Midnight Asia: Eat Dance Dream Review 2022 Tv Show Series Cast Crew Online
The first episode is about Tokyo, Japan’s largest city. It’s a buttoned-up place during the day, with people bustling to and from work in a country where being on time and working hard is the default. But at night, things loosen up.
In the Shinjuku neighborhood, we’re introduced to Sumiko Iwamuro, aka DJ Sumirock. She’s 85 years old (at least when the episode was shot in 2020) and she holds the world record for being the oldest professional club DJ. She learned DJing at the tender age of 77, and she does it late nights after she puts in a full day at the restaurant that has been in her family since she was 19.
Other profiles depict a night scene that was in in its infancy even a decade ago. Rogerio Ignacio Vaz, born in Brazil to Japanese parents, moved to Tokyo to get immersed in his parents’ culture. He’s a mixologist at Bar Trench, considered one of the best cocktail bars in Asia. He says that a decade ago, artisanal cocktails weren’t a thing in Japan, but it’s become the hot dining trend. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Shotaro Komijo drags his bar cart, called Twillo, to a different location every day, and then tells people where he is via social media.
Shinichi Morohoshi buys Lamborghini Countaches (base price: $2.5 million) and customizes them, often with crystals and pulsating lights. Narukiyo Yoshida operates a tiny stand-up bar/restaurant and wears a head scarf that says “FUCK OFF”. And we also get a look at a “fetish party” hosted by the group Department H.
The format of each episode of Midnight Asia is basically the same: Lots of shots of nightlife in various forms, spectacular drone shots of skylines and busy streets, a talk with a travel writer who provides a framing mechanism for each of the episode’s segments, and then various profiles of quirky and fun restaurant owners, DJs, entertainers, musicians, etc.
The sameness of the episodes squashes down what makes each city unique, but some interesting and quirky things still pop up, like the profile of DJ Sumirock, which Evans used as one of the through-lines for the episode. Every time we went back to her, sporting her see-through jumpsuit, big sunglasses and massive headphones, we smiled.
DJ Sumirock and the fetish parties were the parts of the episode that seemed truly fresh. Even though the series concentrates on the late night hours, it still doesn’t show us much that’s new.
