A Fan of Hirokazu Koreeda Analogized 'The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House' to a Sandwich

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZStTy0J1AIo

Through an interview titled "Fan's Pick: Hirokazu Koreeda Issue" by oh my HK!, Theresia Pradita shared her impressions and feelings about her favorite Hirokazu Koreeda's work, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House.

Theresia is a fan of a Japanese director and screenwriter, Hirokazu Koreeda, who started to fall for his works after she idly watched Broker (2022). She revealed that she immediately sought out Koreeda's movies as soon as she left the theater at that time. Basically, she always has been fond of slow-burn dramas that deliver stories of heartwarming human relationships. "Through Koreeda's works, my watching preferences and expectations are fulfilled," she said on Sunday (14/5/2023) at her boarding house.

Some of Koreeda's movies, besides Broker, that Theresia has watched are Shoplifters (2018), Like Father, Like Son (2013), Our Little Sister (2015), Still Walking (2008), Nobody Knows (2004), and so on. She also looked forward to watching Koreeda's old movies, such as After Life (1998) and Maborosi (1995). After she was done watching the latest Netflix series directed by Koreeda, The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House, she intended to watch other series he wrote, such as Going My Home (2012).

Among these movies and series, Theresia's favorite is The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House. This series revolves around two best friends, Kiyo and Sumire, who decide to move from their hometown of Aomori to Kyoto to pursue their dream of becoming a maiko. In Kyoto, the two sixteen-year-old girls live in an all-female maiko house called Saku and start participating in various training, particularly dancing. Despite how hard Kiyo and Sumire try to advance their skills together, they still have different capabilities. Sumire shows excellent progress and even surpasses the performance of her seniors. Meanwhile, Kiyo has difficulty concentrating and keeping up with every dance move taught. The maiko coach and Saku's manager suggest that Kiyo return to Aomori and continue her study in school. However, destiny does not simply separate Kiyo from Sumire. Saku officially assigns Kiyo as the makanai—cooking is her actual talent—replacing the previous one.

As for why Theresia chose this series that was adapted from Aiko Koyama's manga, Kiyo in Kyoto, she said, "This series has a unique combination of topics. It is teeming with maiko culture combined with the visual delicacy of food's cuisine and is wrapped in a friendship story." She then added an analogy representing this series's story: "It is like a sandwich: two loaves of bread flank meat and vegetables. So, the main topics of The Makanai (Cooking for the Maiko House) are about maiko and cuisine covered in the friendship between Kiyo and Sumire."

To access the full interview between Theresia Pradita and oh my HK!, please watch the attached video or click the following link: https://youtu.be/ZStTy0J1AIo.