I know Koreeda is a critically acclaimed filmmaker but after watching his film The Broker and this drama I have to conclude he's not for me. Both The Broker and Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san are beautiful to look at and address a potentially compelling topic (baby trafficking and modern day geishas). But the writing is shallow and unrealistically sentimental.

I'm with Samire's father: I would not want my minor daughter to drop out of school and pursue a profession that puts her in close contact with drunken businessmen every night. There's no way a beautiful young woman wouldn't be sexually harassed or worse in such a situation. But this drama glosses over any potentially ugly aspects of the profession in favor of endless scenes of the girls chatting and eating. No one disagrees about anything important (the biggest conflict is over who ate someone's pudding from the refrigerator) and there's no plot. The drama briefly alludes to the limited prospects available to women who leave the profession (it seems like the best retirement strategy is to marry a man who can financially support you or spend the rest of your life as a house mother to new geisha trainees), but it never builds to anything interesting.

I spent two days in Kyoto this year near the Gion district where this drama was filmed and it was nice to see the familiar streets, temples and parks (though I find it funny you don't see anyone sweating when Kyoto is a sweltering furnace in the summer with 90% humidity). The cooking scenes are aesthetically pleasing and the dishes are the kind of home foods you can find at a good Japanese family restaurant so if you live in a big city you can likely try most of the dishes. Additional beauty is provided by the hair, makeup and kimonos worn by the geishas.

I think probably the best way to view this drama is as beautiful wallpaper and nothing more.