"Wakako Zake" drama season one: Episodes seven and eight recaps

 Air Dates: January 8th to March 26, 2015 at 11:30 pm, Thursdays on TV Tokyo

 Theme song "The future scenario is up to you" by Charan Po Rantan

Main Cast:

 Rina Takeda as Wakako Murasaki

Kinuwo Yamada as Mii-san

Mizuki Watanabe as Abe-san

Yoshihro Nozoe as Taisho

Kenta Kamakari as Aoyagi

 That video above sees to be the only promo one for this season so will just leave it for all of these recaps. Found out in these two episodes that the word exciting means something different for all of us. Most people would think eating out by yourself would be such a hum drum event but not to Wakako as for her eating alone is such an exciting experience. On to the two recaps for today with the first show having the simple title of....

"Dashimaki Tamago"

 Didn't take as many screenshots for this first episode so there's a few pics of what Wakako will be eating to her heart's content. All eight shows I've viewed have been decent watches though this one wasn't quite up to par, an okay episode but dragged a bit as the entree wasn't too exotic or as unknown. Dashimaki Tamago is very similar to Tamagoyaki as both dishes are mainly an omelet with just a few different ingredients. Tamago means egg while Dashi is the stock base they use for the recipe, in this show it was fish stock.
 Maki is a common name but it also means roll or the way it gets rolled. For Wakako's order it was rolled in a Sushi mat and the omelet had the design of the mat on it as it stays in the roll for a few minutes. It wasn't a normal dish that Wakako ordered but she had stopped into a new out of the way place and was perplexed on what to eat so a safe meal seemed to be her best bet.

 Thought Wakako was going to hit a special prearranged Izakaya as she had worked double hard at work so she could leave early. All she did for a few hours was to walk around a market area she didn't know too well sampling some of their smaller treats. Before you knew it the afternoon had turned into evening and Wakako's stomach was growling. She loves to pick a small restaurant in a secluded section of town, today's spot was the Oota eatery in the Yanesen area of Tokyo.
 What made the show drag a bit was there was nothing special about Wakako's meal. She did have a mini dream sequence while eating the omelet but Wakako didn't seem as enthused as usual,  can say the same fir us viewers. One change was her choice of alcohol, usually it's Sake but never the same variety twice. Rice wine was on tap for Wakako's meal and it was a special selection made by the Ichinokura brewery out of Miyagi. Of course Wakako savored the taste of alcohol but didn't drink as much as she normally does, also she had only the small meal but she usually orders a few other dishes that she espies other customers eating.

 As mentioned in the beginning Wakako's excitement is slightly different than the rest of the world. Definitely a shorter recap and did stretch it out a bit, episode eight was a much more fun and interesting view. Few more screenshots for this show followed by the episode eight recap.

 Episode eight: "Drinking at Home"

 Two of the last three episodes have been set outside of a restaurant, the sixth show was took place at one of Wakako's friend's apartment. Not a tough day at work but Wakako wasn't in the mood to go out on the town, she did tell us she's been spending too much money dining out. Was wondering if Rina gained some weight during the show, she does eat quite a bit in each episode and we do often watch her devour many plates in their entirety.
 Had been curious what Wakako's apartment was like, nothing out of the ordinary and surprisingly very clean. The main meal being prepared by Wakako is stew but it's going to take a while for it to cook. So on tap first are some appetizers and of course alcohol but before she started on those Wakako received a text message. It was from Hiroki and it was the second time in the series she's had a message from him.
 Don't know who Hiroki is yet, her brother perhaps or maybe a man friend? The message said 'do you want to visit the same Italian restaurant this weekend', Wakako never did respond to it. Italian is the theme for her mini home party as most of the foods are from the country and she starts off with a bottle of wine called Delica Maison. It's actually a Suntory product and you know they sponsored this show as all of Wakako's alcoholic drinks were from that company.

 That bottle of wine was consumed quickly, when she's out Wakako tries to limit her intake but at home it's drink until you drop. Above was an appetizer Wakako threw together just like that waiting for the stew to cook, it was made of Brie cheese, crackers, apples and Maple syrup. Like most things Wakako eats she was in seventh heaven but the wine may have played a part in that.
 With the wine in her system it was time for another kind of alcohol, whiskey was the choice and of course it was a Suntory brand. We didn't learn what section of Tokyo Wakako lives in but it can't be too far from downtown. She had taken the whiskey out to her porch which seemed to be on the 20th floor or higher, the downtown buildings weren't far away.
 The whiskey is beginning to take it's toll, Wakako is starting to wonder if she'll be sober enough to eat the stew which is still not fully cooked. Wakako does mention at the beginning of each show how much she loves to drink and after watching her consume the spirits in many shows we know she has a high tolerance for alcohol. So even though she polished off a bottle of wine and has had a few drinks of whiskey to make her a bit tipsy we still haven't seen a completely sloshed Wakako.

 Getting close to the conclusion, these episodes are just 22+ minutes in length. Wakako has had more than enough whiskey but that doesn't mean her urge to imbibe has stopped. Now it's on to beer which next to Sake seems to be her favorite drink. Nuts go perfectly with beer as she consumes three cans of lager while munching on the nuts, will she have room for the stew?
 That question had been nagging at her for a while, the alcohol may have been playing a part in her stomach getting full. But one look at the Italian stew which was finally done cooking Wakako knew of only one thing to do.... dig in! And she did though the show didn't last long enough for us to see if she ate the whole pot or if Wakako decided to partake in a different kind of alcohol. And with that we've hit the end of these two recaps.

 A so-so episode seven but the eighth show more than made up for it. You could say that this is a boring show and would think most would have that opinion. But it's such fun watching a free spirit like Wakako be so passionate about the food she eats plus how she chooses the alcohol to go with it. Four more episodes to go, should have those recaps done by the end of next week. Would do them quicker but am recapping three other series at the moment and not sure what show is on deck though think it may be 'Video Girl Ai'.