The episode of Kaguya-sama where Chika proved herself to be a true ramen connoisseur was great. It was a parody of Kodoku no Gourmet, a manga that’s been adapted into a TV show in Japan and China.
And now I’m hungry for ramen. pic.twitter.com/1N7S8UFzRl
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) April 29, 2020
Some Food Anime You Should Check Out
One of my favorite scenes in Kaguya-sama: Love is War is the episode where Chika’s “ramen switch” gets turned on, and she goes to eat some ramen, while being watched by a snobby guy who’s sure that this high school girl could not possibly be a true ramen connoisseur like himself. The scene was a parody of a popular food manga called Kodoku no Gourmet (Solitary Gourmet) by Masayuki Qusumi which has been running as a popular live-action TV drama in Japan since 2012. There’s also a Chinese version of the drama, and a run of short anime episodes made by Production I.G. from 2017, which sadly never got licensed for international distribution.
The Kodoku no Gourmet Drama
Every episode is pretty much the same, with traveling Japanese salaryman Gorou Inogashira traveling to some new corner of Tokyo, though sometimes he travels to Osaka, J-List’s home prefecture of Gunma and even once to Taiwan. After finishing his appointed work for the day, Gorou chooses some unique restaurant to eat at, and enjoys a delicious meal at his own pace, without being disturbed by anyone. As he eats, we hear the constant internal dialogue inside his head, describing the symphony of flavors he’s experiencing. The range of foods he enjoys is incredible, with everything from traditional Japanese dishes to locally famous foods to the best B-kyu ryouri, a category of cheap-but-delicious foods that includes things like yakisoba noodles, omurice, and ramen. In one recently episode he tried Mexican food for the first time.
The best thing about the live-action drama is that all the restaurants are real places that you can visit and eat at, and the locations are all announced at the end of the episode, with a map. They’re also linked in the site’s obsessively-managed Wikipedia page by dedicated viewers. After each episode ends, the manga creator Masayuki Qusumi shows up to have a meal at the restaurant (naturally, eating all by himself), as the final credits run.
Where can you watch Solitary Gourmet outside of Japan? I don’t believe it’s properly licensed, but I see some episodes on various video sites, like this one, plus some random uploads to YouTube. I believe it’d be great if Netflix or Amazon Prime took responsibility for this show, properly licensing it for general distribution outside of Japan.
The Popularity of Food Anime Over the Years
I remember back in the 80s being aware of Oishinbo, the first manga related to food, in which two rival newspapers complete to define the perfect gourmet menu by sponsoring food battles.” I laughed at first. How could you make a dramatic manga about something as unexciting as food? Of course the Japanese are excellent at making anything they set their minds to dramatic. Here are some other food anime I recommend!
Food Wars
A huge fan hit, Jump’s Shokugeki no Soma is on its fifth “plate.” The food is delicious, as is to be expected, and the waifus are pretty good, too.
Koufuku Graffiti
If you like some light yuri mixed in with images of delicious foods from Japan, by all means give Gourmet Girls Graffiti a try. Just do yourself a favor and don’t watch it late at night, or you’ll make yourself hungry, like I always do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPlA2yUN_Bk
Bartender
Not specifically related to food, but I really enjoyed this 2006 anime about a bartender who works to define the perfect cocktail, whatever he’s asked to make. Happily the entire series seems to be available on Youtube.
Thanks for reading! What’s your favorite food anime? Tell us in the comments below.
It’s Golden Week in Japan right now, a collection of various holidays that were placed near each other to give families an opportunity to relax and get away from work for a while. Although it’s been sort of “cancelled” but the current crisis, we wanted everyone to enjoy a little Golden Week spirit…and so we’re having a limited $20 coupon off $100 or more through May 6. Have fun, stay safe, and pick up something nice from J-List for yourself!
