The Queen of Lunchtime Cuisine

Lunch no Joō (ランチの女王, Ranchi no Joō; lit. "Queen of Lunch") is a Japanese drama series aired in Japan on Fuji TV in 2002. It stars Yūko Takeuchi, Yōsuke Eguchi, Satoshi Tsumabuki, and Shinichi Tsutsumi.

The Queen of Lunchtime Cuisine
Series DVD cover
Genre	Romantic Comedy, Food
Starring	Yūko Takeuchi Yōsuke Eguchi Satoshi Tsumabuki Shinichi Tsutsumi
Theme music composer	Hoyt Axton
Opening theme	Joy to the World
Country of origin	Japan
Original language	Japanese
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Masatoshi Yamaguchi Yoshimasa Genouzono
Original release
Network	Fuji TV
Release	July 1 (2002-07-01) – September 16, 2002 (2002-09-16)

Synopsis

Season 1 (2002)

Natsumi loves lunchtime and food. Nothing excites her more than to walk down the street thinking about where she'll eat lunch. One day, a man named Kennichiro interrupts Natsumi as she's about to eat her favorite rice omelet and drags her outside and begs her to come home with him so that he can introduce her to his family. He explains to her that his father is sick and after leaving on bad terms, the only way he'll be allowed back home is to return with a fiancée. Natsumi is left with quite a predicament.

Cast

Season 1 (2002)

Main

Role	Actor
Natsumi Mugita	Yūko Takeuchi
Yujiro Nabeshima	Yōsuke Eguchi
Junzaburo Nabeshima	Satoshi Tsumabuki
Minoru Ushijima	Takayuki Yamada
Koshiro Nabeshima	Tomohisa Yamashita
Tomato Shiomi	Misaki Itoh
Kenzo Nabeshima	Go Wakabayashi
Kenichiro Nabeshima	Shinichi Tsutsumi
Shuuji (Natsumi-san's ex-lover)	Go Morita
Noboru Sakai	Eita
Mamoru Kawabata	Issei Takubo
Hidemi Yamashiro	Masako Umemiya
Yumi	Emi Suzuki

Minor

Role	Actor	Episode(s) acted in
	Ren Ohsugi	1 & 12
	Morooka	3 & 4
	Kohki Okada	3 & 10
	Kosuke Toyohara	5 - 7
Negi-ba	Teruko Hanabara	5 & 8
	Ken Ishiguro	7
	Yusuke Kamiji	7
Maggie	Kenta Kiritani	8
Nagisa Kirishima	Eriko Sato	11
	Shinshou Nakamaru	12

Episodes

Season One (2002)

Ep#	Title	Original air date	Ratings (Kanto Region)
01	An omelette with rice which you love (恋するオムライス)	01-07-2002	21.9%
02	Now Serving: The New Summer Love Menu! (登場！夏の恋の新メニュー)	08-07-2002	18.5%
03	Cream Corokke... of Tears (涙…のクリーム・コロッケ)	15-07-2002	19.7%
04	Check Out this Chicken & Rice Properly, Ok! (チキンライスをキチンとね)	22-07-2002	18.8%
05	More, please! Puffy rice (おかわり！ふっくらごはん)	29-07-2002	18.5%
06	Father's Last Children's Lunch (Dad's Last Happy Meal) (親父の最後のお子様ランチ)	05-08-2002	17.0%
07	A hamburger steak! An old lover!! (ハンバーグ！昔の恋人!!)	12-08-2002	17.0%
08	A cutlet! A dangerous… and sad past (カツ！危険で…悲しい過去)	19-08-2002	19.1%
09	Former he who is in danger and a rival of love (危険な元彼と恋のライバル)	26-08-2002	17.7%
10	Seriously? A sudden kiss and accelerated love (マジ!?突然キスと恋の加速)	02-09-2002	20.0%
11	Proposal to elder brother's wife (兄嫁にプロポーズ)	09-09-2002	17.5%
12	The Reason for Lunch on Earth - Big Brother Returns! Who will be the victor in the battle of love? (地球上にランチがある理由 - 長男帰る！ 恋のバトルの勝者は？)	16-09-2002	21.2%
Average	18.9%

The ratings are sourced from Video Research Ltd. Rating in red is the highest and in blue is the lowest.

Awards and nominations

Years	Awards	Categories	Recipients	Results	Ref.
2002	34th Television Drama Academy Awards	Best Drama		Won	[1]
		Best Casting		Won
		Best Actress	Yūko Takeuchi	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Tsumabuki Satoshi	Won
		Best Music	Yoshimata Ryo	Won
2002-2003	6th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix	Best Actress	Yūko Takeuchi	Won