Nagatan to Aoto: Ichika no Ryourijou (2023)

Short and easy watch with delicious food scenes

“Nagatanto to Aoto: Ichika no Ryourijou” also known as “Kitchen Knife and Green Chili Pepper” is a sweet, slice of life drama about a female chef’s fight to keep her family restaurant open due to financial difficulties. In order to save the restaurant, she has to marry a 19-year-old student, 15 years her junior. This sounds like a HUGE age gap, and it is. However, the drama does not give me an icky feeling due to this age difference.

Amane (ML) is way mature for his age and luckily, Ichika (FL) is not written as an innocent and irritating older woman. You really only feel the support Amane has for Ichika. He is there to push her to challenge her limits and to believe in her talents. He supports her by managing the business side of things, so that she can focus on her creativity in cooking. The duo complements each other. In the backdrop is 1951 Japan after the war. Ichika challenges the tradition of only male chefs in the kitchen and fights the prejudice against women. the drama shows us a glimpse of the struggles of Japanese women after the war.

The romance develops naturally and sweetly. It’s not the focus of the drama, but it’s enough for me to satisfy my romance cravings. I enjoy all the cooking scenes and the explanation on how each dish is prepared. I don’t care much about the brother/sister-in-law relationship, but I understand we needed that for the main romance storyline and to showcase the beginning of a new era for women.

I recommend this if you are looking for a short and easy to watch drama with delicious cooking and food scenes.


Completed: 6/13/2023 - Review #318

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A Sweet Series that Highlighted Women's Stories in Old Time

Focusing on women's position in old-time Japan, where they consider a person who stays on the back and is not able to become a leader. Ichika, who was a widow, doesn't have a choice but to marry someone who is 15 years younger to save her family's restaurant. Not only that, she also faced a crisis about the fact that she needed to take over the business by becoming the head chef, although so many people doubted her just because she is a woman. Through this series, we could see how women had so many disadvantages in Japan at that time. How they look down on women. How women didn't get their proper place in society. The romance part is quite sweet. Just typical that Josei manga's story where the heroine find her true love and get loved by the male lead. Since it's all about cullinary, I love how they show us Japanese fussion cullinary, which perfectly describes the female lead character. For those who love food theme drama and sweet romance, this is truly recommended!

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Tasty food is the path to love

Being a woman in a male dominated society has never been easy moreover in rigid rules' dominated Japan in the 50s. Unfortunately, the war had left ryoten without a male head so the young woman needs to get a husband in order to make the business operational. Her younger unmarried sister having eloped, Ichika, a widow, is forced to marry young Amane whose family promised to help them save the restaurant. Ichika is an exceptional cook working in a western hotel (Japan is still under US rule) and manages to blend western and japanese cuisines and make delicious food. Amane, realizing his wife's talent, pushes her to become restaurants chef in spite of customs formally forbidding women to be in the restaurant's kitchen.

Knife and Green Pepper: Ichika's Cookbook is a heartwarming tale about a 34 yr old widowed woman realizing her own worth with the help of a 19 yr old husband.It depicts the society still set in its old ways but shaken gently by the american presence and their customs.

Japanese excell in these cooking dramas and this one is no different: dishes bring people together be it by making them together(Ichika & Amane) or by serving them to "hostile" customers (americans or old respected men). We are privy to food preparation and can witness the pleasure and joy Ichiko derives from cooking. That joy is reflected in tasty dishes bringing happiness to whoever tastes them.

Everything is soft and muted in this drama: the cinematography, the music, the characters. The final song is really good and it plays over credit scene which is a must watch since it shows a scene already seen in the episode but from another point of view which brings additional depth to the characters.

The only problem I had with this drama is a total lack of chemistry between the main leads: their dynamics is more of a mother/son nature than lovers which they were supposed to have become by the end. I could not feel it. And even though Amane is oftentimes assertive and making decisions, as is expected from a sole male member of the house, and Ichika is demure and submissive as she is supposed to be with her husband, as the drama progresses their roles slowly reverse. Never completely, mind you, but they end up at the same place, looking eye to eye. I was not that much bothered by the age difference but even on the first day of their marriage, Ichika took the initiative to protect Amane from unnecessary intimacy when she realized he was ill at ease. Ichika herself had much more chemistry with the hotel chef and I could very well see them having a thing.

But this story was never going to be a conventional one: if you are going to break customs, do it completely and break every interdiction placed upon the characters. They seem to be doing this. Hopefully we will get another season of this drama and see how the characters evolve. This is based on a manga and apparently the drama covers 4 first books out of 10 published (never translated in english though). So there is more from where this came from!

PS Thanks to fansubbers for translating this drama. Such a nice watch!

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Heartwarming ride with no angast or draggy plot

So, From the title, it may look like a food blog, but this dorama was much more than that. It was so heartwarming and beautiful, especially the ending. The setting is in the 50s, where Japan is still under US rule and has a male-dominant society. It follows a female protagonist who paves her way through all the odds. The whole plot may seem obvious, but they represent it beautifully. On top of that, both characters were understanding and supportive. The show also features a beautiful aesthetic scenery of 50s Japan. I mean, that's all I needed. The manga is still ongoing, so I really wish we could have more seasons, but I wouldn't mind if it ended like this either. Being short also helped as there wasn't much dragging in the plot, and it got straight to business. This was such a good watch that I highly recommend.

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Burgeoning romance

Ichika and Amane show great character development as each has to step out of their comfort zone to make this arranged marriage work.

At this time in Japan the role of females was very prescribed and Ichika has to overcome her upbringing, lack of confidence and the constant reminders by her Aunt and others that she is not worthy to be the head chef. Amane, being younger, has more modern thinking and his ideas are the catalyst for the ryoten restaurant and Ichika to solve the dwindling financial situation.

I liked the scenes where the couple work together to solve problems;
the American delegation not wanting Japanese prepared food
the US Japan women's group charmed with the bento boxes and making sushi rolls
the wedding reception on a budget
the competition to save the inn

The couple show a lot of consideration and respect and we can get glimpses of their feelings slowly changing to romance. They do not declare love at the end, however, they step closer and make a pact to continue together.

The manga is ongoing so it would be nice to get another season.

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Simple and Soothing

This is a nice little show for those that want a drama that's low key but still has enough content to sustain interest.
Everything about the drama, from the writing to props to filming is basic but it's a very well done basic with overall cohesiveness and a small dash of creativity (much like Ichika's cooking). Like many Japanese dramas, the story is streamlined with little filler. The characters, from the main leads to the side characters, are all very likable with good acting to match. The romance as subtle, but complimented the story well. I appreciated how the female lead's journey meshed well with the timeline of it being an era of change, especially women's role in society. Overall, this is a good drama to recommend as a nice, short palate cleanser between heavy dramas or something relaxing after a long and stressful day. 6/21/24

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Unexpectedly good

A good show, I came across this randomly and it's like finding a hidden gem. I'm sure you read the description by now, It's a nice change of pace from all the other drama in the similar category, perhaps it's due to the fact this is adopted from a manga of same name, but not all adaptations are done this beautifully.

Really liked closing sequence and the chosen OST was good for that part.

Anyway, the all the cast members are doing excellent work, it's a nice slice of life drama in historical setting. Would definitely recommend to everyone.

Thanks to the subtitle team.

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Good Enough

Japanese Drama " Nagatan to Aoto no Ryourijou" is a historical drama about food and family.

The drama has that slice of life, cozy atmosphere that makes you feel warm and fuzzy. Those endings of the episodes were especially adorable and a nice touch.

The story is also pretty enjoyable, with the main couple's relationship being handled with care and nicely so that it wasn't that much of a deal their age gap. The male lead acting mature and not all cute and like a kid, aided with that a lot. Their relationship, overall, had a nice development and provided the drama with some lovable and sweet moments.

The little family drama that was added towards the ending was okay and didn't overshadow the main point of the story. It was also nice to have the female lead try to become a chef even though she was a woman. Her relationship with food was also interesting to watch.

So, overall, eight and a half out of ten.

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Food is love :)

It was such a refreshing story, the visuals were amazing, the cooking was scrumptious and the actors did a good with their respective characters. An Older woman and a younger man, not your conventional love story. Often times, people forget that even older/widowed women are worthy of love and recognition. Usually it is the older man and younger woman story that gets airplay, so this was indeed a surprising treat (no pun intended). There is also a subtle hint of feminism incorporated amidst the traditional Japanese society.

The background with cooking all the dishes were very well executed. Even I want a Madeline! The end credits with extra scenes and song were smooth.

The subtle chemistry between the leads was just perfect because it was meant to awkward and sweet, each thinking if they should have feelings. As an older woman, her dilemma of having a younger husband thinking practically because of her age and position as widow made her felt unworthy of him. While he on the other hand, found her resilience to be attractive and yes food is definitely the way to a man's heart as he saw how she tried to get him to try the dishes as well as seal of approval. (taste of the food) But I think Amane liked Ichika from the first day he met her after she called him Aoto.

I would rewatch it because it is warm, cozy and sweet.

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I have mixed feelings about this drama, not because of the large age gap between the two main characters, but how it’s being presented.

We learn that, in order to save their restaurant, Ichika’s family arranged a marriage of convenience for one of the daughters. In the beginning, it was Ichika’s younger sister who was supposed to enter that marriage, but at the last minute, she backed out because 1) she was also older than the groom 2) she did not want to be stuck in a loveless marriage 3) somebody else who liked her proposed to her. All good reasons NOT to agree to a contract marriage.

But then we see Ichika agreeing to this contract marriage because of her outdated (and perhaps believable) concepts compared to her younger sister, who had a more idealistic view of the world. Being a widow in 50s Japan, Ichika basically consigned herself to a lesser role in the kitchen despite her excellent culinary skills. Her belief that a woman in a patriarchal society will never amount to being a head chef, let alone operate a business, is one that is valid considering what is the norm at that time. However, just because society has traditionally accepted a certain thought does not mean it couldn’t be changed for the better. And this is where Amane, her new husband, comes in.

Despite his young age, Amane is very sensible and has the business acumen to support Ichika in her dreams of managing her own cuisine. He quietly does things for his new wife without her awareness. Amane’s contribution to Ichika’s efforts later came to fruition when she finally salvages her family restaurant from ruin.

If you are expecting romance from this drama, don’t. This show is mostly about the food and how one woman’s dreams came true despite the obstacles in her way. Amane’s growing affection for Ichika looks very one-sided to me. I am not sure if it’s because of how the characters are written or the lack of chemistry between the two actors is the reason for this. The most I can see between Ichika and Amane is like how a big sister dotes on her much younger brother.

This drama is more like a PSA for food or for feminism, or both.

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