The first episode of the TBS Tuesday drama "Jaa, Anta ga Tsukutte Miro yo It" (Tuesdays at 10 PM), starring actors Kaho and Ryoma Takeuchi, aired on October 7th. Takeuchi's character, Katsuo Ebihara, repeatedly called out "Chikuzenni," creating a buzz on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers
The original work is a manga of the same name by Natsuko Taniguchi, currently being serialized in the digital comic magazine "Comic Tanto" (Bunkasha). Yamagishi Ayumi (Kaho), who always puts her lover first, and Ebihara Katsuo, a patriarchal man who believes that "it's only natural for a woman to cook!", have been dating since their university days. After living together, Katsuo proposed marriage, but Ayumi's response was an unexpected "no way." Through cooking, Katsuo reexamines the things he took for granted and grows as a person.
Katsuo openly states that his favorite dish is Chikuzenni, which Ayumi makes. At a group blind date he attended after being dumped by Ayumi, he said that his ideal type was "a girl who can cook Chikuzenni deliciously," and he emphatically told a young woman, "Japanese cuisine is the basis of home cooking, so it would be good if you could learn to cook things like Chikuzenni!"
Following a suggestion from a junior colleague at work, Katsuo decided to make Chikuzenni himself. At first, he thought it was easy, thinking, "All you have to do is cut up some vegetables and boil them, right?" But when he tried, he found it to be far too difficult. After a long time, he finally finished, but the flavor was strong, and the appearance and texture were unpleasant, making it far from "delicious."
On social media, comments such as "It's hilarious how he keeps repeating Chikuzenni," "Katsuo's constant mention of Chikuzenni is so funny lol," and "Looking back, I've never made Chikuzenni lol" were posted.
Speaking of "Chikuzenni" in TBS dramas, Momoko Tanabe's character Jun Ichinose in the 2021 drama "Rikokatsu" (on the same network) became a hot topic when she was nicknamed "Chikuzenni Woman." Social media users commented, "Even so, she kept repeating the word 'Chikuzenni' so much, it reminded me of 'Chikuzenni Woman,'" "It reminds me of 'Chikuzenni Woman,'" "Following on from the Chikuzenni Woman a few years ago, now TBS has a Chikuzenni Man!" "The Chikuzenni Man has appeared, too, lol," and "The Chikuzenni Man has been born, lol."
