Our Dining Table Review: Adapted from the manga Bokura no Shokutaku (僕らの食卓) by Mita Ori, the live-action Japanese BL drama is directed by Yūho Ishibashi, Kashо̄ Iizuka, and Naho Kamimura. The screenplay is written along with Yumi Shimoa. There are 10 episodes in the series with a runtime of about 25-30 minutes.
The ensemble cast of the series includes Atsuhiro Inukai as Yutaka Hozumi, Hiroki Iijima as Minoru Ueda, Kūga Maeyama as Tane Ueda, Ryūji Harada as Koji Ueda, Seika Furuhata as Rei Ōhata, Tomohiro Ichikawa as Yuki Hozumi, Tetsuji as the boss of a ramen store, Shiori Tamada as Nao and Yo Hasegawa as Konoha Ueda.
Our Dining Table Review
The story follows Yutaka (Atsuhiro Inukai), who works at a design company but isn’t very social as he finds it difficult to eat in front of people. He often goes to the public park to have the lunch he has prepared for himself, avoiding any lunch invites from his colleagues. One fateful day, a small kid named Tane comes running to the park and starts staring at the big riceball in Yutaka’s hand as he is feeling quite hungry.
Seeing the sweet child, he gives another riceball in his bag to him and just then Tane’s elder brother, Minoru (Hiroki Iijima) comes running after him. They were buying their lunch at the convenience store when Tane ran away to play in the park. While Minoru apologises for Tane’s actions, Yutaka is more than happy to share the riceball which looks like a grenade in Tane’s eyes.
The first encounter leaves a mark in everyone’s memory and especially Tane, who found the riceball so delicious that he wanted his brother to make the same. On Tane’s persistent requests, Minoru waits for Yutaka at the park again and requests if he can teach him to make the grenade riceball. Getting such an unusual request, Yutaka accepts the invite to Minoru’s house on the weekend. But little did he know that all his weekends will be spent along with Minoru & Tane from then on.
Also Read: Zom 100 Bucket List of the Dead Review: Eiji Akaso Decides to Be a Work Zombie or a Dead One
The biggest point that makes one keep coming back to watch the show is definitely Tane, who is a ball of sunshine and cuteness, we can’t get enough of. His relationship with Minoru is as endearing since he is the one who took care of them after their mother’s death. While Minoru is more than happy to tend to Tane all the time, he sometimes feels frustrated and contemplates what to make of his life and whether he should go back to college or work to make money.
However, when he sees Yutaka being so gentle with Tane, he feels relieved and realises that he should do what really makes him happy at the moment. On the other hand, Yutaka’s fear and inability to eat in front of others stemmed from his childhood and the memories that left him feeling traumatic. His parents had died when he was young and his relative adopted him. Although they loved him wholeheartedly, their son felt resentment towards Yutaka and his hurtful remarks made him go into a shell of his own.
That’s where Minoru and his family’s warm and loving nature helps Yutaka to come out of his shell and give others a chance before closing himself off completely. By spending time with them and seeing how they treat their grief with care, Yutaka also starts to unravel the layers of trauma that he had been holding onto. With time, as the pain eases, he realises that maybe he was the one to push everyone away and everything wasn’t as bad as he seem to believe.
Along with being a cute love story between Yutaka and Minoru, it is a wholesome healing drama that will fill your heart with warmth. Just like Yutaka, viewers might also feel something changing in themselves, as they fall in love with all the characters and the drama that we will be coming to when in need of an instant mood lift.
Rating: 4.5/5
Our Dining Table is available to watch on GagaOOLala.
Also Read: Nineteen to Twenty Cast: Where Are They Now? Are the Couples Still Together?
Leave a Reply