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Manga Bookshelf

Discussion, Resources, Roundtables, & Reviews

December 14, 2010 by MJ 7 Comments

Pick of the Week: Not Love But Delicious Foods

There’s quite a wealth of new manga and manhwa releases this week, according to Midtown Comics, but despite my love for things like Yotsuba&!, Goong, and Seiho Boys High School!, my vote must absolutely go to Fumi Yoshinaga’s Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!, released in English by Yen Press.

From my recent discussion at Off the Shelf:

The book is essentially a tour of several of the author’s favorite Tokyo restaurants, highlighting each establishment’s specialties, and including details ranging all the way from atmosphere to parking recommendations. What makes it especially rewarding for Yoshinaga fans, however, is that Yoshinaga herself stars as the main character, surrounded by her circle of friends. How much of this is fictionalized, of course we can’t know, but it feels so authentic, the overwhelming sense for readers is that we’re getting a peek into Yoshinaga’s private world, with a delightful view of her real-life quirks, hopes, desires, and of course, her obsessive love of food.

Yoshinaga portrays herself as an aging, neurotic slacker who eats like a horse, routinely spills food on her clothing, and has a thing for cute, chubby men, all of which makes her even more appealing to an older female reader like me. She strikes exactly the right balance between self-deprecation and self-love, warding off any danger of approaching either desperation or narcissism. She’s neurotic, sure, but also keenly self-aware, and her affection for her friends (be they real or fictional) is palpable …

And then there’s the food. Oh, the food, Michelle. It took about five pages of this book to get my mouth watering, and it didn’t stop until the end. Even things like “liver sashimi” and “stewed beef tendon” manage to sound appetizing in this context.

You can also find it featured in my 2010 Gift Guide.

This single-volume manga could not possibly be more charming. Go pick one up for yourself!

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Filed Under: PICK OF THE WEEK Tagged With: not love but delicious foods

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sara K. says

    December 15, 2010 at 10:50 pm

    I love Fumi Yoshinaga, and I love food, and I love the whole concept of this manga … but I have a sneaking suspicion that I would have to skip over so much that it wouldn’t be worth reading (I had to skim just about every passage in Antique Bakery where they talked about how delicious the food is).

    Reply
    • Melinda Beasi says

      December 16, 2010 at 7:20 am

      I would agree that if you don’t like food descriptions, this is not the manga for you!

      Reply
      • Sara K. says

        December 17, 2010 at 1:19 am

        It’s not so much that they are food descriptions, as I do love Oishinbo … it’s that Yoshinaga seems to favor foods that I find … distasteful (I can at least avoid the Oishinbo volumes that I know I won’t like).

        Reply
        • Melinda Beasi says

          December 17, 2010 at 11:31 am

          I like nearly all food, so this is not a problem I have encountered. :)

          Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Pick of the Week: Not Love But Delicious Foods — Topsy.com says:
    December 14, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Manga Critic, Melinda Beasi and Melinda Beasi, Katherine Hanson. Katherine Hanson said: RT @mbeasi: Afternoon RT New Pick of the Week: Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! http://bit.ly/fePtAi […]

    Reply
  2. The absurdities of the Youth Healthy Development Ordinance « MangaBlog says:
    December 16, 2010 at 7:58 am

    […] Melinda Beasi reveals her Pick of the Week at Manga Bookshelf. […]

    Reply
  3. Manga Bookshelf | Morning Manga Spotlight: Antique Bakery says:
    October 21, 2014 at 10:13 am

    […] Fumi Yoshinaga and food? If you’ve enjoyed more recent of her series such as Yen Press’ Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy! or Vertical’s ongoing What Did You Eat Yesterday? I’m sure your answer must be […]

    Reply


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