• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

Kariya & Hanasaki: Oishinbo

Occlith

Well-Known Member
Food and cooking television programs have existed for years and I wondered why there wasn’t a food themed comic to follow that trend. Little did I know that there had existed a popular and long-running manga concerned with the culinary.

Oishinbo is all about the food: preparation, presentation, taste, scent, source of ingredients, traditions, customs, cooking methods, food storage, agriculture, game hunting and pretty much everything related to food is explored.

The stories follow the adventures of journalist Yamaoka Shiro, his project partner (and future wife) Kurita Yuko and their coworkers at Tozai News in researching and contributing to the “Ultimate Menu” a meal that showcases the best of Japanese cuisine. Mixed with the culinary are comedic touches and ongoing drama as Yamaoka faces off against his father, Kaibara, project leader of the “Supreme Menu” started by a rival news agency.

(These books are published in the original format so read the panels from right to left)
aimageshack.us_a_img844_6007_oishinbosake1.jpg

Highlights of the series have been compiled by Viz Media into A la Carte editions with different themes –Fish, Sushi & Sashimi, Vegetables, Sake, etc. Each volume includes a recipe of a food featured in that book and a Note on the Text section.
I like this compilation format as the reader gets to see within each volume the gradual changes in art style, character development and the reasons for the enmity between Yamaoka and Kaibara.

Story by Tetsu Kariya. Art by Akira Hanasaki.

aimageshack.us_a_img109_4306_oishinbokrug.jpg
 
Back
Top