The worst episodes of Midnight Diner
Ranked by viewer rating, lows first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Ryu the local gangster boss, Noguchi is a detective both coming from the same high school. A colleague from their past forces the two to set aside differences at least for the time being.
- 02
Struggling singer Miyuki orders her favorite “nekomamma”. Master recalls another regular who is a lyricist. He later writes her a song as a gift.
- 03
Master starts each night by making potato and macaroni salad. A recent regular and charismatic porn star has become a fan of his potato salad.
- 04
Komichi brings food critic Toyama to the diner, who kills the mood. Goro comes for his usual butter rice which turns Toyama into a weekly patron.
- 05
Boxer Kacchan always eats katsudon (pork cutlet over rice) after a win. He falls in love with another regular Akemi. A big match suddenly comes up.
- 06
Hopeful star Risa meets struggling student and newspaper delivery boy Nakajima at the diner. They share an egg sandwich together. Could this be love?
- 07
Ex-idol Rinko visits the diner. Her former fan club members get excited when they hear she ate a plate of pan-fried noodles topped with a fried egg.
- 08
A young screenwriter has to live through a scandal after her affair with her producer is revealed.
- 09
Private detectives Kei and Mamoru are drawn to the aroma of Master’s simmered taro and squid. They spend the night together after leaving the diner.
- 10
Regular Komichi falls for Kasumi, whose past is unknown. She asks Master to make pickled ginger tempura, a taste familiar to people from Osaka.
- 11
The stern-faced master of this diner only wields his knife from midnight to 7 am. The yakuza Ryu has been a regular since he tasted the “red wieners”.
- 12
Miki, Rumi and Kana meet at the diner to eat “ochazuke” (hot tea over rice) and gab about men. Master secretly calls them the “ochazuke sisters.”
- 13
Yachiyo, an older lady, visits the diner two days in a row. She becomes friends with Marilyn the stripper and they go out clubbing together.
- 14
”Do you have sautéed burdock?” asks stately Chizuru Ichikawa as she enters the diner. She is Gen’s former high school teacher, club adviser, and crush.
- 15
Detectives Noguchi and Izumi always disagree. He wants “liver and chives”, she wants “chives and liver”. She tells Master she wants a new partner.
- 16
Gen, who usually comes with his “big bro” Ryu, is alone tonight when he orders ramen. He then stabs the leader of an opposing gang and disappears.
- 17
An overworked young woman name keeps falling asleep at the diner. Master makes her a special drink. Her brother and another regular customer helped her to get rid of her abusive and parasitic boyfriend.
- 18
A middle aged martial arts teacher and his elderly mother seem to constantly bicker and fight, but a traffic accident reveals the depth of her maternal relationship.
- 19
An author with some writers block issue decides to solicit an escort for stress relief, but the chance meeting with her might be more than he bargained for.
- 20
A bowl of cold noodles reminds a soon to retire detective of a fugitive that had eluded him his entire career. Could he possibly capture this elusive thief before they both retire?
- 21
A hardworking young lady delivers a singing birthday telegram at the diner and winds up falling in love with one of the regular patrons. Could this really lead to a true romance?
- 22
Widowed singer Misao Kashima makes a rare visit to eat minced meat cutlets. Misao has been unable to perform on stage ever since she lost her husband.
- 23
Tomatoes Wrapped in Pork Belly
Comic editor Uno brings up-and-coming award-winning artist Hashimoto to eat Master’s pork-wrapped tomatoes. He lives with a woman and writes comics.
- 24
Miho and Sayuri, in charge of their elementary school reunion, order vermicelli salad. The two recall their old schoolmate who loved the dish.
- 25
The weather is getting cooler so Master prepares extra stuffed cabbage to the regular customers’ delight. Only the stripper Marilyn feels differently.
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