What makes anime such a delectable delight to consume? 🖥🤨
For long-time experts of the entertainment medium, answering that question may feel like a piece of cake. I mean, even if I don't consider myself on that level, I can still offer my two cents with ease. Then again, those who aren't fluent in the art form may not have an answer. 🤔
Access to anime has gotten easier thanks to streaming services, unlike the early 1990s, when there were only local TV broadcasts and physical copies. Crunchyroll and Funimation (now under one company) seemed to be the only major English-language global distributors by the early 2000s. Now, streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix have diversified the market with exclusive titles. Lately, Disney+ has stated its aim to expand its library with original anime series. 🍥🐁
Such a positive development helped shed the outdated stigma that "anime is a Saturday morning cartoon." With millennials occupying the adult demographic, those who follow anime aren't sneered at as nerds anymore. They grew up watching anime and have continued to do so. Even when some ARE technically nerds, being an anime fan is no longer considered an embarrassing act. Nevertheless, that still doesn't mean everyone watches anime. 😅🤷🏻♂️
Of course, I'm not here to ramble about that. That topic is worth a separate think tank, to which I don't feel I have the minimum expertise to pull off. Instead, I'm focusing on my answer to the initial question. Although anyone might have guessed what that answer is, based on the title of this post alone. 😋🥪
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| (Source: Tonsuki 2 Episode 6) |
Alluding Appetizer
Food has always been a part of my life. And, no, I'm not trying to sugarcoat the basic fact that it's one of the essentials for living beings. I'm talking about my upbringing. After all, it's not wrong to say that, growing up, my family's livelihood revolved around food. Or cooking, if I should be more precise. 🍽👩🏻🍳
Having immediate and extended family members who are/were great cooks further added to the recipe. Whenever we had annual celebrations or family gatherings, restaurant-purchased meals did not warrant many plates. In general, we tend to prepare everything at home. Oh, what tasty times those were! 👨👩👦👦🍱
Therefore, if you sneak a peek at my phone, you may notice how I have plenty of food photos. I'm sure my friends would gladly attest to that insufferable habit, as I've often shared those "cruel" savory snapshots. If I'm ever active on Instagram, food will probably flood my feed. What else? Hahaha. 🤳🏻👀
Besides, my YouTube history already consists of culinary-related channels. Whether it's legendary cooking guides like Chef John's Foodwishes and Cooking with Dog, story-driven variants like Max Miller's Tasting History and Dianxi Xiaoge's Yunnan living, or restaurant(-I-may-never-visit) reviews like DancingBacons, TabiEats, and Japaneats, anything food-related is my daily consumption. 🤤
Well, were I blessed with a bottomless barrel of resources (time, tools, ingredients, space, etc.), I probably would've started my own food-themed channel, too. Then again, I have no cooking knowledge. And the best role I could fill is nothing but a kitchen assistant. So, maybe, I might've ended up as yet another traveling foodie? 🙄🛫
At this point, observant readers may be wondering. What does that nostalgia nonsense have anything to do with anime? 😐💭
Soup for Senses
Due to my art-based project—which will officially conclude for this year tomorrow—new anime titles have once again occupied my schedule. I need them as a reference anyway. Since I haven't been in the anime cycle/circle for quite some time, the first thing that clouded my mind was, "But what new show should I watch?" 🤔👀
Hilariously, this was the choice recommended directly to my face by the ever-spying Google:
Does that look exciting? The premise of Tondemo Skill de Isekai Hourou Meshi (Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill) is a familiar theme delivered with an unusual twist. Often abbreviated by fans as Tonsuki, the series centers around Tsuyoshi Mukouda, a salaryman transported to another world. While others who came alongside him unearthed impressive Role-Playing Game skill sets, Mukouda was shockingly "stuck" with a low-level, "laughable" ability. Online Grocery! 😲🛍️
I admit, the Isekai (meaning Another World) genre isn't usually my thing. Medieval RPG ranks the same in my preference scorecard. So, there was immediate hesitation before I decided to give Tonsuki a go. Also, the one currently airing is Season 2. Thus, I must travel in time to check out the prequel first. Oh, Nooo! 😩😪
Much to my surprise, that's not a decision I would ever regret. True to the title, despite the unusual approach, Tonsuki is still a COOKING ANIME! So, I chomped down the entire Season 1 like someone who just ended a hunger strike! 🤯🤩
My speed was definitely not as fast as Fel, Sui, and Dora-chan finishing Mukouda's homemade meals or delivery takeouts, since I could only watch it during breaks. The fact that I wrapped it up very quickly proved how enjoyable this show is, though, at least to my taste buds. Now I have no choice but to wait each week for a new Season 2 episode. 😅📅
Sure, I won't argue that PETA would probably have a field day criticizing the continuous carnivorous feasts. Furthermore, this show is basically a gigantic but not shameless product placement. After all, the branded sauces ARE ingredients, and the ad revenue most likely helps boost the animated quality. Thanks to that, the animation very rarely feels subpar. 🤩🖥
On top of that, the meals on Tonsuki almost always look mouthwatering. That's because of the method MAPPA deployed to assemble the cooking scene. Here's another example that should visually support what I just said:
A Salad of Selection
Watching Tonsuki brought an enlightening epiphany. No, not the philosophical kind, of course. It made me realize a pattern: "Cooking anime is a frequent item on my watch list, eh?" 😱
On a broader scope, the list has even included food-fronted manga-to-anime titles that don't involve cooking. Maybe it's about baking/pastry or drinks, like a café, teashop, and surprisingly bars! Something completely detached from any kitchen kerfuffle but still revolves around food, such as the Ramen-focused series Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san (Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles), is another must-watch. That's pretty much a fictional documentary of iconic ramen styles! 😁🍜
Basically, my anime preferences mirror my YouTube history! The difference is that this history preceded the online video service. A trip down memory lane reminded me of one title that, if memory serves, was my first appetizer to the culinary/gourmet genre. 🧒🏻👨🏻🍳
Mister Ajikko exposed me to the magic of cooking anime, including the notorious exaggerated expressions. I'm sure the judges of competition shows (MasterChef, Iron Chef, and others) would roll their eyes upon seeing anime characters react to food in these anime. Sometimes I join that bandwagon, too, whenever the scene feels too over-the-top embarrassing. 😅🤦🏻♂️
That's one of the reasons I'm still wary of watching Shokugeki no Souma (commonly known as Food Wars!). The spicy salacious innuendo is too much for me! Still, whether foodgasm is humanly possible or not, we like it or not, the colorful commentaries add charm to the shows. If anything, it makes for a satisfying sense-shocker. 🥵🤯
Since I already namedropped several titles, I might as well share more of what I considered memorable. 😅
Tonsuki isn't the only gourmet anime of the season. Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi (Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits, often shortened to Kakuriyo) took me by surprise. It tells the story of a college student, Aoi Tsubaki, who was somehow spirited away into the youkai world by an imposing but cool ogre. It turns out her late grandfather, Shirou Tsubaki, promised the ogre that Aoi would be his bride, as payment for Shirou's debt. Inheriting Shirou's bravery, Aoi refused and decided to open an eatery, selling homemade human meals to pay the ogre. 👰👹
With the mention of Isekai and food, I would be remiss not to mention the two seasons of Isekai Shokudou (Restaurant in Another World). IseShoku for short. This on-the-nose title centers on a western restaurant, Nekoya, which has a unique, mysterious business shift. 👨🏻🍳🍱
During the workdays, Nekoya is an unassuming dining place located in Tokyo. However, on weekends, a rare doorway to another world appears inside the restaurant. So, even though the restaurant is closed, it's actually open for residents of that other space. IseShoku is popular. Rumor has it that a third season is in production, thanks to its positive response. The light novel source has more than enough material for more adaptation, anyway. 🔁🏞
Another show, Isekai Izakaya: Koto Aitheria no Izakaya Nobu (Isekai Izakaya: Nobu, the Japanese Pub in the Ancient City of Aitheria), or just Izakaya Nobu, functions similarly. This show is about Nobuyuki Yazawa, a Kyoto-based bar owner, and his waitress Shinobu Senke, who end up serving the residents of Aitheria, a singular city in another world. Not only does it have a fixed geographical setting, but an Izakaya is basically a Japanese bar. That combination puts this title's menu somewhat distinct from the previous example. Each food must complement beers here! 🧆🍻
The final mention completely removes the Isekai concept. Nonetheless, I won't disagree if anyone states Rokuhou-dou Yotsuiro Biyori (Rokuhou-dou: A Pleasant Day in Four Colors) feels a bit Isekai. The architectural style of the traditional Japanese tea house/café, surrounded by those enchanting bamboo trees, gives a somewhat mystical vibe. It's as if it transports customers into ancient Japan. 🍣🎑
In this show, four dashing men (including one Italian barista) manage the business. The unofficial leader is Kyousui Tougoku, a cat fanatic. Kyousui quit his prestigious job to run the shop his late grandfather had left him. 🐈☕️
Besides those, there are other shows with unique, even niche themes, that involve food as well. While I haven't seen some of them for various reasons, they have amassed a strong fanbase.
Chuuka Ichiban (Cooking Master Boy) takes place in 19th-century China, centering on Mao, who travels around the country to become a Super Chef. That setting pretty much explains what kind of cuisine this series explores. Piace: Watashi no Italian (Piacevole! My Italian Cooking) is a series of shorts about a part-time waiter at Trattoria Festa, an obvious Italian restaurant. 🥡🍝
If the real world seems too basic, Toriko is undeniably a bolder, braver shounen-styled version of Tonsuki. The show explores its infamous titular character's journey to find ingredients in an outlandish era called the Gourmet Age. Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan (Today's Menu for the Emiya Family) is a slice-of-life spinoff of Fate/stay night. It focuses on Shirou Emiya, who buys groceries and prepares meals for the other characters. 🥩🥘
On that note, fancy more homemade dishes? Cooking Papa and Amaama to Inazuma (Sweetness and Lightning) are good options. The former is an old-school title showcasing Kazumi Araiwa's passionate effort to cook for his journalist wife and their son. Meanwhile, the latter tells a single father, Kouhei Inuzuka, who must raise his daughter Tsumugi. Nutritional troubles prompt Inuzuka to ask his student, Kotori Iida, to help them cook. There's also Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san (Kiyo in Kyoto: From the Maiko House). It's a story from the perspective of Kiyo Nozuki, an aspiring maiko who ends up as a live-in cook in a maiko house instead. 🥪⛩
Futari Solo Camp, currently airing, is predominantly an animated camping guide. Even so, one of the two leads, Shizuku Kusano, is a chef. Preparing food was how she somehow infiltrated a camping session of a solitary camper, Gen Kinokura. Eventually, they formed The Odd Couple combo. Yuru Camp (Laid-Back Camp) is similar, but as a group setting. Craving bread or pastry instead? Yakitate!! Japan, Yumeiro Pâtissière (Yumeiro Patissiere), and Bonjour♪Koiaji Pâtisserie (Bonjour♪Sweet Love Patisserie) may satiate that palate. 🏕🍞
Message in a Main Course
Indeed, there's more to those titles than just cooking or food. Anime, like any other storytelling-based entertainment, threads through tropes. Both definitions of the word, in fact! ✌🏻😉
Over-the-top Food Glorification, as described earlier, is a trope. Characters that are Bad Female Cook, Lethal Chef, or Chef of Iron? Those are also familiar tropes we can often see. 🤪👀
Focus on food flourishes across and beyond the genre itself. Even anime titles that aren't food-related give extra attention to the presentation of meals. Take a look at One Piece and see how drool-worthy Sanji's cooking can be. An episode of Egao no Taenai Shokuba desu (A Mangaka's Weirdly Wonderful Workplace) used a neatly presented Nasi Goreng to explain how a manga cover designer works. Not that it's weird, though. Food is an art form of its own, and anime is, well, art. They are two peas in a pod. 🥗🖼
If we analyse that angle even further, one may also argue that the general cooking or gourmet genre itself is a recurring pattern that people feel familiarity with. Hence, a trope! In this case, the genre is embracing the second definition: "a figure of speech, a metaphor." 🗣🌬
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| (Source: Egao no Taenai Shokuba desu. Episode 8) |
The more fascinating part is that, in anime, food serves more than just for sustenance. Meals often function as a plot tool. Behind the scenes, the writers and artists of these titles have already demonstrated their ability to weave, mix, and match food/cooking with another genre. The result is a mash-up of minced magnificence. Thanks to that, the cuisines presented aren't simply a random accessory. But they feed into a storytelling factor in each episode. They symbolize and represent emotions, growth, and even strength. 🌼💪
Kakuriyo makes good use of this method. It may be a supernatural romance drama. However, home cooking simmers as a vital ingredient. That's how Aoi could find her place, power, and purpose in a realm so foreign and fearsome to her. Seeing her meals open hearts and reconnect broken bonds is addictively endearing. Even when the animation quality was arguably so-so, GONZO never failed to make the meals look fine. 🤓🤤
The currently airing Season 2, Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Ni, rolls into a more complicated political territory. But it maintains food as the heart, while expanding beyond the Japanese scope of Oden, Temari Sushi, and the ever-picturesque Washoku. As Aoi travels to other unseen regions in the realm, she fittingly introduces more Western tastes, such as hamburgers, unique delicacies like Borscht, and even sweets like Macarons. There's a new rival character specializing in Wagashi, too. Sure, incorporating food mission doesn't always blend seamlessly. Its assurance that a good meal can break the ice is as charming as ever, though. 😌🍙
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| (Source: Kakuriyo Ni Episode 1) |
At face value, Tonsuki itself is an action-comedy RPG. Think a fusion of Pokémon and, perhaps, Octopath Traveler? But considering Mukouda, just like Aoi, is a human trapped in another world, anything he cooks grants an exclusive power boost to the natives of another world. 🌏🌚
Currently airing its second season as well, Tonsuki enters a glow-up stage where Mukouda raises his cooking level by using ovens and grills. The opening sequence hints that he may soon add seafood to the tray, too! As a character, he's growing and gaining new skills, much like his ever-gluttonous familiars. 🔥✨
Unlike Kakuriyo, the philosophical resonance of food may not be as profound in Tonsuki. Then again, his meticulous meals have helped broaden his network, attracting familiars and friends alike. More importantly, it proves his underestimated skill is an asset all along. I personally would NEVER mind having his convenient skill! 🤑💰
Speaking of skill, while fiery gourmet competition titles like Ajikko and Food Wars teach their audience about perseverance and confidence, series like IseShoku and Izakaya Nobu take food or drinks to a gentle, social angle. They've transformed into a melting pot of tropes where customers of various stereotypes meet and mingle over memorable meals. 🧑🤝🧑🤝👭
Dragons of all colors? A legendary samurai and hardworking reptilian village leader? Royalties from a desert kingdom and a group of pixies? IseShoku doesn't discriminate against anyone and welcomes all. 🐉👳🏽
Each guest comes in with a usually predictable backstory. In the episodes, the curious customers find cozy comfort once they enter the elusive door and let their guard down inside the restaurant. Sometimes they run into kindred spirits who share a love for specific meals. Regardless of their differences, they dine and interact heartily. We live in an era when petty, pointless reasons tend to divide humanity. So, seeing unity perseveres in IseShoku or Izakaya Nobu is inspiring. 😌💞
Rokuhou-dou, Bartender: Kami no Glass (Bartender: Glass of God, a second adaptation after Bartender), and, to a lesser extent, Shirokuma Café, take that influence more personally. These serve as the classic iyashikei presentation. The featured cuisine generally brings clarity, if not peace of mind, to the troubled customers. Dining there allows them to let go of their worries and leave the establishment as a stronger individual. That give-and-take equally affects the main characters. And the "healed" customer usually returns with more people who need a similar release. 🍷💙
Series like Rokuhou-dou aren't flashy or extravagant in any way. The calm and mature vibe may not be everyone's cup of tea. Quite literally, as the lead, Kyousui cannot even cook, and only knows how to brew tea! But that teahouse tenderness sure touches my old soul's, uhm, soul. It sends a mindful message that can be uplifting to those who can relate. 🍵🧡
Much like my past family experience, good food brings people together. These titles remarkably remind me of that warmth. Like a gentle "It'll be all right" hug. 🤗💛
Delicate but Delightful like a Dessert
And that's one of the (but not the only) appetizing appeals that make anime a delight. Or, should I say, one of the many possible answers to my opening question? 📜😉
Anime offers a variety of unexpected flavors through the genres. Even the cooking/gourmet side, as already served above, is chock-full of menu items that please distinct demographics. Every season sees the release of continuations and new titles, often making it hard to keep up. 📋👀
The fairest comparison I could think of is: anime is a regular TV drama delivered in animated format. In the sense that not all will please one's preference. Generally, though, a title or two would work well enough to capture our attention. There's one for everyone. Before we know it, we're already watching the entire first season and are currently halfway through season 2! 😂🧏🏻♂️
Moreover, gourmet is simply one genre. Don't get me started on sports-themed anime! I mean, seriously, please don't, because it's not a personal favorite! I wouldn't know what to say! Hahaha. For every long-running mainstream action title like Naruto or Dragon Ball, there's a diverse representation of other fields. Swimming, diving, cycling, or marathon? Anime titles exploring those stories exist. Rom-coms or just slapstick comedies featuring a range of convoluted circumstances? The list for that one is abundant. Horror, fantasy, psychology, parody? A show about a dictionary even exists! 👻🏊🏻♀️👍🏻
But please don't feel that's too much on the plate. Culinary aficionados may find the titles I've mentioned here serving as a quick start. Perhaps they might surprise with their complex storytelling or pleasing visuals. Or, they can inspire ideas for the cooking lab. 🤭👌
And if I may, I suggest watching those cooking anime while eating something. Sometimes, the vivid visuals will make a simple jam sandwich feel more delectable than it should! 😝🥪
Well, I hope this post hasn't been a mouthful. Here's a cherry on top, just in case. 🍨🍒😉
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