What Did You Eat Yesterday? (2021)

I preferred this to the original show

Fools in love, that basically sums it all! The reason why I liked this more than the original show is that they are that much more secure in each other, excluding few bouts of dramatics, and it was just lovely to see how their relationship had evolved from the show.

Acting is great, their faces are so expressive and I especially enjoyed watching Shiro who is much more subtler but still like, so clearly in love. And now, in addition to through his cooking, learning to show it more explicitly. (Which Kenji is freaked out by lol)

Meals and recipes looked delicious as always too, especially those caramel apples, I really have to try them at some point!

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nice to see continued character/relationship growth

Overall: though it felt more like a season 2 than a movie, it was nice to see more smiles between them. The tone was a bit heavier than the special though. The movie is 2 hours long. GagaOOLala picked this up in September 2023 which is when I watched it (GagaOOLala picked up the whole franchise and the order to watch is: season 1, special, movie, season 2 which is airing October 2023).

Content Warnings: homophobia, past death

What I Liked
- comedy moments
- cute moments
- communication/relationship progress
- familiar characters

Room For Improvement
- the trumpet music doesn't fit at times
- they called that hairdresser guy a wisdom machine when he said you have to be honest with your partner (he called her an ugly hag) but maybe they were being sarcastic?
- felt more like skits/episodes put together than a movie with an overarching plot
- unrealistic that the neighbor hadn't met Kenji in over a year but that's also on brand for Shiro
- the blocks at the end

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Food and Love

There's something incredibly beautiful about watching two people already in love developing their relationship, handling issues together and just being incredibly in love. It's even better with food.

There isn't anything to say when asked what I didn't like, it's just that sort of wholesome vibe you get when you see a couple who've been together for a while and are just comfortably in love now. Yes, they have their issues big and small, but you get to watch with the confidence that there isn't going to be some overly dramatic, long drawn out fight. You can watch with the confidence that the only overly dramatic moments will be their reactions.

Above anything else, it tackles a lot of relevant and personal issues with a lot of nuance and sensibility. I loved seeing that.

A really sweet movie and a worthy sequel.

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Charming, funny and possibly one of Japan's best tv gems

It's easy to see why millions of viewers fell in love with this little gem. You won't regret! TLDR: The person who's 'not your type', may just turn out to be exactly who you need. I really enjoyed this show so much, towards the end I started to feel a bit sad. It's a fantastic production and soooo easy to binge. Both Seasons 1, and Season 2 are 30 minute episodes with a telemovie in between. Shiro and Kenji are an endearing odd couple in their late 40s; Nishijima Hidetoshi nails the emotionally restrained, hilariously frugal and very private Shiro, a small firm lawyer with a heart of gold who favours neutral colours, salaryman suits and loves a bargain; his partner is a warm, enthusiastic hairdresser in white jeans and bright T-shirts who sees ice cream as not a rare luxury, but an essential occasional happiness. Uchino Seiyou, as Kenji (Ken) is a natural physical comic who provides many moments of amusement.
Also wonderful to see an ensemble of various characters and ages, that reflect the diversity of real life, work and home. Each actor brings something special to the role. Adachi Naoko's script highlights changing social attitudes in a subtle and impactful way. The directors are also to be commended for creating a tight, easy rolling, easy to binge show that will bring a little smile to your face often.
***THANK YOU FOR READING! "Follow" to be notified of more reviews! Say Hello! ~Fumiyawagi

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I feel personally obligated at this point to review every entry of this show, given how much I enjoyed season one. It's a hill I will die on, so to speak, I suppose.

I have mixed feelings towards the movie, in comparison to the show.

I DID enjoy it, don't get me wrong, it's a good movie, the acting is great, and it carries on with the spirit of the show and the essence of what made it great: the cozy-ness, the amazing cooking, the genuine portrayal of a relationship of two men in their 40s in a country that doesn't recognize their partnership legally, the navigating said relationship with family, workplace and society as a whole.

The movie does add a bit more on the personal feelings of both characters, with a situation that generates a parallel for both in different points of the movie.

And when I say "a bit" I mean...a tiny bit. I am disappointed in the fact that I don't think they took it far enough for a movie.

It felt like a long episode of the show and, to be honest, when you have the opportunity of a movie, I think your storytelling possibilities expand in other directions that I don't feel they took. Ossan's Love, for example, isn't as good as this show when it comes to taking things seriously (and the acting isn't as good as this, in general), but they did use their movie to give a step forward that allowed them to pull off a better season 2.

I feel like they didn't go as far as they could have with the movie, in terms of using the vehicle to give a much deeper glimpse into one of their conflicts, picking just one to explore and going all for it. The movie has a sort of array of situations that get developed somewhat, rather than one that can get fully expanded.

I say this also because, since watching season one, I was able to read some of the manga and I feel like the manga gets more intimate with Kenji's and Shiro's relationship in some levels that we don't get in live action form. And, when I say "intimate", I mean communication wise, not necessarily just physically. I feel like there's a lot of deep emotional exploration that gets somewhat cut short by the fact that they move on to the next issue before delving deeper into the prior one, and the movie format could have allowed them to have the space that a series format may not allow for them to do just that.

All in all, it's a lovely movie and I'm happy to see more of this show coming out. I have high hopes for the second season that I've already started. I just wish the movie could have given a step forward in development, but I don't think this was quite that.

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Deveriam ter feito uma segunda temporada.

Não sei se o filme foi o melhor formato para a continuação dessa história deliciosa. Uma segunda temporada traria melhor desenvolvimento e poderia explorar mais os personagens secundários que apresentaram sinais de tramas bastantes interessantes.

Realmente parece uma série condensada num longa-metragem. Temos um arco maior (o conflito do Shiro com os pais) e arcos menores que vão se alternando ou mudando ao longo do filme, exatamente como se fosse o arco da temporada e os arcos de cada episódio. Porém, num filme de duas horas, perde-se a chance de desenvolver perfeitamente esses arcos menores, deixando um pouco a desejar. Senti falta de abordarem melhor o casal secundário e os personagens do salão de beleza.

Apesar disso, são duas horas que você não vê passar. É um slice of life que realmente te faz imergir na rotina dos personagens, como se estivéssemos convivendo com eles. O aspecto explorado que mais me marcou foi a importância que o Kenji tem para o Shiro. O Shiro é bastante discreto, não apenas em seu relacionamento, mas em todas as partes de sua vida. Ele possui uma frieza exterior, que é esmaecida com atos de serviço, principalmente nas refeições. O melhor momento foi quando ele, simplesmente, não hesita em se mudar quando Kenji conta que a mãe o chamou para cuidar dos negócios da família. E Kanji continua sempre com aquele carisma e humor inabaláveis.

Terminou com aquele gostinho agridoce de "quero mais".

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