Jun
11
#13 - Kinou Nani Tabeta? by Yoshinaga Fumi
Filed Under Comedy, Gastronomic, Reviews, Seinen, Slice of Life | 3 Comments
きのう何食べた？ (What did you eat yesterday) by Yoshinaga Fumi
Serialized in Morning
Published by Kodansha.
What did you eat for dinner last night?
Fish and chips? Chinese takeout? Pot Roast? How about a grilled fish, marinated in soy and miso, but not too long to save the sweetness of the fish, matched with a clear vegetable soup and red rice? And probably at the same price as your Chinese takeout. Yoshinaga Fumi returns to us with a very delectable treat, one that we have missed ever since Antique Bakery. We now have 2 guys in their 40s, sharing an apartment, and eating some of the yummiest dinners with ingredients bought in the best of seasons and on a budget. Yes, Fumi’s back in her element with a delightfully yummy manga serving where she asks us “Kinou, nani tabeta?”, what did you yesterday?
May
22
A very sweet summer
Filed Under Gastronomic, News, Seinen, Series Updates, Slice of Life | 4 Comments
For me, summer has come to an end, but for everyone else, summer’s just about to begin. Particularly this season, a couple of tastefully sweet mangas are either being animated or is being enacted into live action. And I say you shouldn’t miss them. And no, it’s not because they’re BL (actually, only one of them is) but it’s because for those who have a sweet tooth, it would be great to finally see, in full motion, how some of the sweets featured in these mangas were made. Because of series like Antique Bakery and Andou Natsu being animated, this summer is more than just watermelons.
To start with, we have strawberry shortcakes coming from the cast of Antique Bakery. By now, everyone knows about Antique Bakery. A lot of girls started professing eternal support for Fumi after reading this series. And boys pretty much got the jist from their girl friends and is relieved that at least the j-dorama didn’t make Ono gay. However, once Toshokan Sensou ends in July, Fuji TV’s Noitamina slot will be featuring Antique Bakery. And yes this time round, Ono will be gay. I will not go at length on how much I’m excited about this. I think I’ve mentioned it before already, but yes, expect to see some care in the creation of really yummy pastries from them. The detail Fumi places everytime Ono whips up a desert always made me hungry. I have to make sure that I have a cookie with me while watching this series. I think my tummy will be crying the whole time if I didn’t.
On the other hand, I am just as excited for Andou Natsu. It was announced last week that they’ll be bringing out this yummy manga about an aspiring pattisiere who eventually dedicated her craft to the creation of okashi or Japanese sweets. I first crossed this manga when I was reading Big Comic Original (blame Pluto). It really didn’t leave a great impact to me then, but somehow fate wants me to read this manga that when I asked my teacher1 to send me a manga of his choice as a recommendation, he sent me Andou Natsu. I know Karl loves his food mangas so I know that this has got to be something that he has sifted through the lot. And surprisingly, this manga is more than just sweets, but it also speaks of the preservation of the trade of Japanese sweets, one craft that is slowly losing out to the likes Antique Bakery (lol.)
Yes, I love Andou Natsu because it shares to us readers something that we can definitely find only in Japan (or if you’re lucky, at your local grocery). Okashi is a delicate trade of making sweets using ingredients that are indigenous to Japan. So some of these okashi are your mochi packed with sweet an, colored in naturally edible dyes, made painstakingly with much dedication and brute strength, and perhaps served fresh every day.
What is great about the story is it’s not just about a girl trying to get in the trade, but rather, just like the girl, it raises your level of awareness on how the sweets were made and the lengths that people are doing in order to protect their craft that is slowly losing to Hersheys and Meiji chocolates. More than that, the manga has a nice warm feeling to it wherein the characters nurture not only their associates in the store, but also the nearby community that supports and patronizes their sweet.
These two great mangas may not have big cook-offs and shining dishes, but their sweet tales is something that’ll make you think how life is more than a box of chocolates. My sweet tooth will definitely be spoiled this summer.
- I’m forever grateful, Karl-sensei!! [↩]
Mar
21
#12 Saint Young Men by Hikaru Nakamura
Filed Under Comedy, Reviews, Seinen, Slice of Life | 4 Comments
Saint Young Men (聖☆おにいさん) by Nakamura Hikaru
Serialized in Morning Two
Published by Kodansha
Lent is the perfect time to reflect over our past sins and contemplate on how THE MAN sacrificed his life for our salvation. In the modern world, this religious ritual becomes a chore, often forgotten, maybe even neglected. In my country, Lent’s a holiday, a 5 day weekend where you can relax from the nitty gritty of work, ideally to reflect, but more often spent on frolicking in beaches and family picnics. But somehow, The Lord finds his way to sneak up on you, in ways you can’t even imagine. And in this case, he even partnered himself with Buddha to create a light-hearted comedy about two deities living a life in the modern world.
Whatever divine crack you sniffed Hikaru Nakamura, YOU ARE A GENIUS! JESUS AND BUDDHA FTW!
Jun
20
Lying and Cooking…
Filed Under By Genre, Drama, Features, Gastronomic, Reviews, Seinen, Slice of Life | 4 Comments
Last spring was a breath of fresh air after the stark dry season that is post-Nodame. Yes, Nodame’s drama and anime was such a blast that nothing came close to compare the fun and energy that Nodame had. Until of course, spring came. Now, there are many series to keep note of during the season. There were many GREAT animes that came out, but what really sparked my curiosity was the line of dramas that came out during spring. Particularly, Liar Game and Bambino.
If lying and cooking is your turf, I recommend that you watch these two series. While you’re at it, read the mangas as well.
Liar Game is brilliant, and Death Note would have been this brilliant if Ooba Tsugumi only knew where to stop and control herself. LG’s story revolves around Nao and Akiyama, two people caught in a conniving game that encourages its players to lie in order to fulfill the task of the game. Nao is one extra-gullible girl, not because she was stupid (although this is really the impression you get when you read her), but because she has an infallible faith in humanity’s honesty. She’s too trusting that you just want to bop her in the head. On the other hand, Akiyama is an ex-con who swindled a big company in his youth. It turns out that it was this very company that drove his mother insane in turn killing herself. Upon the advice of a local ‘policeman’, Nao sought for the help of Akiyama. Akiyama, finding a lot of his mom’s qualities in Nao, helped her to get out of the game. Little do they know that the game is more complex than it appears. Winners have the chance to leave only after they have swindled others of their money. And this could be a little difficult when you have someone like Nao around.
Liar Game is flawless, in my opinion. The manga was well paced and although the art is something to get used to, it was apt for series. It was dark and piercing. And the drama adapted these images really well. Despite how much annoying Nao is, her presence has value unlike Misa-misa. One might wonder why I compare DN to LG, well it’s because it revolves around the same aura of mystery and psychological warfare. Liar Game had a great avenue to present a battle of wits and so did Death Note. However, unlike DN, Liar Game managed to explore the capacity of man’s greed. DN only managed to set a holier than thou setting. Almost there, but not quite complete.
On the other hand, there is Bambino, a story about a boy who discovered the world of Italian cooking during his internship in a big Tokyo Italian restaurant named Baccanale. To begin things, the premise of Bambino is not close to Oishinbo and Yakitate! Japan where you come up with all the weird breads, pastas, and all that what’s not. Instead, it’s closer to Antique Bakery and Cafe Kichijouji De: its about learning how to be a part of the restaurant and how to love its food and customers. Ban, the series’ main character, had to learn these lessons the hard way. There are times where I just wished that I could bop him personally but yeah, thank god everyone around him gave a beating.
Fans of Matsumoto Jun will love this drama, but since I’m not a big fan of his, I can’t say that this is worth a watch because of MatsuJun. I swear, I had to hate his character before I found him acceptable (which was towards the 9th eps. And it’s already ending this week!). The major thrill about Bambino are the different things that Ban had to learn to finally get things right. The lectures from his colleagues and their motivation to pursue what they love were truly passionate. Might I add that the food featured in the series was major fun! They all looked yummy and I made sure that I watched the series after dinner or with a bowl of pasta already at hand. It can make you hungry. God. Hungry is an understatement. If you didn’t crave for a risotto or a ravioli afterwards, you must have an eating problem (or at least full!).
Oct
24
#02 - Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
Filed Under By Audience, By Genre, Drama, Reviews, Seinen, Slice of Life | 2 Comments
Planetes by Makoto Yukimura
Published by Kodansha
Serialized in Weekly Morning
When you look outside your window, what do you dream? For Hachirota Hoshino, he dreamt of reaching the deep ends of the dark void with a big spaceship of his own. I believe it’s universal to be enchanted by space’s beauty. However, we discover that space isn’t merely a painting for us to adore. It is a reality that we all live in. Makoto Yukimura beautifully drafts the life of DS-12 “Toybox” as they encounter space. From what is commonly seen as just another space odessey, Yukimura takes it a step further to offer to us not just a tale, but a reflection on the importance of life, love, humanity, and space. Planetes explores the being in Being as the crew of DS-12 struggles in space. Sounds a bit complex, but hey, that’s life.
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Otaku Champloo is...
a small serving of bittersweet manga bits by a manga addict named Khursten.
She currently digs mangas about boys who live to be men. -
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