Hungry! (2012) [E 01 – 11 END]

Profile

• Drama: Hungry!
• Romaji: Hanguri!
• Japanese: ハングリー！
• Director: Keita Motohashi, Keiichiro Shiraki, Kento Kiuchi
• Writer: Mika Omori
• Network: Fuji TV
• Episodes: 11
• Release Date: January 10 – March 20, 2012
• Runtime: Tuesday 22:00-22:54
• TV Ratings: 12.7%
• Language: Japanese
• Country: Japan

Synopsis

Eisuke Yamate (Osamu Mukai) is busy preparing dishes with two other men for the opening of his French restaurant “Le Petit Chou.” Chie Okusu (Miori Takimoto) is a college student who dreams of meeting her perfect match and having dinner with him at the French restaurant like “Le Petit Chou” for her birthday. On the day of Chie’s birthday, she goes to “Le Petit Chou” with her female friend. When they arrive, they are surprised to find that the restaurant looks completely different from what they saw in the magazine. Furthermore, the name of the restaurant has been changed to “Gasterea.”

Chie and her friend then notice a “Le Petit Chou” flyer nearby, which points passersby to another location. They go towards the direction that the flyer points and soon notice a man, Eisuke Yamate, hanging the “Le Petit Chou” flyers along other buildings. They decide to follow Eisuke Yamate and he eventually goes inside a warehouse. When Eisuke comes out, he brings out an electric guitar and proceeds to smash it into the ground. Eisuke then notices Chie and her friend and tells them that “Le Petit Chou” will have its opening in the evening. Chie and her friend then realize that the warehouse they are standing in front is “Le Petit Chou.”

3 months before…

Eisuke Yamate is a member of rock group “Rock Head,” which he formed with friends 15 years ago. His mother is a chef who specializes in French cuisine. Eisuke was also born with a natural talent for cooking and until the age of 13, dreamed of becoming a French chef. Eisuke even learned to speak French and practiced cooking different dishes. At the age of 13, Eisuke heard rock music for the first time and felt an immediate connection with the music. Soon afterwards, Eisuke dreamed of becoming of a rock star, while forgetting about his culinary dreams.

By the age of 29, Eisuke’s band “Rock Head” still hasn’t achieved very much success. The band’s lead singer then quits the group. The other two members of “Rock Head” start talking about pursuing other lines of work. The group attempts to make a pact that if they are still not recognized by the age of 30 they will quit for good. Even before that pact can go into place, the band decides to breakup that day.

Later that same evening, Eisuke goes to his mother’s French restaurant “Le Petit Chou.” A man named Tokio Aso (Goro Inagaki) tells Eisuke’s mom that he could renovate the restaurant to make her more money, but Eisuke’s mom turns his offer down. When Eisuke arrives, he tells his mother that he now wants to work as an assistant chef at her restaurant. Eisuke’s mother encourages him to do what will make him happy. While they are having their discussion, Eisuke’s mother suddenly collapses and dies. After his mother’s funeral, Eisuke tells his father that he will work at “Le Petit Chou” as its chef. His father informs Eisuke that he already sold the restaurant to Tokio Aso after he promised to keep the restaurant exactly like it is. When Eisuke and his father walk over to “La Petit Chou” they start to hear loud sounds coming from the direction of the restaurant. They run over to the restaurant and discover that is being demolished. Eisuke and his father confronts Tokio Aso about his promise, but Tokio Aso just ignores them. Eisuke then decides to open a restaurant at a warehouse with the same name as his mom’s place.

Eisuke brings over the two former members of his band “Rock Head” and they prepare for the grand opening of “La Petit Chou,” which will have its opening on the same day as rival French restaurant “Gasterea.”