Oishinbo A la Carte – Izakaya: Pub Food by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

March 19, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

All things come to an end and the seventh and final volume of “Oishinbo A la Carte” has been released. The final volume collecting stories that deal with Izakaya: Pub Food is another entertaining and enjoyable volume from the series. If you have an interest in Japanese cuisine, every volume of “Oishinbo” has been quite delightful, worth reading and definitely recommended!

MANGA TITLE: OISHINBO A la Carte – Izakaya: Pub Food

STORY AND ART BY: Story by Tetsu Kariya, Art by Akihara Hanasaki

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

RATED: T for Teen

Released: January 2010

Izakaya occupy the same vital space in the Japanese culinary landscape as tapas bars in Spain or tavernas in Greece. Unpretentious, frequently boisterous, they’re places to meet with friends or business partners to unwind over drinks and small dishes that range from hearty standards to refined innovations.

In this volume of Oishinbo, Yamaoka and Kurita investigate classic izakaya foods such as edamame and yakitori, devise new dishes to add to the menu of an old shop, and discover how the concept of “play” is essential to the enjoyment of food.

Story by Tetsu Kariya and Art by Akira Hanasaki.

The long running manga “Oishinbo” (which means “The Gourmet”) is a popular best-selling manga series published by Shogakukan which has been ongoing since 1983. The series have sold 1.2 million copies per volume annually and have sold more than 100 million volumes as of Jan. 2009.

Written by Tetsu Kariya and art by Akira Hanasaki, the series has won multiple awards and has had a successful anime TV series run from 1988 through 1992. And now the series is being released in the United States from Viz Media through their Viz Signature. Because there have been so many volumes, Viz has selected chapters from the popular manga and will separate each volume release by cuisine topic. This latest volume of “Oishinbo: A la Carte” is the final volume to be released in the US and what a delightful series this has become.

So, far the following manga been released:

Oishinbo A la Carte – The making of food, beverages and utensils
Oishinbo – Sake
Oishinbo A la Carte – Ramen & Gyoza
Oishinbo A la Carte – Fish, Sushi and Sashimi
Oishinbo A la Carte – Vegetables
Oishinbo A la Carte – The Joy of Rice

“Oishinbo” revolves around the employees of the newspaper Tozai News with its employees commissioned to create the “Ultimate Menu”, a model meal that embodies the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. Both Shiro Yamaoka and Yuko Kurita are in charge of the project and throughout each chapter, the series is broken down to several types of dishes or food related items and how each dish is created. Meanwhile, his father, who Shiro has had an estranged relationship for years after his mother’s death, the world renown founder and director of prestigious Gourmet Club and Japanese pottery creator, Kaibara Yuzan heads the “Supreme Menu” for a rival newspaper. So, both Shiro and his father are known to butt heads many times. With Kaibara looking at his son as a person with a lacking knowledge of cuisine but Shiro, never to stand down against his father, proving that he knows more than his father thinks.

Readers can literally learn about Japanese cuisine but also a little history and even recipes on cooking the dishes.

The characters featured in “OISHINBO” are:

Shiro Yamaoka – A journalist for Tozai News who knows his food and how things are created but he is estranged from his father, a prominent artist and founder and director of the Gourmet Club. He despises his father because of the death of his mother. Yamaoka was trained from a young age by his father, Kaibara.

Kaibara Yuzan – The father of Shiro Yamaoka is a prominent artist and founder and director of the Gourmet Club. Because of his prominent stature, all restaurants fear him and thus feel the need to create perfect food for him. Estranged from his son Shiro and despises him for destroying all of his paintings and pottery worth tens or hundreds of million yen. A man widely revered for his sense of taste and feared for his ferocious temper. He heads the “Supreme Menu” project for Teito Times, rival paper to the Tozai News that his son works for.

Yuko Kurita – Knowledgeable about food and partner of Shiro. She learns a lot from him.

Daizo Ohara – Publisher of Tozai News

Hideo Tanimura – Director of Tozai News Art & Culture Department

Tomio Tomii - Deputy Director working under Tanimura

Tojin Toyama - A legendary ceramicist and gourmet

Mantaro Kyogoku – A wealthy businessman and gourmet

Seiiichi Okaboshi – Chef/owner of a sushi shop and Shiro’s local hangout

Tokuo Nakugawa – The head chef for Gourmet Club

For this latest volume of “OISHINBO A la Carte”, the stories are broken up in chapters that relate to Izakaya: Pub Food. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each chapter:

Recipe: Fried Sardine Fish
FIRST COURSE – Beer and Edamame - A chef is fired because he served black edamame. Now, Shiro must show the owner of the restaurant of why black edamame is tasty and not spoiled.
SECOND COURSE – The Spirit of the Sardine - An entrepreneur wants the Tozai news to run a restaurant and Shiro is selected to head the project. But for the choice of menu, Shiro chooses sardines?
THIRD COURSE – An Honest Taste - The Arakawas get into a heated argument after Mrs. Arakawa makes sashimi out of Chiba fish-monger instead of tsuboyaki.
Audio Commentary: Oishinbo Day-by-Day - Tetsuya Kariya writes about the joys of izakaya.
FOURTH COURSE – The Ultimate Wedding Outfit – Tozai News wants to do a spread on Shiro and Yuko’s wedding with Yuko sporting a dress by a world renown fashion designer. But the wedding dress designer is depressed about his son’s attitude towards the business. Because the dress is needed and they need to impress the designer, Shiro and Yuko try to help the young man out.
FIFTH COURSE – A New Dish for the Izakaya?! (Part One) – Shiro and Yuko must come up with dishes for the Pink Hippo Izakaya business.
FIFTH COURSE – A New Dish for the Izakaya?! (Part Two) – After angering the president of Pink Hippo, Shiro and Yuko must do their best to come up with better dishes for the Izakaya.
SIXTH COURSE – Potato Hater!! - Shiro and Yuko visit their friend Nakamatsu-san. Nakamatsu is depressed because of a bet where he and the other person must eat something they dislike and for Nakamatsu, he dislikes potatoes. Can Shiro convince Nakamatsu that potatoes can be tasty?
SEVENTH COURSE – Naming Problem?! (Part One) – Yuko gives birth to twins and both she and Shiro decide that she will name the boy and he will name the girl. But what name should Shiro name her?
SEVENTH COURSE - Naming Problem?! (Part Two) – A continuation of Shiro trying to come up with the name of his daughter.
EIGHTH COURSE – A Surprising Taste of Japan! – The chairman of the American Media and Communication Association is coming to Japan and one of Shiro’s associates is being considered to run the main branch in Asia. But the problem is the man introduced the chairman to yakitori under Shiro’s recommendation which angers the chairman. Now Shiro must fix the problem.
NINTH COURSE – A Delicious Face – A popular young actor is having problems with his sake scenes in a film. With the director being fed up after four days of trying to shoot the scene, Shiro decides to help out his friend who is producing the film.

Also, included at the end of the main chapters is a “Notes on the Text” which explains certain panels and meaning of certain Japanese words.

I absolutely love “OISHINBO A la Carte”. Any fans of Japanese cuisine can also read this manga and just be amazed of how enjoyable, how witty, how smart each story is written. Not only are the readers engrossed by the characters, especially the rivalry between Shiro and his father Kaibara Yuzan, you really learn about the Japanese perspective of cuisine and also preparation.

With “OISHINBO A la Carte – Izakaya: Pub Food”, this latest volume is the final collected volume from Viz. As much as I would I have loved to read the entire manga series of “Oishinbo”, the fact the series has been ongoing since 1983 makes it a bit difficult. But I have to say I’m quite grateful to Viz for releasing such a wonderful and delightful manga series based on Japanese cuisine.

In this latest volume, it’s probably the first volume that doesn’t have one story featuring Shiro vs. his father, Kaibara. If anything, the majority of the stories feature Shiro trying to assist those who are in trouble through pub food. Also, this volume has stories that deal with Shiro and Yuko with Yuko giving birth to twins and the two getting married. This is important because throughout the seven volumes, we have many stories of seeing these two characters grow with each other and although each story is focused on food, you kind of wish you can read more stories based on their relationship. So, fortunately you do get several stories that deal with that for this volume.

Overall, each volume of “OISHINBO A la Carte” has been magnificent and just an enjoyable manga series to read. Because it’s so different from any series that is released in the US and deals with more of a realistic storyline and Japanese cuisine, reading a manga series such as “Oishinbo” was quite refreshing. I don’t think there have been one chapter in any of the volumes that I found boring or not worth reading.

I definitely recommend this final volume and you don’t need to purchase previous volumes to understand what’s going on. But if you really want to enjoy this manga series, I recommend all seven volumes of “Oishinbo A la Carte”. Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

OISHINBO A la Carte – The Joy of Rice (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

November 30, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

The award winning manga that has captured the attention of Japanese readers since 1983 and is still ongoing today. ‘OISHINBO A la Carte – The Joy of Rice” is another enjoyable release and features more on Japan’s rich history of rice and its importance to the people of Japan. Highly recommended!

MANGA TITLE: OISHINBO A la Carte – The Joy of Rice

STORY AND ART BY: Story by Tetsu Kariya, Art by Akihara Hanasaki

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

RATED: T for Teen

Released: November 2009

As part of the celebrations for its 100th anniversary, the publishers of the Tozai News have commissioned the creation of the “Ultimate Menu”, a model meal embodying the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. This all-important task has been entrusted to journalist Yamaoka Shiro, an inveterate cynic who possesses zero initiative – but also an incredibly refined palate and an encyclopedic knowledge of food.

Each volume of Oishinbo follows Yamaoka and his colleagues through another adventure of their quest for the Ultimate Menu. Now, the highlights from the hundred-plus volume series have been selected and compiled into A la Carte Editions: bite-sized chunks of story arranged by subject that add up to a full-course manga meal!

In this volume of Oishinbo, Yamaoka and company look into the single most essential food in Japanese cuisine: rice. Cultivated for millenia, a staple meal in itself and the basis of countless other dishes, rice is an important component not only of the Japanese kitchen but also of Japanese culture. When Yamaoka is asked by Tozai’s head chef for help coming up with a new rice dish, what starts out as a simple culinary request rapidly grows into a disquisition into the past, present and future of Japan’s food culture.

So, far the following manga been released:

Oishinbo A la Carte – The making of food, beverages and utensils
Oishinbo – Sake
Oishinbo A la Carte – Ramen & Gyoza
Oishinbo A la Carte – Fish, Sushi and Sashimi
Oishinbo A la Carte – Vegetables

Meanwhile, his father, who Shiro has had an estranged relationship for years after his mother’s death, the world renown founder and director of prestigious Gourmet Club and Japanese pottery creator, Kaibara Yuzan heads the “Supreme Menu” for a rival newspaper. So, both Shiro and his father are known to butt heads many times. With Kaibara looking at his son as a person with a lacking knowledge of cuisine but Shiro, never to stand down against his father, proving that he knows more than his father thinks.

The characters featured in “OISHINBO” are:

Yuko Kurita – Knowledgeable about food and partner of Shiro. She learns a lot from him.

Daizo Ohara – Publisher of Tozai News

Hideo Tanimura – Director of Tozai News Art & Culture Department

Tomio Tomii - Deputy Director working under Tanimura

Tojin Toyama - A legendary ceramicist and gourmet

Mantaro Kyogoku – A wealthy businessman and gourmet

Seiiichi Okaboshi – Chef/owner of a sushi shop and Shiro’s local hangout

Tokuo Nakugawa – The head chef for Gourmet Club

For this latest volume of “OISHINBO A la Carte”, the stories are broken up in chapters that relate to rice. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each chapter:

Recipe: Scallop Rice - Featured in one of the stories of this volume, a recipe featuring photos (in color) of how to prepare scallop rice.
FIRST COURSE – A Remarkable Mediocrity - An earlier story featuring Kyogoku Mantaro (The wealthy businessman), as Tozai news tries to get the millionaire to lend his Renoir for the Impressionist Art Exhibition through food but accidentally offending him. Can Yamaoka win him back?
SECOND COURSE – Brown Rice vs. White Rice (Part One) - A group of the judo women’s team must incorporate brown rice into their diet but they dislike it.
SECOND COURSE – Brown Rice vs. White Rice (Part Two) - Yamaoka must show Takeko Miyamoto, supervisor of the Buiku Women’s College Judo Team of why their version of brown rice is not good.
THIRD COURSE – LIVE RICE – Yamaoka try to help Arakawa-san how to cook rice (using a rice mill) to please her boyfriend’s mother.
FOURTH COURSE – Companions of Rice – Yamaoka must convince the deputy prime minister why they should not import rice to Japan.
FIFTH COURSE – The Matsutake Rice of the Sea – Mantaro has a bet with his friend/rival on who can cook the best Matsutake rice but something bad happens to his friend.
Oishinbo Day-by-Day – Tetsuya Kariya talks about the act of eating rice and comparisons of Japan, Chinese and South Korea when it comes to eating certain food with rice.
SIXTH COURSE – No Mixing – Tozai News chef and employees want to include mixed rice into the menu but the publisher Oharo Daizo is against it.
SEVENTH COURSE – The Season for Oysters - Yamaoka must prove to his boss why oysters are better in the Summer and also learning of scallops with rice.
EIGHTH COURSE – Rice Ball Match (Part One) – The Ultimate Menu (Tozai News) challenges the Supreme Menu (Teito Times) in a rice ball competition.
EIGHTH COURSE – Rice Ball Match (Part Two) – The Ultimate Menu (Tozai News) showcases their rice ball recipes to the judges.
EIGHTH COURSE – Rice Ball Match (Part Three) – The Supreme Menu (Teito Times) showcases their rice ball to the judges.

Also, included at the end of the main chapters is a “Notes on the Text” which explains certain panels and meaning of certain Japanese words.

With “OISHINBO A la Carte – The Joy of Rice”, this latest volume is quite interesting as in previous volumes, there was more focus on competitions between Tozai News (Ultimate Menu) versus Teito Times (Supreme Menu). But in this volume, with rice being so important in the Japanese diet, there is more focus on the history of rice in Japan and its importance. We get to learn about Yamaoka and Japanese who worry about importation of rice, we learn about the differences between short-grain and long-grain rice and also how the environment is hurting certain ingredients that Japanese loved with rice but is now becoming rare in today’s society.

The latest volume of “Oishinbo A la Carte” was once again enjoyable. Just to remind everyone that because the manga series has been around since 1983, there was just no way the complete series could be released in the US. So, Viz Media chose to separate each volume based on a food item/ingredient or beverage. So, you do miss out on the romantic storyline but nevertheless, the focus is on the food and for the most part, each volume is informative, educational and also very enjoyable to read.

Overall, each volume of “OISHINBO A la Carte” has been magnificent and this latest volume is just as enjoyable as the previous releases. Highly recommended!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

OISHINBO A la Carte – Vegetables (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

September 25, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The award winning manga that has captured the attention of Japanese readers since 1983 and is still ongoing today. ‘OISHINBO A la Carte – Vegetables” is another enjoyable release and I absolutely love this manga series. For those who are passionate about Japanese cuisine and are looking for a manga series that is well-written, witty but also careful on the details of Japanese cuisine, this manga series is just what you are looking for. ‘Highly recommended!”

MANGA TITLE: OISHINBO A la Carte – Vegetables

STORY AND ART BY: Story by Tetsu Kariya, Art by Akihara Hanasaki

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

RATED: T for Teen

Released: September 2009

In this volume, Weekly Time magazine sets up a series of culinary battles between the Tozai News’s “Ultimate Menu”, represented by Yamaoka and the Teito Times’s “Supreme Menu” represented by Kaibara Yuzan, Yamaoka’s father and nemesis. The ingredient this time is vegetables, specifically cabbages and turnips. Who will win the Vegetable Showdown? Later, Yamaoka and Kurita help Tomil’ss on get over his hatred of eggplant, and patch a rift between lovers using the power of asparagus.

So, far the following manga been released:

Oishinbo A la Carte – The making of food, beverages and utensils
Oishinbo – Sake
Oishinbo A la Carte – Ramen & Gyoza
Oishinbo A la Carte – Fish, Sushi and Sashimi

The characters featured in “OISHINBO” are:

Yuko Kurita – Knowledgeable about food and partner of Shiro. She learns a lot from him.

Daizo Ohara – Publisher of Tozai News

Hideo Tanimura – Director of Tozai News Art & Culture Department

Tomio Tomii - Deputy Director working under Tanimura

Tojin Toyama - A legendary ceramicist and gourmet

Mantaro Kyogoku – A wealthy businessman and gourmet

Seiiichi Okaboshi – Chef/owner of a sushi shop and Shiro’s local hangout

Tokuo Nakugawa – The head chef for Gourmet Club

For this latest volume of “OISHINBO A la Carte”, the stories are broken up in chapters that relate to vegetables. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each chapter:

Recipe: Asparagus with Walnut Dressing and Asparagus Grilled Kobayaki-style
FIRST COURSE – Vegetable Showdown! (Part One) - Kaibara challenges Shiro in a vegetable contest of who can make the best cabbage and radish dish.
FIRST COURSE – Vegetable Showdown! (Part Two) - The second part of the cabbage and radish competition.
FIRST COURSE – Vegetable Showdown! (Part Three) - The final part of the cabbage and radish competition.
SECOND COURSE – The Joy of a New Potato – The gang try to help out a President of the Misaki Group who’s life is thrown upside down due to failures in the real estate market.
Oishinbo Day-by-Day – Tetsuya Kariya writes about the connection between hotspots and vegetables.
THIRD COURSE – The Bean Sprout Kid – A child who is fatherless is teasted by other kids and called a bean sprout and Shiro who feels bad for the kid, decides to help him.
FOURTH COURSE – Good Eggplant, Bad Eggplant – Tomii Tomio’s son Hitoshi and Inspector Nakamatsu both dislike eggplant and Shiro decides to show them that eggplant can be delicious.
FIFTH COURSE – The Story of Vegetables, Now and Then – When Uda Yoshio (a famous author and gourmet) and Mizukawa Yoriko (an environmental specialist) butt heads on the environment, the two are at odds with each other.
SIXTH COURSE – The Breath of Spring - Former couple Ikuta Shoko and popular ceramic builder Yoshino Koichi meet up with each other many years later and both see how her passion for food and his passion for ceramics work great with each other.
SEVENTH COURSE – A Suprising Taste (Part One) – Zento Motors needs land owned by Kyogoku-san but in order to win him over, it must be by a good dish. So, Zento Motors asks for Shiro’s help.
SEVENTH COURSE – A Suprising Taste (Part Two) – The second part as the President of Zento Motors (with Shiro’s help) must please Kyogoku-san with a dish.
EIGHTH COURSE – The Taste of Chicken, The Taste of Carrots – A story about the benefits of organic vegetables vs. vegetables that were raised with pesticides.

Also, included at the end of the main chapters is a “Notes on the Text” which explains certain panels and meaning of certain Japanese words.

With “OISHINBO A la Carte – Vegetables”, this latest volume is probably the most debatable as stories focus on vegetables that were grown fresh (organic) and vegetables grown with the use of pesticides. The stories tend to showcase the perspectives of both who support each side but in the end, the author’s feelings and passion towards organic vegetables is definitely evident in this latest volume. For the most part, the articles do cover various vegetables and each chapter is quite enjoyable and fun to read. But some may find the organic vs. conventional (using pesticides) storylines a bit too preachy.

Also, in this volume, we see interesting storylines that relate to Shiro and Yuko’s relationship (or lack of one) but because the chapters do not go by order of manga release but selected chapters, those who want to read a more connected storyline (when it comes to their relationship) will not find it. As one chapter focuses on his lack of attention to her, another chapter on the romantic rival for Yuko’s affection and then next thing you know, another chapter featuring the two as a married couple. So, as much as I would love to read of how their relationship develops, but unfortunately, due to the large number of “Oishinbo” chapters, we’re probably not going to see that in the US for now.

But aside from the small quirks I had in this latest volume, its still another enjoyable release of “Oishinbo A la Carte”. I absolutely enjoyed the vegetable competitions but also indirect recipes of how to prepare certain vegetables, which was very fun to read and wouldn’t mind trying it out the recipes at home.

But overall, each volume of “OISHINBO A la Carte” has been magnificent and just an enjoyable manga series. I don’t think there have been one chapter in any of the volumes that I found boring or not worth reading. Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews

OISHINBO A la Carte – Japanese Cuisine (a J!-ENT Manga Review)

March 25, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The award winning manga that has captured the attention of Japanese readers since 1983 and is still ongoing today. ‘OISHINBO A la Carte – Japanese Cuisine’ is a wonderful manga series for those who have been curious of Japanese cuisine, the ingredients and utensils and its preparation and cultural significance. Entertaining, addicting and informative. ‘OISHINBO A la Carte – Japanese Cuisine’ is just magnificent!”

MANGA TITLE: OISHINBO A la Carte – Japanese Cuisine

STORY AND ART BY: Story by Tetsu Kariya, Art by Akihara Hanasaki

FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shogakukan, Inc.

PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC

PAGES: 278

RATED: T for Teen

With over 100 million copies sold worldwide, Oishinbo is one of the best selling and most beloved manga of all time! Serious yet comical, exhaustively detailed yet endlessly entertaining, Oishinbo is a fascinating, addictive journey through the world of cooking and food culture.

The long running manga “Oishinbo” (which means “The Gourmet”) is a popular best-selling manga series published by Shogakukan which has been ongoing since 1983.

The series revolves around the employees of the newspaper Tozai News with its employees commissioned to create the “Ultimate Menu”, a model meal that embodies the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. Both Shiro Yamaoka and Yuko Kurita are in charge of the project and throughout each chapter, the series is broken down to several types of dishes or food related items and how each dish is created.

The characters featured in “OISHINBO” are:

Yuko Kurita – Knowledgeable about food and partner of Shiro. She learns a lot from him.

Daizo Ohara – Publisher of Tozai News

Hideo Tanimura – Director of Tozai News Art & Culture Department

Tomio Tomii - Deputy Director working under Tanimura

Tojin Toyama - A legendary ceramicist and gourmet

Mantaro Kyogoku – A wealthy businessman and gourmet

Seiiichi Okaboshi – Chef/owner of a sushi shop and Shiro’s local hangout

Tokuo Nakugawa – The head chef for Gourmet Club

“OISHINBO” is broken up in chapters revolving around the making of food, beverages and utensils. Through each chapter, you get a bit of drama with Shiro and Kaibara going at each other’s heads. Especially as Kaibara admonishes his son and to make him look like he knows nothing and Shiro trying to show his father that he knows his food and beverage.

FIRST COURSE – THE SECRET OF DASHI - Tozai News publisher Daizo Ohara tries to talk with Kaibara Yuzan about working for Tozai but we learn why Kaibara doesn’t want to work with his son Shiro. While at a restaurant selected by Ohara, Kaibara is angered by the food that he is getting. But the restaurant’s main cook is unable to work due to injury, so unbeknownst to Kaibara and even Shiro, Shiro assists in the cooking. But how wil Kaibara react when he finds out that his son cooked the delicious dish.
SECOND COURSE – BASIC KNIFE SKILLS - American Jeff Larson is an Itamae trainee. When he accompanies the Tozai News for sashimi at the West Coast restaurant to possibly learn the art of knife cutting, Jeff is alarmed that the restaurant prizes appearance over taste. The restaurant is angered and thus challenges Jeff to who can make the best sashimi. Thus, Shiro has Jeff learn the art of knife cutting in a one week session from Taifuji owner, Seibei Ofuji and get him prepared for a major food competition of who could serve great food appearance and taste wise.
THIRD COURSE – THE RIGHT TO BE A CHEF - Seiichi Okaboshi, chef/owner of Shiro’s favorite hangout has a brother who has received an opportunity to cook at the Gourmet Club but he was fired by Kaibara for a reason no one knows and told he has no right to be a chef. So, Shiro asks Okaboshi’s brother to cook for him and he can give him the reason why he was fired.
FOURTH COURSE – THE PINNACLE OF TECHNIQUE – Toyama Tojin invites both the Tozai News food staff and Kaibara to dinner. Kaibara admonishes his son in regards to seabreem and thus Toyama comes up with a friendly competition of who can cook the best seabreem.
FIFTH COURSE – THE SOUL OF HOSPITALITY – Toyama introduces everyone to his young fiance and says he will be getting married and during the wedding ceremony, Kaibara and Shiro get into it when Shiro calls making rice and miso soup a simple task. This creates some hostitlity from Kaibara and thus Toyama decides to have a cook off between Kaibara’s side and Shiro on creating the best rice and miso soup.
SIXTH COURSE – THE ULTIMATE ETIQUETTE – Tokiyama, a foreign news editor returns to Japan and talks about how his daughter thinks chopsticks are not civilized. Meanwhile, a French journalist from Le Temps, Helene LeGrand wants to know how chopsticks are made and thus Shiro and everyone go on a lesson of chopsticks but during a meal from a revered chef, his father Kaibara happens to be there and admonishes Shiro on the use of chopsticks during a meal.
SEVENTH COURSE – THE TEA MASTER AND THE STRAWBERRY – The group are taken to a tea master to learn about tea ceremonies but Shiro is upset by how the tea master presents himself to everyone and thus takes a few of the news staff to a strawberry farm to understand why he was upset about the tea masters presentation.
EIGHT COURSE – A REAL FEAST - The group go to Kamakura to meet with Miyasato, a well-known artist who loves to cook and is interested in painting the cover for “Ultimate Menu” but their rival newspaper also wants to have Miyasato paint their front cover. As Miyasato creates food for the two rival staff, he wants to know how they feel about the food, good and bad. And depending on their answers, he will choose which newspaper to do a painting for.
NINTH COURSE – THE PRINCIPLES OF JAPANESE CUISINE - Katayama Shuichi is a critic who feels that Japanese cooking is not true cuisine and that sashimi is just strips of fish put on a plate. But Yuko disagrees and thus they take him to Seiichi’s restaurant to prove that Japanese cuisine is an artform in itself and should be considered cuisine.
TENTH COURSE – A HOT CUP OF TEA – American senator Ian Nakazato is coming to visit Tozai News and he asks Shiro and Yuko to make sure they have an appropriate meal to welcome him. But their rivals at Teito Times are also wanting to serve a meal to Nakazato and thus another rival battle on who can have the best food for Senator Nakazato. But for Nakazato, growing up in Japan, he misses the countryside and the years when all the people he knew were not as wealthy as they were as now. So, when everyone is serving expensive dishes, he yearns for something simple. And it’s up to Shiro and Yuko to find out what the Senator may be wanting.

As a person who loves Japanese cooking and admiring what goes on behind the scenes in preparing the food, it was great to learn that a manga such as “OISHINBO” would be coming to the US translated and available for the first time. There is also a section that goes into the making of the “Seabream Pine-Skin Style” and “Seabream Kamishio Style” with actual color pictures on preparation of the dish. Also, included in author commentary by Tetsu Kariya titled “Oishinbo Day-by-Day” and living in Australia and observing “washoku”, cuisine that brings people together in harmony.

There have been so many classic and best-selling manga from Japan that I have wished that America would take their chances on. But when Viz announced the release of “OISHINBO”, I was surprised because the manga tends to skew to those who have a passion towards food, beverages and learning about Japanese culture especially in its relation to food.

But with many Japanese chefs releasing cookbooks in America, the popularity of Japanese cooking dramas and even “Iron Chef”, it has created an interest of people who are just as passionate about Japanese cooking and this is what this manga series is about. The love of Japanese food, the preparation behind it but also the people who serve the food and just looking at things at a different perspective.

Although, “OISHINBO” is not of a certain art style that many other contemporary manga are today, the strength of “OISHINBO” is in its well-written storyline and how artwork is utilized to make the story seem real.

If anything, I found “OISHINBO A la Carte” to be quite enjoyable and afterwards, the manga left me craving for more. I simply felt this was a magnificent manga and I hope Viz continues to bring classic manga titles to the US.

In March 2009, the next volume of “OISHINBO” will be released and focusing on the world of sake, shochu, wine and champagne. I definitely look forward to it!

Filed Under: Manga News and Reviews