Customer Reviews

Project X - Nissin Cup Noodle

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

 

 

I don't read manga books ever. It wasn't until iFanboy turned me onto this series that I was even remotely interested in it.

Read this book. There's a reason it was nominated for an Eisner.

As a business major, the general plot was enough to interest me but from a sheer entertaining storyline that is a piece of history, it is fantastic. The balance of history, humor and characterization make this a must read book.

Heat up some water, get your Cup Noodle ready and sit back for a great read.

Project X was a television documentary show in Japan that traced the human drama and individual contributions of businesspeople, researchers and engineers behind the corporate success stories of postwar Japan: cars, consumer electronics, bridges, tunnels, the Tokyo Tower and so on. It ran for at least four years with over 140 episodes and for all I know is still running today.

In a bold move, Digital Manga Publishing released three manga adaptations of the show here in the US in 2006: the Nissin Cup Noodle, the story of 7-Eleven, and one on the Datsun Fairlady Z. They must not have sold well enough because no new volumes have been released since. Which is a shame, because it's great to finally read some examples of the business manga genre which apparently flourishes in Japan.

This volume on the Cup Noodle (and presumably all the Project X stories) is less a documentary and more an outright celebration. The men behind the Cup Noodle are presented as shining examples of the Japanese postwar work ethic and ethos, overcoming adversity through lots of hard work, teamwork, trial and error. Like the case studies assigned in business school, it's didactic but still entertaining. It's a fun comic that brings a surprising amount of drama to, for instance, Nissin's guys finding the ideal shrimp to freeze dry.

So why only 3 stars? At $12.95, it's a bit pricey for manga. Although the book's dimensions are larger than usual, the story is low on repeat value. Like most television documentaries, it's something you go through once and probably never need to see again.

But perhaps most of all, it's unusual to read a piece of corporate biography that's so enthusiastically one-sided. The Cup Noodle was a triumph of 20th century convenience but, for one thing, an environmental nightmare. The book cover trumpets "the miracle of 8.2 billion served" but doesn't tell the (presumably not so compelling or inspirational) story of where those 8.2 billion styrofoam containers ended up. In landfills? Incinerated as burnable trash in Japan? Project X sure doesn't care. This is not intended to be an environmentalist critique of a throwaway business manga, but rather to highlight the limitations of a feel-good "documentary" show and comic that doesn't ask any bigger questions.

Overall, a solid read and an interesting window on both the Japanese culture that created Cup Noodle and the uniquely proud, Japanese way it's presented in Project X, but more of a library loan than required reading.

I'm not so sure why this is cool. I'm not so sure why it kept my attention. As I read it, I didn't want to put it down. It is a straightforward business drama. It is written with little humor, and doesn't seem to be sarcastic at all. I hope that someday there is an add-on about what we are going to do with all of these styrofoam cups we have left over.

This book is mainly interesting for the use of manga to tell a story that in plain text would be unbearably boring to all but a few readers. In depicting the rewarded virtues of persistence, dedication, sincerity, teamwork, and so forth, it is quite the cultural icon. I'm glad it was given to me, and I've passed it around since. And now please excuse me, I have to go boil water for my instant noodle lunch ...