Oishnbo MMF: The Final Dish & Oishinbo Legacy

I feel like this week came and went and as I wrote my last few articles, I really hadn’t realized that the week was almost over.

I actually thought that I had written so much (many of them have been written prior to MMF), but the week caught up with me well and somewhere along the way I had to give up on some ideas for articles. To be fair, it’s something that is difficult to catch up on because it’s really just a summary on the cute development of Yamaoka and Kurita’s relationship.  And to be honest, I can’t remember much since I crammed 104 volumes in my head.

The last day is sweet and it’s not because I made dessert with French Pancake. And it’s not because I finally remembered to mention this awesome Japanese site that actually inspired me to hold the culinary aspect of this feast: Manga Shokudo which also has its own book now!

In writing the list of unlicensed manga that mangavores and foodies could appreciate, it dawned on me that a lot of these titles wouldn’t have been present if Oishinbo hadn’t been written. After the success of Oishinbo, the manga industry found value in discussing and experimenting with food in its pages. Thus, I’m really happy that food manga was born as it gave us more manga to read.

Food, while integral to our living, hardly finds its presence in other forms of culture other than its kitchens and diners. To see it as an effective tool in educating people about food makes me appreciate its legacy not only in Japanese culture, but in the world as well. While Ed Sizemore might be missing out on experiencing these featured flavors, I’m happy that he sees value in this genre. When we all have forgotten flavors, these comics contribute in reminding us the various tastes and textures that we experience in food.

In my podcast, I asked about the future of food manga and Erin was talking about astronaut meals and such. Seeing other developments in cuisine also made me wonder if smaller or microscopic dishes will be enough to feed us someday. Perhaps our dining preferences may change and evolve but I think I can feel assured that if the world does end in 2012 and aliens would have to figure out what we ate, they might just chance upon these comics that tried to capture the flavors that changed our life.

I’d love to give my sincerest thanks to all the awesome folks who contributed for this Oishinbo and Food Manga MMF. Of course, I’d also like to thank the readers for supporting us! I’ll be updating the links in the viking a few hours from now so stay abreast and follow me over at twitter for any other announcements. If you enjoyed this feast and would like to participate to similar (sans the food) Manga Moveable Feasts, join our Google Groups page!

Next month is honestly just as exciting as mine! Michelle Smith and Anne are hosting the Inoue Takehiko Manga Moveable Feast from June 24 – June 30 at Manga Report and Soliloquy in Blue. With all these food I ate for this feast, I’m going to get my Shohoku trainers back and get myself ready. L-O-V-E RU-KA-WA! \o/