It’s been a busy day yesterday and I apologize for not compiling the summary any sooner. Despite this, I’m more than pleased that not a lot of people lost heart and still continued to submit to the feast!

For this course, I’ve taken a look at how Oishinbo is made to look like it’s an exotic cuisine in the English editions. I found this particularly problematic as it made it appear that Oishinbo was a post-colonial manga. In many ways it is but if the editions balanced the presence of the various cuisines present in Oishinbo, then it would have given justice to the series’ faithfulness in showing Japan’s culinary tension and the “globaization” of their cuisine.

Over at Experiments in Manga, Ash Brown looks at the budding romances in Oishinbo. It’s a really fun and light-hearted view of the comic. To add, in the Japanese editions, many of Kurita and Yamaoka’s female officemates actually found their husbands in either an Ultimate Menu trip or a foodie adventure. Food definitely binds people together!

I am quite pleased that there are a lot of dishes submitted for the sixth course and most of them are from Kitchen Princess! Now, isn’t this a nice proof that these dishes are actually feasible? In Reading is Delicious, Izandra tests two dishes from the series: Yoghurt Bread and Neapolitan Spaghetti. She really made it appear like baking bread is easy peasy! The Neapolitan spaghetti is also something quite interesting because for a dish that names itself after an Italian town, in Japan, it has ingredients not used in Italian cooking! Neapolitan spaghetti is to meat spaghetti or spaghetti Bolognese to Americans. It’s an easy dish that everyone loves to eat and make in Japan. Except… if you’re Aoba. In Anime B&B, Marina tried making a Green Tea Creme Brulee! I’m honestly impressed with all these budding chefs who make an effort in cooking such complicated dishes! Good job, guys!

Some people were moved to review thanks to the feast. Lori Henderson looked at Neko Ramen, a title I’m curious about considering how adorable it looks and how cute it is to see a cat making their own ramen stall! However Lori’s funny bone didn’t get tickled with this title. Sweetpea from Organization of Anti-Social Geniuses looks at Kitchen Princess, a title we know we could learn a lot of good food from! Terry Hong from Book Dragon started his own wine journey by reading through the first three volumes of Drops of God. And in Heart of Manga, Laura Mucciarone looks at The Manga Cookbook which uses manga as a means of instruction in making Japanese food.

That’s quite a heavy serving and quite rightfully so as we begin to wrap up this Moveable Feast. Tomorrow (err… today for some) is the last day for the MMF, so if you have any other dishes, do send ‘em over with the hashtag #oishinbommf at twitter or email my gmail: punkednoodle. Thankies!

In a dinner where Japan’s most elite gathered to discuss Tozai News’ plan for the Ultimate Menu, most men proclaimed that the most luxurious cuisine, there the most ultimate menu in the world is French. Each man was not short of giving their compliment on French ingredients and cuisine however one man couldn’t handle this pretext for the Ultimate Menu.

Yamaoka Shiro, Tozai News’ Ultimate Menu journalist called them and said Japanese Cuisine and this pretentiousness was all a . He asked the man to give him a week to find the ingredient that was just as luxurious as a French foie gras. Many in the room were not having any of it, but a week later, Yamaoka gives them a plate that almost fooled everyone. What they had thought was French foie gras was in fact the liver of a monkfish, ankimo.

Stories of East vs. West often line up in the pages of Oishinbo. If you consider the time that Japan has been open to the West, this whole East-West foodie tension should have been done and over with by the time Oishinbo was written. But does the fact that the comic continues to question the superiority of Western cuisine make Oishinbo a post-colonial text? Is the comic a tale of Japan’s own battles in preserving their own food culture?

The Exotic Japanese Cuisine of Oishinbo

I really didn’t think so much about this until I started to read the English editions of Oishinbo. The 8 volumes published by Viz are fantastic collections of Oishinbo’s best and I won’t deny that they were entertaining. I just happened to notice that these editions mostly tackled Japanese cuisine.

I remember seeing similar ala carte editions in Japanese and while they too tackled Japanese cuisine, there were also compilations for steak, Chinese, Italian, and Indian cuisine. These compilations were in the same breath as the US ala carte as they too contained Tetsu Kariya’s essays about food. A part of me wondered if Viz would ever feature these other editions but upon hearing from friends, this dream is probably lost in licensing.

See, in reading the Viz editions, I had an overwhelming appreciation for Japanese cuisine and tradition, to a degree that now I feel that the set has exoticized Japan. Just like the foreigners featured in the chapters, I was blown away by Japanese cuisine. When you have an American chef going all the way to Japan just to learn the art of sushi and the expat wooing his fellow expat with some skewers, I too was moved by Japanese gastronomy enough to host this feast for Oishinbo. In many ways, I too sought for the refinement of Japanese etiquette and it didn’t take long for me to realize how much I’ve stained my chopsticks.

I felt like Japan was at the top of the culinary world with Oishinbo and Yamaoka leading the way. Somehow, in my amazement, I failed to notice the little things that weren’t exactly all Japanese. The Japanese sushi chef serving those fancy Californian maki. The sake industry that compromised sake brewing for profit. If Oishinbo was supposed to capture the essence of Japanese cuisine, it too also captured the ‘bastardization’ of its food culture.

Japan as the West

‘Bastardization’ might be a harsh word, but what English readers haven’t read are the hundred of stories in Oishinbo that questions Japan’s forgetfulness when it comes to their cuisine just because they want to impress someone or get ahead in the global business game. I’m not saying that this is particularly a Western trait or that I’m rationalizing that it was all the fault of the west. What I’m saying is that in reading the comic, this degradation of food cultures (both Japanese and Non-Japanese) is a response to the westernization and much further the globalization of Japan. Oishinbo couldn’t have been written at a better time because it captured the spirit of this period in Japan that longed to be at par, if not equal or superior to the West.

Japan’s economy was at its peak when Oishinbo started in 1983. The salaryman was the new samurai and they changed Japan through economics. More than just conquering local economies, the largest of these companies wanted to conquer the world. So imagine how many of traveled and brought ideas and flavors from the globe without really fully knowing the heart of these ideas as they translate in Japanese. From here comes the countless stories not shown in the American edition.

Yamaoka would feature countless of times how a particular chef was in trouble with Kaibara Yuzan because he didn’t get things right. For example, a Japanese Italian chef had trouble in making his carbonara and Yamaoka showed him how to properly do it. Yamaoka challenged a Chinese chef who, despite being popular, couldn’t get his barbecued pork (char siew) right. My favorites often involve flashy businessmen who show off their knowledge of foreign cuisine only to be shot down by Yamaoka.

Yes. We get it. Japan can do things better than you.

If anything, these kinds of chapters reflect Japan’s own longing to position themselves in the same footing the West. And not only are the Japanese doing these, but because of Japan’s own “Western arrogance”, foreigners too are trying to find themselves in Japan. People compromise the heart of their own cuisine only to bring the people what they think they want. The broken nature of the English editions breaks Oishinbo’s connection with Japanese society at that time and fails to show the growth of the Japanese palate and gastronomy.

At most we can see that this generation of gourmands have made it difficult for foreign cuisines to position themselves in Japan’s changing society. But more than foreign cultures losing a bit of their own culture for Japanese people, even Japan is losing a bit of themselves in their food. With people wanting to eat foreign food and with foreign food wanting to cater to Japan’s tastes, Japanese food seems as lost as sake was to that young actor. This social and cultural tension is something we see Yamaoka and Kurita continue to deal with. Does he marry the two cultures or does he let them have their own way? How far can they let them have their own way without compromising the other?

Sustaining and Innovating Japan’s Food Culture

As the series progresses, Yamaoka would often find himself at the edge of this cultural tension. On one end he feels strongly about Japanese flavors but at the same time he learns new ideas from his trips abroad and he wishes to preserve other people’s cuisines. He realized that there’s a world of flavors out there that Japan should enjoy but these flavors could be costly to Japan’s almost forgotten cuisine. As his father educates his still naive and idealist tongue, Yamaoka would often choose the most difficult road: never compromise. Keep what is Japan Japan’s and the others to their own. Offer the truest flavors to people and let their tongues decide what tastes best.

This decision created various dishes both memorable to many fans. In talking with a Japanese friend, she and I would often fondly look at some of the earlier dishes that aren’t necessarily Japanese but were particularly heartwarming. For example, there was a feature on “soul food” which featured American gumbo and Greek salad. Then we start looking back at the little things like how they used a CT-scan to understand the importance of packing rice for sushi or how the best of tempura chefs had to listen carefully to the oil to know when tempura is cooked for the picking. These food need not be Japanese. As long as it’s a meal that can touch one’s soul, it is as great as any other food.

At the very least, stories on local fare revolved around the appreciation of local ingredients, Japan’s need to have a sustainable agriculture, and the legacy of Japan’s own culinary techniques. That said, the series fails to highlight the price involved in sustainable food. They too have trivialized the domestic economics and ecological and environmental sustainability of local Japanese cuisine, citing only the challenged Japanese food experience without contextualizing it in Japanese society. Those ankimo and mentaiko don’t come cheap in Japan. With flavors that demands authenticity in a country that has a limited amount of agrarian resources, most of the ingredients in Oishinbo demand a steep price. Of course, Oishinbo is not the kind of cooking that considers its economics, as they would include matsutake mushrooms more in their rice than spring onions. If Oishinbo says anything, these ingredients don’t come easy. And the easies that you can have them is getting a Japanese mom to cook it for you. Remember those soft yet packed onigiri in Joy of Rice?

Foreign cuisine also doesn’t come as easy as they often experience these abroad or in fine French restaurants. As much as it appears sustainable, it is also not economical. It is fast food fare for the high class salaryman which might just be very apt for the audience of this globalized manga but not to all Japanese. If anything, this makes Oishinbo look like the food manga for everyone’s gourmand dreams.

But it does have its benefits. Tempura is perhaps one of the best foreign adaptations in Japanese cuisine. So is that yuba gratin. And that miso beef marinade and beef garlic donburi. I could go on and on with the countless dishes featured in this comic that has adapted foreign flavors, techniques, and ingredients to Japanese cuisine. Perhaps I can proudly say that outside of bastardized culinary movements in Japan, there are innovations like this that reminds us Japan perhaps has become cosmopolitan.

Japanese cuisine as a struggling globalized cuisine

Perhaps Tetsu Kariya’s residence in Sydney has given him a different perspective of how Japan looks at food. I used to think that if Japan had questions so early about sustainable cuisine and organic produce before the West even raised it, then perhaps they might be ahead of this whole food revolution game. But that’s not true, actually. I think for many of us who have been living in urban cities, we’ve been divorced from the idea that our food comes from somewhere. And Oishinbo is one of the few who remembers where our food comes from. And this isn’t just a Japanese culinary philosophy but already a global culinary practice.

An expertise on ingredients and techniques can transform the most foreign meals into something Japanese. Katsu curry can’t be found in India. Nor is tartar sauce in France any similar to those served as sides beside Ebi fry. Only the best elements are placed together to create an entirely brand new set of dishes. And it’s quite telling how a once insular country managed to create new flavors pulled from their own experienced and made it their own.

I’m afraid the English edition has failed to highlight is this globalized characteristic of Japanese cuisine. Apart from delicate kaiseki or shojin ryori, hamburgs, steaks, and fried chicken is just as much a part of their cuisine as well. While they have all been placed under the guise of Chinese or Western or Local fare, at the end of the day, ramen (which is considered Chinese cuisine in Japan) is a dish that is completely Japanese.

I’m quite sure that some Japanese cuisine purists might be turning in their graves with this abomination but like the new developments in the sake industry, this “bastardization” can also be viewed as an innovation, a new phase in Japanese cuisine. There’s a reason why chefs, from Bourdain to Ripert, have an ongoing love affair with Japan and its cuisine. It isn’t so much about the exoticized/weird/unusual Japanese meals but with their exposure to various aspects of Japan’s culinary culture, they realized that its gastronomy continues to change in response to the changes in Japanese society.

That’s the best legacy Oishinbo has given to Japan’s food culture and manga. And until we see these unpublished dimensions of Japanese cuisine, Oishinbo will simply be that comic about Japanese food.

I was a little worried that there wasn’t going to be any post today because I decided to take a break due to bad eyestrain last night.

Fortunately, the community didn’t disappoint and still gave me a slew of posts to share with you! Thank you guys! \o/

The slew of food manga that we have been sharing has brought people down memory lane in recounting their own food manga favorites. Kate Dacey noted down her list of 7 Mouth-watering Food Manga in Manga Critic. I am not going to contest to her list and it’a quite a great mix of both established and new titles. Although I would probably add some other titles like Moyashimon. Justin from Organizational of Anti-social Geniuses also looked into his own food manga journey that goes way back to Iron Work Jan!

Over at Manga Theraphy, Tony Yao shares his love for Addicted to Curry, a personal favorite of mine as well and it tackles one of my favorite cuisines. He thinks the time is right in bringing this curry series into the US however, I’m not sure how far Tony has read but Addicted to Curry doesn’t tackle so much of Japanese curry style but is more involved in varieties of Indian curry as well as experiments with the spices. Nonetheless, this is a must for curry lovers and Tony’s right, there’s some great health benefits to curry.

Kitchen Princess gets a spotlight from Izandra and while this is a shoujo title, it’s also a wicked cooking manga that’s great for introducing girls to cooking! And over at Cucina Giaponese, an Italian fan of Japanese cooking shares Oishinbo’s legacy in Japanese culture. The entry is in Italian but isn’t it fascinating how there’s also a curiosity for Oishinbo elsewhere in the world? Then again, I myself am a litany of that given I’m all the way here in the Philippines.

Erica Friedman shared to me this last minute addition which I got quite excited about because it does fit with how manga serves as a mean of instruction when it comes to food. Chef Taro.com is a website that teaches people the “foodamentals” of Japanese cuisine. Their blog is quite insightful when it comes to some recent Japanese food trends but I treasure their manga a little more because it’s so adorable!

Hopefully this serving can whet your appetite! Again, if you have your own food manga or Oishinbo journeys, do share with me over at twitter with the hashtag #oishinbommf or send it to my gmail: punkednoodle.

Wow, today kind of made up for our light courses. Folks in the community have been riling up and are giving it their all for this MMF! Hopefully, I don’t miss any of them! We wouldn’t want to keep you hungry, yeah?

At our homebase, I served folks with probably my most favorite dish from Oishinbo: Bacon Nabe. Seriously, any dish with bacon is perfect! I also assembled some foodie mangavores and we spent an hour babbling about Food manga and how we’re embracing the genre.

Ash seems to embrace Oishinbo’s Ramen and Gyoza quite well. But more than just the dish, he actually appreciates how the series values sustainable food culture in the title. I think Oishinbo’s one of the more vocal titles about their opinion on food. There were a couple of chapters dedicated to whaling and while a good number of protesters (including their friend, American sushi chef, Jeff Larson) Tetsu Kariya still conveyed his thoughts of supporting whale consumption granted that whaling is regulated (he even made suggestions at how Japan was quite reasonable with their whaling).

Lori Henderson also gave her take on Oishinbo’s Japanese Cuisine and thinks that the feud between the Kaibara’s animosity towards his son lacks depth. I think I can’t blame her because a lot of these are unexplained in the ala Carte editions. On Kaibara’s end, Yamaoka’s severance from his family was a great disrespect to the legacy of what he and his wife had built, a gourmet association that had the high standards of taste and cuisine. I think these were not greatly explored in the ala carte editions, but Kaibara, towards the middle part of the series, has spoken to Kurita that if she was involved with Yamaoka, then maybe she can change him and bring him to greater culinary heights.

Over at Animemiz, Linda Yau talks about how she appreciated  Oishinbo: Joy of Rice as it seems that she has nothing but affection for this ingredient. Hopefully, Viz publishes an Ala Carte edition for Japanese Sweets (Wagashi) because those will definitely tackle mochi and dango!

In Manga Out Loud, Ed Sizemore also hosted his own awesome podcast about food manga (and OEL) with Johanna Draper Carlson, Michelle Smith & Deb Aoki! I honestly wanted to have a talk with Deb as well as she always keeps me hungry when she posts her food expeditions over at twitter! But I’m happy to hear this podcast as they also discuss what does food manga entail before digressing to Drops of God. I must agree with Michelle’s opinion about how the series seems to focus on branding wines, and while this isn’t clear in the earlier volumes, as more wines were unveiled as part of the 12 disciples, the narrative in the wine becomes more apparent. The series has been blamed for sparking a wine boom in China, Japan, and Korea. I think it’s more fascinating for Asian cultures who have never appreciated wines and mostly drank it either as a sign of social status or sucking up to their boss.

Johanna herself also gave her own contribution by listing down the various reviews she’s done for food manga. And these are lot but if you do host a site named Comics Worth Reading, I’m quite sure many of you will definitely find a food manga you’d like to grab for this feast.

Izandra, who has been my partner in crime in cooking for this feast has submitted for the Ultimate Menu by going to her favorite bakeshops that cook some pastries that appear in Antique Bakery. I do love going to bakeshops and more often than not, I taste their cakes that are similar to those in Antique Bakery. In the Philippines we have a shop named Bizu whose opera cake reminded me of those served in Antique. After seeing Izandra’s entry, I kind of wanted to get a piece of cake. ; 3;

We’ve still got a few more servings for the MMF! We’re running until the 27th so do keep on sending your entries with #oishinbommf over at twitter! Or send me an email over at punkednoodle at gmail!

Put four mangavores (Ed Chavez, Erin Finnegan, Noah Fulmor, and myself) in a show talking about food manga, Japan’s foodie culture, and the future of food manga and you’ll definitely have another batshit crazy edition of Mangacast and Ninjaconsultant shenanigans.

I greatly apologize for some recording trippings. ;3; podcast n00b much!

File Download: Manga Foodie Podcast

The Manga Foodie Podcast Index

You can listen to more of Erin & Noah’s podcasts in Ninja Consultant. Erin’s a regular contributor in ANN with Shelf Life too! Ed Chavez is all over the internet under Vertical but you can catch his fangirling in his tumblr, or go through archives of his old podcasts in mangacast. You can all follow us at @khursten, @mangacast, and @erinf on twitter.