The genre I look out for when choosing shows is of course “slice of life”. I watch other things but I really look for the slice of life gem of the season which just happens to be Ristorante Paradiso by David Productions.
Ristorante Paradiso
When I read the synopsis of the story I was immediately hooked and desperately wanted the 1st episode to come out. When it did I immediately grabbed it and watched it and man was I not let down. This is everything I love in an anime great characters, soothing music, and a slow paced atmosphere that just sucks you into it and makes you wish you were there. I think it’s because I am a fan of Aria (diehard yo) that I love these slow paced shows, they’re not for everyone mind you, but the people who like this genre truly understand the greatness of the “Slice of Life” genre. In the first episode everything that is written in the synopsis is laid out: Nicoletta (our heroine) goes to Rome to confront her mother and upon reaching Rome she enters the Restaurant Casetta Dell’Orso where the rest of the story will unfold.
Walking down the alley to the restaurant accompanied by the music was simply enchanting.
As Nicoletta walks into this mysterious restaurant she is greeted by an older gentleman. She lies about her reason for being there (doesn’t say she’s her daughter) and promptly waits for her mother so she can start the whole ordeal. While waiting she sees the servers working about and notices something peculiar about them.
Hmm yes Middle aged men megane moe~ seems to be the rage nowadays in Rome.
Who are these gentlemen? Why I’m glad you asked!
Fabulous Gentlemen!
Tsundere
Exercise Freak
Skilled Chef
Not a real middle aged megane but still cool!
Silent assassin that's always eating.
You'll shit bricks (or laugh) when you find out his real name.
She hasn’t met these fine gentlemen yet but she will.
Long story short her mother comes in with her husband (Nicoletta’s new dad I guess?) and as she is rushed outside by her mother Olga she is told that she cannot reveal who she is as her current husband doesn’t know. They go back inside where they eat some awesome food and Claudio catches her eye. She also finds out the whole reason for the glasses and older men: her mother, it’s her uhhh fetish you could say.
The next morning she wakes up angry at her mother for having fun while leaving her alone with her grandma all these years. She gets the roundabout from her mother in a phone call while also being hooked up with an apartment and she goes about to explore Rome trying to figure out what to do from here on out. Insert awesome scenery.
She just happens to meet Claudio in the streets and beings to like him even more now.
EMBARRASING REMARKS ARE PROHIBITED!!!
She gets invited to lunch at the restaurant with the rest of the staff and that’s where the above pictures come from. You get to learn a bit about the characters like how Luciano is such a tsundere. You also find out that….
Oh snap.
Oh well guess those plans are down the drain…. =( Dun mind Nicoletta! There’s other middle aged megane servers in Rome!
Upon going back home she finds a present from her mom and the words “Welcome to Rome”. A very nice time to put it in and very good choice of words. The scene shows up after she experiences a few days in Rome and becomes friendly and invovled with the restaurants staff so I feel that the presentation of the card was good. She finds the card being held by a bear which was the type of present her mother would always buy her.
As she looks out the window into the night view of Rome she says:
A very awesome episode for a very awesome series. Sorry there were so many pictures but they were so good and so very well done that I just had to put them there. The characters may look a bit odd or different when you first see them but you quickly get adjusted to the style. The mangas art and characters sometimes looked atrocious. The music is wonderful with very relaxed pieces and some brooding but not too bad. I feel at times the silence adds to the beauty of this series. The use of Italian words is good although sometimes it might feel forced or stressed instead of fluidly flowing. Claudio it seems is best at intergrating Italian into his lines as the line he says to Nicoletta is nigh perfect in flow, pronunciation and tone. Oh and all the guys are FABULOUS (cause they’re forced to be lol) and it feels somewhat similar to Bartender in the elegant notion.
There is a lot to love about this anime and a lot to find out about the characters. I will continue to write more ep reviews (hopefully on time) and I hope I have convinced some people to watch this series or love it more if they are watching it.
Ciao.
