Nigakute Amai

A manga about a woman who befriends and starts living with a gay man who’s knowledgeable about vegetarian meals.

We’ve discussed this manga on an older episode.

I really like this series. The pairing of a straight woman and gay man felt questionable at the beginning because the story hinted that she was attracted to him and they might end up together. Luckily that never happens and this series is more about processing the drama both characters are going through. The woman hates vegetables because it’s her family business and the man has a rough relationship with his mother due to the death of his talented brother. Things get more complicated as side characters enter the fray and they all work through their issues. It’s done well but I didn’t like how thirsty the gay man was. He flirted with almost every attractive man, and that included the woman’s father.

Like many food manga each chapter features a dish. This series is unique because every recipe is vegetarian. I really liked the focus on vegetarian meals and even made a few of them myself. I also loved Yumiko Kobayashi‘s unique art style.

A really solid food manga, mainly because the although the food is great the main focus was the interactions with the characters and resolving their drama. It matches well with the title, which means ‘Bitter and Sweet’.

~dakazu