The Japanese drama “Alice in Wonderful Kitchen” has been embroiled in allegations of plagiarism involving the ENA drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” which caused a sensation in 2022.
Recently, a Japanese media outlet raised suspicions that the setting and plot of the drama, first broadcast on the 21st, are similar to “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
“Alice in Wonderful Kitchen” depicts the story of Arist (played by Kadowaki Mugi), a genius chef with autism spectrum disorder, who heals the hearts of those around him through cooking.
The points of similarity include Alice, who grew up under the care of his father and has autism spectrum disorder but possesses extraordinary business skills, the development of a romantic relationship with his restaurant colleague Kosei (played by Nagase Ren), the appearance of Mitsuya and Kazusa (played by Maeda Atsuko), friends who help when facing harassment, and the introduction of Gojo Makiko (played by Kimura Tae), the daughter of the CEO of a pharmaceutical company who knows Alice’s past—parallels drawn with “Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”
In response to these allegations, the Japanese media Pinsba News reported that “‘Alice in Wonderful Kitchen,’ which is receiving praise as a ‘warm and kind work,’ is being talked about among broadcasting officials as ‘having directing and plots too similar to Korean dramas.'”
Meanwhile, the production company Ace Story of “Extraordinary Attorney Woo” expressed a cautious stance, stating that they will carefully consider opinions after observing more broadcasts.
“Extraordinary Attorney Woo” recorded a high viewership of 17.5% (Nielsen Korea, based on paid households) and won the Grand Prize in the TV category at the Baeksang Arts Awards the following year. The drama is also streamed on Netflix, securing the top spot in both non-English and English-speaking TV show categories.
Source: (A)
