I’m not sure if this is some kind of trend, but I have been noticing an increase in video clips, usually on Tiktok, from TV series. The clips are usually a “summary” of an episode and narrated by an AI voiceover. The names of the characters are wildly different from the actual characters’ name on the series.

Take this one for example:

@sholomestevan #foryou #fyp #show ♬ original sound – sholom estevan

On the video, you can hear that the main character’s name is Sachiko.

The actual character’s name? Not Sachiko (it was Izawa Miyuki.)

There is a food-related series with the main character’s name as Sachiko, though: Boukyaku no Sachiko.

Another one is Uncle Mike.

@jorel.malott #foryou #deliciousfood #tv #uncle #tiktok ♬ original sound – Zeus

The character’s actual name is Inogashira Goro from “Kodoku no Gourmet” (Solitary Gourmet). This series began in 2012 and spanned nine seasons. I used to watch “Kodoku no Gourmet” back when I still lived in Indonesia on the NHK World channel.

Legal issue aside, I found these types of videos really amusing, mostly in the sense that the characters’ names can be really different, yet the audience (the Tiktok users) just rolls with it, even becoming quite defensive (in jest) when the video uses different names. These videos even garnering their own fanbase within so many corners of the Internet.

These kind of J-drama series is actually a really light show/slice-of-life genre. The character’s main purpose is simple: To eat well, and to eat good. Goro’s quote on every episode is “ah… harahetta…” (“ah, I’m hungry.”) What makes the series endearing is how the characters are doing their best to fulfill the optimum condition for them to enjoy their meals. Izawa Miyuki in “Banshaku no Ryugi” always refuses to have meals in the afternoon/evening and does various workouts, exercises, and physical activities to ensure her appetite is properly built for her meal to end the day. So does another similar series in this genre: “The Road to Red Restaurants List” (Zetsumeshi Road)

Unfortunately, not all of the series are available on streaming services. They might be available on Netflix Japan, but so far, not a lot of them are currently available for the international viewers. At least, here on Netflix Malaysia, there are:

• “The Road to Red Restaurants List”
• “Midnight Diner” and “Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories” (fun fact: Yutaka Matsushige, the actor in “Kodoku no Gourmet” as the main character Goro Inogashira, also appears in this series as a yakuza named Kenzaki Ryu. Knowing this, the fans on Tiktok joked that, “Uncle Mike’s past was a yakuza.”)
• “Samurai Gourmet”

If you have been feeling down and in need of a quick pick-me-up series with a light and joyful plot, I highly recommend you to check this kind of genre.