Ristorante Paradiso

It's been a long time since I sat down and watched something as slow-paced as Ristorante Paradiso. To tell the truth, I was actually longing for a good slice-of-life anime to come up somewhere. When I stumbled upon it, the whole idea of "a restaurant with a single lady worker and lots of aged men" interested me. I mean, the abundance of grown men is curiously odd enough. It's not a plot that's usually used in an anime. And, I'm a guy, so at first I felt a little uncomfortable with the show with lots of males on it, but after watching, it's not like they're those guys on anime that lives just to attract females, so guys are welcome to watch this josei anime with peace.

Anyway, if you don't like slow-paced, quiet shows, and dislike works without much action, then Ristorante Paradiso will surely disappoint you. It's a story for people who like the quieter, more peaceful side of life and anime.

-Story
Ristorante Paradiso is all about a restaurant, somewhere in Rome, with its employess consisting of lots of aged men with glasses. Then, enter Nicoletta into the picture, and the restaurant's never the same again. Don't get me wrong though. The show has this quiet atmosphere that makes you feel like you're at the restaurant as well, eating its delicious delicacies.

-Art
Old people ahoy! The anime's full of the art consisting of old people's faces. It defies the usual standard that you need a sexy/moe/whatever type of character design for the anime to work. Anyway, the art is okay, with its dreamy-like colors and all. But the food! They drew it well!

-Sound
Listen to the opening song and agree with me: the music is well-thought of. It meshed well with the overall theme of the anime: slow-paced slice-of-life. The background music gets it right with the scenes.

-Characters
Ristorante Paradiso's working point is its characters. Each one of them (from the weird Gigi to the old Luciano) has a story of their own, and it worked well with the overall feel. From the beginning, you'd wonder what kind of people works at the restaurant; don't worry, everyone will be focused on.

-Enjoyment
I really enjoyed watching this. The combination of the setting (Rome), characters, and good food, makes this show worthwhile. But, as I've said, it's for people who enjoys quiet anime, so it really depends on your preference if you'll enjoy this or not.

-Overall
Can't say much more; it made my day. Imperfect, yes, but it is a worthy slice-of-life anime, so go try it. Contrary to the common belief, it's not shoujo; it's josei, intended for an older, more mature audience. Not that there's anything wrong with it, but you'll appreciate it more if you're old enough to understand how elder people's minds works. And, this anime's not limited to women. Men can appreciate it as well.

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"A mysterious restaurant is on a road just a little ways from the center of Rome."

Story: 8/10
The plot revolves around a group of older looking men, who work at a restaurant called "Casetta Dell’orso". Each worker wears eye glasses when they are on duty. And this in fact is what makes the restaurant stand out from the others in Rome. One day the staff gets greeted by a women from America, who in turn comes to them wanting to train with the crew. As the anime progresses, each member of the cast is brought in the spotlight, and gets there own in depth story as to how they ended up working there, along with other interesting tid-bits. It does stay linear in this aspect, but brings so many different unique twists on everyone’s story, that most shouldn’t mind this fact. Now because this anime is more of a slow paced down to earth story, everything in it’s plot is very realistic. And a lot of the drama that is brought to the table comes in the form of relationships, complicated family issues, to mixed feeling among characters. All of this is knitted very well together to make quite a compelling and deep storyline. Even though Nicolette is the main character of the story, they all get well balanced scenes, which is good as there is nobody in this that will ever leave the viewer with a big black question mark as to who they are. So be prepared for lots of dialog in this. Now not everything in this will please viewers. As mentioned earlier, the story is quite slow paced, and there really is no over all big plot to this anime. Simply put, it’s a story about life in a restaurant, and I actually found it quite dissapointing that the restaurant theme wasn’t used to it’s fullest. So don’t expect to get any kind of explanation as to how certain dishes are prepared, as the story is more character driven than anything else. Which isn’t a bad thing really, since they really do turn out to be the backbone of this anime. The ending is quite fitting, and should satisfy most.

Regarding possible offensive material. Ristorante Paradiso contains very little in this aspect. There are occasional suggestive situations, but they are done in a quite tasteful manner, never for show. The only thing I would say that some viewers might find a bit disturbing, is that the main lead female Nicoletta, shows attraction to men that are old enough to be her father.

Sound: 8/10
The music track really shines in this. You get the traditional tracks one would hear if they were in Paris, Italy and of course...Rome. The opening theme is quite relaxing, as is the ending theme, and actually does mix well with it’s environment’s theme. Voice acting is also quite good. All character voice are done with maturity and calm, and really do bring the characters to life. Overall, it’s quite an endearing soundtrack.

Animation: 7/10
This was the only real thing I didn’t like about the anime, it just didn’t feel like the animation was up to par regarding what it could have been. Quite a bit of the color scheme is pretty bland at times. Some may argue that it was done purposely in order to create a certain style to the anime. Regardless though, it still has a nice amount of detail to it. Case in point: being that the cast is of different style ages right? And the artists really worked over time to make sure that the characters looked their appropriate age. All the male characters look like they really are in their 40s and 50s. While others, such as Nicolette, appear to be in their 20’s. So while the animation is by no means pushing any boundaries, it’s still nice to look at, and detailed in the places you would want it to be..

Characters: 9/10
As mentioned earlier, each member gets his or her own spotlighted episode. Considering that this is only an 11 episode series, you wouldn’t expect this to have much depth to it. Surprisingly though it does, and the best compliment I can give the cast, is that you really are able to get into their heads, and with many you can even read their thoughts. They have a good amount of layers to their personality, and you will want to push on in the show just to see why a certain character acts a certain way, as little tid-bits are explained as things progress. There was one draw back to this category though, and that comes in the form of Nicolette herself. At the beginning I was expecting her to really develop over the course of the series, and while she did have a bit of development to her, it really wasn’t much. As she tended to just remain in the background "observing" the other cast of character’s lives, and ended up feeling more like a prop to the series. Even still, a wonderful memorable cast that feel interesting, yet down to earth at the same time.

Overall: 8/10
If you are looking for a deep and relaxing slice of life anime with a nice pace to it, then you will enjoy Ristorante Paradiso. While it might disappoint some that were expecting a series that centers around food, it still has a lot to offer the viewer who can appreciate it's plot and themes. So if you were looking for your next anime entree, then your appetite is about to be fed!

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When I started this series, it was more over me just flipping through random anime and going hey why not and watching the first ep. After watching the first ep I was strangely captivated by all of the characters in the anime. Each character had a distinct feature about them, but at the same time many of the characters could be thought as similar.

This is not a anime for people who like fast paced action in my opinion, but instead made for simple relaxation and enjoyment.

You learn about the characters as the story continues, and through multiple stories, a bigger picture is created.

I would say that this anime is either a hit or miss with people, ya love it or ya don't.

To all people out their though I would say to most certainly give this anime a try.

For 11 episodes I was completely satisfied, except for the never ending wish for more.

This anime is for both males and females a like, I don't believe one group would prefer it over another, its an acquired taste tbh.

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Time to go and enjoy ourselves with a subtle anime, but exquisite for the palate. A rather simple but enjoyable drama, filled with a pleasant atmosphere. Well, that was the flavor that this small production left me. Let us begin!

Ristorante Paradiso is an anime series of 11 episodes made in 2009, adapted from the homonymous sleeve of Natsume Ono. The premise tells the story of Nicoletta, a 21 year old girl who travels to Rome to face her mother, who left her abandoned since she was a child. After locating her, she notices that the woman owns, along with her new husband, a small but popular restaurant called Casetta dell'Orso, characterized by having a staff of pure older men (over fifty or reaching age) Who have a marked appeal and a label that makes them extremely popular among Italian ladies who frequent, alone or with partner, the restaurant. This decision was made because of the fascination of the owner for men with glasses. During the development of the series, the young Nicoletta will not only meet the restaurant staff, but will discover more about her mother and, incidentally, meet the man who will captivate his heart in the process: The handsome Saint Claudio Paradiso.

So ... How's it going? It's good? It is bad? Is it cliché? Is it a masterpiece? ... let's see ...

As for the positives, I would say that, first of all, the characters. The way the story introduces you to each of the gentlemen who make up the restaurant, as well as Nicoletta and his mother, characters of support and others, is extremely efficient and subtle, getting to know each one in a pleasant, without Mention that they are extremely endearing and friendly. It is very easy to feel empathy for the protagonist, who is extremely charismatic and fun to watch, both in moments of mild humor and moments of emphatic drama. The gentlemen of the staff are characters, so simple, great. It makes you want to become your colleague. Each one has characterizations that make them distinctive and empathic with the viewer, and although many enjoy being stereotypes of handsome men of anime, they know how to carry the baton of the same without this being made heavy or annoying. On the other hand, and this is something that is peculiar to me, but great after all, I was surprised to see that the characters who would be in charge of the female viewers who saw this anime, were older men. I considered it one of the coolest twists I've seen in an anime of this style, since it is already extremely trite and annoying to meet the typical group of young students sculpted by Michelangelo, with unbearable personality, fastidiously bishonen and, why Not, insufferably perfect.

These are very nice to see; Have the voice of experience on your side. They are married, widowed or divorced, but never willing to fall into childish students. The mangaka responsible for this work knows what he is working with and does not make them fall into stupid temptations. They are older men and behave as such without losing that charismatic brightness that makes them sympathetic to the audience that sees this story. They are gentlemen, humorous, have their character but also good heart, face situations with maturity; But also have internal conflicts that do not find how to solve the first ... in short, they are characters with such a human level of being, it is a great experience to meet each cast member.

Visually, the animation is beautiful. The characters have a good level of animation and the dishes are a delight to watch, not to mention that the lighting works on each plane give you that sophisticated atmosphere that makes you want to see this anime while you sip a rich cup of tea or coffee with the Pinky bow and wearing suit and tie. The music is beautiful, according to the rhythm of the story, it is subtle, elegant, soft ... almost as if it were part of the very life of the story, and it was not a simple arrangement to add extra feeling to what is occurring.

On the other hand, we have a great diversity of couples, as well as the romantic element, which is ... My God, great, exquisite. Each cast member has a love story to tell, or a dramatic moment to highlight, that are of a splendid level in narrative terms. On the other hand, Nicoletta and Claudio have an enviable chemistry. The charismatic and active personality of Nicoletta contrasts too well with the passivity and calm of Claudius, making a perfect equation as far as loving reciprocity. In addition, the final scene, when Claudio finally decides to respond to the feelings of his beloved Nicoletta, is one of the most beautiful "confession" scenes I've seen in a drama or romance anime. It is not a kiss Hollywood, but a simple gesture; But sincere, tender and loaded with an insurmountable emotional aura. Just to see how Claudio puts his hand on Nicoletta's head while she cries with happiness and that beautiful tune of violin sounds at the bottom of the scene, captivated my heart to 1000%, being one of the most beautiful moments that I have witnessed in the Genre of drama in anime and manga.

Ok, apparently, this anime is a beautiful experience ... but like every review I make ... well ...

This anime has a few problems that are worth highlighting. First, it must be said that animation, while beautiful, has its negative counterparts. The majority of scenarios and objects that are seen on screen are generated by computer, which gives us an idea that this anime was made with a very limited budget, shortening the possibilities of having a true visual spectacle. Of course, this may be omitted; But the fact is that, in many cases, the computer scenarios, and the use of this technique in some peculiar things, like the tea or the clarified coffee in the cups, were an extremely distracting element, and that, therefore, no Allowed me to enjoy the visual experience to the level I wanted. Perhaps he is very punctilious in that regard; But what can I say? If you really love a dish, you should ask for it with the best to enjoy it to the maximum, not to settle for a simple overheated cold and without charisma.

On the other hand, I felt that the series did not have time to develop ... I felt short, incomplete and with much to explore. In the first place, Nicoletta's conflict with her mother was solved very abruptly, without even a truly acceptable development, hanging from the mantle of forgiveness and instant compassion. Excuse me, but we're talking about a mother who abandoned her daughter for several years. Overcoming a resentment of that caliber is not something that is solved from one day to the other, even if the woman did not do it with bad intentions. Everything is based on a process almost in the style of Deux Ex Machina for Nicoletta to "mature" and show unconditional love to her mother despite, I repeat and emphasize, having left her alone for many years under the care of her grandmother. I don't know, maybe it is me, but this conflict lacked structure, sense ... in short, it lacked a good development.

This could be because the production is only 11 episodes and has a huge casting of characters to pose, so it does not give time to grant a reasonably good development to all members of each part of the story; Because yes, this not only affects Nicoletta and his mother, but the rest of characters, who, despite everything, we did not finish knowing. Claudio's past, for example, was very lazy. They did not really explain what was happening with him, as well as his passive attitude with any millionaire woman who wanted to taste a private role with him, even if he did not want that ... well, the thing is that the series was extremely short For all it had to offer. There was so much to explore, and nothing was accomplished 100% satisfactory. Maybe it was because the very members of David Productions and Fuji TV were not very enthusiastic about the idea of ​​doing a long series, or at least 22 episodes, based on this manga.

Well, despite everything, Ristorante Paradiso I found a very good series. It has moments that, despite the problems, manage to get ahead, making it one of those small productions that is worth seeing above any pessimistic expectations. It is fun, it is elegant, it is entertaining, it has wonderful characters, it is sweetly romantic and with a light, sophisticated and beautiful atmosphere that will make you, sooner or later, want to see it again.

I personally would go back to this restaurant over and over and over and over and over again.

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