Midnight Diner
Directed by Joji Matsuoka, Nobuhiro Yamashita, Shotarou Kobayashi
Starring Kaoru Kobayashi
No. of seasons 5; No. of episodes 50
Producers Hitoshi Endo, Natsuko Mori, Takeshi Moriya, Shogo Ishizuka, Jun Takahashi
Running time 25 minutes
MBS (2009-2014) & Netflix (2016-2019)
Netflix has an absolute jewel in the form of a quiet little drama about a restaurant and its proprietor that is in an alleyway a stone’s throw from the roaring commercial and economic heart of Tokyo. It’s a quiet and somewhat dingy alley, one in which gay bars and herbal shops share space with alleycats.
The restaurant is smaller than most American living rooms, seating twelve at a U shaped counter. The formal menu is brief, consisting of “pork miso soup combo, beer, sake, shochu” although the unnamed proprietor, called “Master” (Kaoru Kobayashi, one of Japan’s very top thespians) will make anything if he has the ingredients at hand—or if the customer brings with. Perhaps the most unique aspect of this place is the hours of operation: it opens at midnight, and closes at 7am. As part of the show’s introductory sequence, the Master narrates: “Do I even have customers? More than you would expect.”
Tonally, the show is somewhere amongst Cheers, Tokyo Godfathers and an early Tom Waits album (Yes, I’m thinking of Nighthawks at the Diner). While Master is the only character who appears in every show, there are about a dozen regulars, another dozen or so recurring, and lots of unique episodes. The plotlines focus on the story of one or more of the characters, and is almost always deeply human, emotionally gripping, and sometimes tragic; and is never, ever mawkish or foolish. The characters are often tropes, but never stereotypes. There is a Yakuza recovering from an assassination attempt, and his unlikely companion, a gay transvestite who runs a bar near the diner. There is a porn star whose career has made him rich and famous but alienated him from his family, whom he dearly loves. A lovely young, doomed karaoke singer is given some lyrics by another patron and told to bring her own magic to them, and her dream is realized. Three secretaries lose their idealism and hopes, become bitter foes, and reconcile in a strikingly mature and sympathetic story.
Each customer has a preferred dish, and for each featured individual, the episode ends with a brief overview of how to prepare the dish.
There are fifty episodes, spread over two series (Midnight Diner and Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories) over a ten year span. In terms of depth, humanity, and general appeal, it is one of the best Netflix has come up with yet.