The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House
Season 1 Premiere:
Jan 12, 2023
Metascore
Generally Favorable
70
User score
Generally Favorable
8.0
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
83% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
17% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jan 13, 2023
91
Every episode of “The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House” is crafted with such precision and care that even a brief visit to its world proves itself to be a rich and rewarding experience.
Jan 11, 2023
91
There is no violence nor betrayal, only subtle arcs and fake-outs. It seems like an entirely different sensibility from most television fare—and it’s a welcome one. ... Can we accept the maiko/geiko path as legitimate high art when the connotation is that it exists purely for the male gaze? If we can take the characters at their words as we absorb the vivid, slow-mo sequences of food preparation, costuming, and rehearsal, as well as all of the ASMR-like sound design highlighting those rituals, then yes.
Jan 24, 2023
80
So light it could be blown over by the flutter of a fan, The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House is still as warm and comforting as nabekko dumpling soup. Gorgeous stuff.
Jan 18, 2023
70
If you want to see a pretty straightforward series about two best friends going down different paths, then the gentle drama of The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House should fill the bill.
Jan 11, 2023
70
The Makanai doesn’t do much in the way of hand-holding, trusting that audiences will be able to absorb the traditions and relationships that define this society without awkward exposition dumps. As such, it may take a few episodes for viewers to get their bearings amid the intricate rituals, sprawling supporting cast and not-quite-translatable Japanese terms.
Jan 12, 2023
40
The story of young best friends endeavoring to become geishas in modern-day Japan, it offers an inviting glimpse into a unique foreign world—at least, that is, until it bogs down in inert, one-dimensional drama of the most insufferable sort.
User score
Generally Favorable
100% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Jan 13, 2023
7
Deceptively simple, but in the vein of Hirokazu Kore-eda, who is the showrunner and director of several of the episodes, The Makanani: Cooking for the Maiko House reveals its strengths and charms as it unfolds. I think the show benefits more from being watched in one sitting than watching it episodically for the very reason that there are very few major events in its plot. I'm not a big fan of watching series in one sitting, but for some it works. It spends over a year into its story, but it's not until the end that it shows that some changes have taken place.
More than anything this series is a comfort show, incredibly light on plot that you basically forget you're watching it because there's really no conflict, villains, or any kind of forced drama. Maybe that style and development will not invite you to continue watching every time an episode ends, but if you are looking for something light and of very good quality, this is an excellent choice, even for the casual viewer, and for fans of Hirokazu Kore-eda it is a must-see. Quite a surprise from Netflix.
