Tasty Manga Treats!
Kitchen Princess Volume 1
Publisher by Del Rey
Manga by Natsumi Ando
Story by Miyuki Kobayashi
Kitchen Princess, published by Del Rey, hooked me on the on the first page, where the publisher explains the honorifics of Japanese society. The company pays respect by not translating them into English because they don't transfer well. Even though I knew most of them, I learned a couple of new ones, including what the absence of an honorific means.
A few pages in, and the author already hits me with a tear-jerker - the reason why Najika wants to find her prince and cook the most delicious dessert in the world for him. This romantic story is well paced, and of course includes the cute, humorous pictures that you love to read if you have a heart….or a vagina. Same thing. The manga also includes recipes in the back, translation notes, and a preview of volume 2 that is not translated! I thought it was really cool to see the story in its original language. Finally, the food is drawn to perfection! It really makes me want to eat sweets. B+
Iron Wok Jan! Volume 24
Published by DrMaster
Manga by Shinji Saijyo
On the flip side, Iron Wok Jan! , published by DrMaster, is all about violent, competitive cooking. Jan, the chef of the hour, always has an evil grin on his face and a trick up his sleeve. Even though most of the stories are cooking competitions, Shinji Saijyo never fails to keep the suspense up. It's kinda like Dragonball Z meets Iron Chef - except it doesn't take 50 pages for Jan to "power up" and do something cool with his cooking.
It's also very graphic. Volume 24 starts off with a competition of cooking ostrich meat, and they have to kill the animals while in a relaxed state in order to keep the meat tender. And what do the contestants do once they kill them? Rip the feathers and skin off with their bare hands to show the audience the quality of the meat! Finally, you can jump into the story with any volume and still understand the characters and what's going on. This is due to the vast wealth of knowledge the advisor, Keiko Oyama, has about cooking. Even self-contained stories aficionados such as Joe Quesada would agree that's a big plus. A-
Iron Wok Jan is the shit yo! I'll have words with anyone that says otherwise. Haven't read Kitchen Princess, but now I have to I guess.
Thank you for your review. I think this format works great, having a double shot review. If you like Natsumi Ando, you have to check out Zodiac P.I. :)