Yorimichi Ale
A manga about a retired movie director who goes out drinking craft beer with an up and coming young actor.
We’ve discussed this on a previous episode.
Love this. Not only is there a manga that introduces craft beer, there is a underlying BL romance as the young actor is attracted to the director. I’m not a fan of craft beer myself but all the drinks presented in the series look delicious so I might track some of them down.
You can read it online in Japanese on Comic Days.
~dakazu
Yaiteiru Futari
A food manga about a newlywed couple who live in different cities due to their jobs. They enjoy their limited time together by grilling up different recipes outdoors.
A food manga that focuses on grilling that’s good! I will say the initial premise seems a bit forced. The couple meet over a dating app but when the guy gets transferred to a far city the lady immediately proposes they get married? I get that creator Shiori Hanatsuka wants to do that slow burn of adults getting to know each other but it all seemed very sudden. But regardless of the setup, the series has a really relaxed tone that makes for some lighthearted reading. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kodansha decides to release this in English someday.
You can read it online in Japanese on Comic Days.
~dakazu
Kenka Ramen
A manga about Yoshitsune, the leader of a biker gang, who ends up taking over his father’s ramen shop in order to stop the local yakuza from buying it out.
We’ve discussed this series on a previous episode.
The first food manga by Shigeru Tsuchiyama that would eventually become his genre staple. You have a simple story here of a delinquent struggling to learn his father’s secrets for making the best ramen. It’s nothing fancy but solid entertainment about enjoying some noodles. It’s what you can expect from any series by Tsuchiyama.
There is some extremely outdated sexual assault stuff that happens at the beginning but at least the female character doesn’t take any of Yoshitsune’s shit and it doesn’t come up after that. This is a solid read but I still think Kuishinbo! is Tsuchiyama’s best food manga.
Available digitally in English from Nihonbungeisha Co. LTD.
~dakazu
Oishinbo
A manga about culinary journalists Shiro Yamaoka and Yuko Kurita as they explore different foods and recipes to create the Ultimate Menu for the Tozai newspaper. Their search puts them at odds with Yamaoka’s father, the grand gourmand and artist Yuzan Kaibara, who is creating the Supreme Menu for a rival newspaper.
We’ve discussed this manga on a previous episode.
This is THE food manga. An absolute juggernaut of a franchise that has been synonymous with manga about food, this series ran from 1983 all the way to 2014. This is an all ages manga that even my parents liked and bought. My brother and I would often eat meals while reading a volume in one hand and chopsticks in another.
I’ve been revisiting the series ever since the Mangasplaining podcast covered it. I wasn’t aware of the controversy regarding the Fukushima nuclear disaster that led to the series going on hiatus. Rereading it I notice a lot more conservative political takes throughout the series. Some of them are just products of the times but the series stance on defending whaling for Japanese culture is pretty hard to stomach.
Oishinbo is available in English from VIZ but they are nonlinear. Assorted chapters from different volumes are collected and wrapped around a general theme, such as sushi or ramen. I do wish we could just read all of the series but I understand why this was a much more financially viable choice for publication.
~dakazu
Dick Fight Island
Warrior representatives from Pulau Yong’unda’s eight islands battle in a sexual endurance tournament to decide the next king of the islands.
We’ve discussed this on a recent episode.
Wow. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed reading this. It is such a ridiculous concept to make a hardcore Boys Love manga about such a silly concept of a battle between gorgeous men trying to make their opponent come first. Reibun Ike is clearly having fun with this and it shows, from the fantastic facial hair to the most elaborate cod pieces. When a prostate massage is presented as an unknown technique that puts one warrior at a huge advantage, all I can do is howl with laughter at how absurd everything is. This is easily one of the most entertaining books I’ve read in a long time.
It’s available in English from SuBLime.
~dakazu
Yu Yu Hakusho
A manga about delinquent Yusuke Urameshi who dies saving a child. Since it was not his time to pass on, he is offered a chance at reviving and goes on the become a spirit detective for the Underworld.
We’ve done a Retrospective on this series.
This is an absolute classic. While is starts as a ghost procedural, once Yu Yu Hakusho shifts into battle manga it really takes off. The dark tournament is one of the best arcs out of all shonen manga. It’s really such a shame that Yoshihiro Togashi struggled so much with health issues and pushback from editors while he was drawing this series. At least now with Hunter x Hunter he’s given free reign over his chapter release schedule.
English editions are available from VIZ.
~dakazu
Thermae Romae
A manga about an ancient Roman bathhouse architect Lucius, who time travels to modern Japan and gets inspired by their bathing customs and advancements.
We’ve discussed this on an old episode.
Here it is! Mari Yamazaki‘s hit comedy that led her to do other historical Roman and Greek manga like PLINIVS and Olympia Kyklos. The premise is so zany but fun, it’s an intersection between historical edutainment and a reverse isekai. I revisited this after Yamazaki teased Lucius’ return in Olympia Kyklos and it’s still as hilarious as ever.
You can buy digital English language omnibuses from Yen Press.
~dakazu
Isekai Izakaya “Gen”
Story about a modern day Japanese pub that’s serves citizens in the fantasy medieval kingdom of Oilia.
This series is directly linked to Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu as they’re both written by Natsuya Semikawa. They take place in the same universe and even have some characters cross over between the series. “Gen” is a bit different in some ways because the master of the pub focuses on more Western style foods than the Japanese foods found in Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu. It also has a family dynamic with the titular master “Gen”, his daughter Hinata, and Hinata’s boyfriend Shotaro. Besides those main differences, you have similar stories about different citizens of Oilia loving modern foods they’ve never tried before. Tsukasa Usui does a nice job drawing everything but I personally prefer Nitouhei Virginia‘s art in Nobu. Regardless, this was great additional reading for me.
You can buy English editions of Otherworldly Izakaya Nobu from Udon Entertainment.
~dakazu
Tsuma to Boku no Shoukibo na Ikuji
A biographical series by Shigeyuki Fukumitsu about raising his children.
I’m a big fan of Shigeyuki Fukumitsu‘s manga. He’s drawn multiple series centered around his wife but this new series is all about his kids. Fukumitsu’s negative and defeatist attitude leads to a lot of humorous disagreements with his wife about how to raise his sons. What I wasn’t expecting was Fukumitsu to be so open about the complications about possible deafness his eldest son went through after being born. I’m glad that his son is able to hear now thanks to hearing aids, as the series continues to cover the growth of the kids.
Available to read in Japanese on Comic Days.
~dakazu
Boys Run the Riot
A manga about a teenager transman Ryo who struggles with finding acceptance from the world around him. He teams up with the new transfer student Jin to start their own fashion brand.
We’ve discussed this on a previous episode or two.
I’m pretty conflicted about this series. This is a transgender narrative drawn by a transman manga artist Keito Gaku. That’s already an impressive feat unto itself. But some aspects of the story seem forced like a generic narrative you see in commercial media. It’s hard to say if these choices were mandated from editors at the publisher or from Gaku himself. I’m interested in revisiting the series for the podcast and having a discussion about it when the final 4th volumes comes out.
You can pick up English editions from Kodansha.
~dakazu