Reviews
Casual romance adult between two men. Tipe2 slice of life dan paling menarik resep diakhir tiap bab nya, jadi kepengen nyobain.
Good slice of life storytelling. I'm not really one for the blow by blow cooking pages, but the added tidbits of cooking tips and recipes was nice. I've been curious to watch the drama adaptation and now I'm even more interested in checking that out too.
A slice of life story about a gay couple living in Japan and how food intersects in all aspects of our lives. I thought the story was pretty fair, considering that gay characters in Japanese media are often portrayed as being the butt of tacky jokes. Some issues do come up, like the main character keeps his homosexuality a secret at work, while the other is open. And they get in a fight over this issue. Most of the comedy comes from the fact that the couple are an odd couple. The main guy, Shiro Kakei, is a lawyer who maintains a facade of aloof perfection, while letting his guard down when it comes to people in need and his passion for cooking. His partner is an easy-going hair stylist. As the title hints, food is a big deal. There are entire sections of the book that are pretty much recipes that you can try out for yourself. Not a cook myself, I tend to just skip these sections. Storywise, food works as a mechanism for being a thing that connects people. Like Shiro cooks a meal as a non-verbal way of apologizing to his partner at one point. And Shiro makes a friend while grocery shopping (he's a tightwad on top of everything else). And of course, the only time Shiro's face softens from a dispassionate scowl is when he's enjoying a meal. I think there is one story in this book or the next about a man who's being abused by his wife. And it talks about how his trouble with dealing with the stigma of the situation. I think this is a pretty good example of the way the book quietly challenges stereotypes. It doesn't outright say, "Change your views!" so much as it says "Here's some people and their stories and what their lives are like."
Really enjoy the peek into the lives of two gay men. Dealing with issues like parents and children. One thing that bothers me a bit is the use of slang. Sometimes characters who don't seem like they'd be the type to talk will break out into very casual language which doesn't seem to fit them. It makes you wonder if that's really the character voice or just the voice of the translator.
There's a moment in this book that's both very touching for the main characters, and punctuated with drive by homophobia. It's a friendly reminder that society still has a ways to go. It just grounds the work in the real world, since overt discrimination hasn't really popped up in this story so far.
I was delighted to learn Shiro discovering brownies, but then they added raisins...
I loved this manga. Older characters and wonderful food.
Loving this series, even if it makes me hungry and almost willing to try tofu.
