Chibilicious - Having my own small, cute world is great

A man named Ban came to Tokyo to work as a helper in a high-class Italian restaurant for the duration of his college semeter break. His previous cooking experience designates him as a chef in a small restaurant in his province.

When he started in Tokyo, he may have the skill of a chef but he does not have the speed and agility to work in a fast-paced kitchen, wherein the cooks are pros and work like soldiers in a battlefield. Here, Ban realized his ‘amateur’ status and his confidence and pride gets shattered a lot of times when his co-workers treat him like garbage and insult him and demoted him as a dishwasher and assistant of the pasta chef.

Ban though, gave more than what was ‘expected’ of him. The other chefs and waiters of the restaurant made bets everyday if Ban was to last till dinner. The head waiter was the only one winning since he wanted to ‘gamble’ and he was lucky enough his ‘bet’ didn’t give up the war in the kitchen.

I remember a dialogue told by the head chef to his restaurant manager, when he mused whether Ban will come back after another day of depression over work.

Chef: Will our Bambi (referring to Ban) return? I expect he’s thinking things like, “If I go back to the restaurant, then what?”, “Why should I make myself so upset?”, “There has to be a restaurant that is easir than this one”, “It’s hard to think that one is not needed”, “There is nothing more upsetting than not being useful”. But you know, in the end, it’s about whether or not you run away from there. Not running away is a marketable talent. Even though they’re few… The people working in this restaurant all didn’t run away. The same goes for you.”

Wow. This is one of the reasons why I love wathing Japanese Dramas. They are made simply but give out profound meanings and morals in life that aren’t realized in normal circumstances.

In this series, everything about life is expressed through a cook’s perspective. His confidence shattered as a self-proclaimed ‘chef’ though he is an amateur, his learnings achieved through hard work after being insulted, demeaned and sometimes physically hurt through work or by colleagues, his determination to continue on living on his promise to his fiancee, that they would one day run a restaurant together.

I can’t help but be envious of him, Ban. I’m not sure if I would be willing to undergo the sufferings he went to. I’m not the ‘competitive’ type as some of my friends are. I can take a certain level of stress and pressure. Seeing Ban go through the pressures in the kitchen, I’m sure I would have left after a few hours if I were in his shoes.

I am envious of him because he has such a strong ambition to actually motivate himself to do more than what he presently can. I may currently have a goal, a short-term goal actually, but I am envious of his long-term goals. And I wonder, will I have his kind of spirit and passion to do what I want.

I wonder up to now.

As of now, I have seen only three (3) episodes of ‘Bambino’. The series stars popular Jun Matsumoto of Hana Yori Dango, Kimi wo Petto and Gokusen. You could view the trailer here to see its potential. Even if I have seen only a few episodes as of the moment, I can see its potential as another series to remember for a long time. The series is a reminder of the pains of growing up, of finding your true place, and of having the reason to live.

A must see for everyone.

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