Customer Reviews

OISHINBO: JAPANESE CUISINE

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered Oishinbo over 20 years ago and I even owned the first three volumes of the original Japanese version. I long hoped to see this manga
series or the TV anime version in English, and now we finally have this excellent manga in English.

Everything about this series, from the careful attention to high quality Japanese 'washoku' cooking to the contentious enmity between Yamaoka and his father Kaibara, make this one of the most enjoyable manga series aimed at adults out there.

That said, I do have just one complaint. Each English language volume is a "best-of" series.
With dozens of volumes published in Japan,
and the unwillingness of most Americans to invest in any series consisting of such a large collection, I can understand Viz's choice of going "a la carte," though the first volume should have reproduced the
original Japanese first volume of Oishinbo since it introduced the cast, prepared readers for the quest to find the ultimate menu, and introduced
readers to the father/son conflict between Yamaoka and Kaibara.

Despie my complaint, I'm happy to see even parts of this series finally in English and hope you all find each volume as rewarding a read as I do.
Let's hope Cartoon Network's Adult Swim takes notice and brings over the anime series :-)

Now, go order this book!

The Oishinbo 'a la carte' collections are an excellent way to get your Japanese food fix while reading manga. All the major elements of Japanese cuisine are represented along with some classic stylistic devices - the feud between the older traditional father and rebellious son, love interests, and plenty of showdown battles.

There reaches a point in your development when you're no longer just an otaku young adult, and you can get sick of continuous fantasy battles and power beams and magic etc etc... Oishinbo manages to retain the exciting elements of Manga with more real world content - food, drink, opinion and criticism. It's like a lively debate with your friends over the dinner table on the best food and restaurants

This collection covers the 'basics' of Japanese cuisine, including sashimi, tea and table manners as well as giving some background as to the feud between the protagonist and his father.

Each book also contains a recipe or menu item that is featured in one of the stories, and a personal article from the writer, both of which add to the context of the stories and add to your enjoyment. This edition contains two intriguing sashimi styles I can't wait to try.

Each story informs and entertains. I'm a devoted collector.

"It's not very common in other countries to eat fish raw. And since it's raw, people might think it doesn't take a lot of skill. But for fish or meat to be eaten raw, a great deal of technique is required. We should be proud that Japanese cuisine has developed such delicious ways to prepare sashimi."

This is a very "meaty" manga. All puns aside, it has a definite message and carries a fascinating look at the Japanese culture and cuisine - which are very closely intertwined.

We follow the story of a father and son who have had a feud with one another. Both are Japanese chefs in their own right, the son being more of an amateur learning and the father one of the finest in the country. They repeatedly run into one another causing much drama, which is hilarious and perfect and really gives the story a lot more character.

The artwork for the characters is fairly typical, from my limited experience in manga. It's not quite as beautiful as some others that I've seen but the drawing of the food is so precise and delicate, I could almost taste it.

If this is your first Manga, be prepared to read it a little differently. You being at the end of the book and read from right to left, rather from left to right. It took me a few pages of getting used to, but I adapted well and enjoyed reading the story so much I forgot how I was reading it.

Through this first volume I've learned the correct method of cutting fish to several ways of serving seabream, learned how the food should be enjoyed, how chopsticks are made and why they are such a valued cultured item. I've learned how rice should be made and that it is a delicate, difficult task to make it well.

There were a few moments in this volume that really spoke to me. The first was the passage I quoted above. The second is out of the middle of the book in a section where the author is speaking to us, the readers. He says:

Eventually, I realized "What is Japan", "What does it mean to be Japanese?" "What is Japanese cuisine?" are all meaningless questions. It is the spirit of washoku that brings everything together as one in harmony.

So, one day, looking around my dining table at several Australians enjoying a meal at my house, I realized that what we were all eating wasn't "Japenese food" of "Japanese cuisine," but washoku: a cuisine that brings people together in harmony and gives them pleasure. Here in my house in Sydney, I eat washoku every day.

Reading that made me want to experience that feeling more often. It made me want to change every mealtime to one of washoku. A time for pleasure, harmony and togetherness. I think that's something we all want to experience on a daily basis.

I was glad to find this series is being brought out in English now. The translation seems good and it is as enjoyable as the originals were years ago. I like that the format is still " Japanese Style", read from back to front. A really fun way to get an quick education in Japanese cuisine. Helps when traveling, too, to have at least read about the different foods that are available in Japan.

I have to say that I really did not know what to expect from this purchase. I am not a comic book fan at all, but I am seriously interested in food, particularly Japanese cuisine, and I was curious about what I would find here.

To my surprise, I rather enjoyed the publication. I don't care much about the story, and only am marginally interested in the artwork, but the parts of the tale where the focus is on cooking philosophy and techniques is very informative, as are the very good notes supplied at the end.

My only real dislike is that the book reads from left to right (Japanese style). I suppose it would have been time-consuming and expensive to have to re-frame everything to accommodate western readers, but I am not sure why the text-only sections needed to be this way. It was very distracting at first and I was pretty near finished the whole thing before I got accustomed to the novelty. Still, I guess it couldn't have been all that bad as I am pretty sure I will buy another in the series.

It is an argument I have heard before. How can you really call something like sashimi "cooking" when there is no cooking involved? Ah the chef is doing is cutting, and the quality of the dish depends entirely on the quality of the ingredients. Is Japanese cuisine really "cooking?"

That is one of the challenges taken up by Yamaoka Shiro in this volume of " Oishinbo A la Carte." As with all volumes of this Viz Signature "A la Carte" series, the100-volume plus story of "Oishinbo" (Translating as "Delicious Boy") has been chopped up and re-segmented by Viz, with the story slices served thematically

The theme for this volume is "Japanese Cuisine." Yamaoka and crew go through a number of traditional Japanese dishes and customs and why they are awesome. The stories include a Japanese girl who studied abroad in France and now refuses to use chopsticks because they seem provincial and backwards, and the fancy new "Western style" Japanese restaurant in Ginza that puts all the effort on flashy presentation and none on the food, or the esteemed visitor from the US and who can put on the ultimate Japanese food experience for him.

As always, Yamaoka knows exactly which obscure restaurant to go to, of what the US dignitary really wants. There are a few recipes included, but be warned: "Oishinbo" is famous in Japan for being all talk and no walk. The recipes are often quite unpalatable when actually prepared.

I love the series "Oishinbo," but I don't really like how Viz Signature has released them. Aside from the cooking, there is an actual ongoing story in "Oishinbo," and the way Viz has grouped the stories means that we just get little slices here and there. The story can drastically change in a few pages, such as Yamaoka barely acknowledging his pretty co-worker Kurita Yuko to them being married in the next story, taken from a volume years out of date.

This "Japanese Cuisine" volume wasn't too bad, but it still makes for a jarring and disappointing reading experience. I don't know why Viz decided to publish the series this way, instead of the usual chronological style starting with volume one. I don't believe they have done this with any other series, and they must have thought it more marketable.

It's not only fun to read, but it's also educational about Japanese food. I'll keep it and other Oishinbo mangas.

In celebration of its 100th year, the T'zai News has decided to create the "Ultimate Menu," a meal that encompasses everything that is the best about Japanese cuisine. Assigned to the task of creating this menu is a slacker journalist named Yamaoka Shir', who cares nothing for work but everything for food. His coworker Kurita Y'ko works with him, and a host of other coworkers and friends all have their parts to play. However, he faces a skilled opponent--artist and gourmand Kaibara Y'zan, who is also Yamaoka's estranged father! Kaibara is working on his own "Supreme Menu" for the rival Teito Times and he'll waste no opportunity to put Yamaoka in his place.

Kariya and Hanasaki's manga seems like a strange beast at first for American readers who are used to manga about ninjas or schoolgirls. And when you hear that Oishinbo has been running in Japan since 1983 and 102 volumes of Yamaoka and Kurita's adventures have been published so far, that's when you might wonder "Is there really that much to say about food?" But know that Viz has done Western readers a great service bringing over seven of the A La Carte volumes. The A La Carte volumes contain stories culled from the main Oishinbo volumes, arranged by subject. These seven give readers just enough detail to whet their appetite for good cuisine. Food is a big topic these days in the news media and popular culture. Oishinbo, which often focuses on organic, natural, and local foods, is particularly timely.

The one seeming drawback with the A La Carte volumes is that because their stories are picked for their topic, they are not chronological. For readers who prefer to start reading at the very beginning, this might at first appear to be a problem. Luckily, the stories were skillfully chosen and Viz is careful to add explanatory endnotes, so readers are able to follow the nonfood related events easily. In the end, the lack of linear storytelling ends up being a potential advantage for attracting foodie readers who might not pick up a manga ordinarily. The focus is always on the food, especially in the early volumes, and they never have to worry that they might be reading out of order or if they can't remember who a side character is.

This doesn't mean that character development is lacking. Readers will soon find themselves caught up in Yamaoka and Kurita's lives. The two eventually become a couple and then get married. It is fun to get glimpses of their life together, even when those glimpses are out of order. Kaibara also changes as readers slowly assemble the pieces of his personality, though he and Yamaoka are likely to never repair their relationship. It's that kind of ordinariness of adult life that is much of the appeal of Oishinbo. Sure, Yamaoka et al. are fans of high-quality food. But they also see the value of a simple meal, a meal that can take you back to childhood, or the joys of sharing food with others. One doesn't have to be a gourmand to understand those wonders, but simply open to the idea that food is an essential part of a nation's culture.


Hanasaki's art is as down-to-earth as Kariya's characters, another selling point for non-manga fans. His simple comic style is clear and easy to follow. Characters are distinct, their facial expressions are easily readable, and the panels flow clearly from one to the next. Oishinbo is printed in traditional Japanese right-to-left style, but that may be the only barrier to the reader previously unfamiliar with manga. Viz has included copious endnotes that explain Japanese food and cultural terms. There are color recipes at the front of each volume that re-create a dish from one of the stories. As with good food, all of the elements combine beautifully to make Oishinbo a top-notch addition to any graphic novel collection and to any collection of writing on food.
-- Snow Wildsmith

Even the most die-hard of literary 'foodies' will find much delight in this first volume of Tetsu Kariya's comic-book "Oishinbo" series. Forget about the characters and meager, unifying storyline for the time being. The beauty of this series is the sheer amount of detail conveyed in its bite-sized, easily digestible, graphic novel format. Concepts such as what comprises the 'essence' of Japanese cuisine oftentimes gets muddled in erudite and pretentious articulations when presented in text-essay format but here, with simplistic illustration and breezy flow from one panel to another the reader quickly absorbs complex and detailed concepts with very little effort.

This book will certainly appeal to foodies first and foremost. Whether you have a detailed understanding of Japanese cuisine or are a neophyte curious to learn more there is much to be gleaned within for both parties. Do not be turned off just because of its comic format, at 276 pages this book is information dense and you may be surprised to discover the efficiency of the medium in presenting its subject matter.

I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure what to expect from this manga. I'd never heard of it until it hit the shores here in the US & the synopsis made it sound sort of like a Top Chef minus the competition (sort of). What I discovered was nothing less than one of the best "all about" comics I've seen in a while.

The story follows food critic Yamaoka & his galpal Kurita as they go about sampling some of Japan's finest cuisine as well as those from other countries. They aren't satisfied with just having meals at fancy restaraunts or giving a one-off review. No, they actually interact with the chefs in order to discover where their food comes from as well as how it's prepared. During the course of these meals Yamaoka also finds himself going head to head with his father (who is also a food critic).

While there were one or two dry spots to the manga, the biggest drawing point of this series is that it literally goes over what goes into a good meal as well as showing concerns over ingredients. (MSG concerns are a frequent topic in the manga.) There is interaction between the characters, but the manga's biggest charm is that it's basically a guide on how to recognize good food as well as how to behave in certain restaraunts. (There's one great chapter about how to order food in a fancy restaraunt if you are unaware of how to order or what to get.)

This manga may not appeal to everyone, but I recommend that everyone give it a try first. The artwork may appear dated to some but it's very much worth checking out. Once you get used to the flow of the manga it is really a gem to read.