Manga Review: "She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat" vol. 1

I'm getting hungry just reviewing this manga

Full disclosure, I'm writing this review after I've already read vol. 2, but I tried my best to review it based on the first impression I got from the first volume when I read it originally.

Nomoto is an OL with an Instagram and loves sharing picutres of her cooking, but she has a problem. She's always wanted someone who can really pack it in. She wants to craft mega-sized dishes like bucket-pudding, or giga-pancackes. Huge omelettes. Great overflowing bowls of curry. The urge to just go nuts in the kitchen is welling up inside her. However, she's just one woman, living alone, and not interested in marriage (and especially not interested in becoming a 'good wife' for some random male coworker).

Then, one night, Kasuga appears, carrying buckets of KFC... which she will eat. By herself.

When trouble happens at work, and Nomoto goes a LITTLE overboard de-stressing with some serious kitchen time; a steak donburi of epic proportions is born, and the only way to keep it from going to waste is by having her neighbor help her polish it off.

And thus begins a beautiful friendship... and maybe, in the future, more...

This volume was great. I’ve reread it multiple times since it came out. I really like food centered manga (but especially ones that have a bit of romance to them - guess the way to my heart, ultimately, really is through my stomach); when the visuals are so good that you can smell the dishes, and get hungry yourself, that’s when you know you've got a hit. This manga definitely did taht for me. Every time I read it (i think i'm up to four times now) I end up needing to go grab a snack. I blame this series for my recent craving for Yaki-onigiri (gonna try it with Miso the way they do in the manga) and going on a hunt for the best Karage in the county… (I ended up finding a really good spot too! I've started getting takeout karage-bowls now after work). I’m sure this book has put a few pounds around my waist. This series also has the ‘Yuri’ tag on it, but I’m not sure if I’d call it a main plot, or a sub-plot; here in volume 1, there is a lesbian romance going on under the surface, but it has yet to develop into a mutual relationship yet. Hoping in the future both Nomoto and Kasuga realize their feelings for each other. But I feel like that’s where it’s going because I don’t see it becoming a one-sided affair.

This is an easy 5/5 for me. I've already bought and read vol. 2, with review of that one coming (shortly, and i'll spoil for you... my score doesn't go down).

She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat is published by Yen Press. MSRP $15

You can buy it at the following. I don't get anything for these links, but I loved the manga, I'ma recommend you just go right over and pick it up yourself.

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Rightstuf


Now, if you'd like to read my take on volume 2... check it out here...

Manga Review: "She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat" vol. 2