Blog

Dec 09, 2023

Our Dining Table Review

Series ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) Anyone who has seen or read a decent amount of Japanese content would know what an Onigiri is, but for the first time, a show made me look up the recipe

Series

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)

Anyone who has seen or read a decent amount of Japanese content would know what an Onigiri is, but for the first time, a show made me look up the recipe for this popular rice ball dish, which is a staple in Bento boxes. The 2023 Japanese series “Our Dining Table” (original title – Bokura no Shokutaku) is a simple yet sweet story about a young, shy, and asocial man who befriends a pair of lively brothers, and the three of them start spending their Sundays cooking and eating together. That’s pretty much it. Food takes center-stage in the plot and depending on who’s watching it, you might love it or soon be bored. I quite loved it!

Adapted from the manga “Bokura no Shokutaku,” the ten-part series has been created by Ishibashi Yuho, Iizuka Kashou, and Kamimura Naho. Inukai Atsuhiro plays the nerdy and quiet protagonist Hozumi Yutaka, a working professional who lives the same routine every day, eats the same type of food, has no friends, and is even estranged from his family. Child actor Maeyama Kuuga portrays the little firecracker Ueda Tane, who runs into Yutaka at a park, eyes his Onigiri, and is eating it the next minute. They practically become best friends by the following weekend. Iijima Hiroki plays Tane’s older brother Ueda Minoru, who is almost the same age as Yutaka. These two young men also become close thanks to Tane’s insistence on seeing Yutaka as often as possible.

From the slow-burn plot progression to its simple cinematography, everything about “Our Dining Table” was comforting. Most of the story unfolds at the Ueda home, a traditional Japanese house with wooden sliding doors, a low-set dining table with tatami mats, and just a slight hint of homely chaos to indicate that it is run by men. Tane’s mother passed away not long after his birth, and combined with the significant age gap between him and his older brother, Minoru, the responsibility of looking after the boy falls on Minoru, as their father is mostly busy running a pottery workshop. However, Harade Ryuji as Ueda Koji is endearing as the boys’ father and is a warm host whenever Yutaka visits to eat.

Episode seven featured a lovely animated sequence that explained Yutaka’s past and shed light on why he is a lonely, shy man who prefers keeping to himself. The creators utilized a childish doodle style to illustrate parts of Yutaka’s life with his adoptive family and his struggle to feel at home. The heartwarming friendship between Minoru, Tane, and Yutaka was a joy to watch throughout the episodes. The romantic chemistry between Inukai Atsuhiro and Iijima Hiroki was lukewarm, but both actors portrayed young, awkward men finding comfort in cooking and sharing meals together excellently.

Maeyama Kuuga shines as the heart of this show with his portrayal of the excited and energetic Tane. He is always bustling with energy, and his fondness for Yutaka is contagious. There is an adorable emotional scene in the second half of the show where Tane begins to cry upon seeing Yutaka upset, and Minoru is at a complete loss about how to handle the situation. The writers brilliantly capture the simple, uncomplicated emotions of a child in this series, and Maeyama’s lively performance enhances the writing. If you like slice-of-life stories centered around food, definitely watch this series.

It’s an 8 on 10 from me.

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Journalist. Artist. Recovering Nihilist. Author of "Bad Town Kids" View all posts by Sneha Jaiswal