Manga/JDrama: Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)

I’d actually shared this whole post on Facebook before realising how much I could not SHUT UP and decided, what the hell, I should just copy and paste here what I had written there /o\ I’ve also forgotten to blog in the last 2 and half months and almost forgot AGAIN to share this here before September’s over…

Once upon a time I tried to blog at least once a month, but alas, I’m letting myself slip huh… Not gonna lie, I haven’t been doing great recently. But that’s no excuse, I guess. Not to myself at least. I’m afraid if I let myself slip any more I might just give up on this one day and I absolutely don’t want that to happen. It’s nothing much, but this blog is still something that gives me joy and that I’m proud about 🙂 Anyway, about this series…

A friend informed me over dinner awhile back that the Kinou Nani Tabeta? (What Did You Eat Yesterday?) Jdrama is now on Netflix Sg and I was so friggin excited I got home and decided that night being more sleep-deprived than usual at work was worth it and binged 5 eps at one go.

Kinou Nani Tabeta (What Did You Eat Yesterday?)

To be honest, I haven’t caught up to the manga, but from what I’ve read, it’s such a GOOD slice of life series!!!!!!

Kinou Nani Tabeta, by Yoshinaga Fumi, is categorised as Seinen (from the magazine it publishes in) and follows the everyday lives of an established, middle-aged, gay couple living in Tokyo with a focus on their hearty, homecooked meals.

There’re mildly romantic moments, but it’s not categorised as a BL and doesn’t have any explicit content (I’m pretty sure it’s just cos of Sg’s laws that it’s R21 ). The series is apparently a relatively realistic depiction of gay life in Japan and one of the earliest mainstream media to substancially portay a cohabiting male couple.

Yoshinaga Fumi-sensei is an absolute VETERAN in the Shoujo and Shonen-ai genres. Her stories are always so down-to-earth and charming. I absolutely adore how she can portray everyday regular situations and conversations in a realistically humorous and stupid take, but also show how sad and depressing things might be from a different pov. It’s always thought-provoking in a light-hearted way (depending on series). Her earlier works, Antique Bakery is a BL CLASSIC and the angst drama in Ōoku is

Kinou Nani Tabeta, nominated for the Manga Taisho in 2008 and won/was nominated for several other manga awards, is still ongoing, currently at vol 17. This live-action drama based on the manga is ALSO very well-acclaimed and has won a few drama awards!

I’m the last person you should listen to regarding dramas since I barely watch any, but personally thought that the 2 main actors were great with really spot on expressions. As with all jdramas, there are times where it’s over-the-top dramatic, and I still feel that second-hand embarrassment, but it’s not too crazy here. The opening sequence to the drama series is so goddamn cute!!! It’s such a joy to watch them cook AND enjoy their delicious food.
(Wait… you mean it’s not a cooking show?????)

KENJI IS SO LUCKY!! I WANT TO EAT SHIRO-SAN’S COOKING TOO!! I’m just constantly hungry and salivating at the delicious-looking food…

If youre not bored shitless by a measured pacing of slice of life and/or would like to see some beautiful home-cooked japanese cuisine, please consider giving this series a try. Whether you want to read/watch the slice of life, food or relationship between the 2 protagonists, I think Kinou Nani Tabeta is something pretty interesting and different.
The manga art might not appeal to some, but Yoshinaga-sensei’s style is so instantly recognisable, I literally found this series years ago by picking it off Kinokuniya’s shelf like, “WAIT… ISn’T THIS THE ANTIQUE BAKERY MANGAKA?!”
Loooove it.

As mentioned above, there is little to no explicit BL content of what you might expect from Kinou Nani Tabeta… at least not from the regular series. If you’re a BL fan though, Yoshinaga-sensei has published 3 short extra doujinshi, titled Kenji and Shiro-san for a little bit of that rated content enjoyment and a focus on their romantic, sexual relationship.

Regarding the drama, there are 12 episodes and each one is only 30mins long. Looking forward to watching at least one episode every night got me through a really tiring week. I liked the opening so much I also refused to skip it, haha!

The mellow pace of this drama (and manga) definitely isn’t for everyone, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little dramatic, but I really appreciate it. I appreciate the mature relationship Shiro-san and Kenji share: In a way that they can have a fight with tension running high, and then just kind of let things go and deliberately change the atmosphere by focusing on something else (cooking and food), together.

A feature length film sequel to the jdrama releases in about a month (early November) and I hope I get the chance to watch it sometime soon (ง •̀_•́)ง I’d love to enjoy more of Shiro-san and Kenji’s daily life, along with the absolutely mouth-watering home-cooked food.