'Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories' has returned to Netflix for season two. The anthology television series, based on the Manga series of the same name centres on the fictional Meishiya, a small, izakaya, open from midnight until 7am.
The chef, known only as 'Master’ limits his menu to just tonjiru (pork miso soup), beer, sake and shochu. Otherwise, dishes are prepared according to the diners' requests. Beginning with the customers’ requests, stories are woven together, from the lives of those who drift in to eat at the chef’s counter.
The tales of human life come from a diverse scattering of people from all walks of life including exotic dancers, game designers, horoscope writers, models, businessmen, film directors, drag queens and the local barflies. All the while, ‘Master’ feeds them and holds court behind the counter listening, offering words of wisdom and sometimes nothing at all. Season one was a roaring success and the reviews of season two confirm that the series has maintained its heartfelt storytelling and cinematic craft. Highly recommended.