaning at home, something for a little quiet noise and great food shots. Instead, I ended up captivated with the whimsical nature of the show, and the childlike delight of the lead, Takeshi Kasumi. I watched all 12 episodes over the course of an evening, smiling more and more each new episode.

Kasumi's reverence for food and memory is sweet, but not saccharine, and his relationship with his wife is just darling. While the pacing might feel slow to some, each episode went by quickly for me, without dragging. His interactions with the Ronin are fun each time, and his subsequent actions (or inaction) after each appearance of the Ronin add to the subtle complexity of his character. In all, I was surprisingly enchanted, and adored every gentle moment of joy in the series. It made me feel nostalgic, and wistful, in a lovely way.

I so loved this show. It was wondeful to watch It made me hungry

I found this series randomly from Netflix and I binge watched the first season in few days. Every episode is around 20min long (or short? :), but you don't really think of time when you are watching this.

The story follows a man who loses his job, has too much time on his hands and starts going to different restaurants in search of new (and nostalgic) experiences.

This is not your typical series. It doesn't have a plot. Every episode has similar path, but have different atmospheres.

The head actor is great. All his expressions are joy to watch. The series is very well written and the pace is slow, but has so much in so little. Visually its mesmerizing. Theres great humour, its poetic, thought provoking and at the same time relaxing. It takes you far away, and brings you very close. All the small things make it big. It doesn't provoke the viewer, but leaves many doors open. It can be seen as lightly, or with more heavy thought..

Its simple and has few ingredients, but is very well made in every aspet. Just like great dish made with a big heart. And this is what the series is all about.