I've been debating with myself whether to give this series a perfect score, but I went for a 9.5 only because historical genres are not my favourite thing since they tend to become darker as the story progresses, and Tenno no Ryoriban is no exception. Central theme of the dorama is doing everything and anything with a magokoro - a sincere heart, that is - and, beyond any doubt, Tokuzo has the biggest, purest, most sincere heart of them all when it comes to things that matter. The story focuses on Akiyama Tokuzo's life and his path to becoming the Emperor's personal chef. Along the way, you see the character grow thanks to his family and loved ones, and, even if you kinda hate him at the beginning, - *mutters* the ungrateful brat, - after a while you can see he really understands and learns to appreciate the love he's been given and be grateful for it. For this reason, I believe another important theme of the story is love. Be it romantic, or familial, or friendly, love is the guiding force behind the action: Tokuzo's love for food, Toshiko's love for Tokuzo, Shutaro's love for his family and his country... every single act of love makes up this dorama and lets the story unfold beautifully. The acting is phenomenal. I loved every single performance given by the actors. Sato Takeru, Kuroki Haru and Suzuki Ryohei in particular, stole the scene every time they were on the screen. I have nothing to say, I was truly amazed by the stellar job they've done. Bravissimi. The music was sweet and perfectly suited for the dorama. As for the rewatch value, this is such a good series, you would probably want to watch it again. I'm not one for rewatches, but this is definitely something I would see myself watching again in a few years' time. To conclude, even if historical doramas are not your favourite thing in the world, you should still give Tenno no Ryoriban a chance. This series has love, friendship, life, death, acts of selfishness, acts of selflessness, sadness, happiness, hope, dreams... everything. You won't regret it.