Komura Ayumi - Mixed Vegetables, vol. 01 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

Ashitaba Hanayu is the daughter of a pastry chef who wants to be a sushi chef. Hyuga Hayato is the son of a sushi chef who wants to be a pastry chef. Together, they fight crime!

Well, not exactly. The bit about Hayato is actually from the back cover, as he has said nothing to support it in the first volume. Also, they sadly do not fight crime, though I think it would be extremely awesome if they did. They could fling raw fish and pastry cream at assorted villains!

Anyway, Hanayu has decided that the best way out of her family's patisserie and into the sushi world is to marry someone who will inherit a sushi restaurant! As one does! Alas, Hayato doesn't seem to impressed by her at first, despite all her vows to win him over with her knife skills. But soon, they begin dating, and Hanayu finds herself in a dilemma: what if she actually likes Hayato for himself and not for his sushi restaurant? Woes!

If you can't tell, I love this manga out of proportion to its actual quality. Though I will say that Hayato seems to be the quiet and angsty type, not the pushy and grumpy type, and that there haven't been many misunderstandings... yet! On the minus side, I am guessing that Hayato's angst will end up overtaking the manga.

But still! It is shoujo manga about food! They go to a cooking high school! One of their exams involves slicing 80 slices of cucumber in 30 minutes and having to line said slices up on a piece of paper numbered from 1-80. The slices, of course, must be whole, but they also must be thin so the numbers are visible through the cucumber! The heroine fantasizes about slicing up all sorts of fish! There are twins named Sato and Kato (granulated sugar and fructose)!

I also love the author's notes, which either go on about how the mangaka is a giant gourmet fan... of instant ramen! Or have notes like: "It's the rainy season!! Hence, the rain on the title page. Also, the netting in the panel above is made of radish." And there are nice end notes going into all the food-related details. Really, what more can you ask for?

Again, this is so not a brilliant series, but it's relaxing and fun and just what my brain needed.

Comments

[estara.livejournal.com]

Now I'm hungry...
Did you also read Kitchen Princess?

[oyceter]

I haven't! I really want to, given the premise, but not enough to buy it yet.

[larryhammer]

This sounds like my kind of series.

In other pluses, the scan of the new chapter of Yotsuba&! is out -- including Pantsman's return with his new henchman, Barebuttman.

---L.

[oyceter]

Oh, I don't actually read Yotsuba, though I've been planning to for a while.

[larryhammer]

It's a most excellent stress-reducer at the ends of long days.

---L.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

So adorable!

[oyceter]

It is all about food! I love it!

[jinian.livejournal.com]

I need to kick my comic store in the ass for not getting enough new ridiculous manga series in. I vote NO on the Hayato angst, to be replaced by MORE FOOD.

[oyceter]

I agree with you fully!