Mitsuya Sensei no Keikakutekina Ezuke. (2024)

Heartwarming story and beautifully made drama

This is one of a few Jdrama that I followed it weekly and I am also writing this review as someone who read this manga long before the drama.

Beautiful Cinematography:
There’s always complaint about most JBL drama having cheap and unappetizing cinematography with bad color grading which I can’t even defend but Mitsuya sensei drama is different, every screenshot looks like art as they paid attention to details in decorations, the atmosphere of the scenes and carefully set the right shot. I’m just obsessed with how they organized Mitsuya’s house especially.

Not a single character was wasted:
This drama made sure every supporting character has a role to play in shaping the story around Mitsuya and Ishida and It got you hooked to see every single of them. Ishida’s co-workers and boss have their roles on Ishida’s side, Frito the dog and Shige and Kaoru have their role with mainly Mitsuya and also Ishida. I especially love how they wrote Kaoru not just as an asshole exboyfriend who comes back to make Ishida jealous and stir up conflict but he’s there to make Mitsuya move on and to give Ishida a new inspiration for his passion in sport.
Frito the dog is the real MVP of this drama until the end as well, he’s such a good boy with good acting that deserves to be praised as well.

Director has a vision of actors that they wanted:
Most controversy about this drama before and after it started that I heard from was people upset about how they cast and styled Mitsuya as a simple down to earth old man instead of following the seductive sexy old man that he was in the manga, but the story clearly showed that they did on purpose for the vision they had they which was different from the manga. Mitsuya in the drama showed more of this emotional side and the loneliness he held for 10 years compare to his manga version which I love both versions by the way.

Overall, it’s such a good adaption, I would say it’s in my top 3 JBL this year and I would rewatch again. It’s a shame that it was one of VERY FEW JBL drama that wasn’t chosen to have international release.

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A Recipe for Gastronomic JBLs (II)

Or, How to Rob the Cradle in 7 Gourmet Meals

Ingredients:

For the series:
10-15 year age-gap
6-10 inch height gap
2-4 side characters with no depth or individuality
1 small kitchen
1 knife and 1 pair of ryouribashi (cooking chopsticks)
1 serving (at least) of onigiri
1 serving (at least) of a Western dessert
2-4 instances (at least) of misunderstanding & miscommunication, or forced separation
1 episode of illness or indisposition
1 wet towel to help tend to that indisposition
(Story optional)

For each episode:
10 mins. of food porn, of which
2 mins. for broth-based dishes
2 mins. for rice-based dishes
2 mins. for curry or sauce
2 min. for lingering shots of chopping
1 min. for serving
1 min. for presentation
2 min. (at most) of interaction with side characters
1 exclamation (at least) of "oishii" or "umai"
(Plot and character development optional)

For serving:
2-4 shots of chopstick choreography per episode
3-5 near-kisses per series
1 fish-eye or camera-angle non-kiss per series (optional)
(Payoff optional)

Preparation:
1. Toss the ingredients together in a medium-sized series
2. Be careful to keep the right proportions for each episode
3. Simmer slowly to break down all chemistry and tension
4. Gently stir the camera around the top of the pan and apply suitable filters
5. Decant the bland broth into 25-minute containers
6. Garnish with the non-kiss
7. Serve lukewarm immediately, or tomorrow, or five years from now. It doesn’t matter.

Special Notes for Mitsuya Sensei:
1. I have not seen two actors/characters with less chemistry and less suited for each other since Elon Musk and Grimes. It is the first BL, ever, in which I actively did not want the men to kiss.
2. Yamazaki Masayoshi is an amazing actor, and made the role of Mitsuya his own.
3. Caramel Popcorn is the new birthday cake.
4. The dog was the best thing about the show. Fight me.

Note: This review also appears under Sugar Dog Life, but with a different set of notes.

DO SAY: Itadakimasu.
DON’T SAY: Ittakimasu.

See Also: Sugar Dog Life, Bokura no Shokutaku, Kinou Nani Tabeta, Perfect Propose.

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